With the President and Congressional leaders coming to an agreement to open the federal government through February 15th, we have a temporary reprieve from the shutdown. While the situation is still tentative, we hope a final agreement on the FY2019 budget will be reached and Washington may begin to focus on the myriad of other issues facing the country, including affordable housing. Knowing many myself, I want to salute the federal workers and those that rely on federal agencies for assistance for their perseverance and dedication during these trying 35 days.
Despite the shutdown we have been working on our affordable housing agenda on Capitol Hill with our advocates. We have had a number of working sessions with Senator Cantwell’s staff and are now reviewing the initial draft of the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act of 2019. The process has been hindered by the shutdown as Senators, Members and staff have been focused on issues directly related to the lack of federal funding and their constituents that are being affected. That and the reorganization in the House with the new Democratic majority have delayed conversations and decisions on who our new Republican lead will be in the Senate as well as the announcement of our new Democratic and Republican lead sponsors in the House. We can tell you that Ways and Means Chairman Richie Neal (D-MA) will pass off the AHCIA to one of his colleagues on the committee. Mr. Neal was emphatic that this in no way signals a lack of determination on his part to pass the AHCIA but instead allows his colleagues to work on the legislation while he is focused on the larger work of the committee. I can tell you from the perspective of those of us that work directly with the Chairman and committee staff on the bill, we still consider Mr. Neal the overall lead and champion of our efforts to expand affordable housing production. In addition, Speaker Pelosi has been and continues to be one of our strongest advocates and we are working with her staff on these and other issues as well.
My specific ask to CHC members at this time is to focus on members of your delegation that are now in positions of leadership and authority on the Ways and Means Committee, specifically Mike Thompson (CA-5) now Chairman of the Select Revenues Subcommittee, Linda Sanchez (CA-38), Judy Chu (CA-27) and Jimmy Panetta (CA-20). Mr. Panetta is the only member that did not cosponsor H.R. 1661 so we will be looking to get him on board with the new bill this session.
As for the negotiations on the budget, there are a number of ways the talks could go but pursuant to conversations I have had with a number of Senators and House Leadership, they will insist that the shutdown not be used again as a negotiating tool that puts federal workers and the nation’s economy at risk.
Stay tuned for much better news on the horizon and I believe 2019 will be a great year for our affordable housing agenda.