By Kristen Cheriegate: Senior Policy Analyst | Ms. Cheriegate navigates ICAST through the policy world to obtain real-world solutions, funding resources, and networks with potential partners to provide more services to low- and moderate-income households.
ICAST’s mission never falters, and we continue to scale the delivery of green solutions to positively impact vulnerable households in low-income and disadvantaged communities (LIDACs). In the policy sphere, we have been responding to state and Federal-level Requests for Information regarding programmatic funding, engaging in committee and conference meetings at the state and national level, and networking continuously to assist in advocating legislation and programmatic guidance that directly supports our target populations.
With state legislative seasons upon us, we wanted to show how our mission and work overlap with the priorities of some of the largest national housing organizations. Below are a few key examples for the 2024 year:
- National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO)
- Expand funding for programs that increase self-sufficiency and stability in low-income families.
- Strengthen the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) by permanently increasing the allocation by 50 percent and lowering the “50 Percent Test” to 25 percent.
- National Housing Conference (NHC)
- Commit to addressing affordable housing preservation shortages of single-family and multifamily units in urban, suburban, rural, and Tribal areas.
- Reduce barriers to producing and preserving affordable housing, like exclusionary zoning, development fees on affordable housing, and other regulatory impediments to increasing supply, are key components of our approach.
- Expand homeownership and increase racial equity by concentrating efforts to better assist Black Americans and Americans of AAPI, Latino, and Native American national origins.
- National Council of State Housing Agencies (NCSHA)
- Expand the supply and preservation of affordable for-sale and rental homes for low- and moderate-income households.
- Expand access, affordability, and financial sustainability in housing for households and communities of color and others disproportionately harmed by disasters, discrimination, and disinvestment.
- Strengthen the capacity of state housing finance agencies to more efficiently and effectively serve as the center of the nation’s affordable housing finance systems.
- National Affordable Housing Management Association (NAHMA)
- Ensure robust funding for Federal multifamily housing programs in FY24 and FY25 by advocating for full funding for project-based Section 8, tenant-based Section 8, Section 202 and 811 PRACs, HOME, Housing Trust Fund, and Rural Rental Assistance contracts.
- Protect and expand the LIHTC in tax reform efforts by supporting expansion and reform legislation to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the program.
- Ensuring the preservation of the USDA-RHS affordable rental housing portfolio by advocating for funding to address the capital needs of the RD portfolio.
For our work to be possible, it is imperative that affordable housing preservation organizations are aligned in their priorities each year, as we see above. With a national shortage of affordable homes for LIDACs, sustainable financing levels are inevitably necessary to preserve the nation’s aging affordable housing. Together, we fight for legislation to include programmatic funding that aligns with Justice40 goals, at minimum, and will provide LIDACs with much-needed tools, technical assistance, and financing.