Senator Cantwell, ACTION Campaign Call for Fifty Percent Increase in Housing Credit Authority

Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) announced in Seattle this afternoon her intention to introduce legislation to expand Low Income Housing Tax Credit authority by 50 percent and to make other changes to strengthen the program. At the same time, the ACTION Campaign, a group of about 1,300 affordable housing stakeholders that NCSHA and Enterprise Community Partners co-chair, transmitted to every member of Congress a national sign-on letter, endorsed by more than 1,300 organizations representing all 50 states, ca6lling on Congress to increase the Housing Credit cap by at least 50 percent. Cantwell also referenced this letter in her remarks.

Senator Cantwell, a long-time champion of the Housing Credit, spearheaded the successful multiyear effort that culminated in a permanent 9 percent minimum Housing Credit rate last year. Her press advisory announcing today’s event and a report she released today are available on NCSHA’s website.

Senator Cantwell also announced today that she plans to include in her legislation provisions to allow state Housing Credit allocating agencies to provide a 50 percent basis boost for properties targeting families with incomes of 30 percent of area median income or less (extremely low-income families) and homeless families and individuals and to revise the program’s tenant income limits to allow for income averaging to broaden the income-mixing in Housing Credit properties.

Senator Cantwell intends to spend much of the congressional recess promoting the bill at a series of events in Washington State, holding additional events in Spokane and Tacoma next week. The Senator then plans to hold events in other major cities across the country still to be determined.