Negotiators Aim for Weekend Funding Deal
This week, House Appropriations Chairwoman Nita Lowey (D-NY) stated she will work through the weekend to finalize the fiscal year 2020 (FY20) spending bills to avoid a government shutdown on Dec. 20. Both House and Senate Appropriators are hoping to finish the non-controversial spending bills for HUD and other agencies. However, negotiations remain unresolved on the border wall fight, which continues to delay the appropriations process.
Senators introduce legislation to reauthorize Violence Against Women Act
After stalled efforts to reach a bipartisan compromise, both Senator Feinstein (D-CA) and Senator Ernst (R-IA) have introduced separate bills to reauthorize and reform the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). After its most recent reauthorization in 2013, VAWA expired earlier this year; the housing industry has continued to follow VAWA directives and the bill is expected to be reauthorized soon.
NAHMA has worked closely with our industry partners to help educate Congress on the importance of workable solutions to help housing providers protect violence survivors. However, an earlier House version of VAWA reauthorization legislation sought to expand emergency housing transfer requirements beyond what housing providers could realistically adhere to.
Both Senate bill versions address the concept of creating a designated housing voucher pool to protect victims of violence living in assisted housing, but the bills take different approaches: While Senator Ernst’s bill (S. 2920) would provide funding for HUD to establish a demonstration program examining options for emergency re-housing of violence survivors, the Feinstein bill (S. 2843) would directly set-up a voucher pool for this purpose (as opposed to a demonstration program to test relocation approaches). The bills also address the issue of tenants not in good standing, the role of federal preferences for emergency transfer applications, and the creation of national VAWA Director position at HUD.
NAHMA this week joined an industry letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee regarding the proposed legislation, stating, “Our industry strongly supports the goals of VAWA, and we have worked closely with the Congress and advocacy community to ensure that victims are provided protections under Federal housing programs…The proposed revised housing sections are well-intentioned, however, may not ultimately achieve the desired result.”
As the debate on the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) continues, NAHMA will keep members up-to-date and will continue work with our policy committees to help advocate for strong, reasonable VAWA housing requirements.
NAHMA meets with Rural Development staff for agency updates
This week, NAHMA and our industry partners met with USDA’s Rural Development team to discuss the state of the rural housing portfolio and preservation efforts. Agency staff shared progress updates on key priorities, such as the funding notice for the Multifamily Preservation and Revitalization Demonstration (MPR) program and guidance to owners regarding options for handling a maturing mortgage. Rural Development staff also shared updates on the status of the agency’s data and mapping tools, which provide a critical view of portfolio preservation needs. Staff also discussed issues that NAHMA and other industry partners have reported regarding working with Rural Development and the Housing Credit.
In order to help meet the rural affordable housing need, agency staff have said they are looking at innovative approaches to rental assistance and avenues for new construction funding. The department has also been working to realign its multifamily housing staffing structure.
NAHMA will provide further updates from the meeting to its Rural Housing committee and develop a coordinated effort to advocate for streamlined and improved rural housing management processes. To join NAHMA’s Rural Housing committee, email Juliana at jbilowich@nahma.org.