Newsroom
HUD Issues Proposed VAWA Rule
Earlier this week, HUD Secretary Julián Castro announced HUD's proposed regulation implementing the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) Reauthorization of 2013 (VAWA 2013).
HUD Secretary Castro Announces New Proposed Rule on Section 3 Program
Last week, HUD Secretary Julián Castro unveiled a new proposed rule to amend the federal “Section 3” program, which requires that HUD-funded jobs and contracts, to the greatest extent possible, be directed to local low-income residents and the businesses that employ them. The program is designed to create incentives and opportunities for individuals and communities that receive HUD funding to become more self-sufficient.
House and Senate Budget Committees Approve FY 2016 Budget Plans
This week, both the House and the Senate Budget Committees reported their respective Budget Resolutions. The resolutions moved swiftly through the committees, having been released only days earlier by their Republican chairmen, Representative Tom Price (R-GA) and Senator Mike Enzi (R-WY). Both committee-passed resolutions are expected to be debated on the floor of their respective chambers the week of March 23-27.
State HFAs Awarded Over $13 Million in NFMC Funding
NeighborWorks® America announced last week that it has awarded $44.8 million in funding to support counseling for struggling homeowners to help them avoid foreclosure through the National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling (NFMC) program. Twenty-five state HFAs were selected to receive NFMC funds, as well as 18 HUD-approved Housing Counseling Intermediaries and 68 NeighborWorks affiliates. A list of all the grants awarded is available here.
Tiberi and Neal Introduce Minimum Credit Rate Legislation
On February 26, House Ways and Means Committee members Pat Tiberi (R-OH) and Richard Neal (D-MA) introduced H.R. 1142, which would permanently establish the 9 percent and 4 percent acquisition Housing Credit rate floors. The bill, which is essentially identical to legislation Tiberi and Neal introduced in the last Congress, already has bipartisan support. Of the 18 original cosponsors, including the bill’s lead sponsors, nine are Republicans and nine are Democrats.
NCSHA Teams with Other Bond Supporters to Urge Finance Committee Working Group to Support Tax Exemption for Municipal Bonds
On February 26, NCSHA joined other members of the Municipal Bonds for America coalition in a letter to Community Development and Infrastructure Working Group co-chairmen, Senator Dean Heller (R-NV) and Senator Michael Bennett (D-CO), in support of the tax-exempt status of municipal bonds, including qualified private activity bonds.
The MacArthur Foundation and the Urban Land Institute Unveil Affordable Housing Resource Platform
The MacArthur Foundation and the Urban Land Institute (ULI) recently launched a new online resource designed to explore the links between quality affordable housing and tangible social benefits, including public health, educational performance, and economic stability. The digital platform is intended to provide a user-friendly resource portal combining interdisciplinary research papers, reports, news, and original stories in a way that informs and promotes action for affordable housing.
NCSHA Urges HUD to Develop, Pilot State Fair Housing Assessment Tool before Requiring States to Submit Fair Housing Assessments
This week, NCSHA responded to HUD’s re-opening of the public comment period on the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) proposed rule to garner additional comments on whether HUD should delay the first Assessment of Fair Housing (AFH) submission deadline for states and other targeted entities.
House Committee Questions HUD Secretary Castro on Reduced FHA Premiums
HUD Secretary Julián Castro appeared before a hearing of the House Financial Services Committee yesterday to discuss the financial health of the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). During the hearing, Republican and Democratic Committee members engaged Secretary Castro and each other about FHA’s recent decision to lower the annual premiums it charges borrowers to insure most single-family loans.
Urban Land Institute Soliciting Applications for Awards Program
The Urban Land Institute's (ULI) Robert C. Larson Housing Policy Leadership Awards submission period is currently open. The awards, named after a former ULI trustee and ULI Foundation chairman, aim to honor local and state initiatives, programs, and policies that support and promote the production, rehabilitation, or preservation of affordable housing. Applicants for the awards must be a state (or a department or office within a state) or a unit of a local jurisdiction. The programs or policies submitted for the awards must have at least 25 percent of the units dedicated to households earning up to 120 percent of the HUD area median income (AMI). Exceptions can be made to the AMI requirement for programs and policies based in very high-cost areas if the applicant demonstrates the need for the initiative.
FHFA Proposes New Capital Reserve Requirements for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Seller/Servicers
st week, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced that it was proposing new minimum financial eligibility requirements for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Seller/Servicers. All Seller/Servicers, whether bank-affiliated or non-bank servicers, would have to meet these standards to be eligible to do business with Fannie Mae and/or Freddie Mac.
HUD Reports Worst Case Housing Needs Still High Despite Recent Decline
On February 3, 2015, HUD released its Worst Case Housing Needs: 2015 Report to Congress summary report. This report is the 15th in a biannual series that HUD prepares for Congress, using the latest American Housing Survey, to discuss trends and causes of worst case housing needs. HUD plans to release the full report this spring.
