First, under current law anyone seeking tax credits must use the Area Median Income (AMI) for the county

Testimony of Yavapai-Apache Nation Chairman Jamie Fullmer Committee on Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity “Removing Barriers to Homeownership for Native Americans” July 31, 2006 Good Morning Chairman Ney and Congressman Renzi and welcome to the Yavapai-Apache Nation. We appreciate the opportunity to address you with our concerns in this forum. We have three main issues we’d like to present for your consideration. We see some very real and practical barriers to Native American homeownership, and having examined the situation carefully through our Tribal Housing Department, we see some potential solutions. First, income requirements for participation in government subsidized programs need to be increased. Current income levels are at or below poverty levels and discourage self-sufficiency and self-determination. Each Federal and State Government Agency authorizing grant awards for housing Native American families have different income thresholds for qualifying. This needs to be changed to one acceptable income standard. Under current law anyone seeking tax credits must use the Area Median Income (AMI) for the county in which the project is located as the benchmark for setting income eligibility and maximum rents. This creates a real hardship for areas which already have a very low median income. As you know, most states, including Arizona, require that tax credit applicants agree to serve families ...