Federal / Agency News

Love for Opportunity Zones will be in the air this Valentine’s Day at the IRS hearing on its proposed Opportunity Zones regulations. The hearing, which was originally scheduled for Jan. 10 and postponed because of the government shutdown, will be at 10 am ET on Feb. 14 in the IRS Building Auditorium in Washington, DC. To be placed on the building access list to attend the hearing, contact Regina Johnson at (202) 317-6901.

Seven Senators and nine members of the House of Representatives sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin in which they praise and raise concerns about Treasury’s proposed regulations. The signatories urge Sec. Mnuchin to address remaining questions on investments in operating businesses.

H.J. Res 28 was passed and signed into law on Friday, Jan. 25, ending the 35-day partial government shutdown. With funding secured through Feb. 15, lawmakers in the House and Senate have agreed to go to conference to negotiate a Department of Homeland Security funding bill. Funding for the rest of the government will likely […]

The Campaign for Housing and Community Development Funding (CHCDF) is circulating a sign-on letter calling on Congress and President Trump to end the government shutdown and ensure affordable housing and community development programs receive robust funding. NH&RA signed the letter and urges our members to do so as well.

Senators John Hoeven (R-ND) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) reintroduced the Move America Act. The bill would expand tax-exempt private activity bonds (PAB) and create a new infrastructure tax credit (Move America Equity Credits), to help fund infrastructure projects through private-public partnerships. According the Joint Committee on Taxation, the bill would leverage $8 billion in federal investment into $226 billion worth of bond authority over the next 10 years or up to $56 billion over 10 years in tax credits.

34 U.S. Senators and 138 U.S. Representatives signed onto a Jan. 17 letter to President Trump, raising concerns about the impact of the shutdown on the people who rely on federal housing assistance. The letter urges the President to “end this shutdown and provide immediate relief to Americans being impacted by this funding crisis.”

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a new report Housing Finance: Prolonged Conservatorships of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Prompt Need for Reform. The report, prepared for Chairwoman of the House Committee on Financial Services Maxine Waters (D-CA) and Congressman Sean Duffy (R-WI), calls on Congress to “consider legislation for the future federal role in housing finance that addresses the structure of the enterprises, establishes clear, specific, and prioritized goals and considers all relevant federal entities, such as FHA and Ginnie Mae.”

The US House of Representatives passed two appropriations bills that would fund the Departments of Transportation, HUD, and Related Agencies (H.R. 267) as well as the Departments of Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies (H.R. 265). H.R. 267 passed with a vote of 244-180, with twelve Republicans voting in favor of […]

HUD’s office of multifamily housing issued two memos regarding its operation during the partial government shutdown. The first memo details Federal Housing Administration (FHA) mortgage insurance applications and production activities and the second memo details multifamily asset management activities.

The National Association for Opportunity Zone Investment (OZI) submitted its comment letter to Treasury’s proposed rule on Investing in Qualified Opportunity Funds. OZI’s comments seek to establish an informal safe harbor for plain vanilla, prudent and “down the middle of the fairway” transactions.

The Federal Financing Bank (FFB) multifamily risk-sharing initiative with Housing Finance Agencies (HFAs) officially ended on Dec. 31, 2019. In February of 2018, HUD announced that it would end the FFB financing initiative on Sept. 30, 2018. In September of 2018, HUD then granted an extension through the end of the year to review the program’s effectiveness.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued a proposed rule on reissuance of state or local bonds. The proposed rule provides steps for determining when tax-exempt bonds are treated as retired for purposes of sections 103 and 141 through 150 of title 26 of the Code of Federal Regulations. The proposed rule also amends §1.1001–3(a)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code to conform that section to the special rules in the proposed rule for retirement of qualified tender bonds.