August 27, 2010

CAPITOL HILL

Congress Set to Return; Advocates Will Push Legislative Priorities

The House and Senate are scheduled to return from the August recess the week of September 13. While the House has posted an October 8 adjournment date, Senate leadership has not indicated when the Senate will adjourn. Both are expected to break well before the November elections. 

Over the next several weeks that Congress is in session, advocates will push for action in a number of priority areas. 

National Housing Trust Fund. When Congress returns, the Senate is expected to once again take up the “tax extenders bill.” The bill includes $1.065 billion in funding for the NHTF and related project-based vouchers, provisions relating to the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC), a set of general business tax credits, and other provisions that were in H.R. 4213, the Tax Extenders Act of 2009 when it passed the House on December 9 (see Memo, 12/11). However, after many tries the Senate was unable to pass the full extender package and ultimately passed a version of H.R. 4213 that did not include the NHTF, any of the LIHTC provisions, or the business-related tax credits (see Memo, 7/23). 

The passage of H.R. 4213 left the NHTF and LIHTC provisions and the general set of business tax credits that comprise the “tax extenders” package without a legislative vehicle. The status of these provisions was further complicated when, shortly before recessing, Congress passed the much-needed extension of unemployment benefits. To pay for the unemployment extension, Congress used revenue provisions that had previously been identified to pay for the tax extender package (see Memo, 8/6), leaving the extender package not fully funded. 

It has been reported that additional offsets have been identified for the tax extender package and that Senate leadership expects to try again to pass the tax extenders package as a standalone bill on the Senate’s return. Neither the bill number nor the new offsets have yet been made public. If the new offsets  are controversial, it may be difficult to get the  60 votes needed to pass the bill. 

If the Senate is successful in passing this new bill, it will need to be passed by the House before it can be sent to the President for his signature.

Future of Housing Finance. In addition to working to secure the initial funding for the NHTF in the tax extenders bill, advocates will be carefully monitoring the debate over the future of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae to ensure that funding for the NHTF is included in any proposal considered by Congress. 

Efforts to reform the housing finance system are expected to continue in coming weeks, building off initial work of Congress and the Administration (see article elsewhere in Memo). House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA) has said he plans to hold hearings on reform.

Appropriations. Congress has yet to pass an FY11 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies (T-HUD) bill for the coming fiscal year, which begins October 1, 2010. 

The House passed H.R. 5850, its FY11 T-HUD appropriations bill, on July 20 by a vote of 251 to 167 (see Memo, 7/30). The Senate, however, has not brought a bill to the floor for consideration. The Senate Committee on Appropriations marked up its FY11 T-HUD appropriations bill on July 22.  

H.R. 5850 would provide $46.6 billion for HUD programs, more than $1 billion above the President’s budget request. The summary of the Senate Committee’s bill indicates that it would provide $.7 billion less than the President’s request for the several agencies included in T-HUD, but does not specify the amount for HUD programs. 

With only two weeks between Congress’ return from recess and the start of the new fiscal year, a completed FY11 spending before October 1 is unlikely. Some Senators are unwilling to pass spending bills prior to the November elections, fearing criticism for agreeing to spending, even for critical or non-controversial programs.  

Instead, Congress is expected to pass a Continuing Resolution that would fund T-HUD programs at FY10 levels until an FY11 spending bill is passed. In 2009, Congress also passed a Continuing Resolution in lieu of passing an FY10 spending bill prior to the start of the fiscal year.  

When the Senate moves forward with its FY11 spending bill, NLIHC will issue a call to action with details on possible amendments to the bill. 

View H.R. 5850 at: http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?
dbname=111_cong_bills&docid=f:h5850rh.txt.pdf 

View the Senate Committee on Appropriations’ summary of its bill at:  http://appropriations.senate.gov/news.cfm?
method=news.view&id=a99f2a12-649b-4fa4-bc43-f58303b4e142 

View NLIHC’s budget chart at:  http://www.nlihc.org/doc/FY11-Budget-Chart.pdf

Section 8 Voucher Reform Act. The House Committee on Financial Services reported H.R. 3045, the Section 8 Voucher Reform Act, in July 2009 (see Memo, 7/24/09). Movement of the bill to the House floor remains stalled, however, and SEVRA has not been introduced in the Senate. The bill would make a variety of reforms to HUD’s tenant-based voucher program and is widely supported, including by NLIHC. 

