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The 116th U.S. Congress continues to file federal housing legislation during this congressional session. The need for affordable housing has become a top item for the Trump administration and a high priority for many legislators nationwide. Below is an updated list of highly relevant bills relating to the affordable housing industry.

 

  • R. 1122/ S. 291: Housing Choice Voucher Mobility Demonstration Act of 2019
    • Senator Todd Young (R-ID) introduced this bill to instruct HUD to carry out a housing choice voucher mobility demonstration to enable public housing authorities to help families receiving the housing choice assistance to access high opportunity areas.
    • Status: H.R. 1122 – Passed house by vote 387-22. Received in Senate – Referred to Senate Banking, Housing, & Urban Affairs
    • Status: S. 291 – Referred to Senate Banking, Housing, & Urban Affairs
  • R. 3077/S.1703: Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act of 2019 (AHCIA)
    • These companion bills received a great push at the 2019 year-end to increase congressional sponsorship and to attach portions of these bills to the end-of-the-year tax package. Unfortunately, AHCIA provisions did not make it into the final tax package. The work will continue in 2020 to advance these bills that support increasing affordable housing nationwide.
    • This bipartisan sponsored legislation aims to:
      • Prohibit the requirement of letters of support or opposition from local or elected officials.
      • Expand and strengthen the 9% Housing Tax Credit program (HTC) by increasing the amount of credits allocated to each state by 50%, over current levels;
      • Stabilize the 4% HTC program by setting a permanent 4% minimum floor;
      • Expand and reform “recycling” of multifamily housing bonds (PABs);
      • Create veteran-specific housing options;
      • Direct and increase credits allocated to serve extremely low-income populations;
      • Classify developments located in indigenous areas as Difficult to Develop Area – to provide more access to credits for these affordable housing developments;
      • Provide flexibility for states to increase credits for rural areas,
      • Protect victims of domestic violence by aligning the HTC program with Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) standards, and;
      • Open affordable housing to low-income students.
    • Status: H.R. 3077 – Referred to House Ways & Means
    • Status: S. 1703 – Referred to Senate Finance
  • R. 3211/ S. 1772: Task Force on the Impact of the Affordable Housing Crisis Act of 2019
    • Senator Todd Young (R-ID) and Representative Scott Peters (D-CA-52) Establishes a task force to evaluate and quantify the impact the lack of affordable housing has on life outcomes. With this research, the task force will provide recommendations to improve various federal programs to improve life outcomes for Americans.
    • Status: H.R. 3211 – Referred to House Financial Services
    • Status: S. 1772 – Referred to Senate Banking, Housing, & Urban Affairs
  • R. 3479 / S.1956: Save Affordable Housing Act of 2019
    • Introduced by Senators Todd Young (R-ID) and Ron Wyden (R-OR), this bill intends to prevent premature loss of affordable housing units financed by the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program through the Qualified Contract process.
    • Status: H.R. 3479 – Referred to House Ways & Means
    • Status: S. 1956 – Referred to Senate Finance
  • R. 3620: Strategy and Investment in Rural Housing Preservation Act of 2019
    • Representative William Lacy Clay (D-MO-1) filed this bill to develop and implement a plan for preserving affordable housing in rural areas and housing units financed by USDA, including authorizing $1B in funding over five years.
    • Status: Passed House by 2/3 affirmative vote. Sent to Senate – Referred to Senate Banking, Housing, & Urban Affairs.
  • R. 4808/S.2684: Housing, Opportunity, Mobility, and Equity Act of 2018
    • Representative James Clyburn (D-SC-6) and Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) filed legislation to require Community Development Block Grant and Surface Transportation Block Grant recipients to develop a strategy to support inclusive zoning policies and to allow for a credit to support housing affordability.
    • Status: H.R. 4808 – Referred to House Ways and Means
    • Status: S.2684 – Referred to Senate Finance
  • R. 4865/S. 767: Housing for Homeless Students Act of 2019
    • Representatives Danny Davis (D-IL-7) and Brad Wenstrup (R-OH-2) filed legislation allowing homeless children, youth, or veterans who are full-time students to qualify for LIHTC Housing.
    • Status: H.R. 4865 – Referred to House Ways and Means
    • Status: S.767 – Referred to Senate Finance
  • R. 4984: Affordable Housing & Area Median Income Fairness Act of 2019
    • Representative Yvette Clarke filed legislation to prohibit the use of high housing cost adjustment to calculation area median income for LIHTC properties without HUD approval.
    • Status: H.R. 4984 – Referred to House Committee on Financial Services
  • R. 5185/S. 2876: Green New Deal for Public Housing Act
    • Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY-14) and Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) filed legislation calling for investing upwards of $180 billion over 10 years in sustainable retrofits for public housing.
    • Status: H.R. 5185 – Referred to House Committee on Financial Services
    • Status: S. 2876 – Referred to Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, & Urban Affairs
  • R.5187/S.2951: Housing Is Infrastructure Act of 2019
    • Representative Maxine Waters (D-CA-43) and Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA) filed legislation to provide multi-billion in funding for capital needs for public housing and investments in affordable housing.
    • This legislation aims to invest:
      • $70B to the Public Housing Capital Fund,
      • $6B to build housing for elderly households, people with disabilities, and Native Americans living on Tribal land,
      • $6B to the National Housing Trust Fund,
      • $1B to the Rural Multi-Family Preservation and Revitalization program,
      • $10B to expand Community Development Block Grants (CDBGs),
      • $2.5B for the Capital Magnet Fund, and
      • $5B for the HOME Investment Partnership program
    • Status: R. 5187 – Referred to Financial Services
    • Status: 2951 – Referred to Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs
  • R. 5244: Homes for All Act of 2019
    1. Representative Ilhan Omar (D-MN-5) filed legislation to authorize construction of 12 million new public housing and permanently affordable private rental units. This bill would provide $1 trillion over 10 years.
    2. Status: Referred to House Financial Services