President and Congress Signal Shift on Build Back Better Framework
In response to growing bipartisan opposition, President Biden signaled his support for splitting the Build Back Better Act into smaller bills and passing them separately in the coming months. The previous version of the legislation proposed providing $154 billion in investments for affordable, accessible housing while continuing to assist millions of low-income families and households. However, all Republicans and two Democrats remained universally opposed in the Senate and Democrats continue to lack the requisite super majority to overcome the filibuster. “I think we can break the package up, get as much as we can now and come back and fight for the rest later,” said President Biden on Wednesday. Several Senators have already began discussing efforts to undertake in order to revive President Biden’s stalled Build Back Better Act, which hit a wall in December when Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) announced he would not support it. During his remarks, President Biden cited the climate and clean energy provisions, in particular as a starting point for reviving negotiations. Those parts of the Presidents bill were often cited by Senate Democrats as the most likely provisions to get the backing of Senator Manchin, who also serves as the Chairman of the Senate Energy Committee. “The climate justice and clean energy provisions in Build Back Better have been largely worked through and financed, so let’s start there and add any of the other important provisions to support working families that can meet the 50-vote threshold,” Senator Ed Markey (D-MA), who had previously opposed splitting the legislation up into smaller, but more manageable pieces. Congressional Democrats only have one chance per fiscal year to advance a spending bill by using the budget process known as reconciliation, which allows them to pass the measure with a simple majority. For this reason, a single, scaled-back bill, versus a smattering of separate ones, has a greater chance of being enacted as it would only require 50 Senators voting in favor. The lack of affordable and accessible housing and the need for additional community development resources has been exacerbated by the hardships brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic over the past two years. During the previous round of negotiations, a large swath of Senators believed that splitting the package up was not a wildly popular idea. But that reasoning appears to have changed, with more positive reactions coming out after the President’s remarks on Wednesday. “We should pass whatever can pass, it’s as simple as that. We are all using our brains and our egos to make this more complicated than necessary. Let’s figure out what’s got fifty, and enact it,” said Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI). As Congress continues to negotiate on how to best address the biggest obstacle to a fuller economic recovery, NAHMA will continue to advocate for increased investments for affordable housing to improve the lives of millions of Americans.
2021 Year in Review: HUD and USDA
Over the last year, HUD has taken direct action in pursuit of the agency’s mission to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes. These actions aligned with President Biden’s priorities including ensuring equity, removing barriers to homeownership, expanding the nation’s housing supply, and keeping Americans housed. Below are some of HUD’s top accomplishments from the last year:
- Took Action to Increase Housing Supply and Access to Affordable Housing
HUD restarted its Housing Finance Agency (HFA) risk-sharing program with Treasury’s Federal Financing Bank (FFB) on September 1 to develop more affordable rental homes. The program allows HFAs to obtain FHA insurance on multifamily mortgages they underwrite, with HUD and the HFA sharing the risk of any potential loss. FHA anticipates that approximately 20,000 affordable rental homes will be created or preserved through the program through 2027. HUD also made more single-family homes available to individuals, families, and non-profit organizations – rather than large investors – by prioritizing homeownership and limiting sale to large investors of certain FHA-insured and HUD-owned properties. Finally, HUD released new research on actions that state and local governments can take to increase their housing supply and is developing a Housing Supply Toolkit filled with easy-to-implement strategies for grantees to deploy HUD resources to address supply and affordability challenges that have been deepened by the pandemic.
- Stood Up a New $5 Billion HOME-ARP Program to Assist Some of The Country’s Most Vulnerable Populations
The Office of Community Planning and Development has made funding available to 651 state and local governments, which will be used to reduce homelessness and increase housing stability by providing funding for rental housing development, acquisition and development of non-congregate shelter, tenant-based rental assistance, and supportive services. HUD released a portion of grantee administrative funds at the outset of the program to better support the planning activities that lead to effective use of grant funding.
- HUD Awards nearly $105 Million to Protect Low-Income Families from Health and Safety Hazards
These grants, provided through HUD’s Healthy Homes Production Grant Program, will help grantees identify health and safety hazards in low-income families’ homes. The grants will protect children and families with incomes at or below eighty percent of the area median income level by targeting significant lead and health hazards in over 7,400 low-income homes for which other resources are not available.
- HUD Provides Federal Disaster Assistance
HUD provided a variety of disaster resources and announced it will speed up federal disaster assistance for states experiencing fire, floods, tornado and hurricane emergencies, in order to provide support to homeowners and low-income renters displaced from their homes. This included regulatory and administrative waivers aimed at helping communities to accelerate their recovery. HUD also offered foreclosure relief and other assistance to impacted families living in affected states.
To view additional actions HUD has taken over the past year, please click here.
USDA’s Office of Rural Development (RD) also highlighted the Administration’s first-year accomplishments to help ensure that rural residents and businesses have equitable access to housing, health care, economic development, and other essential services. Below are some of agency’s top accomplishments from last year:
- Rural Development Awarded More Than $2 billion in Loans, Grants and Loan Guarantees in Fiscal Year 2021
This funding helped support underserved communities and rural communities that have experienced persistent generational poverty. This includes $1.3 billion for electric infrastructure to utilities that serve communities of persistent poverty, $350 million for the purchase of homes by very-low-income individuals and families living in persistent poverty areas, $48 million to improve water and waste disposal systems in Native American communities, and $9 million to improve community facilities and access to essential services for people living in Appalachian communities.
To view additional actions USDA has taken over the past year, please click here