Legislative State of Play
Housing Authorization Package Passes Senate; House Wants Changes
On March 12, the Senate passed an amended version of the housing authorization and reform package that combines provisions of the earlier Senate’s ROAD to Housing Act and the House’s Housing for the 21st Century Act. The amended version, called the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act (H.R. 6644), passed by an overwhelming vote of 89-10.
The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act contains a mix of the provisions in the original House and Senate packages, including ACTION’s top priority to increase the Public Welfare Investment (PWI) cap from 15 percent of banks’ capital and surplus to 20 percent. This proposal could drive more investment to the program. The package also strengthens numerous federal housing programs commonly used in conjunction with the Housing Credit.
Senate Banking Committee leadership, at the request of the Administration, added to the bill a White House priority, not included in the earlier House or Senate packages, that aims to curb institutional investors from competing with prospective homeowners for single-family homes. As currently written, this provision exempts so-called “build-to-rent” single-family properties from the limitations it places on institutional investor ownership, but still requires investors to sell such rental homes within seven years to individual homebuyers. Some housing stakeholders, Members of Congress, and others have objected to this, maintaining that it would have a chilling effect on investment in build-to-rent properties.
Housing Credit stakeholders in particular have raised concerns that the seven-year sale requirement would apply to single-family rental properties financed with the Housing Credit. The Internal Revenue Code requires all Housing Credit properties, including single-family rental homes, to remain affordable rental housing for at least 30 years (with the exception of the small fraction of Housing Credit properties for which eventual tenant ownership is permitted in their land use restriction agreements, allowing an existing tenant to purchase the property after 15 years). Single-family rental homes are particularly important in rural and tribal areas. ACTION co-chair NCSHA and several other ACTION members sent a letter to Senate Banking Committee leadership raising this concern and asking for a carve-out for the Housing Credit program.
Having passed the Senate, the House must now decide how to proceed with the legislation. The House could either take up the Senate-passed bill as written, pass modified legislation and send it back to the Senate, or the two chambers could conference the legislation to iron out their differences. Senate leadership has urged the House to take up the bill as passed by the Senate, but a number of key House Republicans and Democrats have concerns about the latest version of the package (some are related to the housing provisions and others are not). Some House members are calling for a formal conference negotiation, which could take time and risks some provisions being left out of the final package. The longer it takes to agree to a path forward, the more likely it is that the stalemate will continue, as Congress typically passes few bills in the lead-up to an election.
Congress is scheduled to be out of town for Easter / Passover Recess through April 12, so no progress is expected until after they return. ACTION remains engaged with Senate and House leadership in support of the PWI cap increase and to ensure that the package does not create unintended consequences for the Housing Credit.
Trump Presses for Reconciliation Package for Homeland Security; Prospects for Further Tax Action Remain Mixed
With Republicans and Democrats at an impasse over how to fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26), the White House and congressional Republicans are more seriously considering undertaking a narrow reconciliation process to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) within DHS. The scope of a potential reconciliation bill is yet to be determined, with Republican leadership in both chambers seeking a narrow bill targeted at just ICE and CBP. According to House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN-06), the number three House Republican, this reconciliation effort would likely not include anything else, such as tax proposals and funding for the rest of DHS, which has been partially shut down since mid-February. However, reporting by Punchbowl News indicates that many congressional Republicans outside of leadership would be eager to include far more than just ICE and CBP funding in another reconciliation package.
Reconciliation bills often include tax proposals. House Ways and Means Committee Chair Jason Smith (R-MO-08), in remarks made well before the announcement of the ICE and CBP proposal, said that if there were to be another attempt, the tax committee would have to play a “significant” role in the process, but it remains to be seen whether affordable housing tax provisions, such as those in the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act (AHCIA), would be candidates for inclusion should a reconciliation bill get traction and include more than just ICE and CBP funding.
