{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://blakemoore.house.gov/media/press-releases/congressman-blake-moore-introduces-legislation-to-address-military-housing-affordability", "Congressman Blake Moore Introduces Legislation to Address Military Housing Affordability", "2024-09-19", "2024", "2024-09", "Republican", "House", "UT", "Blake D. Moore", "M001213", "blakemoore.house.gov", "blakemoore", "https://blakemoore.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u00ad\u2013 Today, Congressman Blake Moore (R-UT) introduced the Low Income Housing for Defense Communities Act of 2024, a bipartisan piece of legislation to address military housing affordability by diversifying housing options for servicemembers serving in high-cost areas. Congressman Moore was joined by Congresswoman Marilyn Strickland (D-WA) in introducing this bill.\n\n\u201cWhen I got onto the Ways and Means Committee, Clearfield Mayor Mark Shepherd approached me with an idea to address the housing affordability challenges burdening our lower-enlisted servicemembers. Since then, my team and I ran with his idea and drafted legislation that we are introducing today. The Low Income Housing for Defense Communities Act will bring much needed relief and productivity to military families serving near major bases. I am so grateful Mayor Shepherd approached me with this idea, and I\u2019m proud of the work we\u2019ve done advancing it to this point,\u201d said Congressman Blake Moore. \u201cHousing has become a national security issue, as it impacts the readiness of Hill Air Force Base (HAFB) in Utah\u2019s First District. As hundreds of lower-enlisted servicemembers are struggling to afford housing near the base and officers are being forced to turn down assignments in Utah because of the difficult real estate market, this bill will spur development interest for Low-Income Housing Tax Credit construction near large installations like HAFB. I thank Congresswoman Marilyn Strickland (WA-10) for her partnership in introducing this bill, and I look forward to seeing this bill make a meaningful impact in the lives of our servicemembers in Utah and across the nation.\u201d\n\n\u201cServicemembers and their families should be able to afford to live where they are stationed. This is important for their quality of life, and affects readiness,\u201d said Congresswoman Marilyn Strickland. \u201cThis credit encourages the building of more affordable housing near large military installations.\u201d\n\nThis legislation will diversify the housing options available to lower-enlisted servicemembers serving in high-cost areas while also creating an increased Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) for buildings located within 15 miles of large military installations. Reps. Moore and Strickland have partnered with local stakeholders to create an additional arm of the LIHTC program to stimulate developer interest in building affordable housing near military installations.\n\n\u201cAcross the nation, our military members continue to struggle with housing. Their Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) continues to fall short of the rents in the surrounding communities, and as such, two, three and even four Airmen are forced to share an apartment so they can afford the rent. While there may be low-income housing in the areas surrounding the installations, the list of applicants for these units is long and the military members either won\u2019t qualify because their BAH is included in their income calculations or they are so far down the list that they have been relocated to their next assignment before they make it to the top of the list,\u201d said Clearfield Mayor Mark Shepherd. \u201cThis bill will allow developers using Low Income Housing Tax Credits to build high quality rental units where the military members can have priority for the units. It also allows those military members to qualify for existing housing, in areas where it is available, by changing the income calculation to exclude their housing allowance. Having our military members who have volunteered to put their lives on the line to defend our nation live in sub-par housing, or struggle to afford food because all of their available income goes to housing, sends the wrong message to the military members and to the communities in which they live. I applaud Congressman Moore on his commitment to ensure our military members are treated with dignity and respect when it comes to their housing needs.\"\n\n\u201cWe appreciate Congressman Moore\u2019s attention to the growing affordable housing crisis, and his commitment to finding a solution based on what we know works \u2013 the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit,\u201d said Emily Cadik, CEO of the Affordable Housing Tax Credit Coalition. \u201cMilitary families are experiencing the same challenges finding affordable housing faced by millions of Americans, and expanding affordable housing supply through this proven program would provide sorely needed relief.\u201d\n\nBackground:\n\nConstrained by geographic limitations and military installation footprint, housing development around many growing defense communities is unaffordable for lower-enlisted service members. At the same time, the MILCON backlog and military dormitory crisis has resulted in servicemembers being forced off base to seek housing they cannot afford. Fueled by pandemic population shifts and Department of Defense programs at Hill Air Force Base, Utah experienced a 27% increase in housing costs and 18% increase in population in 2021 alone. Accordingly, approximately 70% of Joint Base Lewis-McChord\u2019s population in Washington, which consists of nearly 55,000 personnel, live off base.\n\nThe bill excludes BAH from the income calculation for LIHTC purposes. While BAH provides uniformed service members compensation based on housing costs in local markets, this provision would help military members secure housing in existing and future LIHTC properties for which they may not otherwise qualify. With anecdotal evidence suggesting that military members are hesitant to self-identify as \u201clow-income,\u201d the bill\u2019s intent is to help classify lower-enlisted military members as low-income households.\n\nThe bill also provides any development within 15 miles of a qualifying military installation with a 30% \u201cbasis boost\u201d under Section 42D of the Internal Revenue Code. This would encourage additional new LIHTC development near \u201cLarge Site\u201d military bases such as Hill Air Force Base and Joint Base Lewis-McChord. \u201cLarge Sites\u201d are defined in the DOD\u2019s Annual Base Structure Report as having a total Plant Replacement Value (PRV) of greater than $2.833 billion.\n\nThe bill text can be found here.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-07T21:43:57Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://blakemoore.house.gov/media/press-releases/congressman-blake-moore-introduces-legislation-to-address-military-housing-affordability"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.5503261238336563, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}