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The 116th U.S. Congress has filed several housing related bills during the first quarter of the 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 a list of highly relevant bills relating to the affordable housing industry.

  • H.R. 1122/S. 291: Housing Choice Voucher Mobility Demonstration Act of 2019

    • Senator Todd Young (R-ID) and Representative Emmanuel Cleaver (D-MO-5) 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.
  • H.R. 1737/S.787: American Housing and Economic Mobility Act
    • Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Representative Cedric Redmond (D-LA-2) filed companion bills which aims to invest in affordable housing programs, strengthen the CRA, expand the Fair Housing Act, and reform the estate tax.
  • H.R. 3077/S.1703: Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act of 2019 (AHCIA)
    • This bipartisan sponsored legislation aims to:
      • 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;
      • Expanding and reforming “recycling” of multifamily housing bonds (PABs);
      • Creates veteran-specific housing options;
      • Directs and increases credits allocated to serve extremely low-income populations;
      • Classifies projects located in indigenous areas as Difficult to Develop Area – to provide more access to credits for these affordable housing projects;
      • Provides flexibility for states to increase credits for rural areas,
      • Protects victims of domestic violence by aligning the HTC program with Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) standards, and;
      • Opens affordable housing project to low-income students.
  • H.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.
  • H.R. 3479 / S.1956:  Save Affordable Housing Act of 2019
    • Senators Todd Young (R-ID) and Ron Wyden (R-OR)’s bill intends to prevent premature loss of affordable housing units financed by the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program through the Qualified Contract process.
  • H.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.