The
“Affordable
Housing
Bond
Enhancement
Act,”
which
Sens.
Catherine
Cortez
Masto
(D-Nev.)
and
Bill
Cassidy
(R-La.)
introduced
together
in
2023,
has
been
reintroduced
into
the
Senate
as
the
pair
aims
to
expand
housing
affordability
options
for
first-time
homebuyers
through
an
expansion
of
two
federal
programs:
the
Mortgage
Revenue
Bond
(MRB)
and
Mortgage
Credit
Certificates
(MCC)
programs.

Here’s
how
it
all
works:

Provisions
of
the
bill

The
MRB
program
helps
prospective
homebuyers
who
are
at
a
certain
area’s
median
income
(AMI),
who
may
not
have
enough
money
to
meet
down
payment
and
closing
costs.
It
features
mortgage
loans
with
interest
rates
that
are
below
market
rates.

The
MCC
is
a
tax
credit
program
which
comes
in
the
form
of
“certificates
issued
by
[housing
finance
agencies
(HFAs)]
that
increase
the
federal
tax
benefits
of
owning
a
home
and
helps
low-
and
moderate-income,
first-time
homebuyers
offset
a
portion
of
the
amount
they
owe
in
mortgage
interest,”
according
to
guidance
from
the


Federal
Deposit
Insurance
Corporation
(FDIC).

The
bill
from
Cortez
Masto
and
Cassidy
seeks
to
simplify
the
administrations
of
both
programs,
and
change
them
to
ensure
they
would
be
primarily
assistive
for
working
families,
according
to
language
of
the
bill
reviewed
by

HousingWire.
It
would
permit
refinances
to
add
more
flexibility
for
the
programs’
beneficiaries,
while
also
allowing
for
those
with
MRB
mortgages
to
direct
more
funds
to
renovations
that
might
be
able
to
help
them
to
age
in
place.

These
include
“adding
accessible
bathrooms
and
ramps
to
help
older
and
disabled
Americans
remain
in
their
home,
as
well
as
supporting
energy
efficiency
upgrades
and
disaster
mitigation
renovations,”
according
to
the
office
of
Cortez
Masto.
“The
bill
raises
the
current
funding
limit
of
$15,000
to
$75,000
and
indexes
it
for
inflation.”

HFAs
would
also
be
given
“flexibility
to
extend
loan
and
credit
periods
to
account
for
delays
due
to
supply
chain
issues
or
construction
shortages,”
the
office
explained.

“Hardworking
families
deserve
the
safety
and
security
of
a
roof
over
their
heads,
said
Sen.
Cortez
Masto
in
a
statement.
“These
tax
credits
and
interest
rate
reductions
will
give
working
Nevadans
a
meaningful
break
as
they
take
the
important
step
of
buying
a
first
home.
I
will
continue
working
in
a
bipartisan
way
to
make
sure
that
Nevadans
have
access
to
secure,
affordable
housing.”

Cassidy
emphasized
the
lack
of
affordability
in
the
housing
market,
particularly
for
people
seeking
to
break
into
it
for
the
first
time.

“Buying
a
home
is
increasingly
out
of
reach
for
first-time
buyers.
This
addresses
that
issue,”
said
Sen.
Cassidy.
“By
giving
them
a
boost,
we
get
them
on
the
ladder
of
homeownership.”

Prior
effort,
recent
congressional
housing
moves

The
2023
version
of
the
bill
was
first
introduced
that
June
and
was
referred
to
the
Senate
Finance
Committee,
but
hung
in
limbo
there
for
the
better
part
of
a
year.
Interestingly,
the
bill
was
revived
in
April
2024
when
it

garnered
a
hearing
from
the
Senate
Banking
Committee,
but
never
progressed
beyond
that
point.

At
that
hearing,
Christopher
Volzke
–
the
deputy
executive
director
of
the

Wyoming
Community
Development
Authority
–
spoke
in
favor
of
the
bill
during
a
prepared
statement.

“This
bill
would 
make
a
number
of
simple,
but
effective
changes
to
the
[MRB]
and
[MCC]
programs,”
he
said.
“MRBs
and 
MCCs
are
the
primary
means
by
which
State
[HFAs]
finance
their
affordable
home
ownership
programs.”

Lawmakers
have
been
increasingly
active
in
2025
on
the
housing
front.
Cortez
Masto
had
previously
joined
Democratic
colleagues
in
both
the
Senate
and
the


House
of
Representatives
seeking
to
to
update
the
formula
for
determining
the
allocation
of

affordable
housing
vouchers
to
growing
cities,
alongside
Sen.
Ruben
Gallego
(D-Ariz.)
and
Rep.
Dina
Titus
(D-Nev.).

A
cadre
of
bicameral
Democratic
lawmakers
led
by
Sen.
Alex
Padilla
(D-Calif.)
also
recently

reintroduced
the
“Housing
for
All
Act”
that
would
bolster
investments
in
federal
programs
—
including
some
that
have
been
targeted
by
the

Trump
administration
for
funding
reductions.
But
there
has
been
other
bipartisan
action
as
well.

These
include
the
introduction
by
Sens.
Mike
Rounds
(R-S.D.)
and
Tina
Smith
(D-Minn.)
to

implement
sweeping
reforms
to
the
federal

Rural
Housing
Service
(RHS),
the
most
it
has
seen
in
decades.
Also
garnering
bipartisan
support
is
the
reintroduction
of
the
“Neighborhood
Homes
Investment
Act”
(NHIA);
the
the
Affordable
Housing
Credit
Improvement
Act;
and

renewed
movement
on
the
controversial
topic
of
trigger
leads.

This
month
also
brought
the
announcement
of
a
bipartisan

joint
effort
with
Reps.
Emmanuel
Cleaver
(D-Mo.)
and
Mike
Flood
(R-Neb.)
to
begin
a
public
listening
program
to
hear
what
the
public
feels
works
—
and
doesn’t
—
about
two
particular
programs
from
HUD:
the
Community
Development
Block
Grant
(CDBG)
and
the
Home
Investment
Partnership
Program
(HOME)
programs.