I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 480 

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 

JANUARY 22, 2015 

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 of 2015’’. 

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. 

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

5 outgrown the rate of inflation and the gap between 

6 wages and housing costs is widening, pushing afford7 able housing beyond the reach of an increasing num8 ber of working families. 

9 (3) Despite some of the lowest mortgage rates 

10 in our Nation’s history, millions of working families 

11 still find it extremely difficult to rent or purchase a 

12 home. Many workers who fill jobs that provide the 

13 backbone of our communities—teachers, firefighters, 

14 and police officers—often cannot afford to live in the 

15 communities in which they serve. 

16 (4) The United States Department of Housing 

17 and Urban Development (HUD) considers housing 

18 affordable when a family spends no more than 30 

19 percent of its monthly income on rent and utilities. 

20 Entry-level wage earners with annual incomes of up 

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

22 their income on rent can only afford to pay up to 

23 $750 for rent. In the high job-growth areas, such 

24 rents are not readily available. 


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1 (5) Affordable housing is the key to creating 

2 and sustaining healthy, economically vibrant commu3 nities. 

4 (6) The lack of affordable housing across the 

5 United States has been shown to cause or contribute 

6 to labor shortages. 

7 (7) Under employer-assisted housing (EAH) 

8 programs employers provide much needed housing 

9 assistance to their employees. 

10 (8) EAH programs are innovative local solu11 tions that have increased affordable housing oppor12 tunities for thousands of working families across 

13 America while benefitting the economy. 

14 (9) According to findings of the Rutgers Uni15 versity American Affordable Housing Institute, em16 ployer-assisted housing increases productivity by re17 ducing commuting time as well as saves money on 

18 recruitment and retention. 

19 (10) The future growth of EAH programs will 

20 remain dependent upon increasing individual em21 ployer knowledge and implementation of these pro22 grams. 

23 (11) EAH programs will not solve the Nation’s 

24 housing problems but such programs do seek to ad25 dress the challenge from a new perspective and allow 


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1 the private sector to play a direct role in promoting 

2 housing affordability. Additionally, EAH programs 

3 can help to promote redevelopment and reinvestment 

4 in distressed communities. 

5 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are as fol6 lows: 

7 (1) To expand affordable housing opportunities 

8 to low- and moderate-income working individuals 

9 and families. 

10 (2) To encourage employers, counties, and mu11 nicipalities to invest in employer-assisted housing 

12 programs. 

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

14 HOUSING ASSISTANCE. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart D of part IV of sub16 chapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 

17 1986 (relating to business related credits) is amended by 

18 adding at the end the following new section: 

19 ‘‘SEC. 45S. EMPLOYER-PROVIDED EMPLOYEE HOUSING AS20 SISTANCE. 

21 ‘‘(a) ALLOWANCE OF CREDIT.— 

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

23 the employer-provided employee housing assistance 

24 credit determined under this section for any taxable 

25 year is an amount equal to 50 percent of the qualiVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:28 Jan 29, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H480.IH H480

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1 fied housing expenses paid by the employer during 

2 the taxable year if such expenses are furnished pur3 suant to a program described in subsection (b). 

4 ‘‘(2) SPECIAL RULE FOR SMALL BUSINESS EM5 PLOYERS.— 

6 ‘‘(A) In the case of an employer that is a 

7 small business employer, paragraph (1) shall be 

8 applied by substituting ‘100 percent’ for ‘50 

9 percent’. 

10 ‘‘(B) SMALL BUSINESS EMPLOYER.—For 

11 purposes of subparagraph (A), the term ‘small 

12 business employer’ means an employer that is a 

13 small business concern (within the meaning of 

14 section 3 of the Small Business Act) which— 

15 ‘‘(i) is engaged in a trade or business, 

16 and 

17 ‘‘(ii) employs one or more individuals 

18 in such trade or business. 

