Moore, Yakym Introduce Bicameral Legislation to Increase Access to Homeownership

Representative Gwen Moore (D-WI-04) and Representative Rudy Yakym (R-IN-02) introduced bipartisan legislation to help working families afford their first mortgages. The Affordable Housing Bond Enhancement Act (H.R. 7414) makes improvements to the Mortgage Revenue Bond (MRB) and Mortgage Credit Certificate (MCC) programs that make first-time homeownership possible for thousands of families every year. Since the programs’ inception, nearly 4 million families who earn below the area median income have become homeowners for the first time. Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority (WHEDA) has used MRBs to help more than 130,000 Wisconsinites purchase a home and has issued MCCs to just over 2,100 households.”

“We need to fully leverage every resource to bring the dream of homeownership to more families, including in Milwaukee, where racial disparities in homeownership remain stark,” Rep. Moore said. “Since their inception, the Mortgage Revenue Bond (MRB) and Mortgage Credit Certificate (MCC) have helped 4 million low- and moderate-income families become homeowners. Our bicameral, bipartisan legislation makes important enhancements to these long-standing programs, so they can better serve Americans and their families.”

“For too many first-time buyers, the American Dream of homeownership is slipping further out of reach,” Rep. Yakym said. “Updating these bonds and tax credits will help reduce interest costs and make it easier for hardworking Hoosiers to achieve that dream.”

“The National Council of State Housing Agencies (NCSHA) thanks Representatives Rudy Yakym and Gwen Moore for taking the lead on this commonsense legislation to increase bond resources for affordable housing and make homeownership more affordable for working families,” Stockton Williams, Executive Director of NCSHA said. “Mortgage Revenue Bonds and Mortgage Credit Certificates historically have been the state housing finance agencies primary tool for financing affordable homeownership opportunities for low-and moderate-income households, having helped more than four million home buyers combined. This legislation will enact simple yet effective reforms that will allow MRBs and MCCs to serve even more homebuyers at a time when homeownership is increasingly out of reach for many Americans.”

Congress provides each state with an amount of private activity bonds (PABs), which include MRB and MCC programs issued by housing finance agencies to support homeownership for families earning below 115% of area median income. MRBs are tax-exempt bonds that help fund below-market interest-rate mortgages for qualifying homebuyers. MCCs are issued directly to qualifying homebuyers, who are then entitled to a non-refundable federal tax credit annually. MCCs and MRBs lower costs for low- and moderate-income homeowners, which can make sustainable homeownership possible.

This is the House of Representatives Companion bill that was previously introduced by U.S. Senators Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV.) and Bill Cassidy (R-LA.).

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.