Legislative State-of-Play
Largest Expansion of Housing Credit in Decades Enacted!
On July 4, President Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA, H.R. 1), enacting two Housing Credit provisions estimated to finance 1.22 million additional affordable rental homes nationwide over the next decade. The bill provides a permanent 12 percent increase to the 9 Percent Housing Credit and permanently lowers the 50 percent test for bond-financed 4 Percent Credit properties. This is the biggest Housing Credit expansion since 2000, and is estimated to have nearly 10 times the impact of the minimum floor for 4 Percent Credits enacted in 2020.
The final bill differs from the version the House passed in May, which included those two provisions on a temporary basis only, rather than permanently. The final OBBBA does not include provisions from the House-passed version that would have created four-year, 30 percent basis boosts for Housing Credit properties located in rural and tribal communities. Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV), a cosponsor of the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act (AHCIA), filed an amendment that would have reinstated the 30 percent rural basis boost, but it, along with the vast majority of amendments filed by Senators, did not receive a vote.
The law also contains a permanent extension of 100 percent bonus depreciation for qualified properties, which has the potential to help boost pricing due to its impact on investors’ yields.
The law does not contain any changes to the tax-exempt status of private activity bonds and does not contain the “Super BEAT” provision included in earlier versions of the bill, which would have likely caused problems for Housing Credit investors based outside the United States.
In a June 24 fact sheet on the reconciliation bill, the White House mentioned the Housing Credit’s expansion as a key component of the legislation.
The two Housing Credit provisions enacted in the OBBBA have their genesis in the AHCIA and would not have been successfully enacted were it not for the support ACTION members have achieved for the underlying standalone bill. The AHCIA includes many other critical provisions that ACTION is still seeking to see passed. We will continue our work in support of all aspects of the AHCIA, taking advantage of each and every opportunity we have along the way, and will continue to call on you to advocate for the AHCIA—more details on cosponsorship below!
June AHCIA Cosponsorship Update: AHCIA Clears 150 House Cosponsors!
The AHCIA currently has almost 37 percent of Congress cosponsoring, with supporters evenly divided by Republicans and Democrats. In the House, there were thirteen new cosponsors this past month, bringing the total number of cosponsors there to 155.
- Ro Khanna (D-CA-17)
- Mike Levin (D-CA-49)
- Monica De La Cruz (R-TX-15)
- Eric Sorensen (D-IL-17)
- Jefferson Shreve (R-IN-06)
- Salud Carbajal (D-CA-24)
- Derek Schmidt (R-KS-02)
- Jim Himes (D-CT-04)
- Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA-01)
- Lauren Underwood (D-IL-14)
- John Rutherford (R-FL-05)
- Veronica Escobar (D-TX-16)
- Mark Green (R-TN-07)
In the Senate, there were two new cosponsors this past month, bringing the total number of cosponsors there to 42.
- John Hoeven (R-ND)
- Jacky Rosen (D-NV)
New In-District Advocacy Guide to Help Build Support During the August Recess
Congress will be taking its annual recess at the end of July – its biggest break of the year – for the entire month of August. Members of Congress will be home for this extended period of time, which is a great opportunity for advocates to build and maintain congressional support for the Housing Credit and the AHCIA.
To help, ACTION has updated its in-district advocacy guide, detailing steps advocates can take to build support for the Housing Credit during the recess — 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. If you have even more time, we especially encourage ACTION members to contact your Members of Congress’ offices ASAP to invite them to view the Housing Credit in action in their communities, including groundbreakings, ribbon cuttings, or site visits. If you need assistance with invitations or planning tips in the meantime, please reach out to actioncampaign@enterprisecommunity.org.
House Hearings Highlight Importance of Housing Credit
Two separate June hearings in the House of Representatives highlighted the importance of the Housing Credit for addressing the affordable housing crisis. During a June 11 Ways and Means Committee hearing with Treasury Sec. Scott Bessent, AHCIA original cosponsor Rep. Mike Carey (R-OH-15) touted the inclusion of AHCIA provisions in the reconciliation bill, saying that these provisions would be “very, very powerful.” During a June 12 Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance hearing on rural housing, several witnesses stressed the importance of the Housing Credit for financing affordable homes in rural communities. Witnesses urged Congress to pass the AHCIA in its entirety to help address the rural affordable housing crisis and praised Congress for including Housing Credit provisions in the reconciliation bill.
