August 01, 2011
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On July 29, NCSHA responded to Senator Tom Coburn’s (R-OK) Back in Black plan, urging him to withdraw his recommendations to eliminate the Low Income Housing Tax Credit and HOME Investment Partnerships programs or at least correct the serious misinformation his report contains about them and their records.  Our letter strongly defends both programs, describing their proven track record of success and the persistent and increasingly severe affordable housing needs they so effectively address.  Though Coburn’s report was never expected to gain traction in the final debt ceiling negotiations, it still could carry weight in Congress’ future efforts to reach deficit reduction targets through specific spending cuts and revenue raisers. 

NCSHA also contributed to and endorsed a white paper challenging the Coburn plan’s assertions about the Housing Credit, which the Affordable Housing Tax Credit Coalition (AHTCC) took the lead in developing and nearly 400 other organizations, including NCSHA, have signed.  Both letters have been delivered to Senator Coburn and congressional leaders, as well as key members of the House and Senate tax, banking, and appropriations committees. 
 
In related news, on July 28, NCSHA, Enterprise Community Partners, and the Center for American Progress (CAP) convened a wide cross-section of the Housing Credit industry to discuss our continuing campaign to defend and promote the Credit in Congress and within the Administration in the face of deficit reduction and tax reform efforts.  More than 30 stakeholder groups participated in the meeting, which was intended to inspire broader industry contact with key members of Congress and to intensify grassroots and media activity.   The group also discussed the value of achieving consensus around a small set of low-cost, non-controversial changes to strengthen the program as a way to unite the coalition around a consistent and positive message and broaden congressional support.
 
After considering several proposals that have been put forward by various organizations and the Administration, the group agreed that changes meeting these criteria were provisions to fix the “9 percent Credit” at 9 percent permanently and fix the “4 percent Credit” for acquisition Credits (not the 4 percent Credit for bond-financed deals, because of federal budget cost concerns) at 4 percent.  The current 9 percent Credit fix expires for developments placed in service after December 30, 2013.  Both of these proposals are part of NCSHA’s Housing Credit agenda.
 
NCSHA continues to regularly convene—generally bi-weekly—a smaller group of Housing Credit stakeholders, including the Home Builders, AHTCC, Enterprise Community Partners, LISC, CAP, the Housing Advisory Group, and the National Housing Trust, to focus on strategy and help lead the larger coalition.