The A.C.T.I.O.N. proposal legislation (H.R. 3661, S. 1989) continues to gain bipartisan support in the House and Senate.

On March 1, House Ways and Means Committee members Devin Nunes (R-CA-21) and Dave Reichert (R-WA-8) cosponsored H.R. 3661!

Organizations working in Washington state had sent a group sign-on letter in December 2011 asking Congressman Reichert to cosponsor the legislation.

 

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On February 13, the President submitted to Congress a budget request for fiscal year (FY) 2013. highlighting four proposals to modify and expand the Housing Credit.

In the past week, coalition members have met with Congressmen Tom Reed (R-NY-29th) and Geoff Davis (R-KY-4th), as well as Senators Mark Udall (D-CO) and Michael Bennet (D-CO).

 

Sen. Al Franken has cosponsored our A.C.T.I.O.N. proposal legislation in the Senate (S. 1989)!

 

For more information, join the A.C.T.I.O.N. campaign to start receiving biweekly updates!

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The A.C.T.I.O.N. campaign has reached a new milestone – 350 coalition members!

In every state across the nation, organizations are advocating for the Housing Credit and asking Members of Congress to support the A.C.T.I.O.N. legislative proposals in H.R. 3661 and S. 1989.

The campaign continues to grow and you should join our efforts if you have not already done so!

 

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The A.C.T.I.O.N. campaign is calling on coalition members to send stories about how the Housing Credit is making a difference for the families and communities you serve. These stories will be featured on the A.C.T.I.O.N. website, so please send any videos and documents you want to highlight.

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Today Senators Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Olympia Snowe (R-ME), and Congressmen Pat Tiberi (R-OH-8) and Richard Neal (D-MA-2) introduced legislation in the House and Senate to enact the A.C.T.I.O.N. campaign proposals.

H.R. 3661 and S. 1989 were introduced with a handful of bipartisan cosponsors including:

Congressman Vern Buchanan (R-FL-13)

Congressman Emanuel Cleaver II (D-MO-5)

Congressman Joseph Crowley (D-NY-7)

Congressman Jim Gerlach (R-PA-6)

Congressman Bill Pascrell Jr. (D-NJ-8)

Congressman Charles Rangel (D-NY-15)

Congressman Lee Terry (R-NE-2).

and

Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM)

Senator Scott Brown (R-MA)

Senator Susan Collins (R-ME)

Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD)

Senator Mike Crapo (R-ID)

Senator John Kerry (D-MA)

Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ)

Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL)

Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT)

This signal of bipartisan support is a result of the education and advocacy outreach efforts of A.C.T.I.O.N. coalition members in every state.

If enacted, the provisions will bring stability and efficiencies to the Housing Credit community, maximizing the availability of private equity capital at a time when sources of gap financing are more difficult to obtain.

Ask your members of Congress to support and cosponsor this legislation, and urge your colleagues to do the same and join the campaign!

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The Senate considers legislation to extend the payroll tax cut, but the fate of a larger tax extenders bill in 2011 is uncertain.

Sen. Cantwell (D-WA) works with the campaign in an effort to avoid the impact of the expiring HERA provision which enacted a 9 percent minimum rate for certain Housing Credit projects.

Join the campaign for more information and to start receiving  A.C.T.I.O.N.'s biweekly updates! 

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Two days before its November 23 deadline, the Super Committee announces it has failed to reach an agreement, triggering automatic spending cuts starting in 2013.

Funding for HUD’s HOME program is cut by 38 percent for fiscal year 2012.

Congress will focus on legislation to extend expiring unemployment benefits and the payroll tax holiday, yet it is unclear if a tax extenders bill will address all tax provisions expiring in 2011.  

Coalition members in Minnesota, North Carolina, Upstate New York, and Washington sent group advocacy letters to Rep. Erik Paulsen (R-MN-3rd), Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC), Rep. Tom Reed (R-NY-29th), and Rep. Dave Reichert (R-WA-8th) respectively, urging them to support and be original co-sponsors on the A.C.T.I.O.N. proposal legislation.

Join the campaign for more information and to start receiving  A.C.T.I.O.N.'s biweekly updates! 

