Legislative State-of-Play
No Movement Yet on 2024 Tax Package
The Senate is wrapping up its work before leaving Washington, DC, at the end of this week for the August Recess. The House has already gone home. As of this writing, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has not indicated he will bring up the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act (H.R. 7024) for a vote on the floor before the Senate leaves town, though Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR), other Senate Democrats, and tax policy advocates like ACTION continue to press for a vote. Should the majority leader move forward with debate this week, ACTION will send a follow-up action alert to all members.
As a reminder, that tax bill 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. Despite passing the House in late January with an overwhelming bipartisan margin of support, concerns unrelated to the Housing Credit resulted in strong opposition by Senate Republican leadership.
Congressional Republicans Proceed with Preparations for 2025 Tax Action
In the House, Republicans continued to proceed in their review of provisions for a highly anticipated 2025 tax package. As we’ve previously reported, Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (R-MO-08) created 10 tax teams in April, including one devoted to community development, including affordable housing tax policy. The Community Development Tax Team is comprised of team chair Rep. Mike Kelly (R-PA-16), vice chair Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-NY-24), and Reps. Darin LaHood (R-IL-16), Blake Moore (R-UT-01), and Mike Carey (R-OH-15) — all of whom are Housing Credit champions.
On July 25, the Community Development Tax Team held a site visit at The Beacon, a property financed with the Housing Credit and the New Markets Tax Credit in Washington, DC. The Community Development Tax Team plans to hold other field visits in the coming months as they prepare their proposal for the 2025 tax package.
Meanwhile, Senate Finance Committee Republican staff are convening a meeting with select tax policy stakeholders, including several ACTION members, this Thursday to talk about their plans for tax action in 2025. Join the ACTION Campaign monthly call on Friday to hear our report on what they said.
What’s Next and How You Can Help
Getting a Member of Congress to a Housing Credit property, allowing them to see firsthand the impact affordable housing has on their constituents and the communities they represent is by far the most effective way to secure and maintain support for the Housing Credit. With the August Recess starting and going through September 8, now is the time to invite Members of Congress to property tours, ground breakings, and ribbon cuttings. Congress will also be in recess from September 28 through November 11, but their schedules are filling up fast with campaign events.
To help with planning events and advocacy actions, we have published an updated in-district advocacy guide. The guide details steps that you can take to build support for the Housing Credit.
These actions include everything from a quick post on social media if you have only a few minutes, to an op-ed if you have an hour or two. For those with more time, we have included templates and best practices for setting up an event with your Senators and Representative. If you need assistance with invitations or planning tips, please reach out to actioncampaign@enterprisecommunity.org.
Talking Points for House Ways and Means Republicans’ RFI on 2025 Tax Package
As covered in the June newsletter, the House Ways and Means Republican Tax Teams have requested input to inform their work. ACTION strongly encourages its grassroots members to send recommendation letters to the Community Development Tax Team, which will oversee affordable housing ideas. To aid you, we have created a guide, including key points for you to include in your letters to this Tax Team – which are due by October 15 – and instructions for submission. The Tax Teams have stressed that tailored, personalized letters are strongly preferred, so please incorporate your unique story into the letter you send.
Bill Introduced to Extend Housing Credit Affordability for Some Properties to 50 Years
Recently, AHCIA cosponsor Rep. Wiley Nickel (D-NC-13) introduced the Keep Housing Affordable Act (H.R. 8900). The bill would allow certain properties financed by the Housing Credit with Private Activity Bonds (PABs) to access PABs 15 years after the property is placed in service and have those PABs not count against the state PAB cap in exchange for committing the property to 50 years of affordability. According to an analysis of the bill by ACTION member Novogradac & Co., Housing Credit developers could either (1) commit to a new, 50-year affordability period after Year 15 and receive additional PABs outside of the state cap – along with 4 Percent Housing Credits – for a minimum of 65 years of affordability, or (2) they could receive the PABs in exchange for committing to a new, 30-year affordability period, for a 50-year affordability period. ACTION has not taken a position on this bill at this time.
Importance of Housing Credit Raised in House Financial Services Subcommittee Hearing
During a July 24 hearing held by the House Financial Services Committee’s Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance about cutting red tape related to housing, the Housing Credit was raised as an important tool for providing affordable housing. ACTION Steering Committee member LeadingAge stressed that the Housing Credit is a critical tool for providing homes for lower-income families and seniors on a fixed income. LeadingAge urged Congress to strengthen and expand the Housing Credit in order to address the affordable housing crisis and adequately fund complementary programs at agencies such as HUD and USDA that help enable the Housing Credit’s continued success and keep families stably housed. Similarly, witnesses representing the National Association of Home Builders and the National Multifamily Housing Council, also both ACTION Steering Committee members, expressed hope that the Senate would follow the House’s lead and pass the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act and urged Congress to pass the AHCIA, since both bills would address the growing demand for affordable housing. Representatives and witnesses also discussed rising costs related to building and operating housing, which have been posing increasing challenges for affordable housing providers, especially skyrocketing insurance premiums and the price of construction materials.
AHCIA Cosponsorship
The AHCIA currently has over 49 percent of Congress cosponsoring, with supporters evenly divided by Republicans and Democrats. There are 230 cosponsors in the House and 34 in the Senate, including leads. The AHCIA just needs four more cosponsors to clear a major milestone: half of all Congress! Help us get there.
