RELEASE: Auchincloss Calls for Including Affordable Housing Policy in Forthcoming Tax Package
“The lack of affordable housing is the single biggest challenge facing my home state of Massachusetts.”
RELEASE: Auchincloss Calls for Including Affordable Housing Policy in Forthcoming Tax Package
“The lack of affordable housing is the single biggest challenge facing my home state of Massachusetts.”
WASHINGTON, D.C.— Ahead of the reported bicameral, bipartisan tax deal being reached, Congressman Jake Auchincloss (D, MA-04) sent a letter to Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D, OR) and House Ways and Means Chairman Jason Smith (R, MO-08), urging them to include the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act in the final package. In the letter Auchincloss stated, “The lack of affordable housing is the single biggest challenge facing my home state of Massachusetts. The Commonwealth faces a shortfall of hundreds of thousands of units of housing of all types, including rental units designated for extremely low-income households. The Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act would expand the LIHTC program in a measured and thoughtful manner, allowing projects to carry less debt and making more projects eligible to receive funding. This would help Massachusetts build more affordable housing.”
A full copy of the letter can be found below.
January 11, 2024
The Honorable Ron Wyden
Chairman
Senate Committee on Finance
221 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
The Honorable Jason Smith
Chairman
House Committee on Ways and Means
1101 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
Dear Chairman Wyden and Chairman Smith:
I write to you today to request that you include the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act of 2023 in the forthcoming tax package. This bipartisan legislation would finance the construction of nearly two million new affordable housing units over ten years by expanding the successful Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program to increase the amount of credits allocated to each state. Additionally, this measure would increase the number of affordable housing projects that can be built using private activity bonds, increase the credit for certain projects designated to serve extremely low-income households, and codify protections for veterans and victims of domestic and dating violence.
As I testified before the House Financial Services Committee on November 9, 2023, the lack of affordable housing is the single biggest challenge facing my home state of Massachusetts. The Commonwealth faces a shortfall of hundreds of thousands of units of housing of all types, including rental units designated for extremely low-income households. The Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act would expand the LIHTC program in a measured and thoughtful manner, allowing projects to carry less debt and making more projects eligible to receive funding. This would help Massachusetts build more affordable housing.
I appreciate your attention to this important matter and hope to see the inclusion of the Affordable Housing Improvement Credit Act of 2023 in the forthcoming tax package.
Sincerely,
Jake Auchincloss
Member of Congress
cc: The Honorable Mike Crapo, Ranking Member, Senate Committee on Finance
The Honorable Richard Neal, Ranking Member, House Committee on Ways and Means
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