Washington, D.C. (KINY) – U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) spoke on the Senate floor yesterday about the housing crisis in Alaska and across the country, emphasizing the importance of expanding low- and middle-income housing in rural and urban communities. Sen. Sullivan last week introduced the Workforce Housing Tax Credit (WHTC) Act with Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) to increase the supply of affordable housing for families by broadening a federal tax incentive program—the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC)—to include rental housing for middle-income earners. This will “catalyze” the private sector to build more affordable housing for those who earn too much to qualify for low-income affordable housing and not enough to afford housing near where they work. U.S. Reps. Jimmy Panetta (D-Calif.) and Mike Carey (R-Ohio) introduced companion legislation in the House.
“Everywhere I travel in the great state of Alaska, I hear from Alaskans reeling from the scarcity of housing…Teachers, law enforcement, first responders, nurses, health care officials, electricians—the backbones of so many communities—are priced out of the market to buy a home,” Sen. Sullivan said. “Expanding the low-income housing credit will help address the core issues of not just homelessness and overcrowding, particularly in rural Alaska, but it will also empower hard-working Alaskans to stay in our communities and build a more robust workforce.”