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As the Super Committee's November 23 deadline approaches, members of Congress sign a bipartisan letter urging the committee to consider all options for deficit reduction.  Read more, Comments: 0

Over 300 national, state, and local organizations from every state in the nation have joined the Affordable Rental Housing A.C.T.I.O.N. campaign in its efforts to ensure that low-income working families have access to decent safe affordable housing.  Read more, Comments: 0

Across the nation, organizations are advocating on behalf of the Housing Credit and have joined the A.C.T.I.O.N. campaign’s efforts in advancing legislation to ensure the effectiveness of the program.

Campaign coalition members are located in every state, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico.

Join your colleagues in the Housing Credit community and sign-up to become an A.C.T.I.O.N. coalition member.

For a full list of members please visit our Campaign Partners webpage. 

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The Super Committee continues to consider tax reform, and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-MI-4th) is expected to release his proposal for corporate tax reform in the coming weeks.

 

The A.C.T.I.O.N. proposal legislation has gained strong bipartisan support in the House, and we expect it will be introduced once all members of the tax-writing committees have been given an opportunity to sign on as original co-sponsors.

 

For more information and to receive future updates, join the A.C.T.I.O.N. campaign!

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This week, the A.C.T.I.O.N. campaign welcomed its 250^th coalition member. Please leverage this momentum by reaching out to YOUR network and asking your partner organizations to join the A.C.T.I.O.N. campaign.  

Visit Campaign Partners webpage to view the most current list of organizations that support A.C.T.I.O.N. The campaign has support in every state except for West Virginia, Connecticut, and South Dakota. 

If you know of organizations in these states that would be a great addition to the campaign, please ask them to visit our Join the Campaign webpage, or contact Rachel Reilly for more information! 

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A.C.T.I.O.N. coalition members have met with the following members to advocate for the Housing Credit and our legislative proposals:  Read more, Comments: 0

Through a mighty outreach effort by A.C.T.I.O.N. coalition members, 122 organizations have already signed on to the new National Consensus Letter. A majority of these organizations are new to the campaign, and we thank you for your support! 

Campaign representatives will be contacting original  A,C.T.I.O.N. coalition members to discuss the campaign's new legislative proposals and answer any questions as to how organizations can continue to support the campaign. 

The new National Consensus Letter outlines the A.C.T.I.O.N. campaign’s goals to:

• Protect and preserve the Housing Credit in any deficit reduction or tax reform plan    Congress considers, and
  
• Enact proposals to extend the 9% floor and apply the same principle to 4% acquisition credits.
  

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The A.C.T.I.O.N. State Fact Sheets have been revised (August 2011) to reflect the most current National Council of State Housing Agencies (NCSHA) production numbers for Housing Credit-financed rental homes.  Read more, Comments: 0

The A.C.T.I.O.N. campaign has revised its legislative proposals for the Housing Credit program in light of the current congressional environment as well as the nation's affordable rental challenges. 

Representatives from the  A.C.T.I.O.N. campaign will be reaching out to organizations that signed on to the previous consensus letter for the 111^th Congress, asking for support for the new A.C.T.I.O.N. National Consensus Letter  which has been tailored to the 112^th Congress. 

The new National Consensus Letter outlines the A.C.T.I.O.N. campaign’s goals to:

• Protect and preserve the Housing Credit in whatever deficit reduction or tax reform plan Congress considers, and
  
• Enact proposals to extend and make permanent the 9% fixed floor rate, and apply the same principle to 4% acquisition Housing Credits.
  

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On December 17, 2010, President Obama signed the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 (Public Law 111-312); a bill that was a result of a compromise tax package facilitated by the Obama Administration.

The legislation includes: a two-year extension of the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (EGTRRA), and the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003 (JGTRRA), commonly referred to as the Bush 2001 and 2003 tax cuts; a revival and modification of the estate tax at 35 percent for assets above the exemption threshold ($5 million for single taxpayers and $10 million for joint taxpayers) through the end of 2011; a two-year extension of several tax credits targeted to low-income families enhanced by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009; funding for 13 months of unemployment insurance benefits (through end of 2011); a two-year “patch” for the alternative minimum tax (AMT); and an extension of “traditional tax extenders” through end of 2011, among other provisions.

