GERALD HUNTER, president and executive director, Idaho Housing and Finance Association
“Jobs, jobs, and more jobs. The economy is the priority for moving the housing market forward. Home prices are down, interest rates are low, and affordability is high. What's needed is consumer confi- dence in the economy and an improved job market. In addition to, and in support of the economy, Congress needs to ensure a stable and transparent flow of capital for all segments of the housing market—single-family ownership, multifamily development, first-time home buyers, etc.”
SHEILA CROWLEY, president and CEO, National Low Income Housing Coalition
“The first priority for Congress in 2013 is to stop the madness of sequestration and prevent the Draconian cuts that will result. Then the Congress must come to grips with taxes. In particular, Congress needs to reform the mortgage interest deduction and direct the savings to the National Housing Trust Fund.”
ROBERT GREER, president, The Michaels Organization
“Providing certainty and strength in the economy, along with tax reform. Job growth within the housing construction industry, and resurrection of single-family homes construction and sales can be accomplished with Fannie and Freddie going back into the ”˜black.'”
STEPHEN NORMAN, executive director, King County Housing Authority
“On the macro side, bipartisan cooperation in implementing mortgage relief measures and secondary market restructuring that can stabilize the homeownership market and provide some breathing room for financially stressed borrowers until the economy turns around. For the affordable housing programs, regulatory relief through passage of the Sec. 8 voucher reform act and expansion of Moving to Work flexibility to housing authorities industrywide.”
SEN. OLYMPIA SNOWE (R-Maine)
“One of the most critical priorities Congress must undertake either this year or next for the affordable housing industry is the continuation of tax provisions designed to assist the lowincome community. Sen. Cantwell and I introduced a bill, S. 1989, to make permanent a key provision of the LIHTC. This provision was accepted into the Finance Committee-passed tax extenders package, indicating the breadth of support for this vital program and the impact it has had on communities across our great nation. Indeed, as a result of this program, over 1.7 million units for low-income families and seniors have been constructed and preserved between 1987 and 2010. I was there in 1986 when the credit was first added to the tax code, and I hope that we will have an opportunity to extend the temporary minimum credit rate before the end of this Congress.”
SISTER LILLIAN MURPHY, CEO, Mercy Housing
“Preserve the LIHTC, New Markets Tax Credit, and other federal and state funding programs that enable preservation and production of affordable housing. We also need to ensure a vibrant secondary market for longterm mortgage debt. We need a bipartisan effort to craft a rational housing policy that addresses both the results of the millions of foreclosures that plague our neighborhoods and the increased demand for affordable rental housing across the nation. We cannot continue to craft simplistic, short-term solutions to incredibly complex, long-term problems. Government funders and competent affordable housing developers and owners need to focus on production targets and quality standards rather than onerous regulatory and compliance mandates that do not add value.”
