Lawmakers introduce VAWA reauthorization legislation
This week, Congresswoman Bass (D-CA) and Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) introduced legislation to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), which lapsed during the funding negotiations earlier this year.
The new VAWA legislation contains a number of housing provisions, including giving victims of VAWA crimes living in covered housing programs the opportunity to terminate a lease before its end date without penalty; directing agencies to develop emergency transfer policies to be overseen by HUD; and amending the requirements for what must be included in public housing agency plans to incorporate information about emergency transfers and emergency transfer plans. To see a full list of the section-by-section VAWA provisions, please click here.
Next week, the House Judiciary Committee will consider the bill in a mark-up scheduled for Wednesday morning. NAHMA will keep members up-to-date on the legislation as it moves through Congress.
NAHMA members advocate for affordable housing on Capitol Hill
Following this week’s NAHMA Winter 2019 Biannual Top Issues in Affordable Housing Conference, NAHMA members met with lawmakers in Congress to elevate the importance of affordable housing. Key messages to lawmakers included full funding for housing and community development programs for Fiscal Year 2020, preserving the rural affordable housing portfolio, strengthening the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program, meeting the needs of the growing senior population, and addressing concerns regarding changes to REAC.
Thank you to everyone who took time to go to the Hill and advocate for our industry – we set a new record for number of people attending meetings!
If you attended Hill Visits, please remember to send a quick thank you to the staff you met with (a template follow-up email is available on NAHMA’s “Meetings with Lawmakers” webpage here). In addition, make sure you get credit toward our Hill Visit Challenge by sending a quick blurb about your meetings and any photos to jbilowich@nahma.org. You can double your points for the Challenge by posting about your meetings on social media using our Hill Visit Challenge hashtags: #NAHMA19 and #ScoreMoreHousing.
Winners of the Challenge will be announced soon; more info about the Challenge and about our ongoing advocacy efforts available online here.