Young, Cantwell Lead Legislation to Address the Housing Affordability Crisis

WASHINGTON – As many American families struggle to find a safe, affordable place to call home, U.S. Senators Todd Young (R-Ind.) and Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) introduced legislation to help build nearly 1.6 million new affordable homes over the next decade.

The Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act would lead to more affordable housing options for families and workers by expanding and strengthening the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, our country’s most successful affordable housing program.

Currently, nearly one-in-four renters, over 11 million families, spend more than half of their household income on rent, cutting into other essential expenses like child care, medication, groceries, and transportation. At the same time, over600,000 Americans are experiencing homelessness on any given day, an increase over pre-COVID levels.

Since its creation, the Housing Credit has built or restored more than 4 million affordable housing units, nearly 90 percent of all federally funded affordable housing during that time. Roughly nine million American households have benefitted from the credit, and the economic activity that it generated has supported 6.6 million jobs and spurred more than $746 billion in wages.

“Affordable housing is needed in Indiana and across the country. The Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act will leverage private sector investment to increase the stock of affordable housing in both urban and rural communities.  As a result, this will help to tackle the housing affordability crisis head on to help Hoosier families, expand our workforce, and strengthen our communities,” said Senator Young.

“Housing inflation is up 4% over the past year nationally and 4.5% in the Pacific Northwest – and that was before homebuilders reported an additional 5.5% increase in costs due to tariffs this year. We need to do more to lower housing costs for everyone. Expanding and improving the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit will do just that by making it more affordable to build homes and lower rents,”said Senator Cantwell.

In Indiana, the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act would provide an additional 36,500 housing units, leading to an estimated 55,300 more jobs and generating over $6.2 billion in wages.

More specifically, the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act would: 

• Increase the number of credits available to states by 50 percent for the next two years and make the temporary 12.5 percent increase secured in 2018 permanent—which has already helped build more than 59,000 additional affordable housing units nationwide.
• Stabilize financing for workforce housing projects built using private activity bonds by decreasing the amount of private activity bonds needed to secure Housing Credit funding. As a result, projects would have to carry less debt, and more projects would be eligible to receive funding.
• Improve the Housing Credit program to better serve veterans, victims of domestic violence, formerly homeless students, Native American communities, and rural Americans. 

In addition to Senators Young and Cantwell, Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) led the Senate version of the bill. The Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act was recently introduced in the House of Representatives by Congressmen Darin LaHood (R-IL-16), Suzan DelBene (D-WA-01), Claudia Tenney (R-NY-24), Don Beyer (D-VA-08), Randy Feenstra (R-IA-04), and Jimmy Panetta (D-CA-19).

“Ensuring access to affordable housing is a critical component in helping Tennessee continue to grow and prosper,” said Senator Blackburn. “The Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act strengthens the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, an important tool that helps to drive private sector investment in affordable housing for all Americans, including our nation’s veterans and seniors.”

“It’s time for Congress to meet the housing crisis with the bold solutions it demands and that starts with increasing housing supply. Our bill will deliver some much-needed relief to families by supporting existing, successful federal housing programs and building over one million new units of affordable housing. I am all in to bring down costs and make housing more affordable for everyone no matter your zip code,” said Senator Wyden.

The ACTION Campaign and the Affordable Housing Tax Credit Coalition endorsed the bill.

“The reintroduction of the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act is a vital step toward addressing our nation’s housing crisis. Expanding the Housing Credit is the most effective way to increase the supply of affordable housing, leveraging public-private partnerships to build and preserve homes for working families, seniors, and vulnerable communities. At a time when rents are rising and supply is lagging, strengthening the Housing Credit will ensure that more Americans have access to safe, stable, and affordable housing,” said co-chairs of the ACTION Campaign Ayrianne Parks and Jennifer Schwartz. “The ACTION Campaign thanks Senators Todd Young, Maria Cantwell, Marsha Blackburn, and Ron Wyden for their leadership.”

“The overwhelming bipartisan support for the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act of 2025 underscores the critical need to increase the supply of affordable rental homes,” said Affordable Housing Tax Credit Coalition Chief Executive Officer Emily Cadik. “We thank Senator Todd Young, Senator Maria Cantwell, Senator Marsha Blackburn, and Senator Ron Wyden for their leadership and the 30 bipartisan cosponsors for supporting this commonsense solution to expand and strengthen the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, a proven, pro-growth tool with a nearly 40-year record of leveraging private investment to fill a critical need.”

Senator Young introduced the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act in 2021 and 2023. 

A summary of the legislation can be found here. Full text of the legislation can be found here.