Urge Congress to Fund NHTF and TANF ECF
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Congress is currently considering legislation that would fund the National Housing Trust Fund (NHTF) and extend the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Emergency Contingency Fund (ECF).
H.R. 4213, the "tax extender bill," would provide $1 billion for the NHTF and an additional $65 million for project-based vouchers to be released in conjunction with capital grants. In addition, the legislation would include a one-year, $2.5 billion extension of the TANF ECF, which was created under the Recovery Act and is set to expire on September 30. The bill would also continue incentives for investors to support affordable housing development under the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) (more information below).
If House leaders are confident they have the votes to pass the legislation, they may vote on it as soon as TOMORROW, and the Senate may vote on it later this week or next week.
We need your SENATORS and REPRESENTATIVE to vote FOR H.R. 4213.
What You Can Do:
- Call the housing staffer in your Members of Congress' offices TODAY. Congressional office phone numbers can be found by calling the U.S. Capitol
Switchboard at 202-224-3121.
- Urge them to continue their support for
preventing and ending homelessness in your community by voting YES on H.R. 4213.
- Below is additional information that can help you make your case.
BACKGROUND:
National Housing Trust Fund
The goal of the National Housing Trust Fund, which was authorized in July 2008, is to create 1.5 million units of affordable housing within ten
years.
The NHTF is critical for efforts to prevent and end homelessness, as it targets at least 75 percent of the
amount used for rental housing to extremely low income
households. The
majority of the people who enter the homeless system have experienced some sort
of crisis that causes them to lose their housing because of the added burden
from paying so much of their income for rent. For more information, visit the National Housing Trust Fund Campaign website.
TANF Emergency Contingency Fund
The TANF ECF, passed in February 2009 as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, provided $5 billion to reimburse states for increased costs of meeting the needs
of low income families.
States
are using these funds to provide short-term assistance (such as four
months of rental assistance), subsidized jobs, and to meet the increased
costs of more families receiving cash assistance. Unfortunately, the
funds expire on September 30, 2010, but the needs of families are not
expected to lessen within that short time frame.
Specifically, ECF funds can be used to make the Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program (HPRP) go further, to provide employment, and to increase families' income. For more information, click here.
Low Income Housing Tax Credit Extension
The Tax Credit Exchange Program is administered by the Treasury
Department and is designed to help stalled LIHTC programs move forward. Investors are currently eligible to receive a tax credit of up to 9 percent of their costs for 10 years. H.R. 4213 would extend this ability for an additional year.
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