News

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has released its proposed 2010 Fair Market Rents.

The U.S. Treasury Department recently announced that it is accepting applications for the Section 1603 program, provided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

The National Housing & Rehabilitation Association is pleased to announce that it has made available the PowerPoint presentations displayed during the recent 2009 Summer Institute & Pre-Conference Symposium on New Markets Tax Credits, held July 29 – August 1, 2009 in Woodstock, Vermont.

RentGrow, a Massachusetts-based resident screening firm, recently released a report entitled “Trends in Applicant Traffic and Quality,” which shows a decline in the number of applicants communities are processing per apartment.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently conducted a report to study the impact of the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) disaster program in Louisiana and Mississippi.

The Brookings Institution Metropolitan Policy Program has published on its website a new series of resources titled “Implementing ARRA” which tracks the implementation work of metropolitan leaders, assessing their progress and struggles, and extracting from the innovators’ experiences ideas for short- and long-term federal policy reforms.

Dr. Raphael Bostic has been sworn in as the Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and Research at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. He was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on July 10, 2009.

The House Financial Services Committee has approved H.R. 3045, the Section Eight Voucher Reform Act of 2009. This measure would reform the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program, which provides rental housing assistance to 2 million low-income families nationwide.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has announced that Shelley Poticha has been appointed Senior Advisor for Sustainable Housing and Communities. HUD is working with Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd (D-CT) on legislation that seeks to create the Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities at HUD. Poticha will direct the office if the bill becomes law.

The U.S. House of Representatives’ Financial Services Committee convened on July 8 to markup proposed legislation, H.R. 3045, to reform the housing choice voucher program under Section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937.

U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan delivered the Keynote Address at HUD’s 2009 HOPE VI Green Building and Energy Efficient Development Conference on June 25 in Washington, DC.

Members of the U.S. House of Representatives’ Financial Services Committee convened for a public hearing on June 25 to discuss issues and receive testimony from HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan related to proposed legislative options for preserving federally- and state-assisted affordable housing and preventing displacement of low-income, elderly and disabled tenants.