Rep. Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.) is working to expand the low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC).
She’s been the lead sponsor of the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act (AHCIA) in the House of Representatives and plans to reintroduce the bipartisan legislation this year. The AHCIA seeks to bolster the federal program, including increasing the amount of housing credits allocated to each state.
DelBene, whose district includes parts of King and Snohomish counties, was first sworn into the House in 2012. She is one of Affordable Housing Finance's inspiring women this year.
AHF: As a Congress member, you’re involved in a wide range of issues. How did affordable housing become a key area of focus for you?
DelBene: It’s an issue that I have heard about from folks throughout our region and frankly across the country. There’s nothing more basic for a family than having a stable place to call home. Whether it’s a city or a rural area, I continue to hear concerns that folks are having about housing, availability of housing, affordability of housing, and it’s continued to become more challenging. We know that 30% of all households spend more than 30% of their income on housing. We know that we have over 17 million of those households have been severely cost burdened and spending more than half of their income on housing. When you look at those numbers, it’s just unsustainable for families. There’s got to be more things that we can do. There are things that we need to do at all levels of government. At the federal level, we have a tool that’s been incredibly effective, and we can do more. It became a strong priority of mine to make that difference because we need to make a long-term commitment to address the challenges that we’re facing.
AHF: What are your plans for the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act this year?
DelBene: We’re planning to reintroduce the legislation this Congress. We lost my great Republican partner last Congress—Jackie Walorski. It’s truly a tragedy. She had been the Republican lead on the bill and was always a fierce champion for affordable housing, so now we’re looking for who will be the new Republican lead. Also, we are talking with folks about any changes that we might want to make to the legislation before we reintroduce it. As you know, there’s a narrow majority that Republicans have in the House. We have a divided Congress, but this has been a very bipartisan issue. I think we can continue to build bipartisan support. I look forward to working with colleagues to build that support and obviously working with our partners in the Senate like Sen. [Maria] Cantwell as well.
AHF: The AHCIA has really strong bipartisan support but just hasn’t been able to get approved. Why has it not been passed, and what’s it going to take get it over the finish line?
DelBene: We have made important progress. In December 2020, we established the permanent 4% floor, which was a piece of the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act. We’ve been able to make progress, and we’re going to continue to push. We would love to see a bill go through, but there’s also been opportunities to do pieces. When we did that, we did the 4% floor. We helped close the funding gap for affordable housing projects, and that was estimated to help produce about 130,000 affordable homes across the country. More affordable homes means we create a lot of jobs—in that case, about 170,000 jobs and put $18.5 billion back into the economy. We’re going to continue to make sure we put our legislation to address all the issues that we think are priorities and also to look for opportunities to move pieces of that going forward so we make a difference for our communities.
AHF: What do you think are the most important skills in a leader today?
DelBene: There are a lot of critical components of leadership. One is bringing others into the fold and making sure you can build strong support and that you have other folks who are advocates. Definitely in Congress that’s critical because we don’t pass anything unless we build those strong coalitions. Clearly, listening and knowing your information well is another. Being patient and flexible to adapt as you learn new things. All of those skills are important. The way we continue to move forward on issues, and housing is an example of this, is by really making sure we understand the challenges that our communities are facing, the challenges that families are facing.
AHF: You were just at a ribbon cutting for an affordable housing development. Why it was important to be there?
DelBene: Housing Hope, a nonprofit that has done incredible work on affordable housing, just completed its Twin Lakes Landing II project in Marysville, Washington. It’s a 60-unit project in an area where we have great need for affordable housing. It’s in Snohomish County, just north of Seattle. The project is funded with a combination of local, state, and federal resources, including LIHTCs. It’s great to see those tax credits at work. Clearly, we have a success record, and here’s another example of something that’s happening right now, and we need more. We need more projects like that.
