HF 1651

as introduced - 88th Legislature (2013 - 2014) Posted on 03/21/2013 11:56am

A resolution
memorializing the President and Congress to support expanded housing options
and greater tax fairness.

WHEREAS, stable housing is the foundation upon which people build their lives. Absent a
safe, decent, and affordable place to live, it is next to impossible to achieve good health, positive
educational outcomes, or reach one's economic potential; and

WHEREAS, there are 171,315 extremely low-income renter households in Minnesota
whose income is $22,442 or less for a family of four; and

WHEREAS, 64 percent of extremely low-income renter households in Minnesota pay
more than one-half of their income for rent; and

WHEREAS, there is a shortage of 109,480 homes that are affordable and available for
extremely low-income renter households in Minnesota; and

WHEREAS, this shortage of homes that are affordable and available for extremely
low-income renter households is the cause of homelessness in the United States; and

WHEREAS, Congress established the National Housing Trust Fund in 2008 as a dedicated
fund intended to provide revenue to build, preserve, rehabilitate, and operate housing for people
with the lowest incomes, including people who are homeless; and

WHEREAS, the National Housing Trust Fund has not received any dollars since it was
created, despite the growing need for rental housing that extremely low-income households
can afford; and

WHEREAS, investing in the National Housing Trust Fund will create jobs in the
construction trades and in property management; and

WHEREAS, the mortgage interest deduction is under consideration for change by the
United States Congress; and

WHEREAS, over three-quarters of the benefit for the mortgage interest deduction goes to
households with income in the top fifth of all taxpayers; and

WHEREAS, only slightly more than one-half of homeowners who pay interest on their
mortgages benefit from the mortgage interest deduction; and

WHEREAS, with modest modifications to the mortgage interest tax expenditure, the
number of homeowners with mortgages who get a tax break could increase with most of the
expanded benefit going to homeowners with mortgages with incomes under $100,000 a year; and

WHEREAS, with modest modifications to the mortgage interest tax expenditure, its
cost could be reduced, freeing up federal resources to direct to housing assistance to needy
households; and

WHEREAS, the Legislature of the State of Minnesota supports expanding mortgage
interest tax benefits to more middle class and lower income homeowners by modifying the
mortgage interest deduction by converting the tax deduction to a tax credit and by reducing the
maximum size of a mortgage for which interest can be deducted; NOW, THEREFORE,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Legislature of the State of Minnesota that it urges the President
and the Congress of the United States to direct sums resulting from mortgage interest deduction
modifications to the National Housing Trust Fund to build, preserve, rehabilitate, and operate
rental housing that is affordable for extremely low-income households.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of State of the State of Minnesota is
directed to prepare copies of this memorial and transmit them to the President of the United States,
the President and the Secretary of the United States Senate, the Speaker and the Clerk of the United
States House of Representatives, and Minnesota's Senators and Representatives in Congress.