News

The Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Coalition released a report on program’s impact and funding need. The report finds that the CDBG program has invested nearly $64 billion in local economies since 2000 and every $1.00 of CDBG funding leverages another $4.09 in public and private funding. It also shows that over 92 percent of […]

Representatives Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), Yvette Clarke (D-NY) and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) introduced the No Biometric Barriers Housing Act of 2019, which would prohibit the use of biometric recognition technology in federally subsidized housing and require HUD to submit a report to Congress on the use of such technology in public housing. T

Senators Brian Schatz (D-HI) and Todd Young (R-IN) introduced the Senate version of the Reforming Disaster Recovery Act of 2019 (S. 2301). The bill would help target Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) resources to survivors with the greatest needs, ensure greater data transparency and oversight, protect civil rights and fair housing, and encourage disaster mitigation and resiliency.

Three more 2020 Democratic presidential candidates, former Vice President Joe Biden, Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), have released housing plans. The three new candidates with housing plans join the ranks of Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), former HUD Secretary Julian Castro (D-TX), Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA), who have already released housing plans.

The ACTION Campaign released a series of short videos providing an overview of each of the provisions in the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act of 2019. The ACTION Campaign also released updated fact sheets for congressional districts that show the impact of the Low-Income Housing Tax Credits.

The subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations of the House Financial Services Committee (HFSC) will hold a hearing titled “An Examination of the Housing Crisis in Michigan, 11 Years after the Recession” at noon EDT on August 8 at the Wayne County Community College north west campus (8200 Outer Drive West, Detroit, MI 48219). The full […]

Following the House passage of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2019, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Chairwoman of the House Financial Services Committee, sent a letter to the Chairs and Ranking Members of the House Appropriations Committee requesting $5 billion in FY 2020 funding for HUD’s McKinney Vento Homeless Assistance Grant program. Chairwoman Maxine Waters introduced […]

Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, sent a letter to President Donald Trump on recommendations to end homelessness after the president said the following on homelessness in an interview with Fox News’s Tucker Carlson, “It’s disgraceful. I’m going to maybe and I’m looking at it very seriously.”

Last week, the House passed the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2019 on a 284-149 vote and the Senate is expected to vote on—and pass—a two-year budget deal today. The deal now centers on questions of whether President Donald Trump will sign it; acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney recently said the president will sign it.

The Vermont Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) launched the Zoning for Great Neighborhoods project, an initiative aimed at helping Vermont cities and towns break down the regulatory barriers preventing them from meeting the housing needs of Vermonters. The project’s next steps will involve meeting with communities, analyzing typical local regulations, and proposing alternatives that can support the types of homes needed. The full toolkit for municipalities will be completed by the spring of 2020.

Congressional leaders and President Trump have finished negotiating a $1.3 trillion two-year budget deal. If passed by Congress and signed by the President, the deal would eliminate the spending caps for the final two years of sequestration imposed by the Budget Control Act of 2011, suspend the federal debt ceiling until July 31, 2021, and boost federal spending by $320 billion over two years with $77 billion in offsets.

HUD opened registration for its new National Standards for the Physical Inspection of Real Estate (NSPIRE) Demonstration. NH&RA encourages all eligible PHAs, owners and agents to participate in the NSPIRE demonstration. Properties will be given an advisory NSPIRE score and the most recent UPCS score will remain on the books. NSPIRE demonstration participants will have the opportunity to shape the new REAC inspection protocol and to prepare in advance of the mandatory changes.