Dr. Carson to be confirmed as HUD Secretary
After a relatively non-controversial hearing in the Senate last week, Dr. Ben Carson’s nomination as Secretary of HUD is expected to be confirmed by Committee vote without substantial opposition. Although the vote is scheduled for Tuesday, January 24
th at 10:00am in the Senate Banking Committee, the vote could be moved up if Congress remains in session through the weekend.
Former Georgia Governor Purdue nominated as USDA Secretary
After much anticipation, Sonny Purdue was announced this week as the new President’s pick for USDA Secretary. Purdue, the former Governor of Georgia, is known to have close ties with area farmers and is expected to roll back agricultural regulations in an effort to boost trade and growth. No confirmation hearing has been scheduled.
Bills introduced to roll back Fair Housing regulations
After a number of affordable housing bills were introduced during the first weeks of the new Congress, a new set of bills,
S. 103 and
H.R. 482, were introduced to take aim at Fair Housing regulations. Introduced by Representative Paul Gosar (R-AZ) and Senator Mike Lee (R-UT), the “Local Zoning Decisions Protection Act” seeks to roll back new regulations relating to Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) regulation and the accompanying Assessment Tools. In addition, the bill would prohibit federal funds from being used for HUD’s database of racial and other disparities in housing, while also requiring HUD to consult with local and state governments, as well as PHAs, to develop fair housing recommendations by non-regulatory means.
Both bills have been referred to their respective authorizing committees, House Committee on Financial Services and Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. NAHMA will continue to monitor the status of the bills and update members.
Congressional Committee Leadership
Congressional Committees play a vital role in shaping affordable housing policy, as both funding bills and legislation originates at the committee level. Here are some key leaders of relevant committees for affordable housing policy in 115
th Congress:
Senate Appropriations
- Chairman – Sen. Thad Cochran (R-MS)
- Ranking Member – Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT)
- T-HUD Subcommittee Chairwoman – Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME)
- T-HUD Ranking Member – Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI)
- Agriculture Subcommittee Chairman – Sen. John Hoeven (R-ND)
- Agriculture Subcommittee Ranking Member – Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR)
House Appropriations
- Chairman – Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-NJ)
- Ranking Member – Rep. Nita Lowey (D-NY)
- T-HUD Subcommittee Chairman – Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL)
- T-HUD Subcommittee Ranking Member – Rep. David Price (D-NC)
- Agriculture Subcommittee Chairman – Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-AL)
- Agriculture Subcommittee Ranking Member- Rep. Sam Farr (D-CA)
Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
- Chairman – Sen. Mike Crapo (R-ID)
- Ranking Member – Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH)
House Financial Services
- Chairman – Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX)
- Ranking Member – Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA)
Senate Finance
- Chairman – Sen. Orin Hatch (R-UT)
- Ranking Member – Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR)
House Ways and Means
- Chairman – Rep. Kevin Brady (R-TX)
- Ranking Member – Rep. Richard Neal (D-MA)
Senate Agriculture
- Chairman – Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS)
- Ranking Member – Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI)
House Agriculture
- Chairman – Rep. Mike Conway (R-TX)
- Ranking Member – Rep. Collin Peterson (D-MN)
