U.S. SENATE News:

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Chairman of the U.S. Joint Economic Committee, joined U.S. Representatives Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) and Nydia Velázquez (D-N.Y.), U.S. Senators Jack Reed (D-R.I.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), and a total of 15 senators and 18 representatives in advocating for the permanent extension of the Federal Financing Bank (FFB) Risk-Sharing program.

This action would help to continue creating and preserving more affordable housing, while driving economic development and job creation in communities in New Mexico and across the country.

In a letter addressed to U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marcia Fudge, National Economic Council Director Lael Brainard, and Office of Management and Budget Chair Shalanda Young, the Members emphasized the program’s critical role in advancing affordable housing goals and stimulating economic growth.

In the letter, the members wrote, “We write to urge you to permanently extend the Federal Financing Bank Risk-Sharing (FFB Risk-Sharing) program, which has proven to be a productive, efficient tool in the Biden Administration’s Housing Supply Action Plan.”

The members continued, “Our nation continues to face a severe affordable housing shortage – the National Low Income Housing Coalition estimates the U.S. is short 7.3 million units affordable and available for the lowest income Americans – and losing this critical funding stream will make closing our housing gap even more difficult.”

The members concluded, “We urge you to permanently extend the FFB Risk-Sharing program to help create and preserve more affordable housing, while also continuing to fuel economic activity and job creation in communities around the country.”

In addition to Heinrich, Torres, and Velázquez, 14 Senate Democrats and 16 House Democrats signed the letter including U.S. Senators Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), John Fetterman (D-Penn.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Mark R. Warner (D-Va.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), and U.S. Reps Gabe Amo (D-R.I.), Jake Auchincloss (D-Mass.) Becca Balint (D-Vt.), Sean Casten (D-Ill.), Judy Chu (D-Calif.), Bill Foster (D-Ill.), Sylvia Garcia (D-Tex.), Ann Kuster (D-N.H.), Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), Teresa Leger Fernández (D-N.M.), Seth Magaziner (D-R.I.), Betty McCollum (D-Minn.), James McGovern (D-Mass.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), Chris Pappas (D-N.H.), Janice Schakowsky (D-Ill.), Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.), and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.).

Background:

The FFB Risk-Sharing program, established in 2014, has proven to be an effective tool in closing funding gaps in the private markets and facilitating affordable housing production. Since its inception, the program has closed or committed $4.9 billion in loans, supporting the financing of 42,000 housing units.

Despite its proven track record, the FFB Risk-Sharing program is scheduled to close for new applications after September 30, 2024. This impending closure threatens to eliminate a vital source of low-cost capital for affordable housing developers, making it even more challenging to close the housing gap. The National Low Income Housing Coalition estimates that the U.S. is currently short 7.3 million units affordable and available for the lowest-income Americans.

The full letter text can be viewed HERE and below: 

Dear Secretary Yellen, Secretary Fudge, Director Brainard, and Director Young: 

We write to urge you to permanently extend the Federal Financing Bank Risk-Sharing (FFB Risk-Sharing) program, which has proven to be a productive, efficient tool in the Biden Administration’s Housing Supply Action Plan. As you know, FFB Risk-Sharing is a joint Treasury and Department of Housing an Urban Development (HUD) program that was created in 2014 to close a funding gap in the private markets and stimulate greater affordable housing production. Although the program temporarily lapsed from 2019 to 2021, FFB Risk-Sharing has closed or committed $4.9 billion in loans to help Housing Finance Agencies finance 42,000 units. In short, the program has been highly successful – fully justifying the Administration’s decision to restart it in 2021. 

Unfortunately, FFB Risk-Sharing is set to close for new applications after September 30th, 2024, which would eliminate a critical source of low-cost capital for affordable housing developers. Our nation continues to face a severe affordable housing shortage – the National Low Income Housing Coalition estimates the U.S. is short 7.3 million units affordable and available for the lowest income Americans – and losing this critical funding stream will make closing our housing gap even more difficult. 

We were delighted, however, that Secretary Fudge endorsed extending FFB Risk-Sharing at a House Financial Services Committee hearing on January 11th. As such, we urge you to permanently extend the FFB Risk-Sharing program to help create and preserve more affordable housing, while also continuing to fuel economic activity and job creation in communities around the country. 

Thank you for your consideration of this pressing issue. We look forward to continuing to work with you and your teams to help ensure all Americans have a safe, decent home they can afford. 

Sincerely,