The compromise tax package included provisions that had been outlined in previous iterations of 2010 tax extenders legislation. Of those affordable housing and community development tax extenders provisions, two were included in the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 - an extension of the New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) program, and an extension of the GO (Gulf Opportunity) Zone Placed in Service (PIS) deadline. H.R. 4853 provides for a two-year extension of the NMTC authorized at $3.5 billion for 2010 and 2011. In comparison, a previous version of the tax extender bill would have authorized a two-year extension of the NMTC at $5 billion for 2010 and 2011, and would allow the credit to off-set alternative minimum tax (AMT) liability through the end of 2012. In addition, the House- and Senate- passed tax extenders legislation included a provision to extend the GO Zone PIS deadline for two years (through January 1, 2013), while the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 provides for a one-year extension of the PIS deadline (through January 1, 2012).

As noted, other important affordable housing and community development provisions listed in previous iterations of 2010 tax extenders legislation were not included in the final tax compromise reflected in H.R. 4853. These provisions include: an extension of the Section 1602 LIHTC exchange program (the A.C.T.I.O.N. campaign’s proposal to extend the LIHTC exchange program); a provision to allow GO Zone “disaster credits” to be included in the LIHTC exchange program; and the initial capitalization ($1 billion) of the National Housing Trust Fund (NHTF) along with $65 million for project-based assistance. Again, none of the above provisions were included in the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 (H.R. 4583).

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Yesterday, December 9, legislative text for the tax compromise package facilitated by the Administration was released. The Senate is expected to vote on the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 (H.R. 4853) at some point next week. In its current form, the legislation does not include a provision to extend the LIHTC exchange program.
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On Thursday, December 2, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) introduced the Middle Class Tax Cut Act of 2010 to enact permanent tax cuts for the middle-class, and extend job-creating tax cuts for businesses, families and workers. Among the provisions included in this legislation was a two-year extension (through 2011) of the LIHTC exchange program. However, the bill did not advance in the Senate during a rare Saturday session on December 4.

On Monday, December 6, President Obama proposed a compromise “framework” for a tax deal, which is currently being considered by Congressional leadership. The full text of this potential compromise is not yet available, but will be posted to the A.C.T.I.O.N. website once it becomes so.

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Today, November 15, Congress reconvened for a lame duck session during which many important pieces of legislation may be considered. This week, Members are expected to focus on party leadership positions for the 112^th Congress before recessing again for the Thanksgiving holiday. Upon their return on November 29, Congress is expected to begin debate on more substantive issues such as a possible omnibus appropriations bill or another continuing resolution, the defense authorization bill, the extension of the Bush tax cuts, and the Job Creation and Tax Cuts Act of 2010 (S. 3793, a.k.a. the Baucus tax extenders bill).

Please read our Action Alert and contact your Senators, letting them know that our proposal to extend the LIHTC exchange program for one year (through 2010) is critical to affordable housing and community development. If Congress fails to approve S. 3793 before the 112^th Congress starts in January 2011, it is very unlikely that the LIHTC exchange program will be extended.

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Today, the Senate Finance Committee released the Job Creation and Tax Cuts Act of 2010 (S. 3793); the most recent version of the "extenders" bill. This new iteration will include $5 billion in spending cuts to fill the revenue gap that resulted from the removal of the international tax raisers pay-for, but does not otherwise differ in content. Our important housing provisions are included in the bill and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) said that passing the extenders bill is a high priority.
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Last Thursday, the Albuquerque Journal carried an opinion editorial promoting our carryback proposal and explaining the importance of Senator Bingaman's bill to reinvigorate the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program.

We greatly appreciate those of you who have reached out to your Senators in the past, and we urge you to use this opinion editorial as you continue to follow up with your Senators.

Encourage your Senators to co-sponsor both the Cantwell (S.3326) and Bingaman (S.3141) bills. Also ask your Senators to urge Senate Finance Committee Chairman Baucus (D-MT) and Ranking Member Grassley (R-IA) to include the Cantwell and Bingaman proposals in the Senate version of the small business jobs bill. We need to have as much support as possible before the small business jobs bill (H.R. 5297) comes to a vote.

If you have any questions about how to make your appeal or if you hear any news, please contact Peter Lawrence, (202) 649-3915.  Also, if your organization is not listed among our supporters here, please contact Rachel Reilly (202) 649-3903 to sign on.

As a reminder, there are also helpful materials in the Advocacy Toolkit.

