1.This Act may be cited as the
Housing America's Workforce
Act
.
2.
(a)The Congress finds the following:
(1)Resurgent housing markets are pricing out
low- and moderate-income families and are producing few lower-cost units.
Housing production has failed to keep pace with job growth, also sending
housing prices sky-high.
(2)In many markets, housing costs have far
outgrown the rate of inflation and the gap between wages and housing costs is
widening, pushing affordable housing beyond the reach of an increasing number
of working families.
(3)Low- and moderate-income working
families—especially in hot market
areas—face extraordinary
difficulty finding affordable housing.
(4)Despite the lowest mortgage rates in our
Nation’s history and Federal investments in rental housing and homebuyer
assistance, millions of working families still find it extremely difficult to
rent or purchase a home.
(5)The United States Department of Housing and
Urban Development (HUD) considers housing affordable when a family spends no
more than 30 percent of its monthly income on rent and utilities. Entry-level
wage earners with annual incomes of up to $30,000 spending no more than 30
percent of their income on rent can afford to pay up to $750 for rent. In the
high job-growth areas, such rents are not readily available.
(6)According to a study by the Center for
Housing Policy in Washington, DC, the latest data available shows that in 2003,
approximately 5 million families paid more than half of their income for
housing or lived in dilapidated conditions, or both. This was despite the fact
they were working full time jobs. Moreover, the number of working families with
critical housing problems has increased 67 percent between 1997 and
2003.
(7)Affordable housing is the key to creating
and sustaining healthy, economically vibrant communities.
(8)Many workers who fill jobs that provide the
backbone of our communities—teachers, firefighters, police officers, hotel and
restaurant workers—often cannot afford to live in the communities in which they
serve.
(9)This has led to longer commutes resulting
in increased traffic and pollution, lost productivity, and family stress.
High-cost housing markets also hurt the ability of our businesses to attract
new talent and the ability of our cities to attract new business.
(10)The lack of affordable housing, and
resulting high housing costs in major regional economies across the United
States have been shown to cause or contribute to labor shortages by acting as a
brake on the in-migration of new employees while spurring out-migration of both
workers and employers.
(11)Both the public and private sectors have
recognized employer-assisted housing (EAH) programs as a strategy that can be
tailored to address regional jobs-housing imbalances, revitalize communities,
and support smart growth practices.
(12)For employees working in places where
housing is unaffordable or scarce, or both and for those employers operating in
distressed communities or who are having difficulty recruiting and retaining
workers in locales where housing is unaffordable or scarce, employer-assisted
housing can be a very much desired benefit and a cost-effective business
strategy; and there are millions of employees and thousands of business that
fit into this category.
(13)Employer-assisted housing is an innovative
local solution that has increased affordable housing opportunities for
thousands of working families across America while benefitting the
economy.
(14)According to findings of the Rutgers
University American Affordable Housing Institute, employer-assisted housing
increases productivity by reducing commuting time as well as saves money on
recruitment and retention.
(15)Surveys and research on employer attitudes
towards employer-assisted housing report that employers continue to have
difficulty obtaining information about employer-assisted housing. As a result,
firms have difficulty assessing the costs of a housing benefit program.
(16)In most parts of the country, EAH has not
been actively promoted by human resources professionals, the mainstream housing
industry, including lenders, buildings and real estate professionals, or by the
affordable housing industry, led by community-based nonprofit organizations and
national intermediaries.
(17)The future growth of employer-assisted
housing programs will remain dependent upon increasing individual employer
knowledge of these programs.
(18)Employer-assisted housing programs promise
to be another creative solution in the search for more affordable housing. EAH
programs will not solve the Nation’s housing problems but such programs do seek
to address the challenge from a new perspective and allow the private sector to
play a direct role in promoting housing affordability. Additionally, EAH
programs can help to promote redevelopment and reinvestment in distressed
communities.
