I 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3194 

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide incentives for 

employer-provided employee housing assistance, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 30, 2005 

Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Financial Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, 

in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide 

incentives for employer-provided employee housing assistance, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Housing America’s 

5 Workforce Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following: 
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1 (1) Resurgent housing markets are pricing out 

2 low- and moderate-income families and are pro3 ducing few lower-cost units. Housing production has 

4 failed to keep pace with job growth, also sending 

5 housing prices sky-high. 

6 (2) In many markets, housing costs have far 

7 outgrown the rate of inflation and the gap between 

8 wages and housing costs is widening, pushing afford9 able housing beyond the reach of an increasing num10 ber of working families. 

11 (3) Low- and moderate-income working fami12 lies—especially in ‘‘hot market’’ areas—face extraor13 dinary difficulty finding affordable housing. 

14 (4) Despite the lowest mortgage rates in our 

15 Nation’s history and Federal investments in rental 

16 housing and homebuyer assistance, millions of work17 ing families still find it extremely difficult to rent or 

18 purchase a home. 

19 (5) The United States Department of Housing 

20 and Urban Development (HUD) considers housing 

21 affordable when a family spends no more than 30 

22 percent of its monthly income on rent and utilities. 

23 Entry-level wage earners with annual incomes of up 

24 to $30,000 spending no more than 30 percent of 

25 their income on rent can afford to pay up to $750 
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1 for rent. In the high job-growth areas, such rents 

2 are not readily available. 

3 (6) According to a study by the Center for 

4 Housing Policy in Washington, DC, the latest data 

5 available shows that in 2003, approximately 5 mil6 lion families paid more than half of their income for 

7 housing or lived in dilapidated conditions, or both. 

8 This was despite the fact they were working full 

9 time jobs. Moreover, the number of working families 

10 with critical housing problems has increased 67 per11 cent between 1997 and 2003. 

12 (7) Affordable housing is the key to creating 

13 and sustaining healthy, economically vibrant commu14 nities. 

15 (8) Many workers who fill jobs that provide the 

16 backbone of our communities—teachers, firefighters, 

17 police officers, hotel and restaurant workers—often 

18 cannot afford to live in the communities in which 

19 they serve. 

20 (9) This has led to longer commutes resulting 

21 in increased traffic and pollution, lost productivity, 

22 and family stress. High-cost housing markets also 

23 hurt the ability of our businesses to attract new tal24 ent and the ability of our cities to attract new busi25 ness. 
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1 (10) The lack of affordable housing, and result2 ing high housing costs in major regional economies 

3 across the United States have been shown to cause 

4 or contribute to labor shortages by acting as a brake 

5 on the in-migration of new employees while spurring 

6 out-migration of both workers and employers. 

7 (11) Both the public and private sectors have 

8 recognized employer-assisted housing (EAH) pro9 grams as a strategy that can be tailored to address 

10 regional jobs-housing imbalances, revitalize commu11 nities, and support smart growth practices. 

12 (12) For employees working in places where 

13 housing is unaffordable or scarce, or both and for 

14 those employers operating in distressed communities 

15 or who are having difficulty recruiting and retaining 

16 workers in locales where housing is unaffordable or 

17 scarce, employer-assisted housing can be a very 

18 much desired benefit and a cost-effective business 

19 strategy; and there are millions of employees and 

20 thousands of business that fit into this category. 

21 (13) Employer-assisted housing is an innovative 

22 local solution that has increased affordable housing 

23 opportunities for thousands of working families 

24 across America while benefitting the economy. 
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1 (14) According to findings of the Rutgers Uni2 versity American Affordable Housing Institute, em3 ployer-assisted housing increases productivity by re4 ducing commuting time as well as saves money on 

5 recruitment and retention. 

6 (15) Surveys and research on employer atti7 tudes towards employer-assisted housing report that 

8 employers continue to have difficulty obtaining infor9 mation about employer-assisted housing. As a result, 

10 firms have difficulty assessing the costs of a housing 

11 benefit program. 

12 (16) In most parts of the country, EAH has 

13 not been actively promoted by human resources pro14 fessionals, the mainstream housing industry, includ15 ing lenders, buildings and real estate professionals, 

16 or by the affordable housing industry, led by com17 munity-based nonprofit organizations and national 

18 intermediaries. 

19 (17) The future growth of employer-assisted 

20 housing programs will remain dependent upon in21 creasing individual employer knowledge of these pro22 grams. 

