From Republican Congressman Darin LaHood:
LaHood, DelBene, Bipartisan Colleagues Reintroduce Legislation to Support Affordable Housing
Washington, D.C. – Tuezay, Congressman Darin LaHood (IL-16) and Congresswoman Suzan DelBene (WA-01) reintroduced the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act to support the financing and development of affordable housing across the country.
Representatives LaHood and DelBene were joined by Representatives Claudia Tenney (NY-24), Don Beyer (VA-08), Randy Feenstra (IA-04), and Jimmy Panetta (CA-19). The bill, which expands and strengthens the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (Housing Credit), has over 100 bipartisan original cosponsors in the House.
“As I travel throughout Illinois’ 16th Congressional District, I frequently hear how the shortage of affordable housing impacts our communities throughout central and northwestern Illinois,” said Rep. LaHood.
“To address this growing crisis across the country, Congress must strengthen tools to drive investment into affordable workforce housing and expand housing options for hardworking families nationwide.
“I am proud to reintroduce the bipartisan Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act alongside Representatives DelBene, Tenney, Beyer, Feenstra, and Panetta to strengthen our communities and support economic development.”
“Too many families are struggling to find a safe, affordable place to call home. This is a pervasive problem across America and in Washington,” said Rep. DelBene. “When people have stable housing, it has a ripple effect throughout other aspects of life. They’re better able to support their families and succeed at work. This overwhelmingly bipartisan legislation makes smart, targeted investments to increase affordable housing supply and help meet the needs of growing communities both in Washington and across the country.”
“Since 1986, the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit has supported the development of more than 8,300 units through $55M of allocations in NY-24 alone,” said Rep. Tenney. “The Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act leverages private investments to increase access to affordable housing for low-income families in rural communities. It is a privilege to join my colleagues in reintroducing this legislation to ensure this vital program continues to serve those who need it most.”
“My community, like many others around the country, is facing a crisis in affordable housing,” said Rep. Beyer. “This bill would expand and update the most effective tool for financing affordable housing, and take a big step forward in addressing the massive need for affordable housing across the nation.”
“In rural Iowa, access to affordable housing is critical for young families looking to plant their roots, local businesses attracting employees, and the long-term growth of our economy. However, with housing costs consistently increasing and construction projects being more difficult to finance in rural areas, we need to enact smart and cost-effective strategies to expand the housing supply and bring down prices,” said Rep. Feenstra. “I’m glad to work with my Ways and Means Committee colleague, Rep. Darin LaHood, to introduce the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act to expand and improve incentives in the tax code to build more housing. This commonsense policy will pay dividends for affordable housing in rural Iowa and help our families find housing options that fit their budgets.”
“Too many working families struggle to find affordable housing, be it in California’s 19th Congressional District or across the country,” said Rep. Panetta. “The bipartisan Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act would strengthen the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, helping finance nearly 2 million affordable homes over the next decade while creating jobs and generating economic growth. By incentivizing the development of affordable housing through this public-private partnership, we can start to tackle the housing crisis and provide more families with the opportunity to not just work, but also to live in the same community.”
“The reintroduction of the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act is a vital step toward addressing our nation’s housing crisis. Expanding the Housing Credit is the most effective way to increase the supply of affordable housing, leveraging public-private partnerships to build and preserve homes for working families, seniors, and vulnerable communities. At a time when rents are rising and supply is lagging, strengthening the Housing Credit will ensure that more Americans have access to safe, stable, and affordable housing,” said Ayrianne Parks and Jennifer Schwartz, co-chairs of the ACTION Campaign. “The ACTION Campaign thanks Representatives Darin LaHood, Suzan DelBene, Claudia Tenney, Don Beyer, Randy Feenstra, and Jimmy Panetta for their leadership.”
“The overwhelming bipartisan support for the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act of 2025 underscores the critical need to increase the supply of affordable rental homes,” said Affordable Housing Tax Credit Coalition Chief Executive Officer Emily Cadik. “We thank Congressman LaHood, Congresswoman DelBene, Congresswoman Tenney, Congressman Beyer, Congressman Feenstra and Congressman Panetta for their leadership and the more than 100 bipartisan cosponsors for supporting this commonsense solution to expand and strengthen the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, a proven, pro-growth tool with a nearly 40-year record of leveraging private investment to fill a critical need.”
Background:
Since its creation, the Housing Credit has built or restored more than 3.5 million affordable housing units, nearly 90% of all federally funded affordable housing during that time. Roughly 8 million American households have benefited from the credit, and the economic activity that it generated has supported 5.5 million jobs and generated more than $617 billion in wages.
The Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act will support the financing of nearly two million new affordable homes across the country by:
- Increasing the number of credits allocated to each state by 50 percent for the next two years and making the temporary 12.5 percent increase secured in 2018 permanent. These credits have already helped build more than 59,000 additional affordable housing units nationwide.
- Increasing the number of affordable housing projects that can be built using private activity bonds. This provision stabilizes financing for workforce housing projects built using private activity bonds by decreasing the amount of private activity needed to secure Housing Credit funding. As a result, projects would have to carry less debt, and more projects would be eligible to receive funding.
- Improving the Housing Credit program to serve at-risk and underserved communities, including veterans, victims of domestic violence, and rural Americans.
Last Congress, the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act had 273 bipartisan cosponsors in the House of Representatives and 34 in the Senate.
The text of the legislation can be found HERE.
