Allow me to wish you a Happy July 4th. As we enter the summer months may you find time to relax, enjoy family and friends and forget what is going on (or not) back in Washington. 

As for what is going on in our nation’s Capitol, much remains the same as the noise level is constant but the action not so much.  The current debate on repeal of the Affordable Care Act has shifted back to the Senate as the Republican conference released its bill to its Members for review. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell had hoped to vote on the bill before his members left town for the July 4th week-long recess but with opposition and calls for a delay of the vote growing, the Leader seems to have acquiesced and has announced a delay in voting on the Senate version of the bill until after the July 4th recess. Why is this important to we housing folks you may ask? Real action and debate on tax reform cannot take place until the ACA debate has subsided and tax writers know if they have additional tax revenue from ACA repeal to put toward lowering rates. This does not look likely at this point, adding to the consternation of House Leadership as they struggle to find consensus behind a tax bill.  

It is looking more likely that the best case scenario for tax reform may be a corporate rate in the area of 28%. This by no means is a given as many issues must be worked out even to reach that meager level of rate reduction. Partisan tax reform entails passing it through the reconciliation process which means the House and Senate must pass an FY2018 budget. This is not a certainty at this point with many believing the best Congress will be able to do is a Continuing Resolution for the year. This will complicate further the tax reform process. These issues are being hammered out now, as well as the sure to be contentious Debt Ceiling debate. I could go on forever so let’s leave it at tax reform is very much up in the air and in my opinion, remains a 2017 issue, although it could stretch a little into 2018. 

Of immediate focus for us is continuing to secure cosponsors of the Cantwell/Hatch LIHTC expansion bill, S.548, and the Tiberi/Neal Bill, HR 1661. For the House bill, Reps. Sanchez, Thompson, Brownley, Carbajal, Eshoo and Calvert have signed on as cosponsors. We need to increase this number and focus on Reps. McCarthy and Nunes among the delegation. Demonstrating strong support for these expansion bills will be crucial to our efforts to have them included in tax legislation once there is tax legislation. 

So, as we all begin to enjoy the summer, keep in mind opportunities to highlight affordable housing properties with Members of Congress and their staff. This will not only aid in our efforts on behalf of the LIHTC but also our advocacy for HUD programs in the budget process.