Congressman Blake Moore Introduces Bipartisan Legislation to Address Higher Education Housing Affordability
WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman Blake Moore introduced bipartisan legislation to address higher education housing affordability. The Collegiate Housing and Infrastructure Act would remove a restriction on non-profit student housing entities, such as fraternities and sororities, from using donations to build and maintain quality student housing and amend the tax code to treat all non-profit student housing entities the same. Congressman Moore was joined by Congresswoman Terri Sewell (D-AL) in introducing this legislation.
“While I consider high school my ‘glory days,’ my collegiate years were among the most formative of my life, and I want to ensure students across the nation are able to get the most out of their experiences without feeling burdened by housing costs,” said Congressman Blake Moore. “This commonsense legislation amends the tax code to allow non-profit organizations to provide quality student housing, enhancing students’ affordable options, lowering their student loans, and removing financial barriers to higher education.”
"Now more than ever, Congress must do what it can to alleviate the financial burden associated with pursuing a higher education," said Congresswoman Terri Sewell. "This bipartisan bill takes critical steps toward addressing and lowering the out-of-pocket costs of college housing for students and their families."
Student housing is among the most expensive line items for Americans pursuing higher education. Many colleges and universities do not have the capacity or ability to house all their students, forcing students to turn to expensive, for-profit housing options that exacerbate the rising costs of education. Non-profit organizations, including fraternities and sororities, provide affordable housing to over 400,000 students nationwide, and yet the current tax code treats these organizations differently than other non-profits, disallowing donations from being tax deductible and limiting housing options.
The Collegiate Housing and Infrastructure Act (CHIA) would address this discrepancy by:
- Eliminating the arbitrary distinction in the current tax code that allows colleges and universities to use charitable contributions to build and maintain student housing but prevents other non-profit student entities—including fraternities and sororities—from doing the same,
- Allowing non-profit organizations to make critical property improvements to the more than $5 billion worth of affordable housing owned and offered nationwide that houses over 400,000 students, and
- Treating all organizations that might be filed as 501(c)(3)/(c)(7) entities the same under the law.
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