23 (18) Employer-assisted housing programs 

24 promise to be another creative solution in the search 

25 for more affordable housing. EAH programs will not 
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1 solve the Nation’s housing problems but such pro2 grams do seek to address the challenge from a new 

3 perspective and allow the private sector to play a di4 rect role in promoting housing affordability. Addi5 tionally, EAH programs can help to promote rede6 velopment and reinvestment in distressed commu7 nities. 

8 (19) Federal tax laws, with some exception, do 

9 not currently allow employees to exclude housing as10 sistance received from an employer from their tax11 able income. By excluding the housing assistance 

12 from an employees’ taxable income, the employee re13 ceives the full value of the housing benefit. 

14 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are as fol15 lows: 

16 (1) To expand affordable housing opportunities 

17 to low- and moderate-income working individuals 

18 and families. 

19 (2) To encourage employers, counties, and mu20 nicipalities to invest in employer-assisted housing 

21 programs. 

22 (3) To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 

23 1986 to provide a tax credit to partially offset the 

24 costs of employer-assisted housing programs and to 

25 exclude from income amounts received by an em-
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1 ployee from an employer as assistance towards the 

2 purchase of a principal residence and towards rental 

3 housing. 

4 (4) To develop programs to publicize the em5 ployer-assisted housing concept and for outreach ef6 forts to high-potential employers. 

7 SEC. 3. TAX CREDIT FOR EMPLOYER-PROVIDED EMPLOYEE 

8 HOUSING ASSISTANCE. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart D of part IV of sub10 chapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 

11 1986 (relating to business related credits) is amended by 

12 adding at the end the following new section: 

13 ‘‘SEC. 45J. EMPLOYER-PROVIDED EMPLOYEE HOUSING AS14 SISTANCE. 

15 ‘‘(a) ALLOWANCE OF CREDIT.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of section 38, 

17 the employer-provided employee housing assistance 

18 credit determined under this section for any taxable 

19 year is an amount equal to 50 percent of the quali20 fied housing expenses paid by the employer during 

21 the taxable year if such expenses are furnished pur22 suant to a program described in subsection (b). 

23 ‘‘(2) PER EMPLOYEE LIMITATION.— 

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The aggregate 

25 amount of qualified housing expenses taken into 
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1 account with respect to any eligible employee 

2 for any taxable year shall not exceed, when 

3 added to any qualified housing expenses taken 

4 into account for any preceding taxable year 

5 with respect to such employee— 

6 ‘‘(i) in the case of homeownership as7 sistance, the lesser of $10,000 or 6 percent 

8 of the purchase price of such employee’s 

9 principal residence, and 

10 ‘‘(ii) in the case of rental assistance, 

11 $2,000. 

12 ‘‘(B) INFLATION ADJUSTMENT.— 

13 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In the case of any 

14 taxable year beginning after 2006, each 

15 dollar amount referred to in subparagraph 

16 (A) shall be increased by an amount equal 

17 to— 

18 ‘‘(I) such dollar amount, multi19 plied by 

20 ‘‘(II) the cost-of-living adjust21 ment determined under section 

22 (1)(f)(3) for the calendar year in 

23 which the taxable year begins, by sub24 stituting ‘2005’ for ‘1992’. 
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1 ‘‘(ii) ROUNDING.—If any amount as 

2 adjusted under clause (i) is not a multiple 

3 of $50, such amount shall be rounded to 

4 the nearest multiple of $50. 

5 ‘‘(b) HOUSING ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.—For pur6 poses of this section, a housing assistance program is a 

7 separate written plan of an employer for the exclusive ben8 efit of such employer’s employees to provide the qualified 

9 housing expenses of such employees and which meets re10 quirements similar to the requirements of paragraphs (2) 

11 through (6) of section 127(b). 

12 ‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS AND SPECIAL RULES.—For pur13 poses of this section— 

14 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘eligible 

15 employee’ means any individual— 

16 ‘‘(A) employed by an employer, 

17 ‘‘(B) whose household income does not ex18 ceed 120 percent of the area median gross in19 come (adjusted for household size) for the area 

20 in which the housing is located, and 

21 ‘‘(C) in the case of homeownership assist22 ance, who is a qualified homebuyer. 

23 If the housing with respect to such employee is lo24 cated in a high housing cost area (as defined in sec25 tion 143(f)(5)(C)), the income limitation under sub-
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1 paragraph (B) shall be adjusted (but not reduced) 

2 by the application of the rule under section 

3 143(f)(5) by substituting ‘120 percent’ for ‘115 per4 cent’ in subparagraph (B)(I) thereof. 