Should the effort to pass reconciliation legislation fall short, there is still a chance that Republicans and Democrats could work together on a bipartisan tax bill. In fact, earlier in March, Chairman Smith said that he wants to focus on bipartisan tax provisions throughout the rest of this year. A bipartisan tax package, even if passed after the election during the so-called “lame duck” period, could include Housing Credit priorities, including provisions that are not eligible for inclusion in a reconciliation package.
ACTION continues to work closely with the AHCIA lead sponsors and staff to identify viable paths to advance Housing Credit provisions from the AHCIA as opportunities emerge.
ACTION Fact Sheets Updated
ACTION is pleased to announce that we have updated the National, State, and District Fact Sheets with the latest data on the impact of the Housing Credit and the AHCIA. The new fact sheets provide the perfect opportunity for advocates to follow up with their Members of Congress with the updated data and ask them again to cosponsor the AHCIA. If your legislators are already cosponsors, please share the updated fact sheets and ask them to weigh in with their colleagues to get them to cosponsor the AHCIA.
Check out the rest of our advocacy toolkit as well!
AHCIA Cosponsorship
The push to build cosponsorship of the AHCIA continues, and we need your help to leverage the momentum from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act votes to add more Republicans to the bill. Strong cosponsorship is important should there be additional opportunities to advance a tax package in the remainder of this Congress and to ensure a strong foundation of support for the next Congress.
The AHCIA currently has almost 39 percent of Congress cosponsoring, with support evenly divided by Republicans and Democrats. Last Congress, we had nearly 60 percent of Congress signing on as cosponsors. There are a number of Democrats in the queue waiting to join as cosponsors, so please keep up your efforts to enlist more Republicans and make sure we finish this session of Congress with as many cosponsors as possible. House cosponsorship stands at 165 Representatives. Senate cosponsorship stands at 42 Senators.
Administration Updates
President’s FY27 Budget Request Sent to Congress
On April 3, President Trump sent his FY27 President’s Budget Request (PBR) to Congress. Like last year’s PBR, this year’s PBR proposes a range of significant cuts to or elimination of numerous affordable housing programs, many of which are used in conjunction with the Housing Credit.
Overall, the PBR seeks $73.5 billion for HUD programs, approximately $10.7 billion less than the FY26 enacted level. It proposes the elimination of the HOME Investment Partnerships program, the Community Development Block Grant program, Continuum of Care homeless assistance, and a number of other smaller HUD programs. However, it does not include the proposal from the Administration’s FY26 PBR to block-grant and significantly cut funding for HUD rental assistance programs. Read more about the PBR.
Congress ultimately has authority over appropriations and has not enacted similar proposed slashes in funding. ACTION will continue to monitor and provide updates to our members on federal funding matters that affect the Housing Credit.
IRS Publishes 2026 Population Data for Housing Credit
On April 6, the IRS published Internal Revenue Bulletin 2026-15, containing 2026 population information for the Housing Credit used to determine each state’s 9 Percent Credit authority amount for the calendar year in accordance with the per-capita and small state minimum amounts set in IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32.
Trump Signs Executive Order to Reduce Regulatory Barriers to Housing Construction
On March 13, President Trump signed an Executive Order aimed at reducing regulatory barriers to constructing housing and impeding housing affordability. The wide-ranging Executive Order does not explicitly mention the Housing Credit, but directs many federal agencies to publish regulations and reform the implementation of numerous federal programs in ways that could better enable the construction of Housing Credit properties. An email from the White House announcing the Executive Order reaffirmed Trump’s support for the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act. Read more via the White House’s fact sheet accompanying the Executive Order.
FHFA Publishes Strategic Plan & Performance Plan
On March 16, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) published its Strategic Plan for FY26-FY30 and its Performance Plan for FY26-FY27. Both documents include goals to ensure that the Government-Sponsored Enterprises, or GSEs, which FHFA regulates, support the Housing Credit investment market. Further, the Performance Plan specifies that the GSEs’ investments in the Housing Credit beyond the $1 billion mark for each calendar year must fund properties “that have difficulty attracting investors.” FHFA currently allows each GSE to invest up to $2 billion each year in the Housing Credit.
