Housing assistance fiscal cliff

Communities and states had an opportunity to solve our housing crisis for the first time in many years, as during the pandemic, the federal government invested in unprecedented housing support, as well as other programs to support low-income families in their efforts to make ends meet in the face of a growing expense-to-wage gap.

Those funds are now all timing out.

Just one example of this is the $46 billion for the Emergency Rental Assistance Program, which was the deepest investment in low-income renters the federal government has made since the nation launched its public housing system.

In addition, many state and local governments chose to use ARP funding to pay for necessary housing investments. I supported Idaho's effort to use $50 million to set up a revolving loan fund for affordable housing developers, to allow for the financing of 1,000 affordable units.

These funds have been incredibly helpful in several ways, but were not continued in the Inflation Reduction Act. The federal government is now calling on local and state governments to continue housing supports and financing as they’re able.

This is something that states - including Idaho - are going to need to wrestle with. Which of these programs can we continue to alleviate the strain of the immediate housing crisis, while also looking ahead to opportunities to create more affordability?

In the coming months, I will be speaking with legislators, the Governor's Office, developers, and the Idaho Finance and Housing Association to discuss how these housing investments have gone, and what's next for Idaho.