Western Governors’ Association Recognizes Importance of Housing
The Western Governors’ Association (WGA), a bipartisan organization that represents the governors of 22 of the westernmost states and territories, has issued an official policy resolution stating that “housing is foundational to the success of the West.”
“As a long-standing partner and supporter of WGA, NAHB commends the WGA for making housing and homeownership an important national priority,” said NAHB Chairman Jerry Konter. “We look forward to continuing to work with WGA to provide attainable, affordable housing for all Americans.”
Declaring that “housing is foundational to economic development and community vitality,” the WGA’s resolution recommends actions to improve federal housing programs and resources, particularly the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC), so that they function more effectively for western states and territories.
Specifically the resolution calls for:
- The federal government to enable the LIHTC program to work more effectively for underserved and high-cost communities by urging the federal government to reauthorize the expansion of 9% LIHTC tax credits that expired at the end of 2021 and to increase LIHTC allocations by 50% to help meet the need for affordable housing.
- Congress to pass legislation lowering the threshold of private activity bond financing from 50% to 25%, which the WGA says would “result in an immediate increase in affordable housing opportunities and hundreds of thousands of additional homes being built or preserved.”
- The Department of Labor to consider providing Davis-Bacon waivers for multifamily projects in small and rural communities, which often have a limited pool of contractors.
- Congress to pass legislation facilitating the purchase of federal land by state or local governments at a reduced price for the purpose of increasing the supply of residential housing.
- The federal government to support state housing finance and public housing agencies and explore ways to improve the services and resources provide by them.
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