Action Digest

Jul 10, 2012

URGENT ACTION

Take action on these issues today.

SIGN-ON LETTER – Support Making the Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act Permanent

The Timeline
Make sure your organization sign this letter by Friday, July 20 to join fellow urge Representatives to make the Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act (PTFA) permanent.

The Ask
Join housing advocates throughout your state in a letter to your House delegation, asking the Members 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 PTFA is set to sunset in 2014.

The Tools

THANK YOU

Thank you for your support and action on these issues.

HUD Appropriations

Thank you for advocating for increased funding for HUD programs. The House of Representatives passed its FY13 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development and Related Agencies (THUD) appropriations bill, H.R. 5972, on June 29. The final bill provides insufficient funding for the major rental assistance programs serving extremely low income people. Programs underfunded by the House bill include the voucher, project-based Section 8, public housing and homeless assistance programs.

The Senate Committee on Appropriations approved its FY13 THUD spending bill in April. The Senate bill increased levels above the President’s budget on several important housing programs and rejected policy provisions that would harm extremely low income households.


Nondefense Discretionary Sign-On Letter

Thank you to the more than 3,000 organizations that signed a letter in support of nondefense discretionary (NDD) programs. The letter urged Congress to avoid sequestration. The sequester will impose indiscriminate, across-the-board cuts that will devastate housing and social service programs, and many other programs that carry out core government functions. Look for the final letter in Memo.

View our recent Memo to Members article on sequestration.

WEIGH IN WITH LEGISLATORS

Contact your Members of Congress and encourage them to co-sponsor the following bills:

S. 489 & H.R. 1477: To provide critical funding for the National Housing Trust Fund

The Ask
Urge 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


S. 1989 & H.R. 3661: To establish minimum credit rates for Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) projects

The Ask
Urge 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


H.R. 5901: To raise the national minimum wage to $10 an hour

The Ask
Urge your Representative to co-sponsor H.R. 5901, the Catching Up to 1968 Act, introduced by
Representative Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-IL) on June 6. The legislation would raise the national minimum wage to $10 an hour and index the wage for inflation. Increasing the national minimum wage is one important step toward ensuring that low and extremely low income workers can afford safe and decent housing without being cost-burdened.

The Tools

STAY INFORMED

Prepare today for future action.

American Community Survey (ACS) Funding

It is important that the Senate version of the Commerce, Justice, and Science spending bill (S. 2323) keeps full funding for the ACS, and continues to require mandatory response to the survey. Urge your Senators to support these priorities as the bill moves forward.

On May 9, the House passed its Commerce, Justice, and Science spending bill. The bill included an amendment to eliminate all funding for the ACS. The data provided by the ACS is critical for determining the need for affordable housing at the local level. The Joint Economic Committee held a hearing on the implications of the House bill on June 19. To learn more, read a May 11 Memo to Members article. View the written testimony submitted by NLIHC for the hearing record here.


Housing Reform: Affordable Housing and Self-Sufficiency Act (AHSSIA)

A discussion draft of AHSSIA was approved by the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Insurance, Housing and Community Opportunity on February 7. A full Committee mark up has not yet been scheduled. To learn more about AHSSIA, read NLIHC’s Memo to Members article.

ADDITIONAL TOOLS

Use these tools to help you take action.

Updated Congressional District Housing Profiles

NLIHC updated its Congressional District Housing Profiles (CDHPs) to include recently available data from the five-year Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy (CHAS) data set. The CDHPs are one page summaries of rental housing data for all 435 Congressional districts.

Learn more and view our recently updated CDHPs for your state.

QUESTIONS/COMMENTS? Send your feedback on NLIHC's first Action Digest to [email protected].

SUPPORT NLIHC. Become a member today at www.nlihc.org/membership.