NAHMA urges elected officials to reopen government as shutdown impacts continue
With the partial government shutdown heading into its fifth week, negotiations between Congress and the White House have stalled. Normal operations at HUD and USDA are shutdown, and most agency staff have been furloughed. The agencies have been shuttered since the funding impasse began on December 22, 2018.
Rental Assistance programs, tenants, and NAHMA member properties continue to be negatively impacted by the lapse in funding for HUD and USDA affordable housing programs. Communities across the country have experienced contract non-renewals and others are facing dwindling funds.
Although Fiscal Year 2019 bills to fund housing programs have the necessary support in Congress, they have been caught up in the ongoing partial shutdown. In discussions with key Congressional offices, NAHMA continues to urge elected officials to reach an agreement to reopen HUD and USDA even as the immigration debate continues. Please refer to NAHMA’s template “shutdown letter to Congress” to share housing impacts of the shutdown with your lawmakers.
NAHMA plans to host a call later this month with updates on shutdown impacts on affordable housing contracts. In the meantime, please visit NAHMA’s Shutdown Webpage for agency information and advocacy resources.
House Democrats release bipartisan spending bills for housing and community development programs
This week, House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Nita M. Lowey (D-NY) released a bill package to reopen and fund most federal agencies through September 30, 2019. The legislation (H.R. 648) reflects bipartisan House-Senate conference agreements negotiated by Republican and Democratic appropriators in both chambers last year.
The bill package includes full-year funding for HUD, USDA, and other federal agencies affected by the current appropriations lapse. The bill also includes language to secure back-pay to federal workers either furloughed or working without pay during the shutdown. If approved by the Senate and signed by the President, the bill package would fully fund HUD and USDA multifamily housing programs and include some new construction funding for HUD Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly, as well as funding for home modifications to help seniors age in place.
However, the legislation is unlikely to be taken up by the Senate unless the President indicates he will sign it. In a House Appropriations Committee press release, Chairwoman Lowey said, “This bill reflects bipartisan compromise and merits strong support from both sides of the aisle and both ends of the Capitol. We should pass this bill, reopen the government, and pay our federal employees. After we do that, we can have robust negotiations on border security and immigration policy.”
House Financial Services Committee Chairwoman announces housing as key priority
In her first speech as House Financial Services Committee Chairwoman, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA) this week announced her agenda for the key congressional committee, including homelessness, housing finance reform, and other affordable housing challenges.
The Chairwoman called for a “surge” in housing and community development funding, and announced the introduction of two bills, the Ending Homelessness Act and the Restoring Fair Housing Protections Act. She also discussed the need to protect the thirty-year fixed rate mortgage and access to affordable rental housing. For more information, please view the Committee press release here.