January 2024 began with a flurry of activity centered on government spending. Despite Congress moving on January 18 to pass a last-minute continuing resolution (CR) and avoid a partial government shutdown, the final House vote signals an ominous sign for Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.-4). In the House, all but two Democrats backed the CR, while a bare majority of House Republicans voted to fund the government into early March. The results raised more uncomfortable questions about Speaker Johnson’s future and provided further evidence of disarray in the House Republican conference. On the other hand, the vote in the Senate proved far more bipartisan, with a vote of 77-18 in favor of the CR. Lawmakers now have approximately five to six weeks to finish a dozen funding bills, with new shutdown deadlines set for March 1 and March 8.
If this daunting task wasn’t enough, lawmakers are also trying to make progress on negotiations centered around a bipartisan immigration and border security compromise linked to a critical supplemental funding package that assists allies in Israel, Taiwan and Ukraine. There is a growing concern among lawmakers that the window of opportunity to accomplish anything around immigration and border security is closing fast, given the heated rhetoric coming from former President Trump and his desire to use the issue as a cudgel in his presidential campaign.
Additionally, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (R-Mo.-8) and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) unveiled a bipartisan tax relief package that includes Republican and Democratic priorities such as expanded child tax credits, business tax relief and improvements to the low-income housing tax credit. A House summary of this tax relief bill can be found here. On January 19, the House Ways & Means Committee passed this $70 billion tax package, with additional legislative activity expected in the coming weeks.
NAA is pushing for full funding of crucial federal funding housing programs for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and other housing-related programs. NAA is also urging swift passage of this bipartisan tax relief package, given the tax incentives included that would hasten the construction of new affordable housing.
Finally, NAA’s Government Affairs team is continuing to identify opportunities to pass the NAA’s top three industry legislative priorities—H.R. 802, The Respect State Housing Laws Act, S. 1688/H.R. 3507, The Yes in My Backyard Act and S. 32/H.R. 4606, The Choice in Affordable Housing Act—by growing the list of each bill’s cosponsors. NAAPAC is a key driving force behind advancing these bills: because of your support, we can educate members of Congress about their importance and build momentum behind these bills.
We encourage you to join NAA’s monthly Advocacy and Legal Webinar (ALW) series to see what else the NAA’s Government Affairs team is working on. NAA discusses its federal advocacy efforts, state and local trends we’re tracking from across the country and the latest legal news you need to know to help you keep up with your compliance responsibilities. To register for next month’s Advocacy and Legal Webinar (ALW) on February 21, 2024, please click here.
If you have additional questions about how your NAAPAC is working to support our legislative champions, please do not hesitate to contact us at [email protected].