ACTION Remains Committed to Strengthening and Expanding the Housing Credit in the 116th Congress
The National Council of State Housing Agencies will be holding an ACTION Campaign call on Friday, January 4 at 1 pm CST to discuss Housing Credit advocacy in the 116th Congress.
Call-in Information:
Phone number: 866-469-3239
Access Code: 628 683 024
Government Shutdown Continues Without Clear Resolution
Congress and the White House were unable to reach an agreement on fiscal year (FY) 2019 appropriations before funding expired on December 21, resulting in a partial government shutdown affecting seven agencies, including HUD and the Treasury Department. Democrats are expected to pass a bill to reopen the government when they take control of the House on January 3, including full FY 2019 funding for six unfunded agencies. House Democrats also plan to pass a continuing resolution (CR) for the Department of Homeland Security until February 8 to provide additional time for border security negotiations. The Senate is unlikely to pass these bills since they are not expected to include the President’s requested funding for a border wall. Top congressional lawmakers are scheduled to meet with the President this afternoon to discuss border security, but the path forward for funding negotiations remains unclear. Further, Congress did not pass a tax package at the end of last year and it remains to be seen at what point a tax package may enter the discussion in the new Congress.
ACTION Remains Committed to Strengthening and Expanding the Housing Credit
Despite an unclear legislative outlook in early 2019, we will now hit the ground running to build on the strong momentum we generated for the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act in the last Congress. ACTION will be working closely with Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and incoming House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal (D-MA) to identify new lead Republican sponsors in both the House and Senate,and reintroduce the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act. Advocacy in support of the Housing Credit in the coming weeks will be important to sustain strong bipartisan support for the Credit, as well as educate new members of Congress about the Housing Credit in advance of the bill’s introduction. It is also critical that all Housing Credit stakeholders thank your members of Congress who previously co-sponsored the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act and ask for their continued support this year.
If you have any questions, please contact Jennifer Schwartz, Director for Tax Policy and Advocacy, National Council of State Housing Agencies, at [email protected] or 202-624-7758, or Olivia Barrow, Policy Analyst, Enterprise Community Partners, at [email protected] or 202-403-8022. Follow the ACTION Campaign on Twitter and Facebook, and read our blog.