Thank Congressman Mark Pocan for being the sixth Congressman to sign on as a co-sponsor.
Sorry Mark . . . and uh, yeah, that’s Madison’s own Joseph Lindstrom at the bottom of this email! Thanks Joe!!!
Hello fellow advocates-
Affordable housing continues to be a dire need throughout the country, including in the south central region of Wisconsin. In Congressman Mark Pocan’s district (2nd-WI), there are currently 25,849 extremely low income renter households, and yet there are only 6,290 rental housing units that are affordable and available to them. This enormous shortage of affordable housing results in 72% of extremely low income households paying more than 50% of their income for rent.
The problem is not new to most of you. There is, however, a new solution. You may have heard that two weeks ago Representative Keith Ellison (D-MN) introduced H.R. 1213, the Common Sense Housing Investment Act. This legislation will modify the mortgage interest deduction by converting it to a 15% non-refundable credit and by putting a cap on eligible mortgages at $500,000. If passed, this proposal will raise $197 billion in new revenue over ten years, and it will make mortgage tax benefits available to 16 million more Americans.
Most importantly, H.R. 1213 takes revenue gains from mortgage interest deduction reform and continues to use them for housing subsidies—just redirected to the people who need a subsidy most. Under H.R. 1213, the $197 billion in new revenue will be dedicated to the following programs:
· $109 billion to the National Housing Trust Fund
· $54 billion in additional funding to Section 8 Rental Assistance
· $18 billion to the Public Housing Capital Fund
· $14 billion to Low Income Housing Tax Credits
With $109 billion in funding for the National Housing Trust Fund, an estimated $1.782 billion would be directed to Wisconsin for the development, preservation, and rehabilitation of affordable housing. This landmark legislation would finally address the affordability gap and put America on the path to ending homelessness.
In order to get this bold legislation some early momentum, co-sponsors are needed in the House of Representatives, and Congressman Pocan has not signed on. He needs to hear from you! Please call Rep. Pocan’s office at 202-225-2906 or send him an email. There is a sample email attached to this message.
If you want to know more about the United for Homes Campaign, please visit our website or check out the attached Campaign Overview. On the website you will find everything from frequently asked questions to tax policy data to the Dear Colleague letter that Rep. Ellison circulated to other House Members asking for their support.
As of today, 1,041 organizations throughout the country have endorsed the campaign, and more support from Wisconsin is needed! Get your organization to sign on!
Please let me know if you have any questions about the United for Homes campaign or about mortgage interest deduction reform.
Thanks for all you do!
JOSEPH LINDSTROM | OUTREACH ASSOCIATE
National Low Income Housing Coalition
727 15th St NW, 6th Floor
Washington, D.C. 20005
202.662.1530 x222