(19)Federal tax laws, with some exception, do
not currently allow employees to exclude housing assistance received from an
employer from their taxable income. By excluding the housing assistance from an
employees’ taxable income, the employee receives the full value of the housing
benefit.
(b)The purposes of this Act are as
follows:
(1)To expand affordable housing opportunities
to low- and moderate-income working individuals and families.
(2)To encourage employers, counties, and
municipalities to invest in employer-assisted housing programs.
(3)To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986
to provide a tax credit to partially offset the costs of employer-assisted
housing programs and to exclude from income amounts received by an employee
from an employer as assistance towards the purchase of a principal residence
and towards rental housing.
(4)To develop programs to publicize the
employer-assisted housing concept and for outreach efforts to high-potential
employers.
3.Tax credit for
employer-provided employee housing assistance
(a)Subpart D of part IV
of subchapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to
business related credits) is amended by adding at the end the following new
section:
45J.Employer-provided
employee housing assistance
(a)
(1)For purposes of
section 38, the employer-provided employee housing assistance credit determined
under this section for any taxable year is an amount equal to 50 percent of the
qualified housing expenses paid by the employer during the taxable year if such
expenses are furnished pursuant to a program described in subsection
(b).
(2)
(A)The aggregate amount
of qualified housing expenses taken into account with respect to any eligible
employee for any taxable year shall not exceed, when added to any qualified
housing expenses taken into account for any preceding taxable year with respect
to such employee—
(i)in the case of homeownership assistance,
the lesser of $10,000 or 6 percent of the purchase price of such employee's
principal residence, and
(ii)in the case of rental assistance,
$2,000.
(B)
(i)In the case of any
taxable year beginning after 2006, each dollar amount referred to in
subparagraph (A) shall be increased by an amount equal to—
(I)such dollar amount, multiplied by
(II)the cost-of-living adjustment determined
under section (1)(f)(3) for the calendar year in which the taxable year begins,
by substituting 2005
for 1992
.
(ii)If any amount as adjusted under clause (i)
is not a multiple of $50, such amount shall be rounded to the nearest multiple
of $50.
(b)Housing
assistance programFor
purposes of this section, a housing assistance program is a separate written
plan of an employer for the exclusive benefit of such employer's employees to
provide the qualified housing expenses of such employees and which meets
requirements similar to the requirements of paragraphs (2) through (6) of
section 127(b).
(c)Definitions and
special rulesFor purposes of
this section—
(1)The term
eligible employee means any individual—
(A)employed by an employer,
(B)whose household income does not exceed 120
percent of the area median gross income (adjusted for household size) for the
area in which the housing is located, and
(C)in the case of homeownership assistance,
who is a qualified homebuyer.
If the housing with respect to such
employee is located in a high housing cost area (as defined in section
143(f)(5)(C)), the income limitation under subparagraph (B) shall be adjusted
(but not reduced) by the application of the rule under section 143(f)(5) by
substituting 120 percent
for 115 percent
in
subparagraph (B)(I) thereof.(2)Qualified
housing expenses
(A)The term
qualified housing expenses means rental assistance or
homeownership assistance towards the lease or purchase of housing.
(B)The term
rental assistance means assistance with security deposits and
rental payments.
(C)The term
homeownership assistance means assistance for the purchase of a
principal residence, including—
(i)payment of qualified acquisition costs (as
defined in section 72(t)(8)(C)),
(ii)providing (or reducing the costs of)
financing, including the funding of a permanent interest rate buydown,
(iii)contributions to second mortgage pools or
low interest loan programs accessible to eligible employees,
(iv)mortgage guarantee programs for the
repayment of any loans in default that are secured by an eligible employee and
guaranteed by the employer,
(v)contributions to eligible employee savings
plans, including Individual Development Accounts (within the meaning of section
404(h) of the Social Security Act), designated exclusively for the purchase of
a home, and
(vi)contributions to homebuyer education and
homeownership counseling of eligible employees.