Among its reforms, the bill would improve the process for annually distributing voucher renewal funds to the administering public housing agencies, encourage increased earned income by residents while also making many improvements to the rent-setting process, and authorize 150,000 new rental assistance vouchers. 

During the House Committee’s consideration of SEVRA, Representative Tom Price (R-GA) offered an amendment that would require each adult in a voucher-assisted household to provide one of three very specific forms of identification to receive housing assistance; such a requirement would be significantly more stringent than current identification requirements. Further, the inability of one adult household member to produce required identification would result in the loss of the household’s entire assistance. 

Instead of SEVRA moving to the House floor for a vote, it is much more likely that pieces of the bill will eventually be attached to the FY11 HUD appropriations bill. 

Link to documents for the Committee’s June 4, 2009, hearing on H.R. 3045 at: http://financialservices.house.gov/Hearings/hearingDetails.aspx?
NewsID=1263

Link to the House report on H.R. 3045 at: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-
bin/cpquery/R?cp111:FLD010:@1%28hr277%29

Preservation of Federally Assisted Housing: Multifamily Housing. Shortly before the August recess, the House Committee on Financial Services reported out H.R. 4868, the Housing Preservation and Tenant Protection Act of 2010 (see Memo, 7/30).  

This comprehensive preservation legislation would:

• Provide grants and loans to for-profit and nonprofit housing sponsors to help ensure that properties can be recapitalized and kept affordable;
• Allow owners to request project-based assistance in lieu of enhanced vouchers;
• Provide enhanced vouchers to protect tenants when their assisted housing is converted to market-rate housing; 
• Protect the rights of states to enact preservation and tenant-protection laws that will not be preempted by federal law;
• Reform the Section 202 Supportive Housing For The Elderly program;
• Authorize a rural housing preservation program for USDA Section 515 properties; and
• Establish a nationwide public database of federally assisted properties (National Preservation Catalog) to enable policymakers, tenants, and advocates to more effectively monitor and preserve the existing portfolio of affordable housing. 

The Committee is expected to file its report on H.R. 4868 after returning from recess, and may move the bill to the floor before adjourning for the November elections. However, even if the House were to pass H.R. 4868, it would be highly unlikely that the Senate would  take up and pass the bill as stand-alone legislation before the end of the 111^th Congress. Consequently, there may be efforts to move all or part of the bill on appropriations legislation. 

One issue of particular focus for advocates as the bill moves forward is the need to grant HUD the authority to provide enhanced vouchers to tenants in properties with maturing FHA mortgages. Under current law, these tenants are not eligible for enhanced voucher assistance and could face rent increases once the FHA mortgage on the property they live in expires. 

Preservation of Federally Assisted Housing: Public Housing. In July, the House Committee on Financial Services passed out H.R. 5814, a major public housing bill, introduced by Housing and Community Opportunity Subcommittee Chairwoman Maxine Waters (D-CA). The bill would authorize the Administration’s Choice Neighborhoods Initiative, reform HUD’s processes for demolishing and selling of public housing, open public housing up to more creative financing, allow public housing to convert to service enriched housing or assisted living, and authorize a pilot program to train public housing tenants in health services (see Memo, 7/30). Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA) and Representative Nydia Velazquez (D-NY) were instrumental in the development of this broad piece of legislation. Similar public housing legislation has not been introduced in the Senate. 

Choice Neighborhoods is a HUD proposal to revitalize entire high poverty neighborhoods that include distressed housing. While the program did receive funding for FY10, it has not been authorized and is currently operating predominantly under HUD’s own guidelines. The House’s legislative proposal would make many improvements to the CNI program. 

