NAHMA Advocates on Latest Pandemic Relief Bill in Congress

Alexandria, Va., Aug. 4, 2020 ― As part of its advocacy on the latest, and possibly last, pandemic relief bill before Congress, the National Affordable Housing Management Association (NAHMA) has launched a Grassroots Advocacy campaign encouraging members to contact their U.S. Senators and request that adequate relief be provided, including extending unemployment benefits and providing emergency rental assistance, as well as fully funding all rental assistance and vital affordable housing programs, and limiting and targeting any eviction moratorium.

In addition to its many recent letters and direct outreach to members of Congress, NAHMA has joined industry colleagues in an advocacy advertising campaign to reach Congressional policymakers as negotiations intensify in Congress on this current pandemic relief package. The joint industry ad appears in Politico on Aug. 5, and can be viewed here, on the NAHMA Coronavirus Information and Resources webpage. In addition, a series of similar digital ads will appear for the next week in daily news alerts published electronically by Roll Call.

As noted, NAHMA has a grassroots outreach campaign underway as well. Even if you have never taken part in advocacy before, members are encouraged to help NAHMA in this important advocacy campaign. You can find additional helpful tips and talking points by clicking on the Grassroots Advocacy tab on the NAHMA website.

Since the pandemic began, NAHMA has focused intense resources on advocating for its members in both the federal legislative and regulatory arenas. Among the issues NAHMA has been advocating on include: requesting emergency rental assistance and expressing concerns over a blanket extension of the federal eviction moratorium, providing comments for hearings on the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act, stating concerns with resumption of physical inspections of properties during the pandemic, and requesting further Congressional action to ensure the financial viability and stability of the rental housing industry.

In other activities, NAHMA continues to host a weekly membership-wide conference call to provide the latest regulatory and legislative updates, and to provide members the opportunity for peer-to-peer sharing on pandemic-related problems and solutions. This past Friday’s member call featured guests from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Office of Multifamily Asset Management and Portfolio Oversight (OAMPO) including Director Toby Halliday, with senior adviser Katherine Nzive.

Prior guests on the weekly NAHMA member call have included David A. Vargas, deputy assistant secretary of HUD’s Real Estate Assessment Center, with Dan Williams, NSPIRE program manager. Also, on a recent call, NAHMA affiliate members who are HUD PBCAs (Performance-Based Contract Administrators) shared insights on resuming Management Occupancy Reviews (MORs) and answered member questions during the call.

NAHMA encourages members to visit the Coronavirus Information and Resources webpage to review the advocacy activity NAHMA has been involved with on members’ behalf.

About NAHMANAHMA is the leading voice for affordable housing management, advocating on behalf of multifamily property managers and owners whose mission is to provide quality affordable housing. NAHMA supports legislative and regulatory policy that promotes the development and preservation of decent and safe affordable housing, is a vital resource for technical education and information and fosters strategic relations between government and industry. NAHMA’s membership represents 75% of the affordable housing industry, and includes its most distinguished multifamily owners and management companies. Visit www.nahma.org for more information.

Media Contact
Jennifer Jones, Manager of Communications and Public Relations
National Affordable Housing Management Association
703-683-8630, ext. 100
jjones@nahma.org