Current Actions

Sign on to Support Rural Housing

Mon, 27 Apr 2020 04:00:00 GMT

Congress is scheduled to return to Washington next week. With the House and Senate back in session, debate on the next bill to address the health and economic crisis spawned by CONVID-19 pandemic will begin.

As you previous COVID-19 response legislation did not provide a penny for rural housing or community facilities. NRHC is working to change that by proposing both changes in law to help low income homeowners but also measures preserve rental housing and protection tenants as well proposals to help jump start the rural economy as the pandemic recedes.

Please take a careful look at this letter. I hope you will sign on. The deadline for signing is Friday, May 1.

Sign-on and Urge Congress to Provide $1 Billion for the CDFI Fund

Mon, 27 Apr 2020 04:00:00 GMT

The CDFI Coalition is sponsoring a sign-on letter to the House and Senate leadership in support of $1 billion in additional appropriations for the CDFI Fund. The letter requests that this is included in the next round of legislation to address the pandemic. The funding is vitally important to assisting communities, people and businesses in the greatest need.

Preserve the New Markets Tax Credit

Fri, 01 Nov 2019 04:00:00 GMT

The New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) expires at the end of 2019. Please take a moment to sign your organization onto our letter to the 116th Congress calling for a long term extension and expansion of the NMTC.

Make the New Markets Tax Credit Permanent

Wed, 23 Jan 2019 05:00:00 GMT

Please take a moment to sign your organization onto our letter to the 116th Congress calling for a permanent extension and expansion of the NMTC.

Call Your Senators and Urge them to Oppose Rescissions to CDFI Fund Programs

Tue, 19 Jun 2018 04:00:00 GMT

The Senate is expected to vote on the House-passed rescissions bill, H.R. 3 as soon as Wednesday, June 20th. Please call your Senators and ask them to oppose the rescission to Capital Magnet Fund and Bank Enterprise Awards. Talking points will appear along with your Senators' phone number after you enter your address.

Background

Despite widespread support for CDFI Fund Programs, including the passage of the FY 2017 and FY 2018 appropriations bills, the bill rescinds funding for two community development programs that have a long history of bipartisan support. The rescission proposal would claw back $22,787,358 from Fiscal Year 2017 for Bank Enterprise Awards (BEA), and $141,716,839 from Capital Magnet Fund (CMF) authorized by the Housing and Economic Recovery Act (HERA) of 2008 (Public Law 110-289) for FY 2018. The funds on hand at CMF and proposed for rescission are not federal discretionary funds. HERA authorized transfers from Government Sponsored Entities (GSEs) to CMF.

Urge House Appropriators to Restore Funding for FY 19 CDFI Fund Appropriations

Fri, 01 Jun 2018 04:00:00 GMT

The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services-General Government (FSGG) reduced funding for CDFI Fund programs by $59 million in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 FSGG Appropriations bill. At face value this is a 23% reduction, but in reality, it will be a much greater cut given CDFIs leverage $12 for every dollar in federal funds.

We are requesting organizations, businesses and public officials sign onto this letter to urge the House to provide at least $250 million for the CDFI Fund, which is the amount provided for FY 18.

The deadline for signatures is Friday, June 8th at 12 pm Eastern Time.

Organizations in Opposition to Rescissions of funding for CDFI Fund's BEA and CMF Programs

Mon, 14 May 2018 04:00:00 GMT

The deadline for this letter is 4pm Eastern Time on Thursday, May 17th.The House has introduced H.R. 3 to rescind $22.78 million from Bank Enterprise Awards (BEA) and $141.76 million in funding for the Capital Magnet Fund (CMF). Both programs are administered by the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund of the Treasury Department. Both rescissions were also proposed by the Administration in its rescission package.

CDFIs Oppose BEA and CMF Rescission

Thu, 10 May 2018 04:00:00 GMT

Despite widespread support for CDFI Fund Programs, including the passage of the FY 2017 and FY 2018 appropriations bills, on May 9, the House leadership introduced H.R. 3, which rescinds funding for two community development programs that have a long history of bipartisan support. The rescission proposal would claw back $22,787,358 from Fiscal Year 2017 for Bank Enterprise Awards (BEA), and $141,716,839 from Capital Magnet Fund (CMF) authorized by the Housing and Economic Recovery Act (HERA) of 2008 (Public Law 110-289) for FY 2018. The funds on hand at CMF and proposed for rescission are not federal discretionary funds. HERA authorized transfers from Government Sponsored Entities (GSEs) to CMF.

Sign-On Letter to Oppose Rescission to USDA Rental Assistance Program

Thu, 10 May 2018 04:00:00 GMT

We are asking all NRHC members to sign-on to the letter below that we will be sending to Congress in opposition to the Rescission Package which you can read in full here. Please respond by 5 p.m. tomorrow.

.....

Dear Congress,

The National Rural Housing Coalition is a national membership organization that advocates for policies and programs that improve housing conditions in rural America. We write to oppose the rescission of $ 40 million in rental assistance funds proposed by the Administration on May on 8th. Rental Assistance (RA) serves some of rural America's most vulnerable residents, including seniors, families with very low incomes, persons with disabilities and farm workers. The average income for a tenant receiving RA is $10,554. RA is used in conjunction with other USDA housing programs to ensure that qualified renters spend no more than 30 percent of their monthly income on housing. In addition,over 62 percent of RA households are elderly or persons with disabilities, 31.5 percent are headed by persons of color, and 73 percent are female headed households.

Here is a excerpt from the USDA FY 19 Congressional Justification: "RA provides tenants with the financial support needed to live in safe homes where they can enjoy greater security and stability. Tenants receiving RA benefits have average annual incomes of less than $11,000. These very low-income families have very few viable housing options, and would often be homeless without RA." (Emphasis added)

This is a very simple matter. Rural families are among the worst housed in our country. If Congress approves the rescission USDA will not have the funds necessary to renew up to 9000 expiring rental assistance contracts. In turn, low income families across rural America will lose their only option for affordable housing and rural housing conditions will have gotten that much worse.

It is for these reasons that we urge Congress to reject this proposal and continue to provide assistance to rural families in need of affordable housing.

Sincerely,

Take Action

Tue, 20 May 2025 04:00:00 GMT

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Sign-on to Support at Least $1.7 Billion for HOME in FY 2022

Tue, 02 Mar 2021 05:00:00 GMT

Sign your organization's name onto our letter to tell Congress to include at least $1.7 billion for HOME in the FY 2022 Appropriations round.

Sign on to Help Communities Recover by Extending and Expanding the New Markets Tax Credit

Mon, 01 Jun 2020 04:00:00 GMT

The NMTC has a 20-year track record of promoting revitalization in America’s economically distressed rural and urban communities. These communities – which were struggling with high poverty and unemployment before the recent economic collapse – now face severe challenges in securing capital, challenges that pre-dated the pandemic.

Please sign your organization onto this letter in support of additional NMTCs to address the Covid crisis. This letter is for organizations. We collect the city, state, and zip of your organization in order to ensure your members of Congress see the letter.