Action Digest

URGENT ACTION

Take action on these issues today. Endorse Proposal to Fund the National Housing Trust FundSign on your organization today to support a proposal to fund the National Housing Trust Fund (NHTF) through reform of the mortgage interest deduction (MID). We need to secure as many endorsements as possible before Congress returns from its recess in September. Please act now to support the NHTF!

• View more information on the proposal here.
• View a presentation on the proposal here.
• Endorse the proposal here.

AUGUST RECESS

Schedule meetings with your Members of Congress while they are working in their states and districts this month. The TimelineMembers of Congress have departed Washington, D.C. for their August district work period, also known as the August recess. They will return to session on September 10. August is a critical time for advocates to meet with Members on their home turf.  The Asks

• Take the opportunity to explain impacts of the sequester’s imminent cuts, such as the loss of 185,000 vouchers and 145,000 people who will remain homeless instead of housed in FY13, and urge instead that Congress come up with a balanced budget solution.
• Reiterate the need for full funding of HUD programs. Congress has agreed on a framework for a Continuing Resolution to fund the government once the new fiscal year begins on October 1. The CR would fund most programs at current levels for six months, through March 31, 2013. Some programs may receive additional funding in the CR. It is crucial to continue advocating for HUD funding so programs receive needed funding in the CR and full funding when Congress finalizes FY13 spending levels next year.

 The Tools

• Find contact information for your Members of Congress here.
• Read an August 3 Memo to Members article about sequestration here.
• For more information about the HUD budget, view NLIHC’s budget fact sheet.
• To see key differences between the House and Senate HUD appropriations bills, view NLIHC’s Budget Chart.

 

THANK YOUR SENATORS 

Housing Reform: Affordable Housing and Self-Sufficiency Act (AHSSIA) The Senate Banking Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation, and Community Development held a hearing on housing reform legislation on August 1. Linda Couch testified at the hearing on behalf of NLIHC. The House Financial Services Subcommittee on Insurance, Housing and Community Opportunity approved a discussion draft of AHSSIA on February 7. A full Committee mark up has not yet been scheduled. The AskIf your Senator sits on the Housing, Transportation, and Community Development Subcommittee, please thank him for holding the hearing, and urge the Subcommittee to develop legislation around housing reform. The Tools 

• To learn more about the Senate hearing, read an August 3 Memo to Members article.
• To see if your Senator sits on the Banking Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation, and Community Development, visit the Subcommittee’s webpage.
• View NLIHC’s press release about the Senate hearing.
• View NLIHC’s policy fact sheet about AHSSIA here.

 

WEIGH IN WITH LEGISLATORS

Contact your Members of Congress and encourage them to co-sponsor these bills. H.R. 3619: To make the Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act permanent The AskUrge your Representative to co-sponsor H.R. 3619, a bill introduced by Representative Keith Ellison (D-MN), which would permanently extend federal protections for renters facing foreclosure. The current Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act is set to sunset in 2014. The Tools

• To learn more about H.R. 3619, read NLIHC’s Memo to Members article.
• For talking points, view NLIHC’s Call to Action.
• View current co-sponsors by looking the bill up here.
• To contact your Representative, call the Congressional switchboard at 877-210-5351, or visit our website and enter your ZIP code.

 S. 489 & H.R. 1477: To provide critical funding for the National Housing Trust Fund The AskUrge your Senators to co-sponsor S. 489, and your Representative to co-sponsor H.R. 1477. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) and Representative Elijah Cummings (D-MD) introduced bills that would capitalize the NHTF through profits from the Treasury Department’s sale of Troubled Asset Relief Program warrants. These bills would provide much-needed funding for the NHTF. The Tools

• For more information on the bills, view our NHTF fact sheet.
• View current co-sponsors of S. 489 and H.R. 1477 by looking the bills up here.
• To contact your Members of Congress, call the Congressional switchboard at 877-210-5351, or visit our website and enter your ZIP code.

 S. 3494 and H.R. 3076: To make formerly homeless full-time students eligible for low income housing tax credit (LIHTC) financed housing The AskUrge your Senators to co-sponsor S. 3494, introduced by Senator Al Franken (D-MN) on August 2, and your Representatives to co-sponsor H.R. 3076. Currently, students are not allowed to be leaseholders of LIHTC-financed housing units. The prohibition was established to ensure that tax credits are not used to finance the development of university dormitories. S. 3494 recognizes that the prohibition has broader impacts than was originally intended, and would make eligible full-time students who have experienced homelessness any time in the previous five years. Representative Jim McDermott (D-WA) introduced similar legislation, H.R. 3076, on October 3, 2011. The Tools

• View the full text of S. 3494 here.
• View the full text of H.R. 3076 here.
• View current co-sponsors of S. 3494 and H.R. 3076 by looking the bills up here.
• To contact your Members of Congress, call the Congressional switchboard at 877-210-5351, or visit our website and enter your ZIP code.

 S. 1989 & H.R. 3661: To establish minimum credit rates for Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) projects The AskUrge your Senators to co-sponsor S. 1989, introduced by Senators Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Olympia Snowe (R-ME). Urge your Representative to co-sponsor H.R. 3661, introduced by Representatives Patrick Tiberi (R-OH) and Richard Neal (D-MA). The bills would establish a minimum credit amount that LIHTC developments would receive, protecting them from reductions in investor equity that can be used to build affordable housing. The Tools

• To learn more, view NLIHC’s fact sheet.
• View current co-sponsors of S. 1989 and H.R. 3661 by looking the bills up here.
• To contact your Members of Congress, call the Congressional switchboard at 877-210-5351, or visit our website and enter your ZIP code.

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