Ask your representatives to sign onto Representative Keith Ellison's (D-MN) Dear Colleague letter, urging Congress to reinvest federal housing dollars in any tax reform legislation to address America’s growing affordable rental housing crisis for people with the greatest needs.
House Republicans are slated to unveil their tax reform plan tomorrow. It is increasingly likely that it will make some changes to the mortgage interest deduction (MID) and use these housing dollars to pay for lowering tax rates for billionaires and corporations.
Mr. Ellison has issued a Dear Colleague letter calling on Congress to keep housing dollars in housing by reinvesting any savings from reforming the MID — whether through direct changes or by increasing the standard tax deduction — into highly targeted rental housing programs, like the national Housing Trust Fund, the Low Income Housing Tax Credit with improvements to ensure deeper income targeting, and other rental assistance and production programs.
Comprehensive tax reform provides one of the best opportunities to end homelessness and housing poverty once and for all. By reinvesting federal housing resources, Congress can make the critical investments that our nation needs to help America's families, our local communities, and our national economy thrive.
HOW YOU CAN TAKE ACTION
- Ask your representative to sign onto Representative Ellison's Dear Colleague letter, urging Congress to keep housing dollars in housing – not to offset the cost of lowering tax rates for billionaires and corporations.The deadline for representatives to sign on is now November 3!
- Thank your representative who has already signed onto Mr. Ellison’s Dear Colleague letter. It’s important that our champions hear from you!
Members of Congress who have already signed on include: Gwen Moore (D-WI), Alma Adams (D-NC), Bob Brady (D-PA), Andre Carson (D-IN), David Cicilline (D-RI), Yvette Clarke (D-NY), Steve Cohen (D-TN), Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ), John Conyers (D-MI), Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA), Adriano Espaillat (D-NY), Al Green (D-TX), Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), Luis Gutierrez (D-IL), Alcee Hastings (D-FL), Denny Heck (D-WA), Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), Ruben Kihuen (D-NV), Rick Larsen (D-WA), Brenda Lawrence (D-MI), Barbara Lee (D-CA), Gregory Meeks (D-NY), Grace Napolitano (D-CA), Richard Nolan (D-MN), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Chellie Pingree (D-ME), Mark Pocan (D-WI), Bobby Rush (D-IL), Tim Ryan (D-OH), Jose Serrano (D-NY), Louise Slaughter (D-NY), Darren Soto (D-FL) and Nydia Velazquez (D-NY)
- Sign your organization onto our petition in support of Representative Ellison's Dear Colleague letter and join more than 2,000 housing advocacy organizations who support reinvesting scarce federal housing dollars into affordable housing programs.