5 ‘‘(2) QUALIFIED HOUSING EXPENSES.— 

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘qualified 

7 housing expenses’ means rental assistance or 

8 homeownership assistance towards the lease or 

9 purchase of housing. 

10 ‘‘(B) RENTAL ASSISTANCE.—The term 

11 ‘rental assistance’ means assistance with secu12 rity deposits and rental payments. 

13 ‘‘(C) HOMEOWNERSHIP ASSISTANCE.—The 

14 term ‘homeownership assistance’ means assist15 ance for the purchase of a principal residence, 

16 including— 

17 ‘‘(i) payment of qualified acquisition 

18 costs (as defined in section 72(t)(8)(C)), 

19 ‘‘(ii) providing (or reducing the costs 

20 of) financing, including the funding of a 

21 permanent interest rate buydown, 

22 ‘‘(iii) contributions to second mort23 gage pools or low interest loan programs 

24 accessible to eligible employees, 
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1 ‘‘(iv) mortgage guarantee programs 

2 for the repayment of any loans in default 

3 that are secured by an eligible employee 

4 and guaranteed by the employer, 

5 ‘‘(v) contributions to eligible employee 

6 savings plans, including Individual Devel7 opment Accounts (within the meaning of 

8 section 404(h) of the Social Security Act), 

9 designated exclusively for the purchase of a 

10 home, and 

11 ‘‘(vi) contributions to homebuyer edu12 cation and homeownership counseling of el13 igible employees. 

14 ‘‘(3) PRINCIPAL RESIDENCE.—The term ‘prin15 cipal residence’ has the same meaning as when used 

16 in section 121, except such term shall not include a 

17 residence with a purchase price exceeding the great18 er of— 

19 ‘‘(A) 90 percent of the average area pur20 chase price applicable to the residence, or 

21 ‘‘(B) 3.5 times the family income limit ap22 plicable to the eligible employee under para23 graph (1)(B). 

24 ‘‘(4) QUALIFIED HOMEBUYER.— 
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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘qualified 

2 homebuyer’ meansl 

3 ‘‘(i) any first-time homebuyer, or 

4 ‘‘(ii) any individual if such individual 

5 (and if married, such individual’s spouse) 

6 had no present ownership in a principal 

7 residence located within 50 miles of the in8 dividual’s employer during the 2-year pe9 riod ending on the date of the purchase of 

10 the principal residence to which this sec11 tion applies. 

12 ‘‘(B) FIRST-TIME HOMEBUYER.—The term 

13 ‘first-time homebuyer’ means any individual if 

14 such individual (and if married, such individ15 ual’s spouse) had no present ownership in a 

16 principal residence during the 2-year period 

17 ending on the date of the purchase of the prin18 cipal residence to which this section applies. 

19 ‘‘(C) ONE-TIME ONLY.—If an individual is 

20 treated as a qualified homebuyer with respect to 

21 any principal residence, such individual may not 

22 be treated as a qualified homebuyer with re23 spect to any other principal residence. 

24 ‘‘(5) APPLICABLE RULES.—Rules similar to the 

25 rules under paragraphs (3), (4), and (5)(A) of sec-
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1 tion 127(c) shall apply for the purposes of this sec2 tion. 

3 ‘‘(d) TREATMENT OF EMPLOYERS NOT ABLE TO USE

4 ENTIRE CREDIT.— 

5 ‘‘(1) ALLOWANCE OF CREDIT.—Except as oth6 erwise provided in this subsection any credit allow7 able under subsection (a) to any employer described 

8 in paragraph (2)(C) may be transferred as provided 

9 in this subsection and the determination as to 

10 whether the credit is allowable shall be made without 

11 regard to the tax-exempt status of the employer. 

12 ‘‘(2) TRANSFER OF CREDIT.— 

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An employer described 

14 in subparagraph (C) may transfer any credit to 

15 which paragraph (1) applies through an assign16 ment to any other person. Such transfer may be 

17 revoked only with the consent of the Secretary. 

18 ‘‘(B) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall 

19 prescribe such regulations as necessary to en20 sure that any credit described in subparagraph 

21 (A) is assigned once and not reassigned by such 

22 other person. 