19 ‘‘(3) PER EMPLOYEE LIMITATION.— 

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The aggregate 

21 amount of qualified housing expenses taken into 

22 account with respect to any eligible employee 

23 for any taxable year shall not exceed, when 

24 added to any qualified housing expenses taken 


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1 into account for any preceding taxable year 

2 with respect to such employee— 

3 ‘‘(i) in the case of homeownership as4 sistance, the lesser of $10,000 or 6 percent 

5 of the purchase price of such employee’s 

6 principal residence, and 

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

8 $5,000. 

9 ‘‘(B) INFLATION ADJUSTMENT.— 

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

11 taxable year beginning after 2015, each 

12 dollar amount referred to in subparagraph 

13 (A) shall be increased by an amount equal 

14 to— 

15 ‘‘(I) such dollar amount, multi16 plied by 

17 ‘‘(II) the cost-of-living adjust18 ment determined under section 

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

20 which the taxable year begins, by sub21 stituting ‘2014’ for ‘1992’. 

22 ‘‘(ii) ROUNDING.—If any amount as 

23 adjusted under clause (i) is not a multiple 

24 of $50, such amount shall be rounded to 

25 the nearest multiple of $50. 


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1 ‘‘(b) HOUSING ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.—For pur2 poses of this section, a housing assistance program is a 

3 separate written plan of an employer for the exclusive ben4 efit of such employer’s employees to provide the qualified 

5 housing expenses of such employees and which meets re6 quirements similar to the requirements of paragraphs (2) 

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

8 ‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS AND SPECIAL RULES.—For pur9 poses of this section— 

10 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE EMPLOYEE.— 

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘eligible em12 ployee’ means any individual— 

13 ‘‘(i) employed by an employer, 

14 ‘‘(ii) whose household income does not 

15 exceed 120 percent of the area median 

16 gross income (adjusted for household size) 

17 for the metropolitan statistical area (as de18 fined in section 143(k)(2)(B)) in which the 

19 housing is located, and 

20 ‘‘(iii) in the case of homeownership 

21 assistance, who is a qualified homebuyer. 

22 If the housing with respect to such employee is 

23 located in a high housing cost area (as defined 

24 in section 143(f)(5)(C)), the income limitation 

25 under subparagraph (B) shall be adjusted (but 


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1 not reduced) by the application of the rule 

2 under section 143(f)(5) by substituting ‘120 

3 percent’ for ‘115 percent’ in subparagraph 

4 (B)(I) thereof. 

5 ‘‘(B) CERTAIN EMPLOYEES NOT ELIGI6 BLE.—The term ‘eligible employee’ shall not in7 clude— 

8 ‘‘(i) any individual described in sub9 paragraph (A), (B), or (C) of section 

10 51(i)(1), and 

11 ‘‘(ii) any 5-percent owner (as defined 

12 in section 416(i)(1)(B)). 

13 ‘‘(2) QUALIFIED HOUSING EXPENSES.— 

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

15 housing expenses’ means rental assistance or 

16 homeownership assistance towards the lease or 

17 purchase of housing. 

18 ‘‘(B) RENTAL ASSISTANCE.—The term 

19 ‘rental assistance’ means assistance with secu20 rity deposits and rental payments. 

21 ‘‘(C) HOMEOWNERSHIP ASSISTANCE.—The 

22 term ‘homeownership assistance’ means assist23 ance for the purchase of a principal residence, 

24 including— 


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1 ‘‘(i) payment of qualified acquisition 

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

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

4 of) financing, including the funding of a 

5 permanent interest rate buydown, 

6 ‘‘(iii) contributions to second mort7 gage pools or low interest loan programs 

8 accessible to eligible employees, 

9 ‘‘(iv) mortgage guarantee programs 

10 for the repayment of any loans in default 

11 that are secured by an eligible employee 

12 and guaranteed by the employer, 

13 ‘‘(v) contributions to Individual Devel14 opment Accounts (within the meaning of 

15 section 404(h) of the Social Security Act) 

16 which are designated exclusively for the 

17 purchase of a home, and 

18 ‘‘(vi) contributions to homebuyer edu19 cation and homeownership counseling of el20 igible employees. 

