Congress Averts Govt. Shutdown and Approves Funding Through Dec. 20
Yesterday, President Trump signed into law another continuing resolution (CR) that keeps the government operating through December 20, preventing a government shutdown. This short-term funding gives lawmakers four weeks to negotiate and pass the FY20 appropriations bills. NAHMA encourages members to contact lawmakers and request they pass a full-year spending bill for HUD and USDA, including funding for affordable housing and community development programs. Earlier this month, NAHMA joined our industry colleagues to send a joint industry letter to Congressional Appropriators in support of full-year funding for housing programs and we will continue advocating for full-year funding over the next few weeks.
Hearings and Nominations Shine Spotlight on Housing Programs
This week, the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing, Community Development, and Insurance held a legislative hearing entitled, “Safe and Decent? Examining the Current State of Residents’ Health and Safety in HUD Housing.” The purpose of the hearing was to explore the issues contributing to deteriorating living conditions for HUD tenants in public housing and Section 8 assistance programs, and explore potential solutions. A memo outlining the hearing is available here and members can view the hearing here.
In addition to the House hearing, the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs held a nomination hearing with some key leadership positions at HUD under consideration.The HUD nominations included: Brian Montgomery to be Deputy Secretary of Housing and Urban Development; David Woll to be HUD Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development; and Jack Bobbitt to be HUD Assistant Secretary for Administration. This hearing provided Senators an opportunity to scrutinize a number of recent HUD policies they deemed controversial, including the proposed revision of the 2013 disparate impact rule and a plan to allow shelters to consider a homeless person’s gender before admission. Members can view the hearing here.
Democratic Lawmakers Introduce Housing is Infrastructure Act and Green New Deal for Public Housing Act
This week, key Democratic lawmakers introduced robust legislative proposals with significant investments in affordable housing. Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) and House Financial Services Chairwoman Maxine Waters (D-CA) introduced the Housing is Infrastructure Act (S.2951/H.R. 5187). According to the bill’s summary, the legislation proposes the following investments into our housing infrastructure:
- $70 billion to fully address the public housing capital backlog.
- $1 billion to fully fund the backlog of capital needs for the Section 515 and 514 rural housing stock;
- $1 billion to support mitigation efforts that can protect communities from future disasters and reduce post-disaster federal spending;
- $5 billion for the Housing Trust Fund;
- $100 million to help low income elderly households in rural areas age in place;
- $1 billion for the Native American Housing Block Grant Program t;
- $10 billion for a CDBG; and
- $5 billion for the HOME Investment Partnership Program;
- $2.5 billion for the Supporting Housing for Elderly (Section 202 Program);
- $2.5 billion for Supportive Housing for persons with disabilities (811 Program); and
- $2.5 billion to the Capital Magnet Fund
Similarly, a separate affordable housing legislative proposal was introduced by another group of lawmakers. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY-14) announced the Green New Deal for Public Housing Act. According to Sen. Sanders’ press release on the legislation, “the Green New Deal for Public Housing Act invests up to $180 billion over ten years in sustainable retrofits that include all needed repairs, vastly improved health, safety and comfort, and eliminate carbon emissions in our federal public housing. The legislation also provides funding to electrify all buildings, add solar panels, and secure renewable energy sources for all public housing energy needs. The bill dramatically improves living conditions for nearly 2 million people living in roughly 1 million public homes.”
Given the current political reality of divided government, the upcoming campaign season, and next year’s elections, both legislative proposals are unlikely to advance through Congress. However, NAHMA supports funding for affordable housing being included in a broader infrastructure package. We will continue to keep members updated on these and other similar legislative proposals.