Lawmakers agree on spending deal ahead of deadline
This week, key lawmakers announced they had reached a deal on fiscal year 2020 funding ahead of next week’s deadline. Details of the legislative text are expected to be released early next week.
Following weeks of negotiations, appropriators from the House and Senate announced they had reached a spending agreement “in principle,” paving the way for a funding package of all 12 appropriations bills to clear Congress next week. The bill would then be sent to the President for his signature.
A 35-day partial shutdown late last year disrupted parts of the federal government, including affordable housing and rural development programs. Although the White House has yet to give explicit approval of the FY20 spending deal principles, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin this week said, “Let me say in no uncertain terms, nobody wants to have a government shutdown.”
The current Continuing Resolution (CR), which temporarily extended federal funding at last year’s levels, expires on December 20th. NAHMA does not expect a funding lapse at this point and will keep members updated on appropriations progress.
Montgomery nomination advances in Senate
The Senate Banking Committee this week approved the nomination of Brian Montgomery as HUD Deputy Secretary. The Committee voted 20-5 to advance the current Acting Deputy Secretary, with several Committee Democrats opposing the nomination based on leadership decisions during Montgomery’s current tenure at HUD.
Montgomery continues to serve as HUD Assistant Secretary for Housing and FHA Commissioner, in addition to his new role as Acting Deputy Secretary. If confirmed by the full Senate, Montgomery will serve as the second most senior official at the agency, managing day-to-day operations and overseeing the Department’s nearly 8,000 employees.
Federal agencies propose Community Reinvestment Act reforms
Yesterday, two key federal agencies issued a Joint Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) modernization. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) proposed significant changes to the CRA to clarify community investment, lending, and services requirements for banking institutions.
The CRA has been a major driver of investment in affordable housing, and NAHMA is monitoring the proposed changes closely. According to an OCC factsheet about the proposed changes, the proposal would amend CRA regulations to:
- Clarify what activities count for CRA credit;
- Update where bank activity counts;
- Evaluate CRA performance differently; and
- Improve transparency and timeliness of CRA reporting.
More specifically, the proposed rule changes would expand the types of activities that county toward CRA credit, encourage more long-term and targeted investments, and compare bank results by a new standard.
Once published in the Federal Register, the two agencies will accept public comment for 60 days. Notably, the OCC and FDIC released the proposed rule for comment without the Federal Reserve, the third agency overseeing the CRA; the Federal Reserve is expected to issue a separate proposed rule soon.