House Financial Services Committee Chairwoman Maxine Waters (D-CA) released draft legislation calling for major investment in public and affordable housing before an April 30 hearing on "Assessing the Infrastructure Needs of America's Housing Stock."

The "Assessing the Infrastructure Needs of America's Housing Stock" hearing included testimony from Daryl Carter (Founder, Chairman and CEO of Avantha Capital) on behalf of the National Multifamily Housing Council and the National Apartment Association.

• Chairwoman Waters detailed her funding proposals in the Housing is Infrastructure Act of 2019 in her opening remarks.  "I have put forth a discussion draft that would make the investments we need in our housing infrastructure and create jobs across the country," she said. "We also need to consider ways to incentivize developers to reduce the energy costs of affordable housing and to create housing that accommodates generations of families living under one roof."  (Committee hearing memo)
• The hearing included testimony from Daryl Carter (Founder, Chairman and CEO of Avantha Capital) on behalf of the National Multifamily Housing Council and the National Apartment Association.    

Carter's testimony supported the efforts of Chairwoman Waters and detailed incentives for local governments to ease the development process.  He also specified several other policy steps to meet housing demand and affordability needs, including: 

• Support Housing Finance Reform that Preserves the Multifamily Mortgage Liquidity Provided by the Government-Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs)
• Expand and Enhance the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC)
• Enact the Middle-Income Housing Tax Credit Act to Support Workforce Housing
• Enhance Opportunity Zones to Incentivize Rehabilitation of Housing Units
• Repeal the Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act (FIRPTA) 

FIRPTA repeal is one of The Roundtable's infrastructure policy recommendations submitted recently to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.  (Roundtable Weekly, May 3)