Members of Congress left their offices on Capitol Hill to return to their home states and districts until September 9 for a month-long district work period known as “August recess.” Before leaving Washington, members of the U.S. Senate voted largely along party lines on August 1 not to advance the “Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act,” the $78 billion tax bill that passed the U.S. House of Representatives with overwhelming bipartisan support in January. Reports indicate that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) intends to bring the bill up for a vote again after the recess.
If enacted, the bill would expand the Child Tax Credit as well as certain provisions related to the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) and extend currently lapsed tax breaks for businesses. While expanding LIHTC would provide important resources to build more rental homes, the bill falls short of providing the reforms needed to ensure homes are affordable to people with the lowest incomes. See NLIHC’s statement on the Senate vote here.
When members of Congress return to their Washington offices in September, they will have less than a month to negotiate a continuing resolution (CR) before the new fiscal year begins on October 1. While there is widespread agreement that members will pass a CR and avoid a shutdown, it is not currently clear whether the CR will last until December or stretch into the new year.
Take Action during August Recess!
With Congress in recess and members back in their home districts, August is a great opportunity for advocates to meet with their members of Congress and urge them to provide the long-term, large-scale resources required to address the nation’s affordable housing and homelessness crisis.
Use NLIHC’s resources to help plan meetings with members and their staff:
- Oppose Dramatic Cuts to Federal Investments in Affordable Housing Toolkit: This toolkit includes resources, talking points, advocacy ideas, and other helpful information on defending funding for affordable housing and homelessness resources in the fiscal year (FY) 2025 federal budget. Meet with your members and urge them to provide the highest possible funding for these vital programs in any final FY25 budget agreement!
- Oppose the Criminalization of Homelessness Toolkit: The U.S. Supreme Court decided recently in Grants Pass v. Johnson that local governments can arrest or fine people experiencing homelessness for sleeping outside, even when adequate shelter is not available. Criminalization is an outdated, dehumanizing, and ineffective approach to addressing homelessness that exacerbates racial inequity and ultimately makes it more difficult to help people obtain safe, stable housing. Use this toolkit to continue urging state and local policymakers to oppose the criminalization of homelessness and instead support long-term solutions like investments in affordable, accessible housing and housing assistance.
- Capitol Hill Day Advocacy Toolkit: With members of Congress in their home states and districts, August recess is the perfect time for advocates to meet with their members, share the impact affordable housing and homelessness resources have in their communities, and urge them to support the long-term, large-scale resources required to address the affordable housing and homelessness crisis. This toolkit includes tips for scheduling meetings, talking points, a meeting request template, and ideas for how to share your story with elected officials.
In addition to scheduling in-district meetings with members of Congress and their staff, advocates can continue engaging their members of Congress by:
- Emailing or calling members’ offices to tell them about the importance of affordable housing, homelessness, and community development resources to you, your family, your community, or your work. You can use NLIHC’s Take Action page to look up your member offices or call/send an email directly!
- Sharing stories of those directly impacted by homelessness and housing instability. Storytelling adds emotional weight to your message and can help lawmakers see how their policy decisions impact actual people. Learn about how to tell compelling stories with this resource.
National, state, local, tribal, and territorial organizations can also join over 2,300 organizations on CHCDF’s national letter calling on Congress to support the highest level of funding possible for affordable housing, homelessness, and community development resources in FY25.