"There is a very real need for Congress to address the shortage of affordable housing," bill co-sponsor Sen. Jon Corzine said on the Senate floor last week. "A report released last year by the Center for Housing Policy, 'Housing America's Working Families,' documented the severity of this need. The report found that more than fourteen million people faced severe housing needs because of the lack of affordable housing."

MBA Chairman James M. Murphy says the bill "will enable builders and lenders to build more affordable rental housing in areas of the country where such housing construction has been stalled due to high costs." MBA members commend another facet of the legislation, S.2841, which calls for an increase in maximum high cost percentage from 110% to 140%, thereby advocating the development of affordable housing in high-cost markets such as San Francisco, Boston and Washington, DC.