Congress

Congress reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, which included Promise Neighborhoods, a sister program to the Choice Neighborhoods Initiative.

FY 2016 funding includes level and higher funding from FY 2015 levels for many key HUD housing programs. In most cases, the funding levels stop short of fully funding the programs’ needs, but are better than expected. Congress approved the omnibus funding measure on Friday, December 18.

Several provisions related to federally-assisted housing, including a pay for success pilot to raise outside capital for energy and water retrofits, were signed into law with the FAST Act.

According to a recent alert from NixonPeabody, the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 includes partnership audit reforms.

Enterprise will offer guidance on engaging members of Congress to restore funding to the HOME program through a series of statewide and national webinars. The Senate Appropriations Committee’s proposed cuts to HOME would essentially defund the program.

According to the report, states and communities have invested $26 billion in HOME funds–leveraging an additional $117 billion in public and private resources–to build or preserve nearly 1.2 million affordable homes and provide direct rental assistance to 270,000 families at risk of homelessness since 1992.

House Financial Service Committee Chair Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) is looking for ways to improve HUD programs and USDA rural housing programs. Feedback is due Nov 1.

Key housing programs are in serious jeopardy. Your elected officials will soon be back in your district for August recess and there’s no better time to reach out and show them the importance of the programs that support the development of affordable housing.

A report from the Senate Finance Committee Community Development & Infrastructure Bipartisan Tax Working Group estimated expenditures for the historic tax credit, low-income housing tax credit, and new markets tax credit for fiscal years 2014-2018. The report is meant to inform the committee’s discussions on tax reform. The report did not make any recommendations regarding the tax credit programs.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that would help leverage private investment to fund upgrades to water and energy systems in aging HUD-assisted housing. The bill will go next to the Senate for consideration.

Senate bill (S. 1795) and House bill (H.R. 3110) aim to provide tax relief to communities hit by natural disaster between 2012 and 2015. Provisions include an increased allocation of housing credits and the opportunity to compete for an additional allocation of New Markets Tax Credits.

Senate Finance Committee approved a tax extender bill that fixes the 9% and 4% credit rate floor for allocations made in 2015 and 2016. These provisions are part of a larger two-year tax extender bill.