(3)The term
principal residence has the same meaning as when used in section
121, except such term shall not include a residence with a purchase price
exceeding the greater of—
(A)90 percent of the average area purchase
price applicable to the residence, or
(B)3.5 times the family income limit
applicable to the eligible employee under paragraph (1)(B).
(4)
(A)The term
qualified homebuyer means—
(i)any first-time homebuyer, or
(ii)any individual if such individual (and if
married, such individual’s spouse) had no present ownership in a principal
residence located within 50 miles of the individual's employer during the
2-year period ending on the date of the purchase of the principal residence to
which this section applies.
(B)The term
first-time homebuyer means any individual if such individual (and
if married, such individual’s spouse) had no present ownership in a principal
residence during the 2-year period ending on the date of the purchase of the
principal residence to which this section applies.
(C)If an individual is
treated as a qualified homebuyer with respect to any principal residence, such
individual may not be treated as a qualified homebuyer with respect to any
other principal residence.
(5)Rules similar to the
rules under paragraphs (3), (4), and (5)(A) of section 127(c) shall apply for
the purposes of this section.
(d)Treatment of
employers not able to use entire credit
(1)Except as otherwise
provided in this subsection any credit allowable under subsection (a) to any
employer described in paragraph (2)(C) may be transferred as provided in this
subsection and the determination as to whether the credit is allowable shall be
made without regard to the tax-exempt status of the employer.
(2)
(A)An employer described
in subparagraph (C) may transfer any credit to which paragraph (1) applies
through an assignment to any other person. Such transfer may be revoked only
with the consent of the Secretary.
(B)The Secretary shall prescribe such
regulations as necessary to ensure that any credit described in subparagraph
(A) is assigned once and not reassigned by such other person.
(C)An employer is
described in this subparagraph if the employer is—
(i)a State or political subdivision thereof,
the District of Columbia, a possession of the United States, or an agency or
instrumentality of any of the foregoing,
(ii)an Indian tribal government (within the
meaning of section 7871) or any agency or instrumentality thereof, or
(iii)any entity exempt from taxation under
section 501(a).
(D)Transfer
proceeds treated as arising from essential government functionAny proceeds derived by a person described
in clause (i) or (ii) of subparagraph (C) from the transfer under subparagraph
(A) of any credit to which paragraph (1) applies shall be treated as arising
from the exercise of an essential government function.
(E)Any transfer under
subparagraph (A) of any credit to which paragraph (1) applies shall not be
treated as income for purposes of section
501(c)(12).
.
(b)Credit allowed
as part of general business creditSection 38(b) of the Internal Revenue Code
of 1986 (defining current year business credit) is amended by striking
plus
at the end of paragraph (18), by striking the period at the
end of paragraph (19) and inserting , plus
, and by adding at the
end the following new paragraph:
(20)the employer-provided employee housing
assistance credit determined under section
45J(a).
.
(c)
(1)Subsection (c) of section 196 of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking and
at the
end of paragraph (11), by striking the period at the end of paragraph (12) and
inserting , and
, and by adding at the end the following new
paragraph:
(13)the employer-provided employee housing
assistance credit determined under section
45J(a).
.
(2)The table of sections for subpart D of part
IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 of such Code is amended by adding at the end
the following new item:
Sec. 45J. Employer-provided
employee housing
assistance.
.
(d)The amendments made by
this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after December 31,
2005.
4.Exclusion from income
of employer-provided employee housing assistance
(a)Part III of
subchapter B of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to
items specifically excluded from gross income) is amended by inserting after
section 139A the following new section:
139B.Employee housing
assistance programs
(a)Exclusion from
gross income
(1)Gross income of an
eligible employee does not include amounts paid or incurred by the employer of
such employee for qualified housing expenses provided to the employee if the
assistance is furnished pursuant to a program described in subsection
(b).