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, updated statewide ACTION Campaign member lists, an updated 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.
Administration Updates
White House Announces New Efforts to Increase Supply of Affordable Housing and Limit Rent Increases
On July 16, the White House announced several actions intended to increase the supply and lower the costs of affordable housing. One part of the plan will be to repurpose public land for affordable housing. The Administration will work with the Bureau of Land Management, the Forest Service, the Postal Service, the General Services Administration, the Department of Health and Human Services, and HUD to take several steps to convert or expedite the conversion of unused or underutilized federal land and buildings for affordable housing and housing for people recently experiencing homelessness. The announcement also called on the Senate to pass the tax package that would build an additional 200,000 affordable homes. ACTION commends these parts of the announcement.
The Administration also proposed a policy requiring property owners – not just those who own Housing Credit or other federally-financed properties – with at least 50 units in their portfolios to cap rent increases at no more than five percent per year for the next two years. Under the proposal, those owners that do not institute such caps would lose other valuable tax benefits. However, this proposal would require congressional action, and it is unlikely to yield sufficient support in Congress to pass. ACTION has no position on the proposal.
FHFA Announces Protections for Multifamily Tenants
On July 12, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, collectively known as the Government-Sponsored Enterprises, or GSEs, will institute new tenant protections in properties with GSE loans signed on or after February 28, 2025. Tenants living in these properties will have the right to receive 30 days’ written notice of a rent increase, 30 days’ written notice of a lease expiration, and a five-day grace period for rent payments. The announcement also includes a link to tools that tenants can use to see whether their home is covered by a GSE loan. FHFA is expected to publish more details in August.
FHFA Hosts Public Listening Sessions for Duty to Serve Plans
From July 15-17, FHFA held public listening sessions on the proposed 2025-2027 Duty to Serve (DTS) plans for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Numerous ACTION members provided feedback about these proposals, which are required by law and must be updated every three years, during the sessions on rural and affordable housing, sharing critical recommendations to help improve the success of the Housing Credit and ease the affordable housing crisis. FHFA also published a request for input so that interested parties can submit written comments on the DTS proposals by 11:59 PM ET on August 12. Recordings of the listening sessions are available on FHFA’s YouTube channel.
Regulators Ask Appeals Court to Lift Injunction on New CRA Rule
According to a July 22 article in American Banker, the Federal Reserve, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency asked the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals to lift the preliminary injunction imposed by a federal trial court judge against the new final rule updating Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) regulations. As ACTION previously covered, the trial court judge halted the implementation of the new CRA rule just hours before it was supposed to begin to take effect. If the appeals court lifts the injunction, this would be a critical development for the future of the new CRA regulations and their impact on affordable housing. Approximately 85 percent of Housing Credit investment is motivated by the CRA.
ACTION Membership
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
- The 2024 edition of the Secure Homes, Strong Communities report by the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO), an ACTION Steering Committee member, explores various federal affordable housing programs. For the Housing Credit, the report finds that in 2022, 55 percent of Housing Credit properties utilized the 9 Percent Credit – an increase of five percent from 2021, 33 percent of Housing Credit properties utilized the 4 Percent Credit – an increase of three percent from 2021, nine percent of Housing Credit properties used both 9 Percent and 4 Percent Credits – a decrease of three percent from 2021, and three percent of Housing Credit properties utilized the temporary Great Recession-era Tax Credit Exchange Program – an unsurprising decrease of three percent from 2021. The report calls on Congress to pass the AHCIA and urges the Senate to pass the tax package.
Housing Credit in the News
- A July 2 op-ed in HousingWire calls on Congress to, among other things, strengthen and expand the Housing Credit to increase the supply of affordable housing, lower the costs of housing, and even increase homeownership numbers.
- In a July 2 interview on CNBC, former HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan discusses the affordable housing crisis and the State of the Nation’s Housing report mentioned above. Secretary Donovan is CEO and President of ACTION co-chair Enterprise.
- In a July 2 op-ed in HousingWire, Ayrianne Parks, co-chair of ACTION for Enterprise, describes the importance of the Housing Credit and how it has helped alleviate the affordable housing crisis. She calls on Congress to strengthen and expand the program.
- A July 2 op-ed in CityBiz urged both presidential campaigns to focus on addressing the affordable housing crisis, including by expanding the Housing Credit.
- The Democratic National Committee published its draft 2024 party platform, which supports expanding and strengthening the Housing Credit.
- The Republican National Committee published its final 2024 party platform, which promotes increased supply and lowering costs of housing.
- A July 8 article in the Johnston County (NC) Report covers the Keep Housing Affordable Act discussed above.
- A July 10 article in the Raleigh News & Observer covers the Keep Housing Affordable Act discussed above.
- A July 15 article in Invisible People notes that the AHCIA will help provide affordable housing for lower-income people. The Senate version of the bill encourages Congress to collaborate with states and local governments to reform zoning laws in a way that can increase the supply of affordable housing.
- A July 25 article in Bisnow covers the effects of recent developments related to the 2024 election on the near-term future of affordable housing and the Housing Credit.
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