Congressional Appropriators question HUD Secretary Carson on HUD FY20 Budget Request
This week, HUD Secretary Ben Carson testified at hearings before the House and Senate Appropriation Subcommittees on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies (THUD). In both chamber hearings, committee members from both parties criticized Secretary Carson on the funding cuts proposed in the Trump Administration’s FY20 budget and indicated there is little chance that it will pass. In addition to funding cuts, both Chambers questioned the Secretary on disaster recovery delays, lead hazards in housing, expanding affordable housing, and physical inspections.
In regards to changes to REAC and physical inspection protocols, HUD Secretary Carson used his opening testimony to both chambers to clarify his rationale for the major policy change: “As a doctor, it pained me that after treating young children sometimes you have to return them to a home that wasn’t healthy. Quite simply, you can’t be healthy if your home is sick. This undeniable link between health and housing is also driving an active campaign at HUD to overhaul a 20 year old inspection process….HUD will now provide advance notice of just 14 days before an inspection because it became clear to us that too many PHAs and landlords were using the weeks and in some cases months before their inspection to make quick fixes and game the system. These actions are part of a top to bottom review of our inspections so we can be true to the promise of providing housing that is decent, safe and healthy to millions of families that we serve….Just last week, we instructed HUD inspectors to begin evaluating all public housing and privately owned multifamily properties under contract with HUD for the presence of a working carbon monoxide detector. Additionally, in the coming weeks HUD will send notices to PHAs and multifamily owners regarding the installation of carbon monoxide detectors. We continue to pursue every possible way to ensure detectors are present in units that need them.”
Fair Housing Month Begins with Congressional Hearing
This week, the House Financial Services Committee held a hearing, The Fair Housing Act: Reviewing Efforts to Eliminate Discrimination and Promote Opportunity in Housing, that touched on a range of fair housing topics including immigration, discrimination in the housing market, zoning laws, state of LGBTQ community in homeless shelters and assisted housing, and sexual harassment. Expert panelists included Debby Goldberg, Vice President, Housing Policy and Special Projects, National Fair Housing Alliance; Cashauna Hill, Executive Director, Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center; Kierra Johnson, Deputy Executive Director, National LGBTQ Task Force; Skylar Olsen, Director of Economic Research & Outreach, Zillow Group; Salim Furth, Ph.D., Senior Research Fellow, Mercatus Center, George Mason University. The hearing can be viewed here.
VAWA reauthorization advances with new housing provisions
This week, the House of Representatives approved the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act (VAWA) of 2019 by a vote of 263-158. Congress had allowed VAWA, which promotes the prevention and persecution of domestic abuse, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking, to lapse in February during the partial government shutdown.
Sponsored by Reps. Karen Bass (D-CA) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), H.R. 1585 increases a number of housing provisions under current law related to resident screening and emergency transfers. The House bill will now be sent to the Senate, where it is less likely to gain support from the Republican majority. Instead, the Senate will likely consider either a “clean” reauthorization of VAWA (with no changes), or a bipartisan effort led by Senator Feinstein (D-CA) and Senator Ernst (R-IA), with details forthcoming. NAHMA will keep members up-to-date on VAWA reauthorization as it moves through the Senate.
House Subcommittee examines efforts to expand and preserve rural affordable housing
In its first hearing of the new Congress, the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing, Community Development, and Insurance this week examined critical affordable housing needs in rural America. Subcommittee Chair William Lacy Clay (D-MO) and Ranking Member Sean Duffy (R-WI) convened the hearing to discuss a number of draft bills related to rural affordable housing needs and the issue of prepayment and maturation of Section 515 Rural Rental Housing Loans.
With an overarching sentiment of bipartisan collaboration, Subcommittee members from both parties discussed USDA data, funding levels, resident protections, rural homelessness, rural housing production, and incentivizing private owner participation in rural housing programs. The Subcommittee heard testimony from the following witnesses: Gideon Anders with the National Housing Law Project; Stan Keasling with the National Rural Housing Coalition; David Lipsetz with the Housing Assistance Council; Andres Saavedra with the Rural Local Initiatives Support Corporation; and Tanya Eastwood with the Council for Affordable and Rural Housing.
One of the draft bills considered during the hearing, titled the “Rural Housing Preservation Act” and supported by NAHMA in the previous Congress, provides rural housing vouchers to residents who live in properties with prepaid or maturing loans, permanently authorizes the MPR program, and decouples rental assistance from the term of a mortgage. The Subcommittee also discussed a draft bill titled “Strategy for Rural Housing Preservation Act of 2019,” which would require USDA to come up with a plan for preserving Section 515 and 514 properties and preventing displacement of tenants. The bill would also require USDA to establish an advisory committee made up of various stakeholders to advise the USDA on implementing the plan.
NAHMA will keep members up-to-date on efforts to preserve and expand affordable housing in rural areas. To view a recording of the hearing, please click here.
Calabria Confirmed as FHFA Director
This week, the U.S. Senate confirmed Mark Calabria as Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). Calabria’s confirmation was by a party-line vote of 52-45, with all Republicans voting to confirm him and all Democrats voting in opposition. Calabria becomes the nation’s top housing regulator with oversight over the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Banks. Calabria is expected to be a key voice in housing finance reform.