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NCSHA Washington Report | May 17, 2024

Published on May 17, 2024

NCSHA Washington Report
The Supreme Court’s ruling in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, 70 years ago today, is widely seen as one of the most important in the court’s history, even as many also consider it “a failure.”

The court’s decision, making it unconstitutional to separate public school children on the basis of race, overturned the concept of “separate but equal” and acted as “a major catalyst for the civil rights movement.” Yet Brown’s promise of broadly integrated schools never came true, and today “American public schools are growing more separate and unequal even though the country is more racially and ethnically diverse than ever,” Axios’ Russell Contreras wrote this week.

Richard Rothstein, whose acclaimed 2017 book The Color of Law suggests federal housing programs beginning decades before and continuing for decades after Brown bear heavy responsibility for thwarting its intentions, has said, “[T]he most important school policies are housing policies, and we pursue too few of them, and too weakly.”

The historical papers of the NAACP, which won the Brown case for the plaintiffs, reveal the organization struggled to “devise a litigation strategy with regard to discrimination in federal housing programs” until its victory over “separate but equal” in public schools was in sight. At a press conference the day after the Brown decision, the organization, according to the New York Times, announced its “intention to move on directly to housing segregation and employment discrimination.”

In fact, the NAACP had fought housing segregation at the local level “from its earliest years” at the beginning of the 20th century, opposing racially restrictive covenants and exclusionary ordinances in cities around the U.S. And in 1949, five years before Brown, NAACP attorney Thurgood Marshall, who would lead the organization’s effort on the case, wrote to President Truman that the Federal Housing Administration:

“…has recognized that good neighborhoods are an integral part of good housing, but it has equated ‘good neighborhood’ with a ‘racially homogenous’ neighborhood. Any such concept can only frustrate the most important objective of the National Housing Act, which is to provide for Americans a healthful home environment, both physically and psychologically, in which they will develop into democratic citizens.”

The lawyers for the Topeka Board of Education perceived the linkage between neighborhood and school segregation as well. They argued that an inevitable requirement for many students to travel significant distances to attend an integrated school could create unsustainable burdens on local governments.

Civil rights leaders hoped the passage of the Fair Housing Act in 1968, 14 years after Brown, would put in place the last plank in a broad-based legal foundation for racial equality in America. But the federal government has failed for more than 50 years to implement a practicable approach for “affirmatively furthering” that purpose in the housing market. Regulatory efforts by the Obama and Trump Administrations fell short of that mark, for different reasons.

The Biden – Harris Administration has proposed an approach that is responsive to key state and local concerns about those prior attempts. It’s unclear whether a new set of final regulations will be issued before the elections.

Stockton-Williams-Washington-ReportStockton Williams | Executive Director

In This Issue

Preview of Proposed HOME Rule Published
On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) published a preview of a long-awaited rule proposing a number of updates to the HOME Investment Partnerships program. The rule, if finalized, would represent the most significant regulatory update for the HOME program since 2013. HUD says it plans to publish the rule soon in the Federal Register, which will trigger a 60-day period for interested stakeholders to provide written comments. HUD’s announcement and the draft rule are available here. NCSHA will publish a blog detailing the proposed changes shortly. Please share feedback on the proposed rule with Robert Henson to help inform NCSHA’s comments.

Biden Administration Announces $40 Million in HUD Housing Counseling Awards
Yesterday, Vice President Kamala Harris and HUD Acting Secretary Adrianne Todman announced the awarding of nearly $40 million through HUD’s FY23 Comprehensive Housing Counseling Awards program to more than 165 housing counseling agencies and intermediaries. The grantees may use the funds for financial management and literacy, homeownership education, and affordable rental housing counseling. Among the grantees are 16 HFAs that will administer a total of nearly $7.5 million during this funding round. Fourteen organizations, including three HFAs, will partner with 60 historically black colleges and universities and minority serving institutions to support new homeowners of color and other underserved communities. See the full list of recipients and award amounts.

HUD Announces New Voucher Policy to Address Homelessness
On Monday, HUD announced it will allow housing agencies to accept self-certification of income when determining an applicant’s eligibility for the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program. This policy change is intended to make it easier for people experiencing homelessness, who may lack otherwise required documentation, to access HCV rental assistance. The announcement and details about the new policy can be found here.

Housing Choice Voucher Funding Awarded to State HFAs, Other PHAs
HUD announced Tuesday its allocations of $30 billion in Housing Choice Voucher renewal funding to state HFAs and other public housing agencies administering HCV programs. See the list of agencies.

HUD Issues 2024 Maximum HOME Subsidies
On Monday, HUD published maximum per-unit subsidies for HOME for calendar year 2024. Maximum per-unit subsidy levels were once based on Section 221(d)(3) limits, but as the 221(d)(3) program is now obsolete and HUD discontinued publishing limits for the program, the department intends to undertake rulemaking to establish new maximum per-unit subsidy limits for the HOME program. In the interim, HUD is relying on Section 234 mortgage limits for this purpose. The limits published this week — based on Section 234 — are effective from February 13, 2024, until such point as HUD is able to finalize the expected rulemaking. Participating jurisdictions should contact the Community Planning and Development team at their local HUD field office to obtain maximum per-unit subsidies that apply to their jurisdiction. More details are available here.

FHFA Requests Input on FHLBank System Mission
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) issued yesterday a request for input (RFI) on the mission of the Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLBank) System as FHFA considers next steps for related rulemakings. FHFA is asking for input on updating the regulatory statement of the FHLBank System’s mission to better reflect its appropriate role in the housing finance system, developing metrics and thresholds to evaluate mission achievement, and identifying how the FHLBanks could incorporate incentives for members with a strong and demonstrable connection to the FHLBank System’s mission. FHFA invites interested parties to provide written input, feedback, and information on all aspects of this RFI by July 15. NCSHA would appreciate HFA input as we prepare a response. Please email any feedback by June 28 to Greg Zagorski.

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