WASHINGTON, D.C. – October 1, 2013 – (RealEstateRama) — Today, the first United for Homes road trip kicks off in the state of Michigan. National Low Income Housing Coalition President Sheila Crowley and Outreach Associate Joe Lindstrom will travel throughout Michigan from October 1 to October 4 for a series of eight events to highlight the United for Homes campaign to fund the National Housing Trust Fund with revenue raised from modifications to the mortgage interest deduction.

Dr. Crowley will meet with local community members, housing professionals, and media to discuss the United for Homes proposal to reduce the size of a mortgage eligible for a tax break to $500,000, and convert the deduction to a 15% non-refundable tax credit. The campaign proposal would create almost $200 billion in revenue over ten years that could be used to fund the National Housing Trust Fund.

Once funded, the National Housing Trust Fund will expand the supply of affordable rental housing. The National Housing Trust Fund was authorized by Congress in 2008 but remains unfunded while the need for affordable housing for the lowest income households is at an all-time high.

Michigan currently faces a shortage of 234,068 affordable and available rental units. Due to this shortage of affordable and available homes, 78% of extremely low income households in Michigan are forced to spend more than half of their income on housing alone.

The United for Homes campaign invited the following Members of Congress to participate in events located in their district or neighboring areas: Representative Dan Benishek, Representative Kerry Bentivolio, Representative Dave Camp, Representative John Conyers, Jr., Representative John Dingell, Representative Dan Kildee, Representative Sander Levin, Representative Gary Peters, and Representative Fred Upton.

The road trip will stop in Flint, Midland, Traverse City, Reed City, Kalamazoo, Ann Arbor, and Oakland County. The trip will end in Detroit where Dr. Crowley will be presenting the United for Homes proposal at the annual conference of the National Alliance of Community Economic Development Associations.

Dr. Crowley is available for further comment.

About United for Homes
United for Homes is the campaign to fund the National Housing Trust Fund with revenue raised from modifications to the mortgage interest deduction. Over 1,200 national, state, and local organizations have endorsed the United for Homes campaign.

About NLIHC
Established in 1974 by Cushing N. Dolbeare, the National Low Income Housing Coalition is dedicated solely to achieving socially just public policy that assures people with the lowest incomes in the United States have affordable and decent homes.

Contact
Sarah Brundage
Communications Director
National Low Income Housing Coalition
202-662-1530 x246

www.unitedforhomes.org
www.nlihc.org
www.twitter.com/NLIHC