On May 12, 130 local government leaders representing cities, counties, and other municipalities of all sizes across the country sent Congressional leadership a letter underscoring their support for the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act of 2025 (AHCIA, S. 1515 / H.R. 2725) and urging Congress to advance AHCIA production provisions in the reconciliation legislation currently under consideration. The letter, coordinated by the ACTION Campaign, in partnership with the National League of Cities, the National Association of Counties, and Mayors & CEOs for U.S. Housing Investment, shows the broad local support for expanding and strengthening the Housing Credit — our nation’s most important tool for encouraging private investment in the production and preservation of affordable rental housing. Local leaders support this legislation because they understand how important affordable housing is in their communities to enhance economic competitiveness and help families, seniors, people with disabilities, and other vulnerable households.
Congressional affordable housing champions Representatives Darin LaHood (R-IL-16), Suzan DelBene (D-WA-01), Claudia Tenney (R-NY-24), Don Beyer (D-VA-08), Randy Feenstra (R-IA-04), and Jimmy Panetta (D-CA-19), and Senators Todd Young (R-IN), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), and Ron Wyden (D-OR) introduced the AHCIA of 2025 last month. The bicameral legislation enjoys broad bipartisan support. Currently, the AHCIA has 131 cosponsors in the House and 34 cosponsors in the Senate, including leads.
According to estimates, the production provisions of the legislation would finance nearly 1.6 million additional affordable rental homes over ten years. These proposals include a 50 percent increase in Housing Credit authority, phased in over two years, as well as reinstating the 12.5 percent increase that expired in 2021; lowering the 50 percent threshold for Housing Credit developments financed with tax-exempt bonds to 25 percent; and granting state agencies additional flexibility in applying “basis boosts” for rural areas, Tribal areas, and properties designated to serve extremely low-income tenants. The bill also contains about two dozen other regulatory and administrative improvements to the program, enumerated in the detailed bill summary.
The ACTION Campaign supports both the passage of the AHCIA and the inclusion of the AHCIA’s production provisions in the 2025 tax package. With many provisions from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act set to expire at the end of this year, and Congress currently working on major tax legislation, there is no better time to reach out to Congress and underscore the importance of including the AHCIA’s production provisions in the tax package to address the affordable housing shortage.
“There is a growing call for Congress to take action on the shortage of decent, affordable housing, the impact of which is felt in every state and in communities of all sizes. This letter demonstrates the widespread support on the ground for Congress to enact the AHCIA, expanding the Housing Credit, our nation’s number one tool for creating and preserving affordable rental homes,” said Jennifer Schwartz, ACTION co-chair and Director of Tax and Housing Advocacy at the National Council of State Housing Agencies, and Ayrianne Parks, ACTION co-chair and Senior Director of Public Policy at Enterprise Community Partners.
“Affordable housing investments in cities, towns, and villages are proven to grow economies, create jobs, and revitalize neighborhoods,” said Clarence Anthony, CEO and Executive Director of the National League of Cities. “NLC has endorsed the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act because it will help local governments and developers overcome the substantial financial obstacles to constructing healthy, safe, and quality affordable housing that we’re seeing today. NLC extends our thanks to co-sponsors of the bill for working to advance this critical legislation through the House and Senate with strong bipartisan support.”
“On behalf of 53 bipartisan mayors and business leaders representing more than 23 million residents and millions more households, we strongly support the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act,” said Mayor Mark Shepherd of Clearfield, Utah and Mayor Rex Richardson of Long Beach, California, the co-chairs of Mayors & CEOs for U.S. Housing Investment. “Our coalition was intentionally created as a bipartisan forum for cities and the federal government to work together on unlocking housing financing and construction opportunities – and AHCIA exemplifies this kind of critical federal, state and local collaboration.”
“Counties are on the front lines of responding to the housing crisis, forging community and intergovernmental partnerships and investing in practical solutions,” said Matthew Chase, executive director of the National Association of Counties. “The bipartisan Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act would provide much-needed reforms to the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit and promote housing affordability. We thank the bill’s cosponsors for their leadership, and we look forward to working with our bipartisan congressional partners to secure passage of this legislation.”
The ACTION Campaign is a grassroots coalition of over 2,400 national, state, and local organizations and businesses advocating to fix the imbalance between supply and demand for affordable rental housing, which is driving the housing crisis, by protecting, expanding, and strengthening the Housing Credit. For more information on the AHCIA, including national, state, and district fact sheets, please visit our Advocacy Toolkit on ACTION’s website.
