Representatives Dwight Evans (D-PA) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) introduced the “Visitable Inclusive Tax Credits for Accessible Living (VITAL) Act” (H.R.3963), a companion bill to Senator Bob Casey’s (D-PA) “VITAL Act” (see Memo, 5/1). The “VITAL Act” would increase the overall amount of federal tax expenditures for the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program and encourage development of accessible housing for seniors and people with disabilities. NLIHC endorsed the VITAL Act and looks forward to working with Congressional sponsors to further refine the bill to ensure greater affordability standards for people with disabilities.
The Kelsey released two new resources in support of the VITAL Act. Their “Advocacy Resource Guide for the VITAL Act” includes templates for advocates emailing their members of Congress in support of the bill, sample action alerts, and a FAQs (frequently asked questions and answers) about the VITAL Act and accessibility standards in housing development. The Kelsey’s State LIHTC Accessibility fact sheet compares each of the 50 states’ accessibility standards, including categories indicating which states are “demonstrating leadership in accessible housing by already mandating or incentivizing access in their housing programs.”
Read Representative Dwight Evans’ press release here: https://tinyurl.com/yfh8dwde
Read The Kelsey’s VITAL Act Advocacy Resource Guide here: https://tinyurl.com/2bxart4k
Read The Kelsey’s State LIHTC Accessibility fact sheet here: https://tinyurl.com/4u9z3hjv
More information about the LIHTC program is on page 5-6 of NLIHC’s 2023 Advocates’ Guide.