Help preserve funding for affordable housing

Congress wants to hear from you. Take the time to advocate for the issues that are important to you.

As NAHMA reaches out to the 115th Congress on affordable housing issues, we recommend our members do the same. Our nation’s affordable housing needs are growing. Affordable housing matters! With housing stability, residents have a better chance at employment, financial stability, economic mobility, better health outcomes, and improved children’s school performance. With your support, we can make positive things happen for this important industry and for the residents who need quality communities to call home.

Advocate for full funding of affordable housing programs

Current federal funding is set to run out at the end of April. Now is the time to frame the discussion by talking to our legislators about funding levels through this fiscal year and the next.

TELL CONGRESS: Fully Fund HUD Programs
  • Project-Based Rental Assistance: Fund the PBRA program at $11 billion
  • Housing Choice Vouchers: Fund the HCV program at $21 billion
  • HOME Program: Fund HOME at $950 million
  • Elderly Housing: Fund Section 202 at $505 million
  • Supportive Housing for Persons with Disabilities: Fund Section 811 at $154 million
  • Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) – Fund RAD at $4 million, include proposals to facilitate additional conversions of HUD-assisted properties:
    • Increases the current unit cap on Public Housing conversions to 250,000;
    • Eliminates the deadline of September 30, 2018, for submission of RAD applications;
    • Enables Section 202 PRAC properties to convert to Section 8 contracts;
    • Promotes the preservation of multifamily properties in high-cost areas;
TELL CONGRESS: Fully Fund USDA Rural Development Programs
  • Section 521: Renew Rural Rental Assistance contracts at $1.4 billion for FY17
  • Section 515: Fund the Multifamily Mortgage Program at $33 million
  • Revitalization: Fund Multifamily Revitalization Program and Rural Housing Vouchers at $37 million                                                                                          

Save the Low Income Housing Tax Credit

Tax reform is coming through Congress, and while NAHMA would like to see the LIHTC expanded in the future, this is the year to advocate for LIHTC preservation. Help keep the LIHTC off the chopping block by calling or writing to your legislators about its value for our industry and for our communities.

TELL CONGRESS: Preserve the LIHTC during tax reform
  • LIHTC (Housing Credit) is our nation’s most successful tool for encouraging private investment in the production and preservation of affordable rental housing.
  • Nearly all affordable rental homes developed each year in the United States rely on the Housing Credit. It has financed nearly 3 million apartments since 1986, providing roughly 6.5 million low-income households with homes they can afford.
  • For 30 years, the Housing Credit has been a model public-private partnership program, bringing to bear more than $100 billion in private sector resources, market forces, and state-level administration.
  • For Legislators: Please contact your legislators to let them know that the LIHTC is critical for both industry and the communities they represent.

 

Strengthen your Relationship with Congress

To show Congressional members the value of quality, affordable housing in their States and Districts, invite them for a property site visit.

INVITE CONGRESS: Host a site visit
  • Property Visit: A site visit at one of your properties provides your legislator with a real-world look at how affordable housing benefits low-income individuals and families.
  • Resident Involvement: Give your legislator the opportunity to meet the individuals (and voters) served by housing assistance.
VISIT CONGRESS: Schedule a Hill visit
  • Afternoon on the Hill: Schedule a brief sit-down to discuss housing issues or drop in to ‘constituent coffee’ hosted by the Senators and Representatives for your State or District.

 

NAHMA is here to help.

Need help contacting Congress?

If you have questions about policy issues or the legislative process, please don’t hesitate to reach out to NAHMA’s Government Relations team. Please contact Juliana Bilowich at jbilowich@nahma.org.

Want to look up your Legislator?

We encourage you to use the NAHMA Maps program to help educate your representatives about affordable housing in their Districts and States. Please click here to access NAHMA Maps.

Help us keep track of Congressional Outreach! 

Your outreach matters. Take a brief moment to tell us about your efforts. Please click here to share your advocacy story with us.