Congress is prepared to make historic investments in affordable housing centered on President Biden’s vision of investing in communities to address racial inequity, climate change and economic recovery in his Build Back Better Plan. A two-track approach is underway to pass both a $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and a $3.5 trillion Build Back Better reconciliation bill. The reconciliation bill includes NYHC’s top priorities: rental assistance to combat homelessness and housing insecurity; full funding for public housing repairs; and resources to expand affordable housing supply.
If enacted into law, this package will help to combat New York’s affordable housing crisis over the next decade in transformative ways by 1) providing rental assistance to 69,000 households; 2) funding repairs for NYC’s nearly 170,000 public housing units; and 3) expanding affordable housing supply with at least $9 billion in new HUD funding and by at least 82,200 units financed by the Low Income Housing Tax Credit.
Read New York Housing Conference’s analysis of the two bills here.