Legislative & Policy

The Disaster Housing Recovery Coalition is circulating a sign on letter for current and former federal, state, and local government officials in support of HUD’s Disaster Housing Assistance Program (DHAP), which FEMA continues to refuse to activate.

DHAP was created after hard-won lessons from Hurricane Katrina, and it has been used successfully in major disasters since that time. DHAP is administered by housing authorities, and this national network makes HUD best equipped to quickly respond to the housing needs of survivors.

Under DHAP, displaced families receive longer-term direct rental assistance and case management services provided by local housing professionals with extensive knowledge of the local housing market. This assistance helps families find permanent housing solutions, secure employment, and connect to public benefits as they rebuild their lives.

The Coalition is calling on Congress to enact legislation to immediately activate DHAP for 2017 disaster survivors and to ensure that this critical resource is made available to survivors after future disasters.

ACTION:

CLPHA members are urged to reach out to current and former federal, state, and local officials with experience in disaster recovery in your communities and encourage them to sign the letter to Congress.

A copy of the letter is here, and officials can use the link below to sign on to the letter.

Sign-On Letter

U.S. Representatives Steve Stivers (R-OH) and Emanuel Cleaver II (D-MO), Co-Chairs of the Bi-Partisan Congressional Public Housing Caucus, recently sent a Dear Colleague letter to fellow members of the House of Representatives inviting them to join the Caucus.

According to the letter, “the Caucus will serve as a forum to connect Members of Congress and their staff with public housing professionals, affordable housing policy experts, residents, and other key stakeholders with an interest in improving outcomes for Americans struggling to afford a suitable home and the communities they live in,” and “our nation's federal housing policies are at the forefront of efforts to prevent homelessness, address the affordable housing crisis, and overcome structural poverty.  The goal of the Congressional Public Housing Caucus is to educate Members of Congress and their staff of the latest policy developments affecting these efforts.”

ACTION: 

CLPHA was a prime mover in helping to establish the Caucus and we want to ensure the Caucus succeeds both in attracting members and in fulfilling its purpose.

We need CLPHA members to reach out to their Members of Congress and encourage them to join the Congressional Public Housing Caucus.

To join the Congressional Public Housing Caucus, Members of Congress should contact Mark Gilbride of Representative Steve Stivers' staff (225-2015; mark.gilbride@mail.house.gov) or Jennifer Shapiro of Representative Emanuel Cleavers' staff (225-4535 and jennifer.shapiro@mail.house.gov)

The proposed elimination of the tax exemption for private activity bonds (PABs) in the House tax reform bill, along with elimination of the Historic Tax Credit and the New Markets Tax Credit, will be devastating to the production and preservation of affordable housing (see CLPHA Report 11/13/17). Housing bonds are responsible for approximately half of Low Income Housing Tax Credit (housing credit) production annually. Together, the housing credit and housing bonds finance approximately 50,000 affordable housing units each year.

While Congress is home for recess, it is critical that Members hear from you about the impacts PAB elimination will have on affordable housing.

We urge you to reach out to your Congressional representatives with the following messages:

• Preserve the tax exemption of Private Activity Bonds to support the production and preservation of affordable housing
• Make changes to the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit to strengthen the program and offset the impact of a lower corporate rate on the value of the tax credit by including S. 548, the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act, in the tax reform bill
• Maintain the Historic Tax Credit and the New Markets Tax Credit

CLPHA and stakeholders such as the ACTION Campaign (CLPHA sits on the Steering Committee) have continued to educate and press Congress to preserve these important housing production instruments. CLPHA has sent letters to the Senate Finance Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee, the respective tax-writing committees in Congress, whose chairmen and ranking members will probably serve as floor managers for their respective bills and conference committee leaders for any eventual, final legislation.

Additionally, we encourage you to engage with your local media and news outlets to spread the message that the tax reform bill negatively impacts affordable housing. The Seattle Times recently published an op-ed from CLPHA Board Members Stephen Norman (King County Housing Authority) and Andrew Lofton (Seattle Housing Authority) about the elimination of private activity bonds. You can read the full op-ed here.