23 ‘‘(C) EMPLOYER DESCRIBED.—An em24 ployer is described in this subparagraph if the 

25 employer is— 
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1 ‘‘(i) a State or political subdivision 

2 thereof, the District of Columbia, a posses3 sion of the United States, or an agency or 

4 instrumentality of any of the foregoing, 

5 ‘‘(ii) an Indian tribal government 

6 (within the meaning of section 7871) or 

7 any agency or instrumentality thereof, or 

8 ‘‘(iii) any entity exempt from taxation 

9 under section 501(a). 

10 ‘‘(D) TRANSFER PROCEEDS TREATED AS

11 ARISING FROM ESSENTIAL GOVERNMENT FUNC12 TION.—Any proceeds derived by a person de13 scribed in clause (i) or (ii) of subparagraph (C) 

14 from the transfer under subparagraph (A) of 

15 any credit to which paragraph (1) applies shall 

16 be treated as arising from the exercise of an es17 sential government function. 

18 ‘‘(E) CREDIT NOT INCOME.—Any transfer 

19 under subparagraph (A) of any credit to which 

20 paragraph (1) applies shall not be treated as in21 come for purposes of section 501(c)(12).’’. 

22 (b) CREDIT ALLOWED AS PART OF GENERAL BUSI23 NESS CREDIT.—Section 38(b) of the Internal Revenue 

24 Code of 1986 (defining current year business credit) is 

25 amended by striking ‘‘plus’’ at the end of paragraph (18), 
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1 by striking the period at the end of paragraph (19) and 

2 inserting ‘‘, plus’’, and by adding at the end the following 

3 new paragraph: 

4 ‘‘(20) the employer-provided employee housing 

5 assistance credit determined under section 45J(a).’’. 

6 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

7 (1) Subsection (c) of section 196 of the Internal 

8 Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking ‘‘and’’ 

9 at the end of paragraph (11), by striking the period 

10 at the end of paragraph (12) and inserting ‘‘, and’’, 

11 and by adding at the end the following new para12 graph: 

13 ‘‘(13) the employer-provided employee housing 

14 assistance credit determined under section 45J(a).’’. 

15 (2) The table of sections for subpart D of part 

16 IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 of such Code is 

17 amended by adding at the end the following new 

18 item: 

‘‘Sec. 45J. Employer-provided employee housing assistance.’’. 

19 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

20 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 

21 December 31, 2005. 

22 SEC. 4. EXCLUSION FROM INCOME OF EMPLOYER-PRO23 VIDED EMPLOYEE HOUSING ASSISTANCE. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part III of subchapter B of chap25 ter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to 
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1 items specifically excluded from gross income) is amended 

2 by inserting after section 139A the following new section: 

3 ‘‘SEC. 139B. EMPLOYEE HOUSING ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS. 

4 ‘‘(a) EXCLUSION FROM GROSS INCOME.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Gross income of an eligible 

6 employee does not include amounts paid or incurred 

7 by the employer of such employee for qualified hous8 ing expenses provided to the employee if the assist9 ance is furnished pursuant to a program described 

10 in subsection (b). 

11 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The aggregate 

13 amount of qualified housing expenses which 

14 may be excluded under paragraph (1) with re15 spect to any eligible employee for any taxable 

16 year shall not exceed, when added to any quali17 fied housing expenses excluded in any preceding 

18 taxable year with respect to such employee— 

19 ‘‘(i) in the case of homeownership as20 sistance, the lesser of $10,000 or 6 percent 

21 of the purchase price of such employee’s 

22 principal residence, and 

23 ‘‘(ii) in the case of rental assistance, 

24 $2,000. 

25 ‘‘(B) INFLATION ADJUSTMENT.— 
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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In the case of any 

2 taxable year beginning after 2006, each 

3 dollar amount referred to in subparagraph 

4 (A) shall be increased by an amount equal 

5 to— 

6 ‘‘(I) such dollar amount, multi7 plied by 

8 ‘‘(II) the cost-of-living adjust9 ment determined under section 

10 (1)(f)(3) for the calendar year in 

11 which the taxable year begins, by sub12 stituting ‘2005’ for ‘1992’. 

13 ‘‘(ii) ROUNDING.—If any amount as 

14 adjusted under clause (i) is not a multiple 

15 of $50, such amount shall be rounded to 

16 the nearest multiple of $50. 

17 ‘‘(b) HOUSING ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.—For pur18 poses of this section, a housing assistance program is a 

19 separate written plan of an employer for the exclusive ben20 efit of such employer’s employees to provide the qualified 

21 housing expenses of such employees and which meets re22 quirements similar to the requirements of paragraphs (2) 

23 through (6) of section 127(b). 

