NAAHL, Partners Call for Release of More Than $1 Billion to Build and Preserve Affordable Housing

On March 19, NAAHL sent a letter to the Administration calling for the release of more than $1 billion in funding at the CDFI Fund. The letter is signed by NAAHL and other partner organizations collectively representing the full range of CDFIs and the Capital Magnet Fund Coalition.

There is currently more than $1 billion in funding already provided and waiting to be deployed to help address our affordable housing shortage. These funds would support the construction or rehabilitation of an estimated 100,000 affordable homes. The letter asks that the White House direct the Office of Management and Budget to immediately release these funds to build and preserve homes for families across the country. This includes:

• $289 million in FY2025 appropriations for the CDFI Fund;

• $324 million in FY2026 appropriations for the CDFI Fund;

• $535 million in grant funding through the Capital Magnet Fund; and

• at least $200 million in Emergency Capital Investment Program funds.

“While everyone is trying to find solutions to high housing costs, there are $1 billion sitting at Treasury waiting to be deployed that would help with this national issue,” said Sarah Brundage, NAAHL President and CEO. “One easy and noncontroversial action the Administration could take today to have an impact on affordable housing is to release the $1 billion held up at the CDFI Fund so that CDFIs and developers can get to work building and preserving affordable housing in communities nationwide as intended by Congress.”

The letter emphasizes how immediately putting these funds to work would infuse much-needed capital into affordable housing projects, and with CDFIs acting as a force multiplier of limited federal resources, deploying these funds would also crowd-in substantial private investment and boost construction employment.