Legislative Action Center

Any new federal housing resources must be targeted to address the underlying cause of the affordable housing crisis – the severe shortage of affordable homes for people with extremely low incomes. Urge your Senators and Representative to support the solutions in the bills below that would build and preserve affordable rental homes.  

American Housing and Economic Mobility Act

This ambitious proposal as introduced in the 116th Congress would help end housing poverty and homelessness in America by directly addressing the underlying cause of the affordable housing crisis – the severe shortage of affordable rental homes for people with the lowest incomes – through a robust investment of nearly $45 billion annually in the national Housing Trust Fund. The bill also includes resources to repair public housing, build or rehabilitate housing on tribal and Native Hawaiian lands, and create and preserve affordable homes in rural areas. 

• Fact Sheet
• Talking Points 

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Affordable Housing Tax Credit Improvement Act

The Affordable Housing Tax Credit Improvement Act as introduced in the 116th Congress would expand the Housing Credit by 50% over five years and make important reforms to help the program better serve families with the lowest incomes as well as rural and tribal communities. 

• See NLIHC's Housing Related Tax Credits page to learn more
• Talking Points

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Fulfilling the Promise of the Housing Trust Fund Act

The Fulfilling the Promise of the Housing Trust Fund Act as introduced in the 116th Congress would significantly increase funding for the national Housing Trust Fund (HTF), which provides states resources to build and preserve rental homes affordable to the lowest-income people in America. The bill preserves and redirects an existing 10-basis point – or 0.1% – “guarantee fee” currently levied by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to the HTF, increasing funding to the program by billions every year. 

• Factsheet on the national Housing Trust Fund

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Low wages, wage inequality, racial inequities, and a severe shortage of affordable rental homes leave too many people unable to afford their housing. Urge your Senators and Representative to support the solutions in the bills below that would help close the significant gap between renters’ wages and the cost of rental homes across the country. 

Family Stability and Opportunity Vouchers Act

The Family Stability and Opportunity Vouchers Act as introduced in the 116th Congress would provide 500,000 new housing vouchers and counseling services to help families with children move to areas of opportunity. The bill is also supported by the Opportunity Starts at Home campaign. 

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Rent Relief Act and the Housing, Opportunity, Mobility, and Equity (HOME) Act

Each of these bills as introduced in the 116th Congress would provide a renter’s tax credit that could help ensure the lowest-income households are able to afford a safe, decent, accessible home. A renter’s tax credit should be targeted to extremely low-income renters and could complement the existing Low Income Housing Tax Credit that, on its own, is rarely affordable to the lowest-income people.  

• NLIHC’s chart comparing these renters’ tax credit proposals
• Talking Points

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Far too many families are struggling to keep a roof over their heads. Nearly 11 million families spend more than half of their income on rent, and the number of people experiencing homelessness has increased nationally over the past few years. Urge your Senators and Representative to support the solutions in the bills below that would prevent evictions and end homelessness. 

Eviction Crisis Act

The Eviction Crisis Act as introduced in the 116th Congress would establish a national housing stabilization fund to help families facing a financial shock avoid eviction. The bill is also supported by the Opportunity Starts at Home campaign. 

• Factsheet from the Opportunity Starts at Home campaign

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Ending Homelessness Act

Original cosponsors of H.R.1856: Representative Maxine Waters (D-CA). 

The Ending Homelessness Act proposes to invest more than $13 billion over five years, including $1 billion annually for the national Housing Trust Fund, to address the shortage of affordable housing and to combat homelessness. 

• Talking Points

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People of color are significantly more likely than white people to experience evictions and homelessness in the United States, the result of centuries of structural racism that continues today. NLIHC is committed to advancing anti-racist policies that create robust housing choice. Urge your Senators and Representative to support the solutions in the bills below that would advance fair housing and racial equity. 

Proposals to Expand Fair Housing Act Protections 

The Fair Housing Improvement Act as introduced in the 116th Congress would expand the Fair Housing Act to prohibit housing discrimination based on source of income or veteran status. The Fair and Equal Housing Act as introduced in the 116th Congress would prohibit housing discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

• Factsheet
• Talking Points

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Fair Chance at Housing Act

The Fair Chance at Housing Act as introduced in the 116th Congress would reform the ways in which public housing authorities and owners of federally-assisted housing screen out applicants or evict tenants based on their involvement with the criminal justice system. 

• Factsheet
• Talking Points
• See NLIHC's Housing and Criminal Justice page to learn more

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For decades, Congress has failed to provide adequate funding to maintain public housing and other federally assisted housing in good condition, and as a result, billions of dollars are needed to address the backlog in capital improvement needs. Urge your Senators and Representative to support the solutions in the bills below. 

Public Housing Emergency Response Act

The Public Housing Emergency Response Act as introduced in the 116th Congress fully addresses the $70 billion capital needs backlog to repair and preserve public housing for current and future generations. 

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Disasters are becoming more frequent, destructive, and widespread due to climate change, and often leave the lowest-income and most marginalized people susceptible to the greatest harm. Major investments and reforms are needed to meet the threat and inequities in our nation’s current disaster housing recovery framework. Urge your Senators and Representative to support the solutions in the bills below. 

Reforming Disaster Recovery Act

The Reforming Disaster Recovery Act as introduced in the 116th Congress would permanently authorize and reform the federal government’s primary long-term disaster rebuilding program, the Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery program, which provides states and communities with the flexible resources needed to rebuild affordable housing and infrastructure after a disaster. 

• Factsheet
• Talking Points
• NLIHC’s Disaster Housing Recovery work
• Additional resources  

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Housing Victims of Major Disaster Act

The Housing Victims of Major Disasters Act as introduced in the 116th Congress would require the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to activate the Disaster Housing Assistance Program to provide temporary rental assistance and wrap-around services to those households displaced by disasters. 

• Factsheet
• Talking Points

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