Habitat Voices in Action Highlights

«Aug. 15, 2024»

Welcome to Habitat Voices in Action Highlights, a new weekly newsletter from Habitat for Humanity International’s Government Relations and Advocacy team! Through this new format, we will share timely policy and advocacy updates, calls to action and resources to support your local advocacy, as we remain united as a network for even greater impact beyond the Cost of Home campaign. In this first edition, you will find ways to be an active voice during this August recess, elections season and for Habitat on the Hill 2025, and we provide resources to help you in your advocacy for home affordability.

Several links in this newsletter require you to be logged into your MyHabitat account. If you need assistance accessing your MyHabitat account, please contact the Affiliate Support Center at USSupportCenter@habitat.org or (877) 434-4435.

Action items and breaking news

Two weeks left to make your mark at Habitat on the Hill 2025!

Don’t miss the opportunity to submit your ideas and speaker nominations for Habitat on the Hill 2025 to help create an inspiring and impactful conference. Habitat on the Hill is your platform to influence, educate, and inspire. We want to hear from you about what you want to learn and discuss and invite you to recommend speakers and topics and/or volunteer to present in a plenary, workshop, or at the poster exhibition! Submit now before the form closes on Aug. 30.

It’s not too late to connect with your federal officials for August recess

If you haven’t already, reach out to your federal legislators who are back home in your local communities to showcase your work and educate them on Habitat’s policy and program priorities. Use the August recess toolkit that includes Habitat's 2024 federal legislative talking points that can guide you on effective engagement strategies and clear policy asks. If you do secure a visit or meeting, please let us know so we can provide additional preparatory guidance or to let us know how it went.

Fiscal year 2025 appropriations update

The Senate Appropriations Committee marked up four more of the FY2025 appropriations bills before leaving for August recess, after marking up the Transportation-Housing and Urban Development bill and Agriculture bills in late July. This latest mark-up included the Labor-Health and Human Services bill and the Financial Services and General Government bill, with key Habitat priorities funded at:

$1.3 billion for AmeriCorps, a $15 million increase from FY2024.

$345 million for the CDFI Fund, a $30 million increase from FY2024.

Tax legislation fails in the Senate

On Aug. 1, the Senate voted to reject a motion to proceed with debate on the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act, H.R.7024, which was passed by the House earlier this year. As a reminder, the bill includes two housing provisions to expand the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, along with other provisions that would renew expired business tax breaks and expand the child tax credit. The bill unfortunately did not include a Habitat priority, the Neighborhood Homes Investment Act, or any provisions focused on homeownership.

Featured resources, research and articles

Building from Cost of Home to Habitat Voices in Action

With the conclusion of Cost of Home, Habitat will continue to strengthen our advocacy and policy work under a new name: Habitat Voices in Action. The U.S. network and HFHI will remain unified in our efforts to make housing more affordable by influencing policy and systems change at the local, state and federal levels, and we are excited to see our advocacy impact grow in the years ahead. Learn more about how we are building from Cost of Home to Habitat Voices in Action.

White House announces new toolkit and federal actions on public land for affordable housing

The White House announced in July a series of new actions by federal agencies to repurpose surplus federal properties for affordable housing. The announcement coincides with HUD's release of a new public land toolkit on how local and state governments can also better utilize their land for affordable housing. The White House is calling on governments at all levels to maximize opportunities for building affordable homes on publicly held land nationwide.

Habitat Metro Maryland successfully advocates for faith-based zoning reform

Habitat for Humanity of Metro Maryland provided leadership in the successful push to pass a zoning amendment that will spur affordable housing development on properties associated with faith and educational institutions. The Montgomery County Council approved the Facilitating Inclusive Transformational Housing (FAITH) zoning amendment to remove barriers to the creation of affordable housing, provide reasonable flexibility in the development standards for multiunit and townhouse development on church- and school-owned land, and will require affordability guidelines to be eligible for rezoning under the FAITH designation. To help build support for the zoning amendment, Habitat Metro Maryland used social media and other communications channels to encourage their network to share their support, generating 150 emails to the Montgomery County Council.

Habitat Washington and affiliates in the state partner together to incentivize the creation of affordable housing

Habitat for Humanity of Washington State and local affiliates supported House Bill 5967, which establishes a policy change on how the state partners with affordable housing developers and owners on state-owned land. Recently, the Washington Department of Natural Resources had identified thousands of acres across the state that are state-owned, vacant or underused, located within city or urban growth areas, and suitable for housing development. Habitat Washington and affiliates saw this as an opportunity to provide another financial lever to incentivize the creation of affordable housing on state-owned land. In developments on state-owned lands, the department’s practice is to enter into long-term leases to retain public ownership, and also to impose a leasehold excise tax. HB5967 exempts a property from the leasehold excise tax for 12-20 years if the leaseholder commits to renting and selling guidelines for low- and moderate-income households.

Inspired by these examples? Learn about similar policies or advocacy by visiting the State and Local Policy Library.

Learning opportunities and events

Scaling Up Your Elections Strategy – Aug. 21, 3 p.m. EDT

Looking to scale up your engagement in the elections season but not sure where to start? Join this webinar on elections engagement, designed for Habitat for Humanity affiliates by Nonprofit VOTE, a leading expert in nonprofit and nonpartisan voter and candidate engagement. This webinar will share insights and strategies to identify, communicate with, and build relationships with candidates and will provide guidance on how to effectively leverage ballot initiatives. Attendees will leave the webinar prepared to streamline elections activities and maximize their impact. Register now!

Habitat Innovates: Solving Unique Housing Challenges PechaKucha – Aug. 29, 11 a.m. EDT

Join Habitat Innovates to hear how Weyerhaeuser and four Habitat affiliates partnered to bring unique housing innovations to life through the Weyerhaeuser Innovation Challenge. Habitat Innovates highlights cutting-edge ideas, innovation and creativity in the affiliate network. Learn how affiliates responded in unique ways to their local housing challenges, such as equitable access, workforce housing and by growing stronger relationships with partners and community stakeholders. Register in advance for the event — space is limited, so sign up soon.