Congress Stalled, Advocates Press Forward on LIHTC, BABA Relief, and Housing Reform
Although Congress faces numerous distractions at present, we continue to advocate for affordable housing issues in hopes of increasing production and investment in the LIHTC and alleviating the time and costs associated with the Build America Buy America program.
The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act is still in limbo between the House and Senate. Both sides indicate they are determined to pass the legislation, but cannot seem to get into the same room to discuss their differences. So, as has been the case throughout this Congress, when the leadership is stuck, their Members take action. HAG Chairman Bob Moss met with Sen. Angus King’s (I-ME) staff to discuss both the Build America Buy America (BABA) and the ROAD to Housing bill. On the housing bill, Bob discussed the critical importance of the PWI provision in adding needed resources to the LIHTC program, and the problems with Section 901, which would make it difficult to produce build-to-rent market-rate and affordable housing.
The staff shared with Bob the letter sent to the Senate THUD subcommittee leadership requesting language in the appropriations bill to examine the BABA program and its effect on HUD programs. Senator King is well aware of the hindrance BABA has presented to affordable housing production and is gathering bipartisan support to find a legislative solution.
The Senator’s staff also shared with Bob the Senator’s concerns with Section 901 of the ROAD legislation and that they are sharing these concerns with the Banking Committee staff.
On the House side, a bipartisan group of 76 lawmakers called on House leadership to either remove or significantly revise language in the Senate's housing package that targets large institutional investors in single-family housing.
In a letter issued Wednesday, House members from the Build America Caucus and the Congressional Real Estate Caucus indicated that a provision in the Senate’s ROAD to Housing Act could have unintended and far-reaching effects, undermining the bill’s objective of broadening housing opportunities. They asserted that the measure exceeds its original intent and may diminish the availability of rental options.
“By effectively banning build-to-rent housing, Section 901 will force working families to limit family size and place home ownership further out of reach,” said Build America Caucus Co-Chair Celeste Maloy (R-Utah) in a statement. This letter, in conjunction with Financial Services Chair French Hill (R-AR) and Ranking Member Maxine Waters (D-CA), is part of a pivot the House has initiated to grab the narrative of the Housing bill and reshape it into something that the House can pass and the Senate can accept. It also demonstrates Congress's determination not to let this effort to address housing regulatory reform go to waste.
One last note on BABA. We will have another meeting with the BABA office at OMB next week to discuss our ongoing efforts to streamline the process and provide relief from the mandate.
And finally, we want to remind you to register for this year’s Washington Affordable Housing Symposium, co-hosted by HAG and the Affordable Housing Tax Credit Coalition on June 10th and 11th in Washington, DC.