HOME Investment Partnerships National Sign-On Letter - Congress Should Fund at least $1.5 Billion for HOME in FY2021
We, the undersigned XXXX national, state, and local organizations, write to express our strong support for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's HOME Investment Partnerships (HOME) program and urge you to appropriate at least $1.5 billion for the program in Fiscal Year (FY) 2021. We thank you for rejecting the Administration’s proposed elimination of HOME in the past three fiscal years and for funding HOME at $1.365 billion in FY 2020. This represents HOME’s second highest HOME allocation since FY 2011 and is a significant step in restoring a key affordable housing program that was cut nearly in half between FY 2010 and FY 2017. Given the growing need for affordable housing across the country and the great benefits that HOME provides, we urge you to continue to restore HOME funding to at least $1.5 billion in FY 2021

For over 25 years, HOME has proven to be one of the most effective tools to help states and communities address their most pressing housing challenges, providing states and localities with necessary flexibility and resources. HOME funds have been used to build and preserve over 1.31 million affordable homes and to provide direct rental assistance to more than 369,000 vulnerable families. HOME is a smart investment—leveraging more than $4.44 in public and private funds for every dollar of HOME funding—and has supported over 1.8 million jobs and generated $118 billion in local income, according to the HOME Coalition’s most recent analysis.

HOME provides essential soft funding to properties assisted by the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (Housing Credit) and other programs.  This makes affordable rental housing developments financially feasible and allows deeper income targeting to serve persons experiencing homelessness, seniors, veterans, and persons with disabilities. For example, HOME funds provided essential gap financing in more than a quarter of Housing Credit developments targeted to addressing homelessness from 2003 to 2017.

Not only is HOME central to efforts to combat the affordable rental housing crisis, but it also meets critical homeownership needs by allowing states and localities to provide down payment assistance to credit-worthy home buyers, lower mortgage interest rates, and assist with homeowner rehabilitation, which may be necessary to address housing quality issues, make properties accessible, and allow owners to age in place.  No other federal program provides as flexible of a financing source for addressing the housing needs of low-income families.

We are encouraged by what states and localities will be able to accomplish with their recent HOME allocations, but we also know that communities across the country will face increased demands for HOME funding, including providing additional gap financing in Housing Credit deals impacted by lower corporate tax rates enacted as part of tax reform; financing increasing numbers of Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) conversions; and redirecting their HOME funds to respond and rebuild after natural disasters.  It is therefore critical that HOME funding be increased.

Despite the robust funding you helped to provide in FY 2020, HOME is still funded at 25 percent below the funding level provided in FY 2010, and the program was funded at nearly 50 percent below the FY 2010 appropriation for years. These cuts have had serious consequences. Between FY 2011 and FY 2016, we saw a 60 percent drop in affordable housing units built or preserved through HOME, stymying efforts by states and localities to provide affordable housing to those in need.

HOME is a much-needed, successful, popular, and effective tool in addressing local housing needs.  We therefore urge you to continue to support the HOME program by providing an FY 2021 appropriation of at least $1.5 billion.  

If you have any questions about this letter, please contact Josh Shumaker (jshumaker@coscda.org) with the Council of State Community Development Agencies or Alec Williams (alexanderwilliams@enterprisecommunity.org) with Enterprise Community Partners.

Sincerely,

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