Funding debate continues as deadline approaches
The House and Senate this week continued Fiscal Year 2018 funding negotiations ahead of a looming deadline next week. Following a bipartisan deal on overall spending caps earlier this year, lawmakers aim to replace the current Continuing Resolution, which expires on March 23
rd, with a full-year funding bill package. If enacted, the “omnibus” would raise both defense and domestic spending levels for this fiscal year, including appropriations for affordable housing programs.
Although negotiations have been hampered by a number of policy riders, Congress could release draft funding bills over the weekend and proceed to consideration early next week. NAHMA and our industry colleagues continue to push for elements of the “Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act” (S. 548/H.R. 1661), which would strengthen the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program, to be included in the negotiations. Please see our latest
grassroots alert for more information.
Meanwhile, Congress will soon pivot to Fiscal Year 2019, which begins in October of this year. Upcoming FY19 testimony by both
HUD Secretary Ben Carson and
USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue can be viewed online next week. NAHMA will continue to advocate for higher funding levels for affordable housing programs for this Fiscal Year and the next, and will keep members up to date.
Senate passes major banking regulation overhaul
This week, the Senate approved an overhaul of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act, which had enacted banking and financial reform regulations following the 2008 financial crisis. The Senate bill passed by a vote of 67 to 31 and needs to be reconciled with an earlier, more aggressive House bill before enactment.
S. 2155 rolls back a number of mortgage regulations originally aimed at preventing another economic meltdown, including to allow institutions with less than $10 billion in assets to waive ability-to-repay requirements for certain residential-mortgage loans. Other mortgage-lending requirements related to appraisals, mortgage data, employment of loan originators, manufactured homes, and transaction waiting periods are also loosened. In addition, the bill requires credit reporting agencies to provide credit-freeze alerts and includes consumer-credit provisions related to senior citizens, minors, and veterans.
Notably, the Senate bill includes provisions from the bipartisan “Family Self-Sufficiency Act,” which would relieve some regulatory burden to administer the FSS program; broaden the supportive services provided to participants; and clarify expanded access to project-based tenants.
While S. 2155 is said to benefit smaller banks, especially those serving rural regions of the country, critics have raised concerns over the risks associated with deregulating mortgage lending and other requirements benefiting larger banks, as well. NAHMA will keep members up-to-date on the progress of the bill throughout reconciliation efforts.
