House Appropriations Subcommittee proposes FY18 funding levels for Rural Development
Appropriators in the House Agriculture Subcommittee this week advanced a
funding bill that would preserve much of USDA’s budget for Fiscal Year 2018, which begins October 1, 2017. The bill proposes a 5% cut on average throughout the Department, countering the President’s request for a 21% reduction overall.
Under the Subcommittee’s
bill, Section 515 Rental Housing Direct Loans and Section 542 Rural Housing Vouchers would each see a slight increase over fiscal year 2017; meanwhile Section 538 Loan Guarantee program would receive flat funding, and Section 521 Rental Assistance would see a 4% cut. Although significantly reduced, the Subcommittee’s bill preserves funding for the Multifamily Preservation and Revitalization (MPR) Demonstration, despite the Administration’s request to zero it out.
House Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, and Food and Drug Administration:
| Rural Development Appropriations ($ in millions) |
| RHS Programs |
FY18 House Bill (pending) |
FY18 President’s Request |
FY17 Enacted |
| Section 521 Rental Assistance |
1,345 |
1,345 |
1,405 |
| Section 515 Rental Housing Direct Loans |
35.87 |
0 |
35 |
| Multifamily Revitalization |
35 |
0 |
41 |
| Preservation Demonstration |
[15] |
0 |
[22] |
| Section 542 Rural Housing Vouchers |
20 |
20 |
19 |
| Section 538 Loan Guarantee |
230 |
250 |
230 |
“This Appropriations bill reflects the will of our Members. I invited colleagues last week to let me know their priorities for the Agriculture, FDA and other titles in the bill,” said House Appropriations Chairman Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-NJ). “I am grateful that a number of people came forward to let us help with issues important to farmers, ranchers and the people who make rural America the heartland of America. I am pleased to say that we were able to accommodate these Member requests within the bill and look forward to moving a conservative bill through the legislative process.”
If advanced through the House, the USDA funding bill would require reconciliation with a forthcoming Senate USDA appropriations bill, which is likely to propose higher funding levels for rural housing and other programs. An appropriations bill for Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development has yet to be released.
Separately, democratic members of the House Financial Services Committee this week
called for hearings with USDA and HUD leadership to discuss the proposed budget cuts to both departments and the reorganization efforts at USDA.
Financial Services appropriations bill advances Dodd-Frank deregulation measures
The House Financial Services Subcommittee this week
approved a funding bill that would cut the IRS budget by 1% and maintain 2017 funding levels for the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The appropriations bill, which was approved on a party-line vote, also adopts a number of policy provisions aimed at reforming the housing finance system, including sections of the Financial CHOICE Act (
H.R. 10).
Among other policy provisions, CHOICE Act language included in the
appropriations bill removes bank lending restrictions and weakens the enforcement authority and leadership structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). The CHOICE Act, which was introduced by Financial Services Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) to overhaul Dodd-Frank regulations enacted in aftermath of the Great Recession, passed the House in early June but has stalled in the Senate.
Affordable housing comes into focus during Senate hearing on housing finance reform
On June 29
th, the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs held a hearing titled “Principles of Housing Finance Reform,” which focused on reforming the Government-sponsored Entities (GSEs), Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The hearing witnesses included David Stevens, President and CEO of the Mortgage Bankers Association; Edward DeMarco, President of the Housing Policy Council of the Financial Services Roundtable; and Michael Calhoun, President of the Center for Responsible Lending.
In his opening remarks, Committee Chairman Mike Crapo (R-ID) stated, “Today, the Committee will discuss and receive testimony on important principles of housing finance reform. Reforming the housing finance system is one of my key priorities this Congress. I have repeatedly stated that the status quo is not a viable option….Reform is urgently needed, and the Committee is actively exploring a variety of options. The current system is not in the best interest of consumers, taxpayers, investors, lenders, and the broader economy.”
Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Ranking Member of the Committee, responded by saying that “changes to the housing finance system impact everyone from renters and homeowners to lenders and investors to retirees through their 401(k) plans and pension funds. As we learned during the economic crisis, not all changes are equal…As we try to achieve broad bipartisan consensus on a housing finance reform proposal, there are a number of open questions that need to be addressed. How does each proposal avoid the kind of shareholder demand for returns that drove the worst decisions at the GSEs? How do the proposals prevent predatory mortgage products that targeted and stripped wealth from communities like Cleveland? How do we do a better job of prohibiting discrimination in the mortgage market?”
Several Senators highlighted the current affordable housing crisis during their questions, with Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) concluding the hearing by specifically focusing on the importance of affordable housing throughout housing finance reform. Senator Warren stated, “There’s an affordable housing crisis in this country….This affordable housing crisis squeezes working families, across this country, and holds back economic growth. So any effort to reform our housing finance system must address this crisis. If it doesn’t address this crisis then it doesn’t solve the problem in front of us, and, in my view, is not worth doing.”
The Senator then asked each witness “if it should be a primary goal of housing finance reform to increase access to affordable housing, including the rental market?” Each witness responded with unanimous yes. To view the hearing, please click
here.
House democrats introduce legislation to preserve public housing
Yesterday, Representative Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Financial Services, joined with seven other Democratic Committee Members to reintroduce legislation to preserve and revitalize the nation’s public housing. According to the press release, the Public Housing Tenant Protection and Reinvestment Act of 2017 (
HR 3160) would:
- Preserve public housing and transform extremely impoverished neighborhoods by authorizing full funding for the program plus additional funding to address the backlog of capital needs;
- Provide a loan guarantee for public housing agencies to attract outside investment into public housing units;
- Authorize a grant program that focuses on revitalizing the most distressed public housing units;
- Require one-for-one replacement in cases where public housing units are demolished or sold;
- Increase tenant protections to help ensure that residents have the option to stay in the communities that they call home.
The seven cosponsors include Representatives Nydia Velázquez (D-NY), Stephen Lynch (D-MA), Al Green (D-TX), Gwen Moore (D-WI), Keith Ellison (D-MN), and Juan Vargas (D-CA). NAHMA does not expect the legislation to advance, but will keep members updated.
