Congress

The New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) Coalition is gathering signatures from organizations for a sign-on letter urging Congress  to pass a permanent extension and expansion of the NMTC, which is set to expire at the end of 2019. NH&RA signed the letter and urges our members to do so as well. The deadline to sign-on is Feb. 8.

The Campaign for Housing and Community Development Funding (CHCDF) is circulating a sign-on letter calling on Congress and President Trump to end the government shutdown and ensure affordable housing and community development programs receive robust funding. NH&RA signed the letter and urges our members to do so as well.

Senators John Hoeven (R-ND) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) reintroduced the Move America Act. The bill would expand tax-exempt private activity bonds (PAB) and create a new infrastructure tax credit (Move America Equity Credits), to help fund infrastructure projects through private-public partnerships. According the Joint Committee on Taxation, the bill would leverage $8 billion in federal investment into $226 billion worth of bond authority over the next 10 years or up to $56 billion over 10 years in tax credits.

34 U.S. Senators and 138 U.S. Representatives signed onto a Jan. 17 letter to President Trump, raising concerns about the impact of the shutdown on the people who rely on federal housing assistance. The letter urges the President to “end this shutdown and provide immediate relief to Americans being impacted by this funding crisis.”

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a new report Housing Finance: Prolonged Conservatorships of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Prompt Need for Reform. The report, prepared for Chairwoman of the House Committee on Financial Services Maxine Waters (D-CA) and Congressman Sean Duffy (R-WI), calls on Congress to “consider legislation for the future federal role in housing finance that addresses the structure of the enterprises, establishes clear, specific, and prioritized goals and considers all relevant federal entities, such as FHA and Ginnie Mae.”

The US House of Representatives passed two appropriations bills that would fund the Departments of Transportation, HUD, and Related Agencies (H.R. 267) as well as the Departments of Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies (H.R. 265). H.R. 267 passed with a vote of 244-180, with twelve Republicans voting in favor of […]

Congress is readying a short-term continuing resolution that would fund the government through Feb. 8 and avert a partial government shutdown on Friday, Dec. 21. Seven appropriations subcommittee bills, including Transportation-HUD, still have yet to receive funding for all of Fiscal Year (FY) 2019. Five of the twelve appropriations subcommittee bills are funded for all of FY 2019 and won’t need a CR to continue operating.

House Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady (R-Texas) released a third iteration of a year-end tax package. The new version includes the same provision in his original and second bill that clarifies that veterans are a specified group for preferences within the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program and extends the LIHTC public use provisions from nine percent allocations to also include four percent bond allocations.

The House Financial Services Committee (HFSC) will hold a hearing on “A Legislative Proposal to Provide for a Sustainable Housing Finance System: The Bipartisan Housing Finance Reform Act of 2018” on Friday, Dec. 21 at 9 a.m. EST in Rayburn House Office Building, room 2128.

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX) introduced a new year-end tax relief package. The bill includes the same provision in his original bill that clarifies that veterans are a specified group for preferences within the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program and extends the LIHTC public use provisions from nine percent allocations to also include four percent bond allocations.

The ACTION Campaign updated its district fact sheets with new data to show the LIHTC’s impact in each congressional district. Last month they released the updated state fact sheets.

On November 15, Sens. Richard Burr (R-NC), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Lindsay Graham (R-SC), Kamala Harris (D-CA), Bill Nelson (D-FL), Marco Rubio (R-FL), and Thom Tillis (R-NC) introduced the “Hurricanes Florence and Michael and California Wildfire Tax Relief Act” (S. 3648). The bill, in addition to providing tax relief for victims of the natural disasters like an employment credit and tax-favored withdrawals from retirement plans, would designate all of the applicable disaster zones as an Opportunity Zones.