(2)
(A)The aggregate amount
of qualified housing expenses which may be excluded under paragraph (1) with
respect to any eligible employee for any taxable year shall not exceed, when
added to any qualified housing expenses excluded in any preceding taxable year
with respect to such employee—
(i)in the case of homeownership assistance,
the lesser of $10,000 or 6 percent of the purchase price of such employee's
principal residence, and
(ii)in the case of rental assistance,
$2,000.
(B)
(i)In the case of any
taxable year beginning after 2006, each dollar amount referred to in
subparagraph (A) shall be increased by an amount equal to—
(I)such dollar amount, multiplied by
(II)the cost-of-living adjustment determined
under section (1)(f)(3) for the calendar year in which the taxable year begins,
by substituting 2005
for 1992
.
(ii)If any amount as adjusted under clause (i)
is not a multiple of $50, such amount shall be rounded to the nearest multiple
of $50.
(b)Housing
assistance programFor
purposes of this section, a housing assistance program is a separate written
plan of an employer for the exclusive benefit of such employer's employees to
provide the qualified housing expenses of such employees and which meets
requirements similar to the requirements of paragraphs (2) through (6) of
section 127(b).
(c)Definitions;
special rulesFor purposes of
this section—
(1)Any term used in
section 45J which is also used in this section shall have the same meaning as
given such term by section 45J.
(2)Rules similar to the
rules under paragraphs (3), (4), and (5)(A) of section 127(c) shall apply for
purposes of this section.
(3)For purposes of
this subtitle, if an exclusion is allowed under subsection (a) with respect to
a residence, the basis of such residence shall be reduced by the amount of the
exclusion.
.
(b)Subsection
(d)(1) of section 6039D of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to
returns and records with respect to certain fringe benefit plans) is amended by
striking or 137
and inserting 137, or
139B
.
(c)
(1)The table of sections for part III of
subchapter B of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by
inserting after the item relating to section 139A the following new
item:
Sec. 139B. Employee housing
assistance
programs.
.
(2)Subsection (a) of section 1016 of such Code
(relating to adjustments to basis) is amended by striking and
at
the end of paragraph (30), by striking the period at the end of paragraph (31)
and inserting , and
, and by adding at the end the following new
paragraph:
(32)in the case of a residence with respect to
which amounts were excluded from income under section 139B, to the extent
provided in section
139B(c)(3).
.
(d)The amendments made by
this section shall apply to taxable years beginning December 31, 2005.
5.Grants to cover
employer-assisted housing program costs
(a)
(1)The Secretary may
award a grant to an eligible entity to pay—
(A)the operating costs of administering an
employer-assisted housing program;
(B)for technical assistance provided by the
eligible entity to an employer in connection with such a program; and
(C)for costs associated with promoting,
publicizing, or otherwise attempting to distribute information relating to such
a program.
(2)Grants may be awarded under this subsection
during fiscal years 2006, 2007, and 2008.
(3)The Secretary shall
award grants under this section on a competitive basis.
(b)To be eligible to
receive a grant under this section, an entity shall demonstrate that it
is—
(1)a nonprofit housing organization with a
relevant mission and demonstrated track record in housing counseling or
employer-assisted housing contracted by an employer to assist the employer in
establishing or maintaining an employer-assisted housing program; or
(2)a city, county, town, township, parish,
village, hamlet, or other general purpose political subdivision of a State that
seeks to establish or maintain, or otherwise participate in an
employer-assisted housing program for its own employees.
(c)Each eligible entity seeking a grant under
this section shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in such
manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may require.
(d)Limitation on
use of fundsA grant awarded
to an eligible entity under this section shall be used only for the purposes
described under subsection (a).
