U.S. Reps. Mike Kelly, Linda T. Sánchez, Jimmy Gomez, and Blake Moore have introduced the bipartisan Fair Housing for Disabled Veterans Act, a bill to ensure that veterans’ service-related disability benefits are not used to deny veterans access to affordable housing.
Currently, these disability benefits are considered income in calculations for the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC), often pushing disabled veterans above eligibility thresholds and potentially into homelessness. The bipartisan measure would exclude service-related disability benefits from those income calculations, ensuring veterans are not denied housing assistance.
“This critical legislation ensures veterans can continue to keep more of their hard-earned money and have the resources they need to purchase an affordable home,” said Rep. Kelly of Pennsylvania, Chairman of the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Tax, and one of the bill’s sponsors. “This legislation puts the tax code to work for those who have worn the uniform to protect our great nation.”
The LIHTC program was created by the Tax Reform Act of 1986, and gives state and local LIHTC-allocating agencies the equivalent of approximately $10.5 billion in annual budget authority to issue tax credits for the acquisition, rehabilitation, or new construction of rental housing targeted to lower-income households.
The Fair Housing for Disabled Veterans Act looks to amend the Internal Revenue Code to strike consideration of veterans’ service-connected disability and pension payments when determining income qualifications for properties financed with LIHTC and qualified residential bonds.
“Veterans who have sacrificed for our country shouldn’t face barriers when trying to find a safe, affordable place to live,” said Rep. Sánchez of California, another supporter of the measure. “Disability benefits are meant to cover the costs of injuries sustained during their service—they’re not income. Our bill would ensure that veterans aren’t unfairly disqualified from affordable housing, allowing them to live with the dignity they earned through their service.”
Earlier this year, President Donald Trump signed HR 1815, the VA Home Loan Program Reform Act, into law. Sponsored by Rep. Derrick Van Orden of Wisconsin, the bill creates a partial claim program at Department of Veteran’s Affairs (VA) in an effort to modernize the VA Home Loan program–which currently serves 3.7 million veterans–to allow veterans who have fallen behind on their mortgages to receive federal assistance already available through other federal housing programs.
The U.S. House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs reports that nearly 70,000 veteran homeowners are more than 90 days late on their mortgage payments.
The VA Home Loan Program Reform Act also includes the proper funding levels for the VA Grant and Per Diem program, as part of VA’s homelessness prevention programs to fund community agencies providing services to veterans experiencing homelessness.
Rep. Gomez of California added: “Our veterans are being denied access to affordable housing programs because of a flaw in IRS code that classifies their disability benefits as income. Those who served our country, and especially those who sustained a service-connected disability, should never be turned down from the ability to obtain a safe and stable home. With this bill [the Fair Housing for Disabled Veterans Act], we’re making sure veterans can access the housing support they deserve after their service and sacrifice to our country.”
Jose Ramos, VP for Government and Community Relations for the Wounded Warrior Project added: “VA disability compensation should never be a barrier to accessing stable housing for veterans. But currently, wounded warriors are penalized for injuries sustained during service to our country when their VA benefits make them ineligible to rent affordable, stable, and often higher-quality housing created through the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program. These are often our most vulnerable veterans who need both supports—their VA payments and housing assistance. WWP is grateful for the bipartisan leadership of Representatives Linda T. Sánchez and Mike Kelly in introducing the Fair Housing for Disabled Veterans Act to address this problem and help veterans across the country.”
Click here for more on the Fair Housing for Disabled Veterans Act.
