Sen. Kaine Co-Sponsors Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act of 2017

U.S. Senator Tim Kaine recently announced that he is joining his colleagues Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-UT) to co-sponsor the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act of 2017, a bill that would boost affordable housing options for low-income families in Virginia.

The comprehensive bill would expand and reform the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit to encourage developers to increase the supply of affordable housing. Currently, Virginia has a shortage of 165,000 units of affordable housing for extremely low-income renters. Over 70 percent of extremely low-income renters spend more than half their income on rent in Virginia. The Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act would create or preserve 1.3 million affordable homes nationally over 10 years, an increase of 400,000 over what is feasible under the current program.

“This bill marks an important step toward addressing Virginia’s affordable housing needs,” Kaine said. “By expanding and updating the low-income housing tax credit, we can attract additional development and ensure that hardworking Virginians have access to quality, affordable housing for their families.”

The legislation would expand the Housing Credit by 50 percent, provide flexibility to make the financing of affordable housing more predictable and streamlined, facilitate Housing Credit development in challenging markets like rural and Native American communities, increase the Housing Credit’s ability to serve extremely low-income tenants, and support the preservation of existing affordable housing.