U.S. Rep. Nick Rahall, D-WV, late Wednesday joined a majority in the House in passing two pieces of legislation designed to help protect West Virginia working families.

"The national affordable housing crisis has reached into West Virginia, hitting hard-working families who live paycheck-to-paycheck with additional worries. In response, we have passed an important housing measure to help ease the concerns of West Virginia families and better enable them to afford their own homes," Rahall said. "A second measure the House passed, with my support, aims to protect West Virginians' personal financial matters from private collectors who are not accountable to the people."

The National Affordable Housing Trust Fund Act (H.R. 2895) would establish a national fund to help with the preservation, acquisition, and construction of affordable housing for low- and moderate-income families facing housing affordability challenges. The trust fund would allocate between $800 million and $1 billion annually to states and local communities through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac programs and increase the number of Federal Housing Administration loans granted each year.

Under the act, at least 75 percent of funding must go to extremely low-income families, with 10 percent reserved for moderate-income families to help nurses, teachers, firefighters, police officers, and other eligible employees who need the extra help at this time to balance their paychecks with the rising costs of housing repair and maintenance. The Act maintains the existing federal prohibition on undocumented immigrants from receiving federal public housing benefits.

"Right now there is a serious deficit of affordable housing, including rental units, for extremely low-income families in Mercer, Fayette, Logan, Greenbrier, and Mingo Counties. I am proud to have helped pass legislation aimed at addressing the housing needs of these and other West Virginians," Rahall said.

The House also passed the Tax Collection Responsibility Act (H.R. 3056), ending the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) authority to enter into contacts with private companies to collect federal income taxes. Current private debt collection laws expose taxpayers to harassment and waste up to 24 percent of tax dollars collected on debt collector fees that go to private firms instead of coming into the Treasury to pay down the national debt. This practice also exposes law-abiding citizens and their income to potential privacy violations.

"The news is rife with stories about unscrupulous individuals who are getting their hands on the private information of American citizens. By contracting out this governmental duty, the IRS is exposing hard-working, law-abiding citizens to potential privacy violations and endangering their financial well-being," Rahall said. "The IRS has access to Americans' most sensitive financial information. It has a duty to safeguard it, and this bill will help to ensure that it does."

Additionally, the Act would help to ensure that local construction companies and small businesses that contract with the Federal government get paid in full and on time. It would also end tax benefits for individuals who renounce their American citizenship.

"West Virginians work hard for their money and they are glad to contribute to the overall good of their community, their state, and the nation. These measures aim to ensure that our working families are treated fairly by a government that has their best interests at heart." Rahall said.