Legislative State-of-Play
House Overwhelmingly Passes Amended 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act
On May 20, the House of Representatives passed an amended version of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act by an overwhelming bipartisan margin of 396-13. ACTION’s top priority in the bill, increasing the Public Welfare Investment (PWI) cap from 15 percent of banks’ capital and surplus to 20 percent, remains in this legislation. This will allow banks that are up against the cap to increase their investments in the Housing Credit. The PWI cap increase is also included in the Senate-passed version of the bill.
The bill also includes important provisions to strengthen HUD and USDA programs often used in conjunction with the Housing Credit. Highlights include significant reforms to the HOME program, which helps finance around 15 to 20 percent of Housing Credit units annually, and reforms to the Department of Agriculture’s Rural Housing Service, which will better enable the preservation of affordable homes in rural communities.
Critically, the House-passed bill addresses concerns raised by many ACTION members that the Senate’s version of the legislation would inadvertently prevent the production and rehabilitation of single-family rental housing financed with the Housing Credit. Specifically, the Senate’s bill requires institutional investor owners to sell single-family “build-to-rent” and “renovate-to-rent” properties to sell those properties within seven years, which conflicts with Housing Credit requirements to maintain these properties as affordable rental housing for at least 30 years. While the majority of Housing Credit properties are multifamily, single-family rental homes, including townhouse, duplex, and scattered-site single-dwelling units are common in rural, Tribal, and some suburban areas. The House-passed bill does not include the seven-year disposition requirement.
Importantly, the White House expressed support for the House-passed version of the bill. With both chambers having passed competing versions of the legislation, they must now work to find a path forward on final text that can pass both chambers. The Senate leaders of this effort, Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee Chairman Tim Scott (R-SC) and Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), released a joint statement after the House passed the revised bill, saying that there is “still work to be done” on this legislation. Press reports suggest that Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA-04) have begun leadership-level discussions on the bill.
Outlook for Tax Legislation
While it’s still possible that Republican leaders in Congress could try to pass tax legislation this year using reconciliation—a partisan process that only requires Republican votes to pass—doing so this year would be a heavy lift, particularly in light of the obstacles they are facing now as they finalize a more narrow, immigration-focused reconciliation bill. Procedural challenges related to reconciliation specifically, other priorities vying for floor time, and a limited calendar given Members’ desire for more time at home on the campaign trail all make doing so difficult, but not impossible.
There’s still a possibility Congress could consider bipartisan tax legislation later this year. While Congress still faces the same timing constraints, a bipartisan tax package does not have the same procedural challenges that a reconciliation bill would have. ACTION remains in regular contact with our congressional champions regarding opportunities to advance provisions from the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act (AHCIA).
Housing Credit Expansion Praised in House Appropriations Hearing
During a May 12 House Appropriations Subcommittee hearing with HUD Secretary Scott Turner, Rep. Dale Strong (R-AL-05) praised the historic expansion of the Housing Credit last year. Representative Strong predicted that the expansion could result in “a housing boom that we haven’t seen in many years.”
Other Housing Credit Legislation Introduced in Congress
On April 30, Reps. Jimmy Panetta (D-CA-19), Mike Carey (R-OH-15), and Zach Nunn (R-IA-03) reintroduced the Workforce Housing Tax Credit Act (H.R. 8626), which would create a new tax credit, modeled on the Housing Credit, to finance rental housing for households earning between 60-100 percent of the area median income. ACTION has no position on this legislation.
On May 22, Reps. Carey and Panetta introduced the Affordable Housing Credit Carryback Act (H.R. 9012), which would allow Housing Credit investors to apply Housing Credits against their tax liability for any of the five years prior to the year they received the Housing Credits. This is one of several consensus proposals that ACTION is supporting as part of a broader effort to increase investor demand.
May AHCIA Cosponsorship Update
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 to add more members of Congress to the bill. In particular, ACTION is targeting Republicans, as both the House and Senate versions of AHCIA have Democrats waiting to be added, as we seek to maintain party parity. 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.
In the House, there were two new cosponsors this past month, bringing the total number of cosponsors there to 169.
- Matt Van Epps (R-TN-07)
- Greg Stanton (D-AZ-04)
Senate cosponsorship stands at 42 Senators.
The AHCIA currently has 39 percent of Congress (across both the House and Senate) cosponsoring, with support evenly divided by Republicans and Democrats. Last Congress, we had nearly 60 percent of Congress signing on as cosponsors.
Administration Updates
ACTION Submits PGP Recommendations to Treasury
On May 29, ACTION submitted its recommendations for the 2026-27 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. Read our letter on the ACTION website.
HUD Publishes Changes to Income Limits for Housing Credit Properties
On May 1, HUD published 2026 annual income limits for multiple federal affordable housing programs, including “Multifamily Tax Subsidy Projects,” which include the Housing Credit. The publication of the annual income limits was delayed due to last year’s government shutdown. Learn more about the income limits from this blog post by ACTION member Novogradac & Co.
HUD Publishes Report Showing Decrease in Homelessness
On May 29, HUD published its 2025 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report – Part 1, which showed the first year-over-year decrease in homelessness since 2016. The report indicates that the number of people experiencing homelessness dropped by approximately 3.3 percent between 2024 and 2025. Further, during the same period, the number of families experiencing homelessness decreased by 11.3 percent, the number of unaccompanied youth experiencing homelessness dipped by nearly eight percent, the number of people experiencing unsheltered homelessness dropped by nearly three percent, and the number of veterans experiencing homelessness dropped by 1.2 percent. However, despite these successes, the report notes that, since 2013 the number of people experiencing homelessness has increased approximately 27 percent.
ACTION Membership
In May, the ACTION Campaign welcomed four new members to the coalition!
Please join us in welcoming the following new members:
- Harmony Housing Affordable Development, Inc., North Carolina
- Advocating And Serving All Diverse Communities, Texas
- AgeGuide Northeastern Illinois, Illinois
- Western Alliance Bank, national
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
- A May 1 report published by the Urban Institute explores the economic benefits of the Housing Credit in Oklahoma. The report analyzed 45 Housing Credit properties with almost 2,700 units in Oklahoma. It finds that, in addition to providing affordable housing for Oklahomans, the Housing Credit created:
- 4,100 jobs in construction and during the properties’ operations,
- Nearly $276 million in worker wages during construction,
- $16 million in worker wages during 10 years of the properties’ operations,
- Over $400 million in economic value to the state during construction,
- $167 million in economic value to the state during 10 years of operations,
- Almost $814 million in total economic output during construction,
- $186 million in total economic output during 10 years of operations, and
- More than $126 million in tax revenues generated across the construction period and 10 years of operations.
- For every $1 invested in the Housing Credit in Oklahoma, the Housing Credit generates $3.39 in economic output, $1.95 in value added, 99¢ in worker wages, and 47¢ in tax revenues. These findings demonstrate the Housing Credit’s wide-ranging ripple effects across Oklahoma’s economy.
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