The bill does not include HUD’s largest public housing preservation proposal: the Preservation, Enhancement, and Transformation of Rental Assistance (PETRA) proposal. HUD’s PETRA proposal was unveiled just before a May 25 hearing on the proposal (see Memo, 5/28). PETRA would provide public housing agencies greater access to private resources by authorizing increased housing subsidies for PHAs that convert their units from the current subsidy systems to the new PETRA subsidy. These increased subsidies could pay loans on private debt, which would help PHAs meet their capital needs. HUD believes that much more could be leveraged from the private market than can reasonably be expected from Congress through annual appropriations. The May 25 hearing raised many serious concerns, most notably the potential to lose public housing to private investors if PHAs could not keep up with debt payments. HUD is currently reworking its PETRA proposal. 

Link to NLIHC’s PETRA Watch page at: http://www.nlihc.org/template/page.cfm?id=262 

Section 202. The Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly Act of 2009, S. 118, was introduced by Senator Herb Kohl (D-WI) and was referred to the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs in January. The Committee held a hearing in October of 2009 and is expected to  mark up the bill this September (see Memo, 10/30/09).  

S. 118 would reform the Section 202 program by promoting new construction of housing for seniors, preserving existing developments, and improving the condition of existing housing. The bill would expand opportunities for seniors to age in place by developing a subsidy contract that provides rental assistance for units with elderly households paying market rate rents. 

The bill would also make it easier to convert Section 202 housing into assisted living facilities, and provide health care and social services to a population in need of those services in order to allow people to age in place. 

The comprehensive preservation legislation, H.R. 4868, introduced by Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA) and passed by the Committee on Financial Services in July includes language similar to S.118 (see above). In the 110th Congress, similar legislation passed the House but was not acted upon in the Senate. 

View S. 118 at: http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?
dbname=111_cong_bills&docid=f:s118is.txt.pdf

View H.R. 4868 at:  http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?
dbname=111_cong_bills&docid=f:h4868ih.txt.pdf

Section 811. The Frank Melville Supported Housing Investment Act of 2009, H.R. 1675, was introduced by Representative Christopher Murphy (D-CT) in March of 2009. The bill passed the House with overwhelming support in July of that year.

Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) introduced an identical bill, S. 1481, in July of 2009, with Senator Mike Johanns (R-NE) as cosponsor. The Senate Committee on Banking Housing and Urban affairs held a hearing in October of 2009 (see Memo, 10/30/09). Banking Committee officials have indicated that the bill will be marked up this September and there may be an attempt to move it through the full Senate by unanimous consent.

The bills would improve the Section 811 housing for persons with disabilities program by authorizing new capital and project-based rental assistance funds. The bills would also authorize a demonstration program on community integration for people with disabilities. 

Similar legislation was passed by the House in the 110th Congress, but was not taken up by the Senate.

Link to the text of the bill at: http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-
bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=111_cong_bills&docid=f:s1481is.txt.pdf

Livable Communities. On August 3, the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs passed S. 1619, the Livable Communities Act (see Memo, 8/6). This bill would improve the coordination of federal transportation, environmental, and housing policies to help create sustainable development, reduce traffic congestion and oil consumption, protect green spaces, spur economic development, and create more affordable housing. 

The bill would authorize two grant programs. The first is a Comprehensive Planning Grant Program to assist communities in developing comprehensive regional plans that incorporate transportation, long-term affordable and accessible housing, community and economic development, and environmental needs. The second is a competitive Challenge Grant Program to enable communities to implement their comprehensive regional plans. The bill would also establish an Interagency Council on Sustainable Development and authorize the Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities, which has already been established within HUD under Secretary Shaun Donovan.  

Similar legislation, H.R. 4690, was introduced in the House but no action has been taken on it.

Gulf Coast Housing Recovery. Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Chair of the Senate Subcommittee on Disaster Recovery of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, is expected to introduce  legislation to amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (Stafford Act) this fall. 

