The trust fund would establish a dedicated fund to provide local communities with funds to build, preserve, and rehabilitate housing for people with the lowest incomes by providing resources for 1.5 million affordable housing units over a decade.

The National Affordable Housing Trust Fund Act, H.R. 2895, was reported out of the House Financial Services Committee on July 31 by a vote of 45-23. Moving out of committee is the most significant step towards law that the Housing Trust Fund legislation has taken thus far. Along with the legislation’s growing list of sponsors, the move out of committee shows the growing momentum around the Housing Trust Fund.

The vote out of committee also demonstrates the bill’s bipartisan support. Reps. Murphy and Shays, who sit on the House Financial Services Committee, voted in favor of the bill. All of the committee’s Democrats and 8 Republicans supported this legislation.

If the legislation passes, it will be the largest expansion in federal housing programs in decades, according to the House Financial Services Committee in its July 31 Press Release.

The Housing Trust Fund’s goal is “to construct, rehabilitate, and preserve 1,500,000 units of housing over the next 10 years.”

If the Housing Trust Fund bill passes, states and municipalities, as well as for-profit and non-profit groups, can use the funds to make more housing available by creating new housing, renovating older buildings, and keeping affordable housing already in their communities available.

Housing Trust Fund money will be used to assist families and individuals with extremely low incomes attain affordable rental units. These Americans, especially those at less than 30% area median income (AMI), struggle in a rental housing market that does not proportionally reflect their need.

The housing will target the population with the most need: 75% of funds must go to extremely low-income families (at less than 30% AMI). Funding is also required to assist those below the SSI income limit, and a smaller amount of money will go to help those above 50% AMI. More details on the funding breakdown are available here.

The fund is significant since it does not depend on federal taxes or annual appropriations – it will be initially be made up of $800 million to $1 billion its first year. The legislation allows for future transfers into the fund, and money will also be raised by a matching funds requirement for state, local, and private sources.

Please thank Reps. John Larson, Chris Shays, and Chris Murphy for sponsoring the National Affordable Housing Trust Fund Act and their leadership in recognizing that in our current affordable housing crisis, the Trust Fund is sorely needed.

For more information, visit the National Housing Trust Fund’s campaign website.