Novogradac estimates that the Senate Finance Committee's Dec. 11 revised section of the tax portion of the $1.7 trillion Build Back Better (BBB) reconciliation legislation would finance 944,900 affordable homes over 2022-2031, including an estimated 819,900 affordable rental homes from the bill's primary low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) unit financing provisions.

Nine Democrats on the U.S. House of Representatives' Ways and Means Subcommittee on Oversight sent a letter asking the U.S. Department of the Treasury to consider three ways to boost the benefits of the opportunity zones (OZ) incentive in helping communities in need: implementing a rigorous certification process for OZ funds, allocating a dedicated agency staff to oversee OZs and requiring transaction reporting separate from tax forms.

Sens. John Hoeven (R-ND) and Ron Wyden (D-OR), chair of the Senate Finance Committee, reintroduced the Move America Act. The bipartisan legislation would bring billions of dollars of investment to state and local governments to expand and repair the country's aging infrastructure. The bill would expand tax-exempt Private Activity Bonds and create new infrastructure tax credits to help fund infrastructure projects through public-private partnerships.

The Revitalizing Small and Local Businesses Act, which Sen. Wicker (R-MS) cosponsored alongside bill sponsor U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA), would create a new competitive grant program through the Economic Development Administration (EDA) for nonprofits, business districts, and Main Street organizations to support economic development in America's low-income, rural and minority communities.

The Housing Credit is our nation's most important program for the production of affordable rental housing. Nearly all affordable rental housing built or preserved today relies on the Housing Credit as its primary financing source. Housing Credit production has faced significant challenges since the onset of the pandemic due to heightened construction costs caused by supply chain disruptions and labor shortages.

On November 15, 2021, President Biden signed into law the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to invest in our nation's infrastructure and competitiveness. The federal government regularly passes transportation bills to fund traditional road, bridge, and mass transit projects. However, the Act dwarfs those efforts in size, at over one trillion dollars, and redefines infrastructure for the modern era. Here are some highlights of the Act.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a $1 billion investment from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to initiate cleanup and clear the backlog of 49 previously unfunded Superfund sites and accelerate cleanup at dozens of other sites across the country. Until this historic investment, many of these were part of a backlog of hazardous waste sites awaiting funding.

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Under Secretary for Rural Development Xochitl Torres Small today announced the Department is accepting grant applications that will advance equity in rural America by creating new opportunities in distressed communities.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced the establishment of the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations, a new DOE office that will help deliver on President Biden's bold climate agenda, create new, good-paying jobs for American families and workers, and reduce pollution while benefitting disadvantaged communities.

USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that USDA is investing $5.2 billion to build and improve critical rural infrastructure in 46 states and Puerto Rico. The investments reflect the Biden-Harris Administration's commitment to Building a Better America by investing in rural communities and will help expand access to high-speed internet, clean water, and reliable electricity in people's homes and businesses across rural America.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced $54 million in seed funding for U.S. small businesses to research, develop, and create commercialization plans for new technologies that equitably accelerate the national transition to a clean energy economy.

U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm and U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg signed a memorandum of understanding to create a Joint Office of Energy and Transportation to support the deployment of $7.5 billion from the President's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to build out a national electric vehicle charging network that can build public confidence, with a focus on filling gaps in rural, disadvantaged, and hard-to-reach locations.

USDA Rural Development Under Secretary Xochitl Torres Small announced the Department is expanding access to four loan guarantee programs that provide funding to help rural communities create jobs and improve local infrastructure.

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo announced the 60 finalists for the U.S. Economic Development Administration's (EDA) $1 billion "Build Back Better Regional Challenge" – the marquee of EDA's American Rescue Plan programs – that aims to boost economic pandemic recovery and rebuild American communities, including some that have been grappling with decades of disinvestment.

USDA announced a new $100 million Food Supply Chain Guaranteed Loan Program to make available nearly $1 billion in loan guarantees; these loan guarantees will back private investment in processing and food supply infrastructure that will strengthen the food supply chain. The program is part of the Biden-Harris Administration's efforts to address food system challenges dating back decades and further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.