The bill is expected to address a number of issues that Chairwoman Landrieu addressed in her May 12 hearing held to examine the Stafford Act (see Memo, 5/14) as well as recommendations highlighted at a August 26 field hearing held on the 5^th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. Although specifics of what the bill could address are not yet available, it will likely include a special classification for catastrophic disasters to allow for a better federal response, something Senator Landrieu has noted as delaying the response in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

HUD

Revision to NSP1 Process for Recapturing Unobligated Funds Announced

HUD has notified recipients of the initial $3.9 billion Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP1) of details about HUD’s process for addressing a jurisdiction’s failure to obligate its NSP1 funds within the required 18-month period, which for most grantees will be the end of September. HUD sent an email to recipients on August 23; the formal notice was published in the August 27 Federal Register. In the notice, HUD stated that its intent is to “limit the negative effects on communities that, although they may not have had the capacity to meet the deadline, still have great need for neighborhood stabilization funding.” 

The notice states that on the first business day after the statutory 18-month deadline, HUD will block each grantee’s ability to obligate NSP1 funds in HUD’s electronic system. Grantees will have an additional 30 days to document any fund obligations that were not recorded in HUD’s electronic system. 

For jurisdictions failing to obligate their NSP1 funds by the end of the 18-month period, HUD will provide an opportunity to submit additional information. Before HUD determines either the appropriate corrective action or recaptures unobligated funds, as provided for in the regular CDBG program, HUD will consider the grantee’s capacity to take corrective action as well as its continuing need for NSP1 funds. (Except for specific features designated by Congress when it created NSP in the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, NSP is to be treated according to existing CDBG law and regulation). 

HUD anticipates that jurisdictions failing to meet the 18-month deadline will face the choice of either entering into a memorandum of agreement with HUD or having the unobligated funds recaptured. Terms of a memorandum of agreement will be based on a grantee’s NSP1 performance and the amount of unobligated funds, and will be designed to improve the grantee’s performance and enable use of funds for NSP1 purposes. HUD may require some very low capacity grantees to demonstrate that they have acquired stronger program partners such as experienced nonprofit or for-profit developers. 

For states, HUD will recapture and reallocate up to $19.6 million of unused NSP1 funds, the minimum amount received by each state. Additional corrective actions might be taken for any amounts greater than $19.6 million that are unobligated. 

Twenty-five percent of all NSP dollars must be used to benefit households with incomes below 50% of the area median income, a provision for which NLIHC strongly advocated. For jurisdictions failing to obligate the 25% set aside by the end of the 18-month deadline, HUD may issue a notice of concern or a finding of noncompliance. As a corrective action, HUD will require such a grantee to either adjust its remaining NSP1 planned activities to ensure that 25% of the original NSP1 amount (and any program income) supports activities benefiting very low income households, or make a firm commitment to provide such housing with nonfederal funds in an amount equal to the shortfall. 

Once recaptured NSP1 funds are available, HUD will redistribute them according to a not-yet-published formula that will reallocate money to communities with the most need to address neighborhoods destabilized by foreclosed and abandoned homes. The formula might also take into account the amount of NSP1 and NSP2 (a second $2 billion dollars distributed to jurisdictions on a competitive basis in 2009) already provided to a jurisdiction. To receive an NSP1 reallocation, a grantee will have to submit an application for HUD approval that includes a substantial action plan amendment that has been published via a jurisdiction’s usual methods for at least 15 days of public comment. 

Unlike NSP1, HUD will allow joint requests among contiguous entitlement communities and also allow joint requests between an entitlement community and a state. 

The August 27 notice is at: http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2010/pdf/2010-21402.pdf

HUD Holds Section 3 Listening Forum

HUD’s Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (FHEO) invited a variety of advocates, public housing authorities, representatives of cities, counties, and states, as well as retired HUD staff to an August 25 Section 3 Listening Forum. The purpose of the forum was to discuss challenges to implementing Section 3, along with suggestions for improvement and promising practices for better implementation. 

