Statement from Diane Yentel, President and CEO of the National Low Income Housing Coalition, on the Introduction of Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act of 2016

WASHINGTON, D.C. – (RealEstateRama) — The National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) commends Senators Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) for introducing the new, expanded Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act of 2016.

If enacted, this legislation would take important steps toward alleviating the growing housing affordability crisis across the nation by expanding and improving the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (Housing Credit) program. The reforms included in the legislation will incentivize developers to better serve those families with the greatest and clearest needs—families experiencing homelessness or with extremely low incomes. Additional program improvements would encourage Housing Credit development on Native American lands, areas with some of the most severe housing needs.

According to NLIHC’s report, The Gap: Affordable Housing Gap Analysis 2016, there is a shortage of 7.2 million affordable and available apartments for America’s 10.4 million extremely low-income households. These families include seniors, people with disabilities and families with children who struggle to keep a roof over their heads. Because of this shortage of affordable and available apartments, most extremely low-income households are severely cost burdened, paying more than half of their income towards their rent each month. They face difficult decisions between paying rent and buying groceries or seeing a doctor and, in the worst cases, become homeless.

NLIHC’s report underscores the importance of additional federal resources to create, preserve and rehabilitate homes affordable to the lowest income people, such as would be provided through the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act. We look forward to working with Senators Cantwell, Hatch and Wyden to enact this and other important legislation to end housing poverty once and for all.

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Established in 1974 by Cushing N. Dolbeare, the National Low Income Housing Coalition is dedicated solely to achieving socially just public policy that assures people with the lowest incomes in the United States have affordable and decent homes.

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