The House voted to repeal a provision in the tax bill that would end the Dream House program that provides subsidized housing to young immigrants and their families.
The House also voted Wednesday to end a rule that allows states to opt out of a federal housing assistance program if they deem it too expensive for a particular area.
The measure was included in a compromise between House Republicans and Democrats that would have repealed the Affordable Care Act’s mandate that every American has health insurance.
It was also a key component of a larger package that would be unveiled by President Donald Trump on Friday.
The Dream House was set up in the early 1990s as a way to help young immigrants who arrived in the United States as children, especially those who were fleeing conflict and violence in Central America, to find affordable housing.
Under the program, federal officials would provide housing subsidies to immigrants who applied for apartments and were willing to pay a fee to the federal government.
The federal government provides most of the funding for the program.
A provision in a Senate tax bill to repeal the Dreamhouse program also would have ended the federal role in the program and led to states being able to opt-out.
In a statement, Dream House Executive Director Jose Antonio Vargas said the Senate’s legislation was a “despicable attempt to privatize public housing and undermine protections for families with children.”
“We must fight to protect the Dreamers and their right to live together in safe, affordable and responsible communities, including states that have chosen to participate in the DreamHouse,” Vargas wrote.
“We hope the House will join us in standing up to these attacks on families, and to the millions of American families who have been forced into the DreamHomes by Trump’s administration.”