Administration Updates
IRS Nominee Confirmed and Sworn In
On June 12, the Senate confirmed the nominee for IRS Commissioner, former Rep. Billy Long (R-MO-07). He was sworn in on June 16. As mentioned in the February newsletter, former Rep. Long cosponsored the AHCIA during the 117th Congress. ACTION looks forward to working with Commissioner Long on Housing Credit administrative issues.
ACTION Membership
In June, the ACTION Campaign welcomed three new members to the coalition!
Please join us in welcoming the following new members:
- Wesley Living, Tennessee
- DeSilva Housing Group, Texas
- PRD Management, Inc., New Jersey
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 June 9 Notes from Novogradac article analyzes the details of the proposed rural and tribal basis boosts included in the House version of the reconciliation bill.
- A June 12 Notes from Novogradac article analyzes the modest 4.2 percent increase in 2025 Housing Trust Fund (HTF) grants compared to 2024. The article explains that, despite the modest increase, this year’s HTF allocation is still less than one-third of its peak allocation in 2022. HTF is a critical source of gap financing for the Housing Credit, especially for units designated for extremely low-income households.
- On June 24, Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies published the 2025 edition of its flagship annual report, The State of the Nation’s Housing. The report reveals that the number of cost-burdened renter households (those paying more than 30 percent of their income on rent and utilities) and severely cost-burdened renter households (those paying more than half their income on rent and utilities) reached a record high for the third year in a row. In 2023, 22.6 million renter households were cost-burdened, and 12.1 million were severely cost-burdened. It also found that the number of rental units renting for less than $1,000 a month (after adjusting for inflation) fell by more than 30 percent from 2013 to 2023. The report notes that the Housing Credit has been a critical resource for financing much-needed affordable housing.
- A Ph.D. dissertation made public in June highlights the importance of affordable housing financed by the Housing Credit. The dissertation features interviews with residents of Housing Credit properties in Connecticut, who spoke about the positive impact affordable housing has had on their lives, physical and mental health, financial security, economic wellbeing, and dignity. Residents with young children also discussed the benefits to their children of living in affordable housing, including improved academic performance and health.
Housing Credit in the News
- In a June 3 interview on PBS News Hour, the mayor of Long Beach, CA, Rex Richardson (D) – who serves as co-chair of Mayors & CEOs for U.S. Housing Investment – urged Congress to expand the Housing Credit.
- A June 6 article in the United Kingdom’s Housing Today explores a proposal to create a British version of the Housing Credit in order to help ease the UK housing crisis and meet the Labour government’s goal of building 1.5 million homes. The article cites data from the ACTION Campaign. Read more about this effort from a December blog.
- A June 12 article in TIME provides an overview of the history of the Housing Credit and its success, the AHCIA and the need for Congress to pass it, and the efforts to expand the Housing Credit via reconciliation.
- A June 16 article in CNN explores the housing provisions in OBBBA, including the expansion of the Housing Credit.
- A June 17 article in HousingWire covers the Housing Credit provisions in the Senate Finance Committee’s reconciliation draft.
- A June 18 article in The Times of London covers the UK Parliament’s work to explore establishing a Housing Credit in the UK. The article cites data from the ACTION Campaign.
- On June 24, the Western Governors Association released a report called “BRAND West,” which reviewed dozens of state and local affordable housing initiatives implemented by western jurisdictions. The report also called on Congress to expand multiple affordable housing programs, including the Housing Credit. It notes the Housing Credit’s critical importance for financing affordable housing in all types of communities and the program’s longstanding bipartisan support.
- The US Conference of Mayors unanimously endorsed the AHCIA during their annual meeting.
- During a June 18 Bipartisan Policy Center event, AHCIA Senate lead Sen. Todd Young (R-IN) and original cosponsor Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) touted the Housing Credit, highlighting its importance and noting its strong bipartisan support. Senator Young also discussed the AHCIA provisions in the reconciliation bill.
- On June 25, the House New Democrat Coalition released its tax reform framework, which called on Congress to “strengthen and broaden” the Housing Credit to increase affordable housing across the country.
- A July 3 Bisnow article features an interview with ACTION co-chair Ayrianne Parks, who discusses the Housing Credit provisions in the OBBBA.
