UPDATE! House Considers Amendments to H.R. 3700 Today

NLIHC Call to ActionContact Your Representative to Urge Passage of H.R. 3700 and Important Amendments

The House of Representatives will begin consideration of H.R. 3700, the Housing Opportunities Through Modernization Act, at noon ET today, Tuesday, February 2.

Last night, the House Rules Committee approved several amendments for House floor consideration.

Please contact your Representative and request SUPPORT for H.R. 3700.

Also, please urge your Representative to SUPPORT:

  • Amendment from Representative Maxine Waters (D-CA) to retain current law related to the standard $480 deduction from income for dependents, as well as for all child care costs, that public and assisted housing residents may take before their rents are calculated.
  • Amendment from Representatives David Price (D-NC) and Robert Aderholt (R-AL) to update the formula for HUD’s Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA) program to count people living with HIV/AIDS as well as require HUD to develop regulations that incorporate a poverty factor and a housing cost factor in the updated formula. Currently, HOPWA funds are distributed based on cumulative AIDS cases, representing individuals both living with and dying from AIDS. AIDS housing advocates have been working for years to update the formula.
  • Amendment from Representative Peter Welch (D-VT) to allow housing choice vouchers to cover costs beyond the rental of the land underneath a manufactured home, including helping the manufactured homeowner pay for the cost of their home, its insurance, utilities, and property taxes.
  • Amendment from Representative Grace Meng (D-NY) to require HUD to publish model guidelines for minimum heating requirements for units operated by public housing agencies.
  • Amendment from Representative Terri Sewell (D-AL) to require HUD to conduct a study of the impacts of H.R. 3700’s income deduction changes on rents paid by the elderly, people with disabilities, and families.
  • Amendment from Representative Keith Ellison (D-MN) to authorize HUD housing providers to report on-time rental payment to credit reporting agencies.
  • Amendment from Representative Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) to direct the Secretaries of HUD and the Department of Labor to produce an annual report on strategies to strengthen family economic empowerment.
  • Amendment from Representative Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-NM) to direct HUD and the Department of Veterans Affairs to improve veterans housing services.

Urge your Representative to OPPOSE:

Amendment from Representative Steven Palazzo (R-MS) to permanently exempt all public housing agencies in Mississippi, Iowa, Alaska, as well as the Housing Authority of the County of Los Angeles, from the requirement to have a resident on their boards of commissioners.

How to Take Action

NLIHC urges all advocates to call their Representative’s office this morning! To find contact information for your Representative, contact the Congressional Switchboard at 877-210-5351, or click below.

Click Here to Find Your Elected Officials

Background

NLIHC’s February 1 action alert on H.R. 3700: http://nlihc.org/article/take-action-support-passage-hr-3700-ensure-sensible-housing-assistance-reforms

NLIHC’s February 1 Memo to Members article on H.R. 3700: http://nlihc.org/article/housing-assistance-reform-bill-goes-house-floor-week-february-1

Please email [email protected] with any feedback you hear from your Representative’s office.

Thank you for your support!