Congressional leaders reached an agreement over the weekend on another two-tier, short-term continuing resolution (CR) to extend federal funding. If passed, funding for Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (THUD) – the bill that finances HUD’s vital affordable housing and homelessness assistance programs – and three other federal spending bills will be extended through March 1. Funding for the remaining eight bills will last until March 8.
While the CR has yet to pass, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is expected to hold a procedural vote tonight (1/16) that will begin the process of enacting the CR. Congress has only until January 19 – just three days – to pass the CR, or face a partial government shutdown.
Congressional leaders have only recently reached a deal on a topline number for defense and non-defense spending (see Memo, 1/8) but have yet to finalize topline spending numbers for each of the 12 appropriations bills. The U.S. House of Representatives and Senate must also still reconcile their vastly different spending proposals for HUD programs; however, at current levels, neither the House nor Senate draft proposal adequately funds HUD’s vital Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program. According to an updated analysis, under the Senate proposal, as many as 80,000 fewer vouchers would be reissued, and under the House proposal, an estimated 112,000 vouchers would be lost upon turnover.
In addition to the CR, Congress worked over the weekend to reach an agreement on a tax package that would expand the Child Tax Credit (CTC) in exchange for extending corporate tax cuts that had been set to expire. The final agreement also includes provisions related to the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) but unfortunately does not include key reforms to ensure homes financed by LIHTC are more affordable and accessible to people with the lowest incomes. NLIHC’s President and CEO Diane Yentel released a statement on the tax bill and the continued need for federal affordable housing investments.
Take Action!
It is critical that advocates keep weighing in with their senators and representatives on the importance of increased funding for vital federal affordable housing and homelessness programs. Tell Congress that it cannot balance the federal budget at the expense of people with the lowest incomes!
- Contact your senators and representatives to urge them to expand – not cut – investments in affordable, accessible homes through the FY24 spending bill, including for NLIHC’s top priorities:
- Full funding to renew all existing contracts for the Tenant-Based Rental Assistance (TBRA) and Project-Based Rental Assistance (PBRA) programs.
- Full funding for public housing operations and repairs.
- The Senate’s proposed funding for Homeless Assistance Grants.
- Protecting $20 million in funding for legal assistance to prevent evictions in the Senate bill.
- The House’s proposed funding for Native housing.
- National, state, local, tribal, and territorial organizations can also join over 2,100 organizations on a national letter calling on Congress to support the highest level of funding possible for affordable housing, homelessness, and community development resources in FY24.
- Contact your members of Congress and urge them to include key reforms to the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) in any tax legislation so the nation’s largest source of federal financing for affordable housing can better serve rural and tribal areas, as well as those most at risk of homelessness. These bipartisan reforms – included in the “Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act,” endorsed by over 200 members of Congress – would:
- Expand the Extremely Low-Income (ELI) Basis Boost for housing developments that set aside at least 20% of units for households with extremely low incomes or those experiencing homelessness.
- Designate Tribal and rural communities as “Difficult Development Areas” (DDAs), which would make it more financially feasible for developers to build affordable homes in these areas.