Appropriations
The House passed the 2005 Agriculture Appropriations bill (HR 4766) by a vote of 389-31. Highlights related to rural housing follow:
Section 515: $116, 063,000 (the President’s 2005 request was $60 million and 2004 figure was $115,857,000)
Section 538 loan guarantee: $100,000,000 (equal to the President’s 2005 request and 2004 figure was $99,410,000)
Section 521 Rural Rental Assistance: $592,000,000 (equal to the President’s 2005 request, 2004 figure was $580,554,000)
New RHS Administrator
Mr. Russell T. Davis has been selected to be Administrator of the Rural Housing Service. A press release issued by the agency describes his background as follows:
“Davis, originally of Kennewick, Wash., is currently senior policy advisor in the Office of Sallie Mae Oversight of the U.S. Department of the Treasury. He began his career in public financing in 1983 working for a private bond firm in New York, where he structured over 25 tax-exempt bond issues supporting public authorities. During the previous Bush Administration, Davis served as the Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Housing Operations at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, managing over 600 employees and the operations of the Federal Housing Administration’s $350 billion insurance portfolio.”
