House passes bill to set-aside housing voucher for substance abuse recovery
Last week, the House passed a bill to set aside housing vouchers for transitional housing for substance abuse recovery. The “Transitional Housing for Recovery in Viable Environments Demonstration Program (THRIVE) Act” was introduced by Representative Barr (R-KY) and passed the Financial Services Committee on a mostly partisan basis before passing the House by a vote of 230-173. If passed by the Senate and signed into law, H.R. 5735 would establish a 5-year demonstration program to set aside the lesser of 10,000 vouchers or .05 percent of all vouchers in order to provide housing assistance for 12-24 months to individuals recovering from substance abuse. Only non-profits providing drug treatment and services would be eligible to administer the vouchers (not PHAs). The bill would also require providers to set time-limits for the transitional housing. While an earlier amendment to provide new funding for the demonstration program (as opposed to setting aside existing vouchers) failed in Committee, Representative Barr urged his colleagues to support the bill and ask for funding later through the appropriations process. “To achieve meaningful progress in the fight against the opioid epidemic in our nation, Congress can no longer simply focus on prevention, enforcement and treatment. We must also implement policies that focus on long-term recovery,” said Barr. NAHMA will send the legislation to the Federal Affairs Committee for their review and to establish a policy position.Committee advances bill to permanently authorize the CDBG-Disaster Recovery program
Last week, the House Financial Services Committee advanced a bill to permanently authorize the disaster recovery program under the Community Development Block Grant (DCBG-DR). The Reforming Disaster Recovery Act of 2018 (H.R. 4557) was introduced by Representative Ann Wagner (R-MO) and passed the Committee in a bipartisan 53-3 vote. Because the CDBG-DR program is not currently codified into law, HUD uses the Federal Register process to issue guidance and requirements for the program in response to a disaster. Permanently authorizing the program would allow disaster recovery funds to be used more efficiency, while also increasing transparency in the program. The bill also includes a number of provisions aimed at disaster mitigation, such as requirements for structures built in special flood hazards areas, and a measure to recapture unused recovery funds. Finally, the bill requires a one-for-one replacement of federally-assisted housing affected by disasters, and prevents HUD from reducing the percentage of funding that benefits low and moderate income households below the 70% standard. NAHMA serves on the Disaster Housing Recovery Coalition, which had provided recommendations for the bill regarding data transparency, efficient use of limited resources, oversight, mitigation and resiliency, and other suggestions.House Financial Services Committee discusses CRA reform
Last week, the Comptroller of the Currency Joseph Otting updated Members of Congress on the Treasury Department’s efforts to make changes to Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) requirements. Otting testified that the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) hopes to issue advance notice of proposed rulemaking in the coming weeks to begin the process of “modernizing” the CRA. The CRA serves as one of the primary tools for incentivizing investment in affordable housing by requiring banks to invest in communities they serve. In addition to soliciting public input on changes to CRA regulations, Otting also elaborated on the vision for reforming the CRA: expanding the types of CRA-eligible activities; revising the definition of CRA assessment areas to account for digital banking; and developing a system for evaluating banks’ performance under the CRA. The hearing comes after the Treasury Department issued CRA reform recommendations in April. NAHMA will keep members up-to-date on any developments surrounding the CRA and the impact on affordable housing.UP NEXT: What NAHMA is watching for next week
- NAHMAnalysis on FY19 Appropriations (Comparison of House, Senate, and Administration’s proposed levels)
- Senate Considers Rescission Package