Section 3, created in the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968, requires governments and contractors to ensure that “to the greatest extent feasible,” lower income people from the metro area in which a HUD-assisted construction project is located get job training and employment opportunities, and that businesses that are largely owned by or that hire significant percentages of lower income people obtain construction contracts. Historically, Section 3 has not been seriously promoted or enforced by HUD; however, Assistant Secretary John Trasviña declared early in his tenure that FHEO would aggressively raise the profile of Section 3 and begin to enforce its obligations (see Memo, 10/16/09). 

At the August 25 day-long listening session, Assistant Secretary Trasviña welcomed more than 40 stakeholders from around the country. Mr. Trasviña restated HUD’s intent to enforce the Section 3 law, but noted that as currently written the law and regulations greatly limit HUD’s ability to do so. HUD supports statutory changes being considered by Representative Nydia Velázquez (D-NY) that would create a stand-alone Section 3 office at HUD, mandate that HUD funding recipients designate or hire staff to coordinate Section 3 compliance, clarify which funding recipients and employment activities are covered, and direct HUD to implement sanctions for non-compliance (see Memo, 7/24/2009). 

Consistent with the Administration’s efforts to break down “silos” between federal agencies, Mr. Trasviña said that FHEO has been working with the Department of Labor’s (DOL) Office of Contract Compliance as well as its Women’s Bureau to augment HUD’s effectiveness. He also reminded the audience of HUD’s coordination with the Department of Transportation (DOT) to enable Section 3 to apply, on a case-by-case basis, when CDBG is used in conjunction with Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) funds. FHWA funding regulations currently prohibit local hiring preferences (see Memo, 6/25). 

Mr. Trasviña stated that FHEO has been providing heightened Section 3 training for its field offices, and is working on improving the form (Form 60002) grantees have been using to report their Section 3 performances. He also said FHEO would soon publish a notice announcing the availability of funds for which entities could compete in order to hire local Section 3 coordinators. In addition, FHEO has plans to revise the Section 3 regulations. 

HUD Deputy Secretary Ron Simms said at the session that early on, HUD received pressure from the White House as well as from Latino, black, and progressive Congressional caucuses to make Section 3 finally work. He remarked that the employment opportunities generated from Section 3 must lead to jobs that people could sustain and that helped to set individuals on career paths. Finally, Mr. Simms declared that there is a serious sense of urgency on the part of HUD to make Section 3 far more effective, characterizing the need as a “911 situation.” He called on those present to work with HUD to help speed progress toward full Section 3 compliance. 

HUD staff will issue a Summary Report of the meeting that will assist HUD in shaping its ongoing efforts. 

NLIHC worked with a number of other advocacy organizations to prepare comments and suggestions in advance of the listening forum. These materials were sent to all participants prior to the session and were distributed at the forum, and are available at: http://www.nlihc.org/doc/HUD-Section3-Listening-Forum8-24-10.pdf

THE ADMINISTRATION

Conference on the Future of Housing Finance Hosted by Treasury and HUD

A conference on the future of housing finance was held on August 17 at the U.S. Department of Treasury and was hosted by Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan. The purpose of the conference was to provide “an additional opportunity for the Administration to hear a diverse set of perspectives on the key issues surrounding housing finance reform, and to make certain that all of the best ideas are on the table as it continues to develop a comprehensive housing finance reform proposal for delivery to Congress by January 2011.” 

The Dodd-Frank financial reform bill passed earlier this summer did not include what will happen to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the GSEs), but did direct the Administration to develop a proposal for such reform by the first of the year. 

The conference was attended by approximately 200 people from the housing finance industry, academia, think tanks, Congresssional staff, Administration officials, and housing and consumer advocates. Included in the later group were NLIHC President Sheila Crowley and representatives from the Center for Responsible Lending, Consumer Federation of America, Enterprise Community Partners, NAACP, National Community Reinvestment Coalition, National Consumer Law Center, National Council of La Raza, National Fair Housing Alliance, National Urban League, NeighborWorks, Service Employees International Union, and Stewards of Affordable Housing for the Future. 