24 ‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS; SPECIAL RULES.—For purposes 

25 of this section— 
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any term used in section 

2 45J which is also used in this section shall have the 

3 same meaning as given such term by section 45J. 

4 ‘‘(2) APPLICABLE RULES.—Rules similar to the 

5 rules under paragraphs (3), (4), and (5)(A) of sec6 tion 127(c) shall apply for purposes of this section. 

7 ‘‘(3) BASIS ADJUSTMENT.—For purposes of 

8 this subtitle, if an exclusion is allowed under sub9 section (a) with respect to a residence, the basis of 

10 such residence shall be reduced by the amount of the 

11 exclusion.’’. 

12 (b) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—Subsection (d)(1) 

13 of section 6039D of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 

14 (relating to returns and records with respect to certain 

15 fringe benefit plans) is amended by striking ‘‘or 137’’ and 

16 inserting ‘‘137, or 139B’’. 

17 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

18 (1) The table of sections for part III of sub19 chapter B of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code 

20 of 1986 is amended by inserting after the item relat21 ing to section 139A the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 139B. Employee housing assistance programs.’’. 

22 (2) Subsection (a) of section 1016 of such Code 

23 (relating to adjustments to basis) is amended by 

24 striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph (30), by 

25 striking the period at the end of paragraph (31) and 
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1 inserting ‘‘, and’’, and by adding at the end the fol2 lowing new paragraph: 

3 ‘‘(32) in the case of a residence with respect to 

4 which amounts were excluded from income under 

5 section 139B, to the extent provided in section 

6 139B(c)(3).’’. 

7 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

8 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning Decem9 ber 31, 2005. 

10 SEC. 5. GRANTS TO COVER EMPLOYER-ASSISTED HOUSING 

11 PROGRAM COSTS. 

12 (a) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may award a 

14 grant to an eligible entity to pay— 

15 (A) the operating costs of administering an 

16 employer-assisted housing program; 

17 (B) for technical assistance provided by 

18 the eligible entity to an employer in connection 

19 with such a program; and 

20 (C) for costs associated with promoting, 

21 publicizing, or otherwise attempting to dis22 tribute information relating to such a program. 

23 (2) DURATION.—Grants may be awarded under 

24 this subsection during fiscal years 2006, 2007, and 

25 2008. 
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1 (3) AWARD BASIS.—The Secretary shall award 

2 grants under this section on a competitive basis. 

3 (b) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—To be eligible to receive a 

4 grant under this section, an entity shall demonstrate that 

5 it is— 

6 (1) a nonprofit housing organization with a rel7 evant mission and demonstrated track record in 

8 housing counseling or employer-assisted housing con9 tracted by an employer to assist the employer in es10 tablishing or maintaining an employer-assisted hous11 ing program; or 

12 (2) a city, county, town, township, parish, vil13 lage, hamlet, or other general purpose political sub14 division of a State that seeks to establish or main15 tain, or otherwise participate in an employer-assisted 

16 housing program for its own employees. 

17 (c) APPLICATION.—Each eligible entity seeking a 

18 grant under this section shall submit an application to the 

19 Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing 

20 such information as the Secretary may require. 

21 (d) LIMITATION ON USE OF FUNDS.—A grant 

22 awarded to an eligible entity under this section shall be 

23 used only for the purposes described under subsection (a). 

24 (e) REPORTS.— 
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each eligible entity receiving 

2 a grant under this section shall annually prepare 

3 and submit to the Secretary a report that describes 

4 the— 

5 (A) amount of grant funds expended dur6 ing the year; 

7 (B) total amount— 

8 (i) of funds expended during the year 

9 to administer an employer-assisted housing 

10 program; and 

11 (ii) of down payment assistance pro12 vided by such a program; 

13 (C) total number of employees utilizing 

14 such a program; 

15 (D) number of employees utilizing such a 

16 program— 

17 (i) who are time homebuyers; 

18 (ii) who are previous homeowners; and 

19 (iii) who live in high-cost housing 

20 areas; 

21 (E) average— 

22 (i) income of employees utilizing such 

23 a program; 

24 (ii) age of employees utilizing such a 

25 program; and 
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1 (iii) cost of a home purchased under 

2 such a program; 

3 (F) ethnicity of employees utilizing such a 

4 program; and 

5 (G) number of housing units affected by 

6 such a program. 

