What would Minnesota lose if the House tax reform bill passes in its current form? Nearly $2 billion in economic development, the construction of more than 14,500 affordable rental homes and the creation of 16,500 jobs over the next 10 years alone*.

Please call TODAY and tell your members of Congress to support a tax reform bill that advances affordable housing and contributes to community development.

The current House bill specifically hurts housing programs by eliminating tax exempt private activity bonds, which have been essential to the creation of more than 15,000 units of affordable housing in Minnesota over the past decade. Just this morning, House Ways and Means Committee Republicans voted 24 to 16 along party lines against amendments to save private activity bonds from being terminated after this year.

According to Minnesota Housing Finance Agency, 12 projects in 17 communities could lose funding of more than $33 million. That means 779 units at risk of not being constructed or rehabilitated, and $140 million in development activity stalled. And that’s just the prospect for the remainder of 2017. Without tax exempt private activity bonds, thousands of affordable homes will never break ground — at a moment when every part of the state is seeing increased need.

If you live in Districts 2, 3, or 6, please call your Congressman TODAY and tell them to vote against legislation that fails to preserve tax-exempt status for Private Activity Bonds and would deepen our local and national housing crisis. A script and contact information are included below.

“Congressman [Paulsen, Emmer, Lewis], my name is [your name] and I live in [city/state]. I am calling to ask that you vote NO on legislation that does not reinvest housing dollars into affordable rental homes for individuals and families with the greatest needs. Tax exempt private activity bonds are one of the most important tools we have to fund affordable housing and this legislation would mean an estimated 1 million affordable homes will be lost. Please vote NO and reject provisions that would harm the development of affordable housing. Thank you.”

• Rep. Erik Paulsen | DC: 202-225-2871 | MN office: 952-405-8510
• Rep. Tom Emmer | DC: 202-225-2331 | MN office: 763-241-6848
• Rep. Jason Lewis | DC: 202-225-2271 | MN office: 651-846-2120

Our efforts are working. Because of feedback from constituents, Republicans are voicing support to protect private activity bonds in the House bill and there are indications that the Senate bill will not eliminate this critical tool.

Let’s keep it up; please call Senators Klobuchar (202-224-3244) and Franken (202-224-5641) and tell them to support affordable housing in the Senate bill!

Join the conversation on Twitter using the hashtag #PreservePABs and read more analysis from the National Low Income Housing Coalition here and *Novogradac here.