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Last night, the Senate failed in its efforts to pass the American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act (H.R. 4213). The Cloture Motion was rejected when only 57 of the 60 votes required were obtained. The Senate will now refocus its energy towards the small business jobs bill which they will vote to proceed on at 5:30 pm on Monday (June 28^th).

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Please visit our Advocacy Toolkit for updated text and summary of the American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act (H.R.4213).

 

We have also uploaded text and summary for the new small business jobs bill, the Small Business Jobs Tax Relief Act of 2010 (H.R.5486). Read more, Comments: 1

There are currently two tax bills pending in Congress which are important to the ACTION campaign.

The first is the American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act (H.R. 4213). You likely received an alert regarding this bill last week. This is the final version of the “tax extenders” bill. House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Levin and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Baucus worked together to reconcile House and Senate versions of the bill. The ACTION proposal to extend the 9% credit exchange program for one year is included in this bill.

H.R. 4213 is scheduled for final passage by both the House and the Senate this week A vote will first occur in the House. If it passes, it will be followed shortly thereafter by a vote in the Senate.

The second important legislative vehicle is the Senate version of small business jobs bill (H.R. 4849) for which we have an action alert here. We need to attach the Bingaman (S.3141) and Cantwell (S.3326) bills as amendments to the small business jobs bill in order to pass the carryback and 4% credit proposal as we originally proposed it.

The 4% rebate as passed in the House small business jobs bill is very limited and difficult to use. Campaign members are working hard to correct this.

In the current draft of the Senate small business jobs bill, there is a general 5-year carryback, but it only applies to businesses with less than $50 million in receipts. Campaign members are working to modify this measure to apply to the entity receiving the funds.

What you can do

Your continued support is invaluable as we urge Congress to pass these measures. Please continue to follow-up with your Senators and Representatives on these issues. Tell your Senators to co-sponsor the Bingaman and Cantwell bills. Urge your Representatives to support the “extenders” bill.

Supporting materials are available in the Advocacy Toolkit.

Legislative updates are posted on our Twitter and Facebook accounts.

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Today the New York Times carries an editorial explaining the importance of Senator Cantwell's and Senator Bingaman's bills to reinvigorate the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program. This editorial is the result of hard work by Enterprise Community Partners to explain the importance of the A.C.T.I.O.N. (A Call To Invest In Our Neighborhoods) campaign proposals to the NY Times and other media outlets.

We greatly appreciate those of you who have reached out to your Senators in the past weeks, and we urge you to use this editorial today as a reason to follow up with your Senators.

Encourage your Senators to co-sponsor both the Cantwell (S.3326) and Bingaman (S.3141) bills. Also ask your Senators to urge Senate Finance Committee Chairman Baucus (D-MT) and Ranking Member Grassley (R-IA) to include the Cantwell and Bingaman proposals in the Senate version of the small business jobs bill.

We need to have as much support as possible before the small business jobs bill comes to a vote, which is expected to occur soon, no later than before Memorial Day.

If you have any questions about how to make your appeal or if you hear any news, please contact Peter Lawrence, (202) 649-3915.  As a reminder, there are also helpful materials in the Advocacy Toolkit.

 

Also, if your organization is not listed among our supporters here, please contact Alexandra Chaikin (202) 649-3903 to sign on.

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On Thursday, May 6 Senator Cantwell introduced S. 3326, the "Job Creation and Affordable Housing Act of 2010". Her press release is here.

So far co-sponsors of the bill are:

• Senator Kerry (D-MA)
• Senator Boxer (D-CA)
• Senator Schumer (D-NY)
  

Please use our sample letters to encourage your Senator to sign on as a co-sponsor. We anticipate that the small business jobs bill will be considered soon so we will need your help in increasing co-sponsors before then. However, the markup for Wednesday, May 12 has been postponed.

Important targets are Senate Finance Committee members and signatories to the Kerry/Cantwell Dear Colleague letter.

Thank you to all our supporters who have already worked to engage Senators on the Bingaman bill. Senator Sherrod Brown's (D-OH) recent co-sponsorship of the Bingaman bill (S.3141) is yet another example of how local advocacy efforts matter.
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Senator Bingaman introduced S.3141 on March 18. This bill is very similar to  HR. 4109, as introduced in the House by Rep. Pascrell.

