Federal / Agency News

The CDFI Fund released today the Notice of Allocation Availability (NOAA) for the calendar year (CY) 2017 round of the New Markets Tax Credit Program (NMTC Program). The NOAA makes up to $3.5 billion in tax credit allocation authority available for the CY 2017 round.

The $1.07 trillion budget agreement does not include any of the $18 billion in domestic program cuts requested by the White House and will likely be passed this week.

While the report points to incomplete data reporting for various reasons, the data provided could give a general idea regarding LIHTC resident demographics in particular areas.

The national Median Family Income (MFI) increased 3.5% to $68,000 compared to last year.

Congress has less than 10 days to pass legislation and avoid a government shutdown – a task which could prove difficult.

The bipartisan bill aims to improve the Low Income Housing Tax Credit through a number of changes.

The “skinny” budget would cut HUD funding from $46.9 billion in FY-2017 to $40.7 billion – a 13.2 percent reduction.

The National Low Income Housing Coalition has composed a sign-on letter urging Congress to maintain funding for the National Housing Trust Fund, the only Federal Program designed to preserve and build housing for the lowest income bracket. NH&RA is proud to be a signatory on the letter and urges its members to sign on as well by the March 22 deadline. See below for a message from NLIHC:

The new guidance, released by the National Park Service, gives examples of when buildings functionally related historically can be treated as separate projects for the purpose of certification.

Obtained preliminary budget documents from the Trump Administration reportedly outline a 14% cut for HUD – over $6B. Whether the obtained documents go into OMB’s final budget or not, plans for boosting defense spending by $54 billion, along with some Members of Congress proposing an even higher increase, will create budget consequences for programs like HUD.

By a vote of 58 to 41, the Senate last Thursday confirmed retired neurosurgeon and former Republican presidential candidate Dr. Ben Carson as the next Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.

Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) announced Monday that she is reintroducing legislation with at least ten other Senators (including co-sponsor Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) to improve and expand the Low Income Housing Tax Credit.