Housing Trust Fund - Blog Post

On July 12, the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets and Government-Sponsored Enterprises marked up and passed six bills that would increase the oversight of and impose limitations on government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

On May 5, HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan testified before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs during a hearing on the legislative proposals included in HUD’s FY 2012 budget. In his opening statement, Chairman Tim Johnson (D-SD) said he is concerned funding cuts proposed in the FY 2012 budget could “halt our progress in addressing the needs of vulnerable citizens.”

The Urban Land Institute (ULI) Terwilliger Center is accepting entries and nominations for their new workforce housing competition, The Robert C. Larson Workforce Housing Public Policy Awards. The new awards program aims to recognize exemplary state and local programs, policies, and practices that support the production, rehabilitation, or preservation of workforce housing through innovation in these areas that will impact the future of workforce housing, as well as current efforts to provide ongoing and sustainable workforce housing.

The Center for Housing Policy recently released a research report, Should I Stay or Should I Go? Exploring the Effects of Housing Instability and Mobility on Children, a composite and analysis of four separate reports analyzing household moves and family data. The study suggests that further data could inform housing assistance program design and community development initiatives.

On Monday, March 7, NCSHA's 2011 Legislative Conference kicked off with addresses from NCSHA President Gerald Hunter, NCSHA Executive Director Barbara Thompson, a presentation by Barbara Sard of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, an industry panel discussion, and a briefing by NCSHA's Policy and Government Affairs team.

The Administration yesterday sent Congress its FY 2012 Budget, proposing funding for all federal programs, including HUD and the Department of Agriculture’s Rural Housing Programs. It also contains the Administration’s tax proposals, including changes to the Housing Credit program to provide incentives for creating mixed-income housing and allow a 30 percent basis boost for some 4 percent Credit, tax-exempt bond-financed preservation deals.

As the release of the Administration’s paper on housing finance reform nears, House Financial Services Committee Chairman Spencer Bachus (R-AL) unveiled on January 25 a tentative Committee hearing schedule announcing housing finance reform hearings on February 9, February 16, and March 1. The Administration announced recently that it is likely to release its paper sometime in mid-February. The paper will include proposals for the future of Government-Sponsored Enterprises (GSE) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

At NCSHA’s HFA Institute MRB/Federal Mortgage Insurance meeting this month, more than 175 HFA staff members, industry experts, and NCSHA-affiliates came together with senior officials from HUD, Treasury, USDA, IRS, and SEC to discuss current housing and bond market conditions, the status and outlook of relevant federal programs and regulations, and how to address challenges and opportunities in the coming year.