Federal / Agency News

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 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 […]

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.

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.

In an ongoing effort to make information available on the impacts of RAD in communities around the country, HUD has published new state-by-state RAD fact sheets that provide summary information on the RAD activity in each state. The data is “live” and updates real-time as properties complete the conversion process.

HUD’s Office of Asset Management and Portfolio Oversight (OAMPO) recently issued a memo clarifying owners’ responsibilities to notify residents in advance of physical inspections, to make final inspection documents available for review and comment and suggested collaborative implementation of new house rules. 

Joel Baxley, Acting Assistant to the Secretary for Rural Development (RD) at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), announced that he will leave his position effective August 2, 2019. Prior to assuming the job as Acting Assistant to the Secretary, Joel was the Administrator for the Rural Housing Service. While the Administration works to identify […]

The Internal Revenue Service published the final regulations regarding Income Inclusion When Lessee Treated as Having Acquired Investment Credit Property under section 50(d)(5) of the Internal Revenue Code. The final rule clarifies that Section 50(d) income is a partner item rather than a partnership item, that Section 50(d) income goes to the partner in the […]

The American Bar Association Forum on Affordable Housing and Community Development Law has submitted a comment letter on the most recent Qualified Opportunity Zone Regulations. The letter requests clarification of the regulations in order to improve the Qualified Opportunity Zone tax incentive so that it can better interact with affordable housing and community development.

Representatives Terri Sewell (D-AL) and Jason Smith (R-MO) and Senators Ben Cardin (D-MD), Shelley Capito (R-WV), Mark Warner (D-VA) and Mark Warner (D-VA) introduced the Rural Jobs Act. The would authorize an additional $500 million in annual new markets tax credit (NMTC) allocation for 2019 and 2020 that would go to rural job zones.