Over the next few weeks, Congress is negotiating annual funding to keep the federal government operating after Sept. 30. This is a great opportunity to advocate for increased investments in affordable housing and rental assistance programs. It is imperative that members convey the need for affordable housing and rental assistance, by helping lawmakers understand the vital role these programs have in their communities. Please contact your lawmakers and tell them to:

1. Urge your lawmakers to fully fund housing and community development programs for fiscal year 2023 that support and protect hard-working families, low-income seniors, people with disabilities, and other vulnerable communities.
2. Address homelessness and housing instability by increasing and expanding rental assistance. Ask lawmakers to support increased funding and expand access for the Housing Choice Voucher program and Project-Based Rental Assistance (including Sec. 202 and Sec. 811) and Sec. 521 Rural Rental Assistance.
3. Support the preservation of Affordable Housing by funding the HOME Program, the Housing Trust Fund, and the Multifamily Rural Preservation and Revitalization program.
4. Expand the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC). Ask your lawmakers to support passage of the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act (S. 1136 / H.R. 2573) to enhance and expand LIHTC.

Your legislators want to hear from you! Take a moment to email your lawmakers, or NAHMA can assist in requesting a Virtual Meeting with lawmaker(s) offices. You can help us and add your voice by completing these steps:

1. NAHMA can assist in setting up virtual meetings with your lawmakers, just contact Larry Keys (lkeys@nahma.org) or Michal Machnowski (mmachnowski@nahma.org) with your meeting requests. Please note that due to the evolving nature of Congressional schedules, interested NAHMA members should provide several dates of availability for a virtual meeting.
2. Enter your address to contact your U.S. Senator(s) and Representative (s), utilizing this free tool: https://democracy.io/#!/ Please complete the respective categories with your email and contact information.

• Subject: Congress Must Support Increased Funding for Affordable Housing Programs
• Message to copy and paste: NAHMA members continue to be on the frontlines, working to improve the lives of our residents every day, while navigating a pandemic and economic challenges (increased operating costs, labor shortages, and supply chain delays). We urge you to support increased funding for rental assistance programs, including the Housing Choice Voucher, Project Based Rental Assistance (Sec. 202 and Sec. 811) and for the Rural Rental Assistance Program; to support the preservation of affordable housing by funding the HOME program, the Housing Trust Fund and the Multifamily Rural Preservation and Revitalization program; and to increase the new construction of affordable housing by supporting LIHTC and the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act.
• At the end, Select one of the following topics: “Housing”, “Housing and Community Development”, or “Banking and Financial Services”.

Members can find recent letters NAHMA sent to Congress on a range of issues including: NAHMA Urges Congress to Provide Funding Increases for Affordable Housing and Rental Assistance (May 25, 2022); NAHMA and Industry Partners Provide Comments on H.R.7981 – Public and Federally Assisted Housing Fire Safety Act of 2022 (August 2, 2022); NAHMA and Industry Partners Request Congress to Continue Funding RA Contracts Provided Through the American Rescue Plan Act (July 8, 2022); and LIHTC-related advocacy materials on the Affordable Credit Improvement Act (ACTION’s Campaign’s Advocacy Toolkit).

Keep up the advocacy! Congress will be in recess until after Labor Day, so let them know your thoughts.