7 (2) CLEARINGHOUSE AND DISSEMINATION.— 

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year 

9 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec10 retary shall establish a national clearinghouse, 

11 including a website, designed— 

12 (i) to provide information about em13 ployer-assisted housing programs to— 

14 (I) Federal, State, and local gov15 ernment entities; and 

16 (II) interested groups, busi17 nesses, persons, and organizations; 

18 and 

19 (ii) to collect and disseminate the in20 formation gathered from the reports re21 quired under paragraph (1). 

22 (B) WEBPOSTING.—The Secretary shall 

23 ensure that— 

24 (i) each report submitted under para25 graph (1) is posted to the website of the 
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1 national clearinghouse established under 

2 subparagraph (A); and 

3 (ii) the website of the Department of 

4 Housing and Urban Development provides 

5 a hyperlink to such reports on the website 

6 of the national clearinghouse. 

7 (f) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section: 

8 (1) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

9 the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. 

10 (2) NONPROFIT HOUSING ORGANIZATION.—The 

11 term ‘‘nonprofit housing organization’’ means any 

12 organization that— 

13 (A) the Internal Revenue Service has ruled 

14 is exempt from income taxation under para15 graphs (3), (4), or (5) of section 501(c) of the 

16 Internal Revenue Code of 1986; and 

17 (B) has as its stated purpose to produce, 

18 maintain, operate, or promote affordable hous19 ing. 

20 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

21 are authorized to be appropriated $5,000,000 for each of 

22 fiscal years 2006, 2007, and 2008 to carry out this sec23 tion, which shall remain available until expended. 
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1 SEC. 6. EVALUATION OF EMPLOYER-ASSISTED HOUSING 

2 PROGRAMS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—A study of employer-assisted pro4 grams shall be carried out in accordance with subsection 

5 (b) for the purposes of evaluating the effects of the tax 

6 benefits provided under sections 3 and 4 and the grant 

7 program established under section 5 on— 

8 (1) such programs; and 

9 (2) the private sector resources leveraged to 

10 further fund such programs. 

11 (b) NATIONAL EVALUATION.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Comptroller General of 

13 the United States (in this section referred to as the 

14 ‘‘Comptroller General’’) shall conduct the study re15 quired under subsection (a). 

16 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—The study required 

17 under subsection (a) shall include an analysis and 

18 summary of— 

19 (A) the total number of— 

20 (i) employers participating in em21 ployer-assisted housing programs; 

22 (ii) States that have enacted em23 ployer-assisted housing program legisla24 tion; and 

25 (iii) States considering enacting such 

26 legislation; 
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1 (B) the extent to which Federal funds are 

2 being used to support employer-assisted housing 

3 programs; 

4 (C) the size and nature of existing Federal, 

5 State, and private employer-assisted housing 

6 programs; 

7 (D) the types of assistance offered to em8 ployees under employer-assisted housing pro9 grams; 

10 (E) the distribution of employers offering 

11 employer-assisted housing programs, including 

12 a review of the— 

13 (i) geographic distribution of such em14 ployers; 

15 (ii) industry distribution of such em16 ployers; and 

17 (iii) size distribution of such employ18 ers; 

19 (F) the extent to which employer-assisted 

20 housing programs are located in ‘‘high-cost’’ 

21 housing markets; 

22 (G) the extent to which employers are able 

23 to, and have made, use of the tax benefits pro24 vided under this Act; 
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1 (H) the information contained in the re2 ports submitted under section 5(e); 

3 (I) any other information that the Comp4 troller General determines would be relevant 

5 and helpful to the Secretary of Housing and 

6 Urban Development (in this section referred to 

7 as the ‘‘Secretary’’) in evaluating the effects of 

8 the tax benefits provided under sections 3 and 

9 4 and the grant program established under sec10 tion 5. 

11 (c) CONSULTATION.—In conducting the study re12 quired under subsection (a), the Comptroller General shall 

13 consult with— 

14 (1) appropriate Federal, State, and local gov15 ernment entities; and 

16 (2) interested groups, businesses, persons, uni17 versities, and organizations. 

18 (d) REPORT.— 

19 (1) INTERIM REPORT.—Not later than January 

20 1, 2008, the Comptroller General shall submit to the 

21 Secretary an interim report on the findings of the 

22 study required under subsection (a). 

23 (2) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than December 

24 31, 2009, the Comptroller General shall submit to 

25 the Secretary a final report that describes— 
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1 (A) the findings of the study required 

2 under subsection (a); and 

3 (B) any conclusions and recommendations 

4 of such study. 

5 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

6 are authorized to be appropriated $1,000,000 to carry out 

7 this section. 

Æ