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner called the challenge to reform housing finance both “complicated and consequential.” He criticized the role the GSEs played in the housing crisis, citing their participation in the “race to the bottom,” their build up of sizable portfolios without capital to cover potential losses, and their culture of big salaries and big returns to the stockholders as precipitating factors. The absence of effective oversight and the perceived government guarantee were a “toxic combination,” he said. 

Secretary Geithner noted that the Administration had received almost 300 responses to the seven questions it posed about the future of the housing finance system (see Memo, 7/23), and that the suggestions ranged from eliminating the government’s role to expanding affordable housing opportunities.  He said the Administration will “side with those who want change” and will seek reasonably priced mortgages and access to affordable homes. He cited four key policy questions that must be answered: How does the federal government provide stability to the housing finance system in both good and bad times? What role should government play in improving access to affordable housing for owning and renting? What should be done with the securitization market? Finally, how will the transition be managed to prevent further destabilization?  

HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan also addressed attendees, noting that the reform of the housing finance system is about more than capital markets and securitization. He said this reform has profound implications for our economy and families and that a healthy, robust housing finance system should support responsible homeownership and provide choices for affordable rental housing. He also stressed that the system needs to support a family’s ability to choose where to live. He noted that between the GSEs and FHA, the federal government is now guaranteeing over 90% of all mortgages and that government needs to have a much smaller “footprint.” 

The opening remarks were followed by two panels. The first panel, led by Secretary Geithner, focused on the role of government in providing a sustainable housing finance system. While most of the panel participants limited their discussion to the need for and extent of the federal government’s involvement in the housing finance system, Marc Morial, President of the National Urban League, stressed the need to reform the Community Reinvestment Act, increase the supply of affordable housing, and ensure equal access to credit. 

The second panel was led by Secretary Donovan and focused more specifically on the role of housing finance in meeting broader housing goals. Several panelists spoke in favor of a governmental role in rental housing, and Ellen Seidman, Executive Vice President for Mission and Strategy at ShoreBank Corporation, argued that the government, though the housing finance system, has a responsibility to address unmet housing needs such as affordable rental homes for those with the lowest incomes. Michael Stegman of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation said we cannot rebalance and reform housing policy without addressing the disproportionate support that government provides for homeownership over rental housing. He said there is no public policy justification for providing 10 times the subsidy to homeowners with incomes over $250,000 that we do for people in the $40,000 to $70,000 income range.  Mark Zandi of Moody's Analytics said that the United States oversubsidizes housing and we are “not getting our money’s worth,” noting that other countries have similar rates of home ownership without such a public cost. 

These panels were followed by breakout sessions on six topics: roles for the private sector and government; delivering access and affordability; funding mortgages and the role of securitization; aligning private market incentives in the housing finance chain; supporting capital for multifamily finance; and managing the transition process. 

Link to a detailed agenda and attendee list at: http://www.nlihc.org/doc/future- housing-finance8-17-2010.pdf

USDA to Begin Working with Interagency Partnership for Sustainable Communities

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced that it will work with the agencies that comprise the Interagency Partnership for Sustainable Communities on issues designed to improve the quality of life and support economic and community development in rural communities. 

At an August 24 roundtable hosted by USDA, Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan said that the Partnership reached out to USDA in order to begin to collaborate on ways the four agencies can better align their programs in order to support local, regional, and state efforts to improve transportation choices, promote equitable and affordable housing, protect the environment, and enhance economic development.  

Present at the roundtable and endorsing coordination with USDA were representatives of the three agencies that comprise the Partnership: HUD Deputy Secretary Ron Simms, Department of Transportation (DOT) Deputy Secretary John Porcari, and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Deputy Administrator Bob Perciasepe. In addition, Derek Douglas, Special Assistant to the President for Urban Affairs, made brief remarks, and Shelly Poticha, Director of HUD’s Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities, attended. 

Four individuals who were small town mayors or rural county commissioners kicked off the discussion by speaking about the challenges rural communities face as well as opportunities for creative community development. 

