June and July ACTION Monthly Call Schedule
ACTION’s June monthly call will be rescheduled from Friday, June 7 to Friday, June 14 at 2:00 PM ET. ACTION’s July monthly meeting will also be moved to Friday, July 12 at 2:00 PM ET in light of the July 4 holiday; the July newsletter will be sent on Monday, July 8, instead of Monday, July 1.
Legislative State-of-Play
Tax Package Still Stalled in the Senate
The Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act (H.R. 7024), passed in late January by the House, remains stalled in the Senate. ACTION has continued to advocate for the Senate to take up the bill, which contains two AHCIA-inspired Housing Credit provisions: temporarily restoring the 12.5 percent increase to the 9 Percent Housing Credit and lowering the bond financing threshold to 30 percent to facilitate increased production using the 4 Percent Housing Credit.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) took the preliminary step of “calendaring” the tax bill in March. This procedure allows him to bring the bill to the floor at any time, but if and when he might bring it forward for consideration by the chamber is still unknown. Many Republican offices have not indicated how they might vote on the bill, so it is not clear whether it would have enough Republican support to overcome a filibuster. Furthermore, without Republican leadership support for a timing agreement to govern debate on the bill, consideration of the bill is likely to take up significant floor time that Schumer could otherwise devote to competing priorities.
AHCIA Senate leads Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Todd Young (R-IN) continue their vocal support for the package and commitment to working across party lines with their colleagues to see if a compromise might be possible. As noted in previous reports, the tax package’s Housing Credit provisions are widely supported and not one of the points of contention.
Senate Finance Committee Chair and AHCIA co-lead Ron Wyden (D-OR) is still pressing for a vote on the Senate floor, in addition to looking for alternative vehicles. On May 7, Chair Wyden submitted the tax package as an amendment to the FAA reauthorization bill. However, the amendment was not voted upon and thus failed to get attached to the FAA bill. Few – if any – amendments unrelated to aviation were considered.
What’s Next and How You Can Help
We need ACTION members to keep weighing in with Senators. To assist advocates, ACTION created a webpage with links to templates and other materials for your outreach on the tax package.
With the August Recess soon approaching, now is an ideal time to invite Members of Congress to property tours, ground breakings, and ribbon cuttings while they are at home later this summer. Their schedules will likely fill up fast with campaign events, so we encourage you to begin outreach to congressional schedulers as soon as possible.
ACTION will provide members with an updated In-District Advocacy Guide in the coming weeks. If you need assistance with invitations or planning tips in the meantime, please reach out to actioncampaign@enterprisecommunity.org.
AHCIA and Tax Package Supported in House Subcommittee Hearing
During an April 30 House Oversight Subcommittee hearing, several witnesses – in their written and oral testimony – urged Congress to strengthen and expand the Housing Credit program, including by passing the AHCIA and the tax package. The subcommittee’s ranking member, Rep. Katie Porter (D-CA-45), an AHCIA cosponsor, expressed her frustration that Congress has not passed the AHCIA, especially given the bill’s strong bipartisan support.
House Ways and Means Republicans Request Input for 2025 Tax Package
On May 21, Republicans on the House Ways and Means Committee requested input for policies to include in the major tax package that Congress will negotiate next year. As ACTION previously covered, Ways and Means Republicans created 10 tax teams tasked with generating legislative proposals for the anticipated 2025-2026 tax package; one of the programs the Community Development Tax Team will cover is the Housing Credit. ACTION will send out talking points soon for you to include in your letters to the committee, which are due in October. Stay tuned!
May AHCIA Cosponsorship Update
The AHCIA currently has over 48 percent of Congress cosponsoring, with supporters evenly divided by Republicans and Democrats. In the House, there were two new cosponsors this past month, bringing the total number of cosponsors there to 224.
- Hal Rogers (R-KY-05), May 17
- Robin Kelly (D-IL-02), May 17
As a reminder, the ACTION Campaign has a number of advocacy materials to help support your outreach, including National, State, and Congressional District Fact Sheets, our video series detailing the provisions of the AHCIA of 2023, updated statewide ACTION Campaign member lists, an in-district advocacy guide, sample emails for outreach, as well as detailed information about the legislation in our Advocacy Toolkit. We also have a complete list of cosponsors from last Congress, where you can check if your Senators or Representative have cosponsored in the past, as well as the most up-to-date list of current cosponsors.
