The $901 billion National Defense Authorization Act is scheduled for a vote this week, and housing advocates are not happy about what's being left out.
"While we are disappointed that the ROAD to Housing bill was not included in the defense reauthorization bill, we do still see the potential for advancing meaningful housing legislation," said Emily Cadik, CEO, Affordable Housing Tax Credit Coalition.
The ROAD bill is a bipartisan effort passed by the Senate in
Hopes were high that the House would pass its version and be added to the NDAA, but things went awry in the House Committee on Financial Services.
"I share the president's goals of expanding Americans' access to housing that fits their needs by reducing regulatory roadblocks to development, increasing housing supply and choice, and strengthening accountability," said Finance Chairman French Hill R-Ark.
"Next year, we look forward to working with our Senate colleagues to send a bill to the president's desk that reflects the views of both chambers and leads to more affordable choices for America's homeowners and renters."
The Trump administration is attracting political heat over affordability issues that influence housing policy despite expanding Low Income Housing Tax Credits provision that was part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
Low Income Housing Tax Credits are issued by the Internal Revenue Service and administered by state-level Housing Finance Agencies.
OBBBA makes a temporary 12% increase in the allocation of 9% LIHTCs permanent starting in 2026.
It also reduces the amount of private activity bond financing needed for affordable housing developers to quality for 4% tax credits from 50% to 25%.
Housing advocates maintain that dropping the percentage will increase PAB efficiency and allow projects to carry less debt resulting in more eligible projects.
Bond attorneys are still culling through the
Sen. Adam Schiff D- Calif., wants to inject more capital into the affordable housing space via a new bill that would "triple the state cap on 9% LIHTCs to states for all qualifying affordable housing projects that meet program requirements."
"We need to take action, and to make it possible for families to achieve the American dream. I will be focused on building bipartisan support for this bill in Congress, so we can build millions of new homes and make life more affordable for families," said Schiff.
"We have not yet done a full analysis of Senator Schiff's bill and don't have any comment on the specifics," said Stockton Williams, executive director, National Council of State Housing Agencies.
"Overall, the legislation's ambition and comprehensive approach seem well matched to the scope of America's housing affordability crisis."
Year-end defense reauthorizations often attracts miscellaneous riders and amendments. A provision that would ban the Federal Reserve from issuing a central bank digital currency didn't make the cut this year.
The controversial Financial Data Transparency Act, which was tacked onto the 2022 NDAA, requires the muni industry to implement uniform, machine-readable data standards as opposed to relying on PDFs.