A wide variety of stakeholders were invited to participated in the session, including affordable housing advocates and developers, local and state government associations, and nonprofits focusing on the needs of rural communities and small towns. NLIHC was invited to participate. During the audience comment period, many participants noted that nonprofit community development organizations offer the greatest potential for assisting in the Partnership’s goals, and that increasing investment in their staff capacity would better ensure ongoing success. 

The Interagency Partnership was formed by a formal Memorandum of Agreement in the summer of 2010 (see Memo, 6/19/09).

NLIHC Joins Advocates in Urging HHS to Increase Focus on Homelessness

NLIHC joined five other national advocacy groups in signing onto a letter to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) urging greater focus in the department’s strategic plan on needs of households experiencing homelessness. The letter was organized by the Corporation for Supportive Housing.  

HHS asked early in August for comments on its draft Strategic Plan for Fiscal Years 2010-2015. The plan integrates a focus on homelessness throughout many of the goals and objectives. 

The letter urges HHS to coordinate the strategic plan with the principles in the Interagency Council on Homelessness’ recently released federal plan to end homelessness, “Opening Doors” (see Memo, 6/25). Advocates also make a range of specific recommendations to the department, including coordinating HUD and HHS data systems that track different components of homelessness. In addition, the organizations suggest setting performance measures around reducing the number of people experiencing homelessness and increasing access to housing. 

View the letter at: http://www.nlihc.org/doc/CSH-sign-on-Letter.pdf

Deadline to Join Letter to President’s Fiscal Commission Extended

The Coalition on Human Needs (CHN) has extended to September 8 the deadline for state and local groups to sign on to a letter to the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform. The letter urges the Commission to prioritize the protection of low income people as it prepares its recommendations for substantially reducing the federal deficit (see Memo, 8/6). 

More than 100 national organizations, including NLIHC, signed on to a version of the letter that was sent to the Committee on June 30. In addition to signing CHN’s national letter, NLIHC submitted its own comments to the Commission in June (see Memo, 7/2). 

NLIHC urges advocates to take advantage of weighing in with the Commission. CHN will provide the list of signatures from state and local organizations to members of the Commission and will circulate the letter to Congress.  

Click here to read the letter and see the national group signers as of June 30:  http://www.chn.org/pdf/2010/DeficitComLetterSigners.pdf 

Click here to sign the letter from state and local organizations:  http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/125/questionnaire.jsp?
questionnaire_KEY=1061

DISASTER RECOVERY

NLIHC Announces Briefing on Remaining Gulf Coast Housing Needs

NLIHC will hold a Congressional briefing on September 29 to discuss the many housing needs that remain in the Gulf Coast five years after Hurricane Katrina. Speakers will include members of the  Katrina Housing Group from the four affected states and NLIHC President Sheila Crowley. 

The briefing will take place from 2 pm to 3 pm on September 29 at the Capitol Visitors Center in Washington, DC, in Senate room 210.  For more information, contact Rebekah Mason, NLIHC Katrina Housing Fellow, at Rebekah@nlihc.org. 

To mark the five-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina’s landfall on August 29, NLIHC issued a statement calling upon Congress and the Administration to remain committed to the Gulf Coast’s recovery. The press release is available at: http://www.nlihc.org/detail/article.cfm?article_id=7287&id=48 

HAC NEWS

ADDITIONAL SECTION 502 GUARANTEED FUNDS PROVIDED FOR FY 2010. A supplemental appropriations law signed by President Obama on July 29 enables the program to resume, paying for itself through a 3.5% origination fee and a 0.5% annual fee. RD can waive up to $697 million in fees for low-income borrowers. H.R. 4899 (P.L. 111-212) is available at http://thomas.loc.gov/home/approp/app10.html.

OMB ISSUES 2010 CIRCULAR A-133 COMPLIANCE SUPPLEMENT. This publication applies to audits of nonprofits and state and local governments for fiscal years beginning after June 30, 2009. Comments are due October 31. The supplement is free at http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/grants_circulars or $95 from the Government Printing Office (number 041-001-00677-0), http://www.gpo.gov or 866-512-1800. Contact federal funding agencies.

