NLIHC Joins ACTION Campaign in Letter of Support for Increasing Banks’ Public Welfare Investments
Nov 03, 2025
By Libby O’Neill, NLIHC Senior Policy Analyst
NLIHC joined an ACTION Campaign sign-on letter in support of a provision in the bipartisan “ROAD to Housing Act” (ROAD; S. 2651) that increases the cap on the amount that banks can invest in affordable housing and other public welfare activities. The letter was sent on October 30 to House Financial Services Committee Chair French Hill (R-AR) and Ranking Member Maxine Waters (D-CA), and Housing Insurance Subcommittee Chair Mike Flood (R-NE) and Ranking Member Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO). The ACTION Campaign advocates for the reform and expansion of the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program; NLIHC is a member of the Campaign’s steering committee.
The provision of ROAD, Section 205 “Community Investment and Prosperity Act” (S. 2464), would increase the statutory cap on “public welfare investments” made by banks from 15% to 20%, and would complement the recent expansion of LIHTC. As stated in the sign-on letter, “banks are key drivers of equity investment in the Housing Credit. In 2024, banks supplied about 80% of the $28.9 billion in Housing Credit equity (roughly $23.1 billion).” Many banks are expected to soon hit the current 15% cap. Increasing the cap would allow greater equity to be invested in affordable housing.
The “ROAD to Housing Act,” endorsed by NLIHC, passed the Senate on October 9 as an amendment to the “National Defense Authorization Act” (NDAA, S. 2296, see Memo, 10/14). The House passed their version of the NDAA (H.R. 3838) in September, which does not include the “ROAD” amendment. The two chambers will now go to conference to reconcile the differences between the two NDAA bills, including amendments.
LIHTC is the primary source of financing for the construction and preservation of affordable housing. While an important resource, LIHTC on its own is generally insufficient to support the construction and preservation of homes affordable to households with the lowest incomes. NLIHC supports reforms to LIHTC that would help the program better serve renters with the greatest needs, including those with extremely low incomes and renters in rural and Tribal communities.
Read the sign-on letter here.
Read more about needed reforms to LIHTC here.
Read more about the “ROAD to Housing Act” here.