Warner, Colleagues Introduce Legislation to Address Housing Affordability Crisis

WASHINGTON —Today U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner joined Sens. Todd Young (R-IN) and Maria Cantwell (D-WA) in introducing legislation to help build nearly 1.6 million new affordable homes over the next decade. TheAffordable Housing Credit Improvement Actwould 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, over 600,000 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.
“The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit is one of the most successful tools our country has to address the affordable housing crisis our communities are facing,”Sen. Warner said.“I’m proud to introduce bipartisan legislation to update and modernize this credit in order to build more homes, bring down costs, and tackle the growing demand for housing across the Commonwealth and the country.”
More specifically, the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act would:
Joining Sens. Warner, Young, and Cantwell in introducing this legislation are Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Ron Wyden (D-OR). TheAffordable Housing Credit ImprovementAct was also recently introduced in the House of Representatives by U.S. Reps. 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).
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.”
This is the latest action in Sen. Warner’s longstanding efforts to make housing more affordable for Virginians. So far this year, he has already introduced theNew Markets Tax Credit Extension Act, theRural Historic Tax Credit Improvement Act, and theHistoric Tax Credit Growth and Opportunity Act– all bipartisan bills to encourage redevelopment and new construction in communities across the country. He is also the lead sponsor of theNeighborhood Homes Investment Act– which would create a new tax incentive to build and preserve more than 500,000 affordable, single-family homes over ten years – and the lead author of theLow-Income First Time Homebuyers (LIFT) Actto help qualified, first-generation homebuyers build equity in their homes by offering a 20-year mortgage for roughly the same monthly payment as a traditional 30-year loan. Warner has also joined his colleagues in sponsoring theDownpayment Toward Equity Act, which would provide federal grants to assist first-generation homebuyers with qualifying expenses toward purchasing their first home, including down payment costs, closing costs, and costs to reduce the rates of interest.
Full text of the bill is availablehere.

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