Banking Regulators Publish Basel III Regulatory Proposal
On March 19, the Federal Reserve, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation – the three primary federal banking regulators – published long-awaited proposed bank regulations known as Basel III. In 2024, many housing stakeholders, including multiple ACTION members, sent or signed onto letters to these banking regulators urging them to lower the equity risk weighting for the Housing Credit, which is currently at 100 percent, down to 50 percent. Lowering the Housing Credit’s risk weighting would more accurately reflect the risks of investing in the Housing Credit and should therefore incentivize greater investment in affordable housing. However, the proposed regulations published last month did not contain this proposal. Several ACTION members will submit similar comment letters urging the banking regulators to adopt this proposal.
ACTION Membership
In March, the ACTION Campaign welcomed one new member to the coalition!
Please join us in welcoming the following new member:
- HOME, Inc., Iowa
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.
Housing Credit Research
- On March 5, ACTION Steering Committee member NLIHC released the 2026 edition of its annual report “The Gap: A Shortage of Affordable Homes.” The report finds that extremely low-income (ELI) households – those who earn 30 percent or less than the local area median income or the federal poverty level (whichever is greater) – face a shortage of 7.2 million available and affordable renter homes. In other words, for every 100 ELI renter households, there are just 35 affordable and available rental homes.
- ACTION Steering Committee member Stewards of Affordable Housing for the Future (SAHF) published a report exploring the impact of resident services on affordable housing properties, particularly on Housing Credit properties. The report finds that, from 2015-2019, affordable properties with resident services generate 26 percent higher net operating income, a key measure of a property’s financial health, than affordable properties without resident services, or $1,183 per unit more, on average. The study also found that providing resident services generally improved a handful of other financial health indicators. The combination of resident services and the improved financial health of the property largely resulted in less past-due rent, fewer evictions, improved wellbeing for residents, and more money available to be spent on maintenance and other property improvements. Explore a brief summary of the report.
- SAHF also published a report on building financial assets for residents of Housing Credit communities. The report outlines half a dozen model scenarios that Housing Credit property operators could implement that would help build financial assets for their residents. Depending on the details of the program, residents could accumulate around $2,000 – $6,000 in savings over a five-year period.
- SAHF published a case study of three examples of resident services provided at affordable housing properties and the various benefits that resident services can provide. Depending on the type of resident services offered and the type of property, residents were more likely to have a primary care provider, have health insurance, have an annual check-up, get enrolled in other safety net programs, be registered to vote, vote, pay their rent on time, experience food security, have “good mental health days,” have a greater sense of community, improve their credit score, and experience income growth. Residents in properties with resident services were less likely to visit the emergency room, feel socially isolated, have past-due rent, experience continued unemployment, and be evicted. Read more in a brief published alongside the case study.
- On March 12, Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies (JCHS) published its America’s Rental Housing 2026 report, which analyzes the entire landscape of rental housing in the US. It notes that the Housing Credit has been extremely successful and has enjoyed bipartisan support in Congress. The report notes that the recent expansion of the Housing Credit should finance 1.2 million additional affordable units over the next decade. The report calls on Congress to pass housing authorizing legislation that will increase the supply of housing, improve disaster recovery, reduce burdens, and address homelessness.
- A March 23 blog post by ACTION member Novogradac & Co. analyzes JCHS’s America’s Rental Housing 2026 report. Novogradac finds that housing affordability has worsened for renters; the number of cost-burdened renter households reached an all-time high. Novogradac also finds that most renter households have increasingly less money left over after paying rent available for other basic needs. The analysis also notes that the JCHS report highlights the ongoing importance of the Housing Credit for creating and preserving affordable rental housing.
Housing Credit in the News
- A recent article in Affordable Housing Finance explores a growing trend of using the Housing Credit to finance affordable homes above new or renovated public libraries. The article notes that libraries and Housing Credit properties share aligned missions of serving their neighborhood, provide a wide variety of services to people of all ages, and function as community anchors.
