Join us for a call this Thursday, December 10 at 2 p.m. EST (note the change in day for this week), where we will discuss the status of tax extenders and new resources to promote the Housing Credit.
Call-in information:
Thursday, December 10 @ 2:00 p.m. EST
(866) 469-3239
Participant code: 677-49-533#
Tax Extenders
The Senate Finance Committee, House Ways and Means Committee, congressional leaders and the White House are finalizing the details of tax extenders legislation now, with the goal of passing a tax extenders bill before Congress adjourns either at the end of this week or next week. This week may be our last chance to influence the bill in support of permanent minimum 9 and 4 percent Housing Credit rates.
Contact your members of Congress today – especially those who already have committed to supporting minimum Housing Credit rates by cosponsoring either H.R. 1142 or S. 1193. See a state-by-state list of minimum Housing Credit rate legislation cosponsors.
Ask your members of Congress to reach out to House Ways and Means Committee, Senate Finance Committee and House and Senate leadership, and tell them that permanent minimum 9 and 4 percent Housing Credit rates must be included in the tax extenders package.
Read more about how to support the Housing Credit in tax extenders, including key messages, on the ACTION blog. Also see a recent op-ed in The Hill by Enterprise Community Partners’ Ali Solis, “Strengthen Low-Income Housing Tax Credit in tax extenders,” calling on Congress to enact permanent minimum 9 and 4 percent Housing Credit rates.
New Campaign Resources
Who Benefits from the Housing Credit: The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) has released an analysis of how many people have benefited from the Housing Credit since its creation in 1986. While it is often cited that the Housing Credit has created or preserved nearly 2.8 million affordable rental homes, the NAHB estimate is the first to reflect the impacts for the primary beneficiaries of the program – the low-income households who live in Housing Credit apartments. According to NAHB, approximately 6.5 million low-income households, or roughly 13.3 million people, have lived in affordable apartments financed by the Housing Credit between 1986 and 2013. We have now updated our ACTION state fact sheets to reflect the number of low-income households estimated to have benefited from the Housing Credit.
The Need for Minimum Housing Credit Rates: Our new fact sheet on Housing Credit rates explains how the rates work, why the floating rate makes affordable housing more difficult to finance and how minimum credit rates strengthen the program.
Need and Demand for the Housing Credit: ACTION and the Affordable Housing Tax Credit Coalition have updated the talking points on the need and demand for the Housing Credit, making the case for an expansion of the Housing Credit. The updates include the latest data from the Enterprise Community Partners and Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies (JCHS) research on Projecting Trends in Severely Cost-Burdened Renters.
Minimum Credit Rate Legislation
The minimum Housing Credit rate legislation in the Senate, S. 1193, has 29 co-sponsors. The companion legislation in the House, H.R. 1142, has 77 co-sponsors. The most recent additions are Rep. John Katko (R-NY-24) and Rep. Brad Ashford (D-NE-2).
We encourage you to reach out to your senators and representatives to sign on to these bills if they haven’t already. Use our House and Senate bill summaries to help make your case.
Join the ACTION Campaign
The ACTION Campaign now has over 1,000 members calling on Congress to support the Housing Credit and Housing Bonds. Join the campaign, or if you are already a campaign supporter, reach out to your partner organizations and encourage them to join the campaign as well.
Oklahoma Coalition for Affordable Housing 