Life After the 2020 Elections

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Bipartisanship is key to 2021 Washington priorities

When the 117th Congress convenes January 3, bipartisan support will be required to pass any legislation as neither party will have a strong majority in the Senate, panelists at an NH&RA town hall said December 3.

The final numbers for control of the Senate will not be determined until Georgia’s two Senate run-off elections are complete in January. Depending on the outcome, Republicans could retain control by a 52-48 margin or Democrats could get a 50-50 split with Vice President-elect Kamala Harris casting any tiebreaking votes.

“Given that it doesn’t seem like the filibuster is going anywhere, there’s still the 60-vote threshold to pass most legislation, which will require bipartisan support to reach,” NH&RA Policy Director Kaitlyn Snyder told attendees.

Panelists said they expected the incoming administration of President-elect Joe Biden to start making changes to policies affecting housing and finance right away. But just as the slim party margins will make passing legislation a bipartisan effort, it also will take bipartisan support for the Biden team to be confirmed.

Carol Galante, the faculty director of the Terner Center for Housing Innovation at University of California Berkeley, said most of the Biden appointments, so far, seem to be able to garner wide support, particularly his choice of Janet Yellen as secretary of the Treasury.

“Yellen is the perfect person for the job,” Galante said. “At this moment in time there is no one better. She passes the test on both the progressive and more conservative folks. You can’t refute her excellence and her reputation. I think that bodes well for confirmation.

“Frankly, I think the Biden team has done a great job so far on nominating the ones that can thread the needle of confirmation,” Galante said.

Matt Josephs, senior vice president of Local Initiatives Support Corporation, said to expect the trickle of nominees to continue.

Panelists said one important agency to watch will be the Federal Housing Finance Agency, where the current director, Trump administration appointee Mark Calabria, is pushing to end conservatorship for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Calabria’s five-year term began in 2019, but there is a lawsuit pending before the Supreme Court of the United States that may decide if the director position is at-will and can be replaced by a new administration (Collins v. Mnuchin).

“The importance of this [case] cannot be underestimated in terms of the Biden administration influence of what happens with Fannie and Freddie conservatorship,” Galante said. “The Biden administration should want to make this a high priority to keep them in conservatorship while they develop a plan.

“Government sponsored entities play such an important role in finance generally,” said NH&RA President Thom Amdur. “How Dr. Calabria looks at duty to serve and innovating new programs vs. a Biden administration probably couldn’t be more different. What comes out of that [court case] will be critical for us.”

As for policy and legislative priorities, panelists said they would like to see action ranging from a legislative infrastructure package to setting a true four percent floor for Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTCs).

For registration information for upcoming town halls and other virtual events, please visit the NH&RA events website at housingonline.com.