21 ‘‘(3) PRINCIPAL RESIDENCE.—The term ‘prin22 cipal residence’ has the same meaning as when used 

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

24 residence with a purchase price exceeding the great25 er of— 


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1 ‘‘(A) 90 percent of the average area pur2 chase price applicable to the residence, or 

3 ‘‘(B) 3.5 times the family income limit ap4 plicable to the eligible employee under para5 graph (1)(A)(ii). 

6 ‘‘(4) QUALIFIED HOMEBUYER.— 

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

8 homebuyer’ means any individual if such indi9 vidual (and if married, such individual’s spouse) 

10 had no present ownership in a principal resi11 dence during the 3-year period ending on the 

12 date of the purchase of the principal residence 

13 to which this section applies. 

14 ‘‘(B) ONE-TIME ONLY.—If an individual is 

15 treated as a qualified homebuyer with respect to 

16 any principal residence, such individual may not 

17 be treated as a qualified homebuyer with re18 spect to any other principal residence. 

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

20 rules under section 127(c)(5)(A) shall apply for the 

21 purposes of this section. 

22 ‘‘(d) TREATMENT OF EMPLOYERS NOT ABLE TO

23 USE ENTIRE CREDIT.— 

24 ‘‘(1) ALLOWANCE OF CREDIT.—Except as oth25 erwise provided in this subsection, any credit allowVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:28 Jan 29, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H480.IH H480

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1 able under subsection (a) to any employer described 

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

3 in this subsection and the determination as to 

4 whether the credit is allowable shall be made without 

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

6 ‘‘(2) TRANSFER OF CREDIT.— 

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

8 in subparagraph (C) may transfer any credit to 

9 which paragraph (1) applies through an assign10 ment to any other person. Such transfer may be 

11 revoked only with the consent of the Secretary. 

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

13 prescribe such regulations as necessary to en14 sure that any credit described in subparagraph 

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

16 other person. 

17 ‘‘(C) EMPLOYER DESCRIBED.—An em18 ployer is described in this subparagraph if the 

19 employer is— 

20 ‘‘(i) a State or political subdivision 

21 thereof, the District of Columbia, a posses22 sion of the United States, or an agency or 

23 instrumentality of any of the foregoing, 


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1 ‘‘(ii) an Indian tribal government 

2 (within the meaning of section 7871) or 

3 any agency or instrumentality thereof, or 

4 ‘‘(iii) any entity exempt from taxation 

5 under section 501(a). 

6 ‘‘(D) TRANSFER PROCEEDS TREATED AS

7 ARISING FROM ESSENTIAL GOVERNMENT FUNC8 TION.—Any proceeds derived by a person de9 scribed in clause (i) or (ii) of subparagraph (C) 

10 from the transfer under subparagraph (A) of 

11 any credit to which paragraph (1) applies shall 

12 be treated as arising from the exercise of an es13 sential government function. 

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

15 under subparagraph (A) of any credit to which 

16 paragraph (1) applies shall not be treated as in17 come for purposes of section 501(c)(12).’’. 

18 (b) CREDIT ALLOWED AS PART OF GENERAL BUSI19 NESS CREDIT.—Section 38(b) of the Internal Revenue 

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

21 amended by striking ‘‘plus’’ at the end of paragraph (35), 

22 by striking the period at the end of paragraph (36) and 

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

24 new paragraph: 


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1 ‘‘(37) the employer-provided employee housing 

2 assistance credit determined under section 45S(a).’’. 

3 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

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

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

6 at the end of paragraph (13), by striking the period 

7 at the end of paragraph (14) and inserting ‘‘, and’’, 

8 and by adding at the end the following new para9 graph: 

10 ‘‘(15) the employer-provided employee housing 

11 assistance credit determined under section 45S(a).’’. 

