Action Digest
Jul 24, 2012
UPCOMING WEBINAR
Join National Low Income Housing Coalition President and CEO Sheila Crowley tomorrow, July 25, at 2pm ET for a legislative update on the National Housing Trust Fund (NHTF). Learn about forthcoming legislation to fund the NHTF through reform of the mortgage interest deduction (MID), and how advocates can help. Space is limited, so please register for the webinar today.- Click here to register for the webinar.
- Learn more about the webinar and the NHTF in a July 20 Memo to Members article.
- Learn more about current avenues for funding the NHTF, including MID reform, here.
AUGUST RECESS
Prepare for the August recess by scheduling meetings with your legislators. Congress will be in recess during the month of August. If you have not already, please take the opportunity to schedule meetings at home with your legislators to advocate for full funding for HUD programs in FY13. The House of Representatives passed H.R. 5972, its FY13 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development and Related Agencies (THUD) appropriations bill, on June 29. The bill provides insufficient funding for the major rental assistance programs serving extremely low income people, including 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 funding levels above the President’s budget on several important housing programs and rejected policy provisions that would harm extremely low income households. The House and Senate will soon begin negotiating final appropriations for HUD programs. Your Senators and Representative need to hear from you now that fully funding these programs is a priority. The TimelineThe House and Senate will begin recess on August 4. They will be back in session on September 10. The AsksUrge legislators to:1. Fully fund HUD programs as they finalize the FY13 THUD spending bill.2. Oppose adding any policy provisions to the THUD bill that would harm extremely low income households, particularly provisions that would increase minimum rents. The Tools- Read more about the House FY13 spending bill in NLIHC’s Memo to Members article.
- To see key differences between the House and Senate bills, view NLIHC’s Budget Chart.
- For talking points and more information, view NLIHC’s 2012 Lobby Day materials.
THANK YOU
Thank you for your support and action.
Non-defense Discretionary Sign-On LetterThank you to the nearly 3,000 organizations that signed a letter in support of non-defense discretionary (NDD) programs. The July 12 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.- View the final letter here.
- View a July 20 Memo to Members article on sequestration.
STAY INFORMED
Prepare today for future action.
Housing Reform: Affordable Housing and Self-Sufficiency Act (AHSSIA)The Senate Banking Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation, and Community Development is expected to hold a hearing on housing reform legislation on August 1. 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.WEIGH IN WITH LEGISLATORS
Contact your Members of Congress and encourage them to co-sponsor the following 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.
- 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.
ADDITIONAL TOOLS
Use these tools to take action.
Register. Educate. Mobilize. Develop a Voterization Plan for your agency.Engaging people in the voting process means more than setting voter registration forms on the front desk. NLIHC’s Voterization Plan takes you through all of the steps you need to implement a campaign to integrate registration, education, mobilization and voter protection without overtaxing your staff resources, all while staying within legal guidelines for non profits.- Learn more and view materials to help develop a plan for you organization.