House Appropriations Committee Sets FY25 Spending Caps
On May 23, House appropriators released the spending caps the Committee will use in determining funding amounts for discretionary spending programs for Fiscal Year 2025 (FY25), commonly referred to as 302(b) allocations. The 302(b) allocation for the Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development (THUD) Appropriations Subcommittee is approximately 10 percent less than the FY24 enacted level. The 302(b) amounts adopted by the Committee are below the funding level allowed under the fiscal agreement reached last summer as part of the debt ceiling negotiations. While ACTION does not know how the Committee will divvy resources between HUD and the other federal agencies funded in that bill, it is likely that this limit will lead to major cuts in HUD programs in the House version of the THUD bill. The Senate Appropriations Committee has not yet announced the 302(b) allocations it will use, and without a Budget Resolution, the two chambers are likely to be working with different spending totals, complicating negotiations over final program spending for FY25.
Administration Updates
ACTION Submits PGP Recommendations to Treasury
On May 31, ACTION submitted its recommendations for the 2024-25 Priority Guidance Plan to the Treasury Department. The Priority Guidance Plan is an annual document that sets forth the guidance projects Treasury and the IRS will work on during the 12-month period beginning July 1 of each year. The recommendations largely followed ACTION’s recommendations from last year. In particular, we requested that Treasury (1) develop guidance for implementation of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) for Housing Credit tenants, (2) provide greater flexibility for properties suffering casualty losses, (3) include relocation expenses in rehabilitation expenditures, and (4) better restrict planned foreclosure.
Representatives Send Letter to Treasury and IRS on VAWA Compliance
On May 23, a bipartisan group of 24 Representatives sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel urging Treasury and the IRS to issue guidance under VAWA that directs state Housing Finance Agencies and other participants in the Housing Credit program on applying protections for residents of and applicants for affordable housing financed by the Housing Credit. VAWA has applied to the Housing Credit program since VAWA’s reauthorization in 2013; however, neither the IRS nor Treasury have published guidance on its implementation related to the Housing Credit in the decade since then. ACTION applauds the letter’s leaders – Reps. Gwen Moore (D-WI-04) and Claudia Tenney (R-NY-24) – and its signatories. Learn more about the letter and the issue, which is a priority for ACTION, in this blog post by ACTION co-chair NCSHA.
HUD Publishes Proposed Rule on HOME Program
On May 29, HUD published a proposed rule in the Federal Register that aims to update regulations governing the HOME Investment Partnerships (HOME) Program. HOME is a critical source of gap financing for the Housing Credit. While much of the proposed rule is not directly related to the Housing Credit, there are several provisions that would benefit the Housing Credit program if it went into effect, including provisions that would better align HOME with the Housing Credit. Those interested in submitting public comments have until June 29. More information about the proposed rule, including a fact sheet and FAQs, are available here.
ACTION Membership
In May, the ACTION Campaign welcomed two new members to the coalition. Please join us in welcoming the following new members:
- Citrine Development, Texas
- How to ADU, California
Help ACTION continue to grow our membership and advocacy strength by encouraging your networks to support affordable housing and the Housing Credit by joining the coalition. Membership is free. Together, we can demonstrate to Members of Congress the widespread support for the Housing Credit across the country. You can also help strengthen our reach by following the ACTION Campaign’s LinkedIn page and inviting your connections to follow and join us.
Housing Credit Research
- A May 1 article in the Novogradac Journal of Tax Credits analyzes current financial challenges faced by Housing Credit properties, builders, and operators. It notes that effective solutions could be achieved if the Senate passes the tax package. It also highlights existing sources of financing that can be utilized at Housing Credit properties, including funds and tax incentives created or improved by the Inflation Reduction Act.
- A May 22 study in Housing Policy Debate examines the overlap of subsidies such as tenant- and project-based vouchers in Housing Credit properties. Broadly, the study finds that, overall, from 2006-2018, the percentage of tenants receiving rental assistance living in Housing Credit units increased, the share of Housing Credit units occupied by a recipient of rental assistance grew, and the percentage of Housing Credit properties with at least one tenant receiving rental assistance grew. The study analyzes various differences within these general trends, but notes that the overall increase of subsidy overlap is yet another indication of the affordable housing crisis.
Housing Credit in the News
- In an April 30 letter to the House Financial Services Committee, the Bipartisan Policy Center’s Terwilliger Center for Housing Policy urges Congress to pass the AHCIA, among other housing legislation.
- A May 1 article in The Hill explains how the housing crisis has become a major topic in the election, attracting attention from voters across the political spectrum. The article notes that the AHCIA is one of several affordable housing bills in Congress with bipartisan support that could address the issue, if passed and enacted.
- A May blueprint to address the affordable housing crisis published by the National Association of Home Builders, an ACTION Steering Committee member, calls on Congress to expand and strengthen the Housing Credit.
- A May 9 op-ed by ACTION Steering Committee member National Housing Trust urges Congress to pass the AHCIA in order to deliver more resources for preserving affordable homes.
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