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

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

14 amended by adding at the end the following new 

15 item: 

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

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

17 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 

18 December 31, 2014. 

19 SEC. 4. EXCLUSION FROM INCOME OF EMPLOYER-PRO20 VIDED EMPLOYEE HOUSING ASSISTANCE. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part III of subchapter B of chap22 ter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to 

23 items specifically excluded from gross income) is amended 

24 by inserting after section 139E the following new section: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 139F. EMPLOYEE HOUSING ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS. 

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

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

4 employee does not include amounts paid or incurred 

5 by the employer of such employee for qualified hous6 ing expenses provided to the employee if the assist7 ance is furnished pursuant to a program described 

8 in subsection (b). 

9 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.— 

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The aggregate 

11 amount of qualified housing expenses which 

12 may be excluded under paragraph (1) with re13 spect to any eligible employee for any taxable 

14 year shall not exceed, when added to any quali15 fied housing expenses excluded in any preceding 

16 taxable year with respect to such employee— 

17 ‘‘(i) in the case of homeownership as18 sistance, the lesser of $10,000 or 6 percent 

19 of the purchase price of such employee’s 

20 principal residence, and 

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

22 $5,000. 

23 ‘‘(B) INFLATION ADJUSTMENT.— 

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

25 taxable year beginning after 2015, each 

26 dollar amount referred to in subparagraph 


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1 (A) shall be increased by an amount equal 

2 to— 

3 ‘‘(I) such dollar amount, multi4 plied by 

5 ‘‘(II) the cost-of-living adjust6 ment determined under section 

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

8 which the taxable year begins, by sub9 stituting ‘2014’ for ‘1992’. 

10 ‘‘(ii) ROUNDING.—If any amount as 

11 adjusted under clause (i) is not a multiple 

12 of $50, such amount shall be rounded to 

13 the nearest multiple of $50. 

14 ‘‘(b) HOUSING ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.—For pur15 poses of this section, a housing assistance program is a 

16 separate written plan of an employer for the exclusive ben17 efit of such employer’s employees to provide the qualified 

18 housing expenses of such employees and which meets re19 quirements similar to the requirements of paragraphs (2) 

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

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

22 of this section— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any term used in section 

24 45S which is also used in this section shall have the 

25 same meaning as given such term by section 45S. 


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

2 rules under section 127(c)(5)(A) shall apply for pur3 poses of this section. 

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

5 this subtitle, if an exclusion is allowed under sub6 section (a) with respect to a residence, the basis of 

7 such residence shall be reduced by the amount of the 

8 exclusion.’’. 

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

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

11 (relating to returns and records with respect to certain 

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

13 inserting ‘‘137, or 139F’’. 

14 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

15 (1) The table of sections for part III of sub16 chapter B of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code 

17 of 1986 is amended by inserting after the item relat18 ing to section 139E the following new item: 

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

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

20 (relating to adjustments to basis) is amended by 

21 striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph (36), by 

22 striking the period at the end of paragraph (37) and 

23 inserting ‘‘, and’’, and by adding at the end the fol24 lowing new paragraph: 


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1 ‘‘(38) in the case of a residence with respect to 

2 which amounts were excluded from income under 

3 section 139F, to the extent provided in section 

4 139F(c)(3).’’. 

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

6 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning Decem7 ber 31, 2014. 

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

9 PROGRAM COSTS. 

10 (a) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.— 

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

12 grant to an eligible entity to pay— 

13 (A) the operating costs of administering an 

14 employer-assisted housing program; 

15 (B) for technical assistance provided by 

16 the eligible entity to an employer in connection 

17 with such a program; and 

18 (C) for costs associated with promoting, 

19 publicizing, or otherwise attempting to dis20 tribute information relating to such a program. 

21 (2) DURATION.—Grants in an annual aggregate 

22 total of not more than $5,000,000 may be awarded 

23 under this subsection during each of fiscal years 

24 2015, 2016, and 2017. 


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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 first-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 graph (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 2015, 2016, and 2017 to carry out this sec23 tion. 


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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); and 

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, 2018, 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, 2019, 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 


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