S. 3141 would increase the carryback period for the Low Income Housing Tax Credit from one to a maximum of five years. Ernst & Young recently determined that this would bring in $5 billion in additional private LIHTC investments. The bill would thus reinvigorate investment in the LIHTC program and produce needed affordable housing while preserving and creating jobs.

We are currently seeking co-sponsors in the Senate, especially from members of the Senate Finance Committee. The updated list of co-sponsors is:

• Sen. Cantwell (D-WA)
• Sen. Kerry (D-MA)
• Sen. Menendez (D-NJ)
• Sen. Schumer (D-NY)
• Sen. Stabenow (D-MI)
• Sen. Merkley (D-OR)

The bill summary and status is available on Thomas.gov (Library of Congress).
The full text of the bill is also available here. Read more, Comments: 0

Coalition members have put together a brief two page document describing the relevance of our proposals to small business. This document is especially important now as the Senate considers attaching our proposals to the small business jobs bill after recess.

You may read a summary here of House version of the small business jobs bill (H.R. 4849, "The Small Business and Infrastructure Jobs Tax Act of 2010"). The full text of the House bill  as passed is here.

All documents are available on our Advocacy Toolkit page.
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This recently released HUD paper supports the arguments in our campaign's vacancy paper  that affordable rental housing is clearly segmented from the higher-end rental market, and that those who cannot currently afford homes are currently doubled-up.
 
The HUD paper is available here and on our advocacy page.
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Please visit our Advocacy Toolkit for the updated quantitative impacts of our proposals. We have also updated all state fact sheets.

If you handed out materials to Hill staff before, please reconnect with them to share the latest information and remind them to show their support for our proposals. We are focused on the jobs bill as a vehicle.
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Check out our video of Speaker Pelosi at the opening of Nihonmachi Terrace.
http://rentalhousingaction.edicypages.com/stories-profiles/video-gallery
This is also available on YouTube so please share with other interested parties.
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Affordable v. Conventional Housing Supply and Carryback support materials just added

These can be used as rebuttals to common misconceptions

Affordable vs Conventional Housing Market: Data and Arguments (PDF, 122 KB)

Carryback FAQs (PDF, 252 KB) 

Carryback Justification Talking Points (PDF, 59 KB)

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We altered the appearance of the state fact sheets to improve the visibility of the facts themselves. Check it out on our state fact sheet page.
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New Advocacy Tool now available
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New materials in Advocacy Toolkit
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See the report and the state fact sheets for estimated impacts of our proposals
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Today we have officially reached 100 signed supporters! Read more, Comments: 1

Our Rental Housing A.C.T.I.O.N. campaign is pleased to announce that we have gained  almost 20 new members since the beginning of September, almost a 30% increase! The coalition is stepping up its efforts to bring Congressional attention to the Low Income Housing Tax Credit. Meetings have been conducted with numerous Congressional offices; members should stay tuned to our weekly conference calls for details.

We are also seeking stories, photos, and videos which demonstrate the human side of  LIHTC. It is important for Congress to understand that this tax credit is more than a series of regulations, that it is a means of providing families with safety and security in these tough economic times.

Selected materials will be posted in the Stories and Profiles section of our website. Please email your files and website links to the policy email address to the right.
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News Release Read more, Comments: 0

Affordable Housing Finance Magazine recently highlighted the Affordable Rental Housing A.C.T.I.O.N. Campaign in an online article.  The article, "Group Agrees to LIHTC Stimulus Plan" quotes A.C.T.I.O.N. Campaign partner David Abramowitz of the law firm Goulston & Storrs. Read more, Comments: 0

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I'm happy to announce that the Affordable Rental Housing A.C.T.I.O.N. Campaign has a new website. Thanks to the folks at  www.Edicy.com, the A.C.T.I.O.N. campaign now has a stand-alone campaign website for our supporters and partners to learn more about the campaign and to help us take A.C.T.I.O.N.! Let us know what you think; what you like; what you don't like...and we'll try to make improvements. We can add all the bells and whistles folks want (or maybe not) but at the end of the day, without the active support of our advocates, we will not be able achieve our goal: to restore investment in affordable rental housing. Look out for future campaign updates and announcements here on our blog.  Read more, Comments: 2