Hearings and Meetings of Interest
House Committee Approves Rural Housing Service Appropriations for FY 2006
On Wednesday, May 25, the House Appropriations Committee approved the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies appropriations for fiscal year 2006. According to information made available by the Housing Assistance Council, the committee rejected the Administration’s proposal to cut $73 million from Section 515 rental housing and restored the program to its FY05 funding level of $100 million. The Administration’s proposal to double funding for the Section 538 rental housing was also turned down and funded at its FY05 level of $100 million. Finally, the committee accepted the budget proposal to increase funding for Section 521 rental assistance by 10%, from $592 million in FY05 to $650 million in FY06. The Administration’s proposal to use $214 million to create a new rural housing voucher program was not funded.
House Committee Amends GSE Regulation Bill
On Wednesday, May 25, the House Financial Services Committee approved the Federal Housing Finance Reform Act (HR 1461). According to the National Council of State Housing Agencies, a provision was added to the bill during the markup session that would require Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to create an Affordable Housing Fund and set aside 5 percent of their profits annually for housing grants to support primarily affordable housing rental production for very low- and extremely low-income families. Richard Baker (R-LA), the bill’s sponsor, who opposed the creation of the fund, estimates that this 5 percent set-aside will total approximately $600 million annually. The bill must now be approved by the whole House of Representatives.
House Holds Hearing on CDBG Accountability
On Tuesday, May 24, the House Committee on Government Reform’s Subcommittee on Federalism and the Census held a hearing entitled “Bringing Community Development Block Grant Program (CDBG) Spending into the 21st Century: Introducing Accountability and Meaningful Performance Measures into the Decades-Old CDBG Program.” Roy Benardi, HUD Deputy Secretary, and four other public witnesses testified before the subcommittee.
According to the subcommittee’s press release, the purpose of the hearing was to examine how CDBG funds are spent and whether meaningful performance measures can be introduced as a tool to promote greater accountability within the program and among its grantees. A primary justification citied by the Administration for its Strengthening America’s Communities Initiative (SACI) proposal is that CDBG and 17 other programs encompassed by SACI scored very low on OMB’s Program Assessment Rating Tool (PART). Many stakeholders argue that CDBG’s low PART score can be attributed to PART’s lack of proper assessment matrix tools to score block grant programs appropriately. Stakeholders also argue that it may be impossible to effectively measure the CDBG program because of its multifaceted nature and because its monies can be spent on a wide variety of “non-tangible” benefits.
Legislation
On Thursday, May 26, Rep. William Jefferson (D-LA) introduced HR 2681, the Affordable Housing Tax Credit Enhancement Act of 2005, in the House. The bill would double the current Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) from $1.85 per capita to $3.70 per capita beginning in 2006 and would rename the LIHTC the “Affordable Housing Tax Credit.” HR 2681 has 53 co-sponsors and was referred to the House Ways and Means Committee.
On Wednesday, May 25, Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) introduced HR 2636, the Housing Preservation Matching Grant Act of 2005, in the House. HR 2636 authorizes matching grants to states, up to a 2:1 federal to state ratio, for preservation of affordable housing. Grants can be used for acquisition, preservation incentives, operating costs, and capital expenditures to preserve FHA insured properties, project-based Section 8 properties, or projects purchased by residents. NAHMA supported this bill in the 108th and 107th Congresses. HR 2636 has 15 co-sponsors and has been referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.
On Thursday, May 26, Rep. Bob Andrews (D-NJ) introduced the following four housing-related bills in the House:
HR 2653 – To ensure that dwelling units assisted under the rental housing voucher program under section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 comply with housing quality standards.
HR 2654 – To provide for renewal of project-based assisted housing contracts at reimbursement levels that are sufficient to sustain operations, and for other purposes.
HR 2655 – To establish neighborhood review committees to advise public housing agencies regarding the enforcement of laws and regulations governing assistance provided under tenant-based rental assistance programs.
HR 2656 – To amend section 502(h) of the Housing Act of 1949 to improve the rural housing loan guarantee program, and for other purposes.
The full text of these four bills is not yet available. NAHMA will provide additional information about these bills as it becomes available.
