All Eyes on the Senate

In the near future, many industry eyes will be focused on the Senate and any legislation that could possibly boost affordable housing production.

According to a recent Harvard University Joint Center for Housing Studies report, the Tax Credit Assistance Program and credit exchange under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 were critical stopgaps in funding low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) project backlog.

However, the report also finds that some combination of the three industry consensus proposals for the LIHTC program will likely be needed to sustain the  nation’s primary program for affordable housing production. The proposals are extending the carryback of LIHTCs from one to five years, relaxing passive-loss restrictions to allow certain existing corporations to pass through losses to individual taxpayers, and extending the exchange program.

Some possible good news on that front is that before adjournment in December, the House passed a tax extender bill (H.R. 4213), which includes a one-year extension of the credit exchange program as well as a one-year extension of the New Markets Tax Credit program.

The House also before adjourning passed H.R. 2847, the jobs bill, which includes $1 billion for the National Housing Trust Fund. It also includes $65 million for project-based voucher or rental assistance and $1 billion for competitive public housing grants.

Both bills have been sent to the Senate, which will return Jan. 19, for consideration.

The A.C.T.I.O.N. Campaign is calling on the industry to contact Sens. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.), who are leading the development of the Senate’s jobs bill, as well as the Senate Finance Committee to urge their support for the consensus proposals in upcoming legislation.

The National Low Income Housing Coalition also reports that Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has already asked for National Housing Trust Fund funding to be included in the Senate’s jobs bills and also urges advocates to call on their senators to get the trust fund capitalized early this year.

Instead of just waiting to see what happens when the Senate returns, it’s time to be proactive in rallying for the affordable housing industry.