House Passes Tax Relief Act With Vital Housing Credit Provisions

Tonight, H.R. 7024, the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act of 2024, passed the full House of Representatives by a vote of 357-70. H.R. 7024 includes our housing credit provisions – the restoration of the 12.5 percent allocation increase for 2023-2025 and the reduction of the bond threshold required to access the 4 percent credit from 50 percent to 30 percent for 2024 – 2025.  

The bill, reported by the House Ways and Means Committee on January 19th by a resounding 40-3 vote, was considered on the House floor under suspension of the rules. This procedure allows the House to pass a bill more quickly because debate is limited to 40 minutes, points of order are waived, and no amendments are allowed. Under suspension of the rules, the legislation must pass by a two-thirds vote of Members present and voting.  

The 40 minutes of debate primarily focused on the child tax credit and business tax provisions in the bill, but the housing credit provisions were noted by a number of Ways and Means Committee members, including comments by Committee Chair Jason Smith (R-MO) regarding the bill providing for more construction of affordable, safe housing and Ranking Member Richard Neal (D-MA) who said the housing credit provisions are sound policy.  

Our champions, Reps. Darin LaHood (R-IL), Suzan DelBene (D-WA), Don Beyer (D-VA), and Jimmy Panetta (D-CA) voiced their strong support for the LIHTC provisions in the bill. Rep. LaHood noted the LIHTC provisions were from the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act (AHCIA) and commented that the AHCIA has 212 cosponsors evenly divided between Republicans and Democrats. He stated that we are facing an affordable housing crisis and said strengthening the LIHTC will successfully bridge the gap to more affordable housing. Rep. DelBene noted the impact of the provisions on production and commented that they represent the largest expansion of the LIHTC program in several decades. Rep. Beyer also noted that the bill will result in the production of over 200,000 additional affordable rental units. 

Other Ways and Means Members who spoke on the LIHTC provisions included Reps. Dwight Evans (D-PA) who commented that the LIHTC provisions are urgently needed as people struggle to pay rent; Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY) who said the provisions will help build affordable housing by expanding initiatives enacted in the Reagan Administration; and Brad Schneider (D-IL) who also noted that the bill will expand the affordable housing supply.

The strong bipartisan vote should give momentum to moving the bill through the Senate, but the path forward remains unclear. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has yet to indicate whether or not he supports the package, and Senate Minority Whip John Thune (R-SD) stated that the bill should be marked up in the Finance Committee, where its members could offer amendments to change the package. Proponents of the bill have suggested that it bypass the Committee and go directly to the Senate floor to expedite its consideration. Even under that scenario, moving the bill through the Senate will take time due to a 60-vote threshold necessary to avoid procedural hurdles. We encourage you to continue your outreach to members of the Senate, asking for their support of the House-passed bill, and for their help in urging its consideration as soon as possible. 

We have made tremendous progress on our LIHTC priorities, and you have been a vital part of the effort. If these provisions are enacted into law, they will lay the groundwork and set a new baseline for our efforts on the 9 percent and bond programs in 2025.  

Thanks for all you are doing, and we will keep you posted on any developments.