Bad news for Section 236 owners….
The final FY 02 Emergency Supplemental appropriations bill (HR 4775), as approved by House and Senate conferees, rescinds the $300 million in Section 236 IRPs. As expected, $300 million in unused Section 8 was also reclaimed. The money from these accounts will be used as offsets to pay for other non-housing related spending in the bill.
The only bright side to this development is that there was bipartisan opposition to recapturing the 236 money. According to staff present at the conference committee, Sen. Bond (R-MO) spoke against this recission. House Democrats also opposed it. Unfortunately, the House Republicans were favorable to offsetting spending with the Section 236 IRP funds. Knowledgeable sources commented that this account was a particularly attractive offset because “the money had not yet hit the street.”
Under pressure to produce a less costly bill to fund the war on terrorism, home land security, recovery efforts in New York, and a hodgepodge of other items added to the bill, the conferees included $2.4 billion in offsets. Unfortunately, the $300 million Section 236 IRP account and the $300 million in Section 8 became casualties of the FY 02 supplemental appropriations bill. The final legislation must now be approved by the House and Senate. These votes are likely to occur next week.
Back to FY 03
Senator Robert Byrd (D-WV), Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, has indicated he plans to report all 13 appropriations bills to the full Senate by the end of this month. VA-HUD is scheduled for scheduled for markup by the Subcommittee on Tuesday, July 23rd, and full committee action could occur by the week’s end.
There is no word as to when VA-HUD will be considered in the House Appropriations Committee.
Who Moved the Cheese?
Yesterday, the House Financial Services Subcommittees on Housing & Opportunity and Oversight & Investigations held a joint hearing entitled “Mold: A Growing Problem.” To the credit of Oversight and Investigations Chairman Sue Kelly (R-NY), this hearing brought rational, results-oriented discussion to an emotionally charged issue.
The witnesses were: Dr. Stephen Redd, Centers for Disease Control; Jerry Howard, National Association of Home Builders; Thomas Tighe, International Union of Operating Engineers; Melinda Ballard, President of Policy Holders of America (homeowner who won a $32 million court case as a result of mold); Gordon Steward, Insurance Information Institute; and Dr. Howard Sandler, Sandler Occupational Medicine Associates.
The hearing recognized that mold in homes is a problem, but it highlighted the lack of scientific evidence surrounding to determine the extent of the problem. Dr. Redd, of the CDC, confirmed that it is not possible to specify safe and dangerous levels of mold exposure at this time. He noted that CDC is working with the National Institute of Medicine to determine the relationship between mold and adverse health effects. This study should be finished next year. Perhaps Dr. Sandler summarized the purpose of this hearing best when he advised, “Let the legislation follow the development of sound science.”
Chairman Kelly concluded the hearing by affirming the need for sound science, as well as for insurance alternatives to give protections to consumers, builders, and others. NAHMA agrees.