DAVIS-BACON GUIDANCE FOR SECTION 502 REISSUED. Administrative Notice 4526 (July 28, 2010) is a reissue of AN 4449 (June 15, 2009), explaining how Davis-Bacon wage requirements apply to properties receiving Section 502 direct or guaranteed loans under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Copies are available at http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/SupportDocuments/an4526.pdf or from RD offices. Contact Bill Downs, 202-720-1499, william.downs@wdc.usda.govThis e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

GUIDANCE PROVIDED ON PROCESSING SECTION 514/516 AND 533 APPLICATIONS. An Unnumbered Letter dated July 9, 2010 applies to Section 514/516 and is at http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/RD_UnnumberedList .html. Contact Henry Searcy Jr., RD, 202-720-1753. For Section 533, AN 4521 is at http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/rd-an_list.html. Contact Bonnie Edwards-Jackson, RD, 202-690-0759 or an RD office.

RD CHANGES GUIDANCE FOR SECTION 515 OR 514 DESIGN/BUILD OR CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT. RD approval is required for these methods. Administrative Notice 4524 (July 22, 2010) replaces AN 4492, issued in January 2010 (see HAC News, 2/17/10). Copies are available from RD offices or at http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/SupportDocuments/an4524.pdf. Contact Sherry Engel, RD, 715-345-7677.

INFORMATION RELEASED ON SECTION 502 GUARANTEED REO. AN 4522 (July 12, 2010) is intended to guide RD staff dealing with real estate owned by Section 502 guaranteed lenders/servicers. Copies are available at http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/SupportDocuments/an4522.pdf or from RD offices. Contact Michelle Corridon, RD, 202-720-1452, michelle.corridon@wdc.usda.govThis e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

RD’S INCOME LIMITS MAY DIFFER FROM HUD’S. An Unnumbered Letter dated July 16, 2010 confirms that RD’s income limits, published in a June 2, 2010 Special Procedure Notice, continue to use a hold-harmless policy now discontinued for HUD’s Section 8 program (see HAC News, 5/12/10). Obtain the UL and SPN from RD offices or at http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/RegulationsAndGuidance.html. Contact Stephanie White, 202-720-1615.

FHFA CONSIDERS CREATING OMBUDSMAN. Comment by September 7 on a Federal Housing Finance Agency proposed rule that would establish an office to consider complaints about FHFA’s oversight of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Home Loan Banks. See Federal Register, 8/6/10 or http://www.fhfa.gov. Contact Sandy Comenetz, FHFA, 202-414-3771.

PUTTING SMART GROWTH TO WORK IN RURAL COMMUNITIES report issued. A new publication from the International City/County Management Association, showing how smart growth principles can be applied in rural places, is free at http://icma.org/en/icma/knowledge_network/documents/kn/Document/301483/ Putting_Smart_Growth_to_Work_in_Rural_Communities.

GAO REPORTS ON RURAL HOMELESSNESS. As mandated by the 2009 HEARTH Act, GAO studied the characteristics of rural homelessness, available assistance, and barriers. Rural Homelessness: Better Collaboration by HHS and HUD Could Improve Delivery of Services in Rural Areas (GAO-10-724) is available free at http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-10-724 or at cost from GAO, 866-801-7077.

ANNUAL DATA SHOW PROGRESS ON CHILDREN’S WELL-BEING STALLED. Some indicators have improved and others, including child poverty rates, have worsened, according to the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s 2010 Kids Count Data Book. Figures for states, counties, cities, and school districts are available at www.kidscount.org.

HAC SEEKS NOMINATIONS FOR RURAL HOUSING AWARDS. Nominations are due September 15 for the Cochran/Collings Award for national rural housing service, the Skip Jason Community Service Award, and the Henry B. Gonzalez Award for local or tribal elected officials. The honors will be presented at the National Rural Housing Conference in December. For details, visit http://www.ruralhome.org or contact Lilla Sutton, HAC, 202-842-8600, lilla@ruralhome.org.