(RECAP: With the elderly population rapidly expanding as baby boomers enter retirement age, a task force from the Bipartisan Policy Center is calling on the federal government to spur renewed investment in affordable housing for seniors. Among the task force’s recommendations is to expand the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program significantly to finance the production and preservation of affordable rental units. The group also suggested a new program be made using LIHTCs and project-based rental help to support further construction and attract funding from health care programs for services. And it recommended adequate funding for the Section 202 program, which provides rental help to elderly individuals.)

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(RECAP: Our nation is aging and millions of older adults will struggle to find housing that is both affordable and physically suitable. As co-chairs of the Bipartisan Policy Center’s Senior Health and Housing Task Force, we (Henry Cisneros and Mel Martinez) are releasing a report Monday with a set of recommendations that Congress, the administration and states could implement that would enhance the lives of America’s seniors. The acute shortage of affordable homes forces low-income households of all ages to spend excessive amounts of income just to pay the rent. But, it is particularly tragic when an older adult, often living alone, must forego essentials like nutritious food and medications to pay for housing.)

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(RECAP: On May 19, Senator Cantwell (D-WA) and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-UT) introduced S. 2962, the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act of 2016, which would enact several of NCSHA’s Housing Credit-related legislative priorities. The bill would address the severe shortage of affordable rental housing by increasing Housing Credit authority by 50 percent over five years beginning in 2017 and providing states additional flexibility in their program administration. The legislation also increases the small state minimum by 50 percent, also over five years. In addition to the cap increase, the legislation would set a minimum 4 percent Housing Credit rate for both acquisition Credits and for Housing Bond-financed Credit properties, allowing states to provide more Credit equity to these developments if necessary to achieve their financial feasibility.)

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