(e)
(1)Each eligible entity
receiving a grant under this section shall annually prepare and submit to the
Secretary a report that describes the—
(A)amount of grant funds expended during the
year;
(B)total amount—
(i)of funds expended during the year to
administer an employer-assisted housing program; and
(ii)of down payment assistance provided by such
a program;
(C)total number of employees utilizing such a
program;
(D)number of employees utilizing such a
program—
(i)who are time homebuyers;
(ii)who are previous homeowners; and
(iii)who live in high-cost housing areas;
(E)average—
(i)income of employees utilizing such a
program;
(ii)age of employees utilizing such a program;
and
(iii)cost of a home purchased under such a
program;
(F)ethnicity of employees utilizing such a
program; and
(G)number of housing units affected by such a
program.
(2)Clearinghouse
and dissemination
(A)Not later than 1 year
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall establish a
national clearinghouse, including a website, designed—
(i)to provide information about
employer-assisted housing programs to—
(I)Federal, State, and local government
entities; and
(II)interested groups, businesses, persons, and
organizations; and
(ii)to collect and disseminate the information
gathered from the reports required under paragraph (1).
(B)The Secretary shall ensure that—
(i)each report submitted under paragraph (1)
is posted to the website of the national clearinghouse established under
subparagraph (A); and
(ii)the website of the Department of Housing
and Urban Development provides a hyperlink to such reports on the website of
the national clearinghouse.
(f)As used in this section:
(1)The term Secretary
means the
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.
(2)Nonprofit
housing organizationThe term
nonprofit housing organization
means any organization
that—
(A)the Internal Revenue Service has ruled is
exempt from income taxation under paragraphs (3), (4), or (5) of section 501(c)
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; and
(B)has as its stated purpose to produce,
maintain, operate, or promote affordable housing.
(g)Authorization
of appropriationsThere are
authorized to be appropriated $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2006, 2007,
and 2008 to carry out this section, which shall remain available until
expended.
6.Evaluation of
employer-assisted housing programs
(a)A study of
employer-assisted programs shall be carried out in accordance with subsection
(b) for the purposes of evaluating the effects of the tax benefits provided
under sections 3 and 4 and the grant program established under section 5
on—
(1)such programs; and
(2)the private sector resources leveraged to
further fund such programs.
(b)
(1)The Comptroller
General of the United States (in this section referred to as the
Comptroller General
) shall conduct the study required under
subsection (a).
(2)The study required under subsection (a)
shall include an analysis and summary of—
(A)the total number of—
(i)employers participating in
employer-assisted housing programs;
(ii)States that have enacted employer-assisted
housing program legislation; and
(iii)States considering enacting such
legislation;
(B)the extent to which Federal funds are being
used to support employer-assisted housing programs;
(C)the size and nature of existing Federal,
State, and private employer-assisted housing programs;
(D)the types of assistance offered to
employees under employer-assisted housing programs;
(E)the distribution of employers offering
employer-assisted housing programs, including a review of the—
(i)geographic distribution of such
employers;
(ii)industry distribution of such employers;
and
(iii)size distribution of such employers;
(F)the extent to which employer-assisted
housing programs are located in high-cost
housing
markets;
(G)the extent to which employers are able to,
and have made, use of the tax benefits provided under this Act;
(H)the information contained in the reports
submitted under section 5(e);
(I)any other information that the Comptroller
General determines would be relevant and helpful to the Secretary of Housing
and Urban Development (in this section referred to as the
Secretary
) in evaluating the effects of the tax benefits
provided under sections 3 and 4 and the grant program established under section
5.
(c)In conducting the study required under
subsection (a), the Comptroller General shall consult with—
(1)appropriate Federal, State, and local
government entities; and
(2)interested groups, businesses, persons,
universities, and organizations.
(d)
(1)Not later than January
1, 2008, the Comptroller General shall submit to the Secretary an interim
report on the findings of the study required under subsection (a).
(2)Not later than
December 31, 2009, the Comptroller General shall submit to the Secretary a
final report that describes—
(A)the findings of the study required under
subsection (a); and
(B)any conclusions and recommendations of such
study.
(e)Authorization
of appropriationsThere are
authorized to be appropriated $1,000,000 to carry out this section.