Congress

Last week, the House passed the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2019 on a 284-149 vote and the Senate is expected to vote on—and pass—a two-year budget deal today. The deal now centers on questions of whether President Donald Trump will sign it; acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney recently said the president will sign it.

Congressional leaders and President Trump have finished negotiating a $1.3 trillion two-year budget deal. If passed by Congress and signed by the President, the deal would eliminate the spending caps for the final two years of sequestration imposed by the Budget Control Act of 2011, suspend the federal debt ceiling until July 31, 2021, and boost federal spending by $320 billion over two years with $77 billion in offsets.

The Affordable Housing Tax Credit Coalition will host a webinar at 3:00 p.m. EDT on Friday, July 12, 2019 on advocating for the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act, legislation to expand and improve the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (Housing Credit). This bill has the potential to increase affordable housing production and preservation by more than […]

Representatives Terri Sewell (D-AL) and Jason Smith (R-MO) and Senators Ben Cardin (D-MD), Shelley Capito (R-WV), Mark Warner (D-VA) and Mark Warner (D-VA) introduced the Rural Jobs Act. The would authorize an additional $500 million in annual new markets tax credit (NMTC) allocation for 2019 and 2020 that would go to rural job zones.

Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) reintroduced the Fair Housing Improvement Act of 2019 to protect veterans and low-income families from housing discrimination. This bill would expand the Fair Housing Act’s protections to prohibit housing discrimination based on source of income or veteran status.

Last week the House Financial Services Committee (HFSC) marked up and approved by a voice vote the Safe Housing for Families Act of 2019 (H.R. 1690). The bill provides $300 million over three years to fund the installation and maintenance of carbon monoxide detectors in HUD-assisted housing units that have combustion-fueled appliances or a ventilation system that connects them to such units.

On June 25, the House passed five of the twelve FY 2020 appropriations bills, including funding for HUD and RD, in H.R. 3055 with a 227-194 vote. The House has yet to approve FY 2020 funding for three appropriations subcommittees and has yet to raise the FY 2020 spending caps set by the Budget Control Act of 2011. Absent congressional action to raise the spending caps, all discretionary funding is estimated to receive a ten percent cut.

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Congresswoman Sylvia Garcia (D-TX) introduced S. 1904/H.R. 2763 that would bar HUD from enacting is proposed rule that would prohibit mixed immigration status families from living in HUD-assisted housing.

Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Senators Todd Young (R-IN) and Representatives Don Beyer (D-VA), Joe Neguse (D-CO) and Jackie Walorski (R-IN) introduced legislation to eliminate the Qualified Contract provision for new LIHTC properties.

The ACTION Campaign steering committee, of which NH&RA is a member, sent a letter to the Senate Finance Committee Employment and Community Development Task Force. The Task Force is tasked with examining temporary tax incentives and members of the Task Force encouraged the ACTION Campaign to submit comments about the Affordable Housing Tax Credit. The […]

On Thursday, June 20 at 9:30 am EDT, the House Ways and Means Committee will markup The Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2019 (H.R. 3301), which would extend the New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) through 2020. The NMTC will expire at the end of 2019 absent congressional action. The bill would also […]

Senator Todd Young (R-IN) reintroduced the Task Force on the Impact of the Affordable Housing Crisis Act along with 15 of his colleagues.