NLIHC sent a letter to congressional leadership on September 17 urging Congress to act swiftly to reauthorize the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act (NAHASDA), which is the largest and, in some rural and remote areas, only source of affordable housing funding for Native communities. Native housing leaders, including those with the National American Indian Housing Council (NAIHC), National Congress of American Indians (NCAI), and United Native American Housing Association (UNAHA) – NLIHC’s Tribal Partner – also sent a letter to Congress urging the reauthorization of NAHASDA after Senators Brian Schatz (D-HI) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) submitted the “NAHASDA Reauthorization Act” as an amendment (SA #2240) to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the annual defense bill.
Often called “the backbone of Indian housing,” NAHASDA grants can be used for affordable housing activities that primarily benefit low-income Indian families living on Indian reservations, Alaska Native communities, or in other Indian areas. Since its creation, Tribes and Alaska Native governments have used NAHASDA’s Indian Housing Block Grant (IHBG) funding to build or acquire almost 41,500 affordable homes and restore an additional 105,000 affordable homes on Tribal lands and in Alaska Native communities. Yet despite its critically important role, Congress has failed to reauthorize NAHASDA since 2013, leaving the legislation in dire need of updates that would allow Tribes to use its programs more efficiently.
Given the tight congressional calendar, the NDAA faces a challenging timeline if it is to pass through both the House and the Senate, and advocates are arguing that the bill will likely bypass formal debate. NAIHC and other Tribal organizations also sent a letter to congressional leadership urging Congress to retain NAHASDA in the final NDAA. Organizations joining the NAIHC letter included the Association of Alaska Housing Authorities (an NLIHC member), Coalition of Large Tribes, Great Plains Tribal Chairmen’s Association, Housing Assistance Council, National Congress of American Indians, National NeighborWorks Association, Northwest Indian Housing Association, United Native American Housing Association, and United South and Eastern Tribes Sovereignty Protection Fund.
Read the letter here.