News

Representatives Hank Johnson (D-GA) and Bobby Rush (D-IL) introduced H.R. 4999 which would require investments that benefit from the opportunity zones (OZs) incentive to reach certain benchmarks in diversity and affordable housing. The bill would require all qualified opportunity funds (QOFs) to have advisory boards for each OZ in which they invest.

Voters in multiple jurisdictions across the country approved housing- and mitigation-related ballot measures. Voters in Durham, NC approved a $95 million affordable housing bond by a 76 to 24 percent margin. The measure will be paired with $65 million in federal and local funding over the next five years to support affordable housing development and […]

Last week the Senate voted 84-9 to pass a four-bill FY 2020 spending package that includes funding for Agriculture, Commerce-Justice-Science, Interior-Environment and Transportation-HUD. The bill includes modest increases over FY 2019 funding levels for rental assistance programs but cuts funding for Choice Neighborhoods, Housing for Persons with AIDS, Indian Housing Block Grants and Community Development Block Grants.

The Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs will hold a hearing at 10:00 am ET on November 7 entitled “Examining Bipartisan Bills to Promote Affordable Housing Access and Safety.” The hearing will take place in Room 538 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building and via webcast. The witnesses are Ivory Mathews with Columbia […]

The Housing, Community Development, and Insurance Subcommittee of the House Financial Services Committee will hold a hearing on November 20 at 2:00 pm ET entitled, “Safe and Decent? Examining the Current State of Residents’ Health and Safety in HUD Housing.” The hearing will be in Room 2128 of the Rayburn House Office Building and will […]

Daniel McCue with the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies argues in a new blog post that even the largest cities will need help tackling housing affordability.

The Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released a proposed Form 8996 for Qualified Opportunity Funds (QOFs) for the 2019 tax year. The form is designed to collect information on the amount of investment by opportunity funds in business property by census tract.

Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), an original sponsor of Opportunity Zone legislation, and Reps. Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO) and Ron Kind (D-WI) sent a letter to the Treasury’s acting inspector general to requesting an investigation into recent reports from The New York Times, The Washington Post and ProPublica that found that White House and Treasury officials might […]

Apple recently announced a $2.5 billion plan to help address the housing availability and affordability crisis in California. The funding commitment to California is expected to take approximately two years to be fully utilized depending on the availability of projects. Capital returned to Apple will be reinvested in future projects over the next five years.

Facebook announced a $1 billion commitment over the next decade to help address the affordable housing crisis in California, which will go toward creating up to 20,000 new housing units to help essential workers such as teachers, nurses and first responders live closer to the communities that rely on them.

The Supreme Court agreed to review a challenge to the constitutionality of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) authority. Plaintiff, Sheila Law LLC, is arguing that a legal provision stipulating that the director can only be removed by the President for cause violates the constitutional separation of powers. The CFPB director, like the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) director, serves in a five-year role and cannot be fired at will. The Supreme Court’s decision will have implications for both the CFPB and FHFA.

The Senate is expected to vote on the four-bill spending package today and lawmakers are now considering a not-so-short-term CR that would fund the government through the new year.