Walker Testifies on Behalf of NCSHA at Senate Hearing on Tax Incentives for Affordable Housing

WASHINGTON, DC — Washington State Housing Finance Commission Executive Director Steve Walker represented the nation’s state housing finance agencies (HFAs) today at a hearing before the Senate Finance Committee on tax policy’s role in increasing affordable housing supply for working families.

Walker testified that the biggest driver of the affordable housing crisis is the insufficient supply of affordable homes and that the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (Housing Credit) and tax-exempt private activity Housing Bonds are the most effective production tools available to state HFAs to finance affordable rental housing and help low- and moderate-income families become home buyers. Since the Housing Credit’s creation in the Tax Reform Act of 1986, it has financed more than 3.7 million affordable rental homes for low-income families, seniors, veterans, and individuals with special needs. In recent years, more than half of Housing Credit homes have been financed with the help of multifamily Housing Bonds.

“The Housing Credit is working. We just need more of it,” Walker said, “Cosponsoring [the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act] is the single most effective thing each member of this committee, and every member of the Senate, could do to create affordable housing in your state.”

Walker also stressed that the rising cost of construction materials is impacting development costs, further undermining efforts to increase the affordable housing supply.

Walker explained that, not only do low-income households living in Housing Credit-financed developments benefit from lower rent payments, but that rigorous academic research has shown Housing Credit development in distressed communities reduces violent crime and increases property values, and children who grow up in Housing Credit properties perform better academically and go on to earn higher wages.

Noting that renters and homeowners will not see relief from the housing affordability crisis unless Congress acts, Walker asked the Finance Committee to pass the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act; provisions of the Decent, Safe, Affordable Housing for All (DASH) Act that combat threats to long-term affordability; the Affordable Housing Bond Enhancement Act; and the Neighborhood Homes Investment Act, and he urged Congress to enact the legislation this year.

Walker’s written testimony and a video of the hearing can be found here.

About the National Council of State Housing Agencies

For more than 50 years, state housing finance agencies (HFAs) have played a central role in the nation’s affordable housing system, delivering financing to make possible the purchase, development, and rehabilitation of affordable homes and rental apartments for low- and middle-income households.

The National Council of State Housing Agencies (NCSHA) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization created to advance, through advocacy and education, the efforts of the nation’s state HFAs and their partners to provide affordable housing to those who need it. NCSHA’s vision: An affordably housed nation. Learn more at www.ncsha.org.

MEDIA CONTACT: Lisa Bowman, Director of Marketing and Communications