News

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.

Leaders of the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Select Revenue Measures and the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Domestic Monetary Policy and Technology held a joint hearing yesterday to receive testimony from key government officials and industry leaders with regards to a recent report published by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), which states that minority-based Community Development Entities (CDE) are less likely to be successful in obtaining funding allocations under the New Markets Tax Credit Program.

Leaders of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of Transportation and Environmental Protection Agency collectively announced a joint Partnership for Sustainable Communities to help improve access to affordable housing, create more transportation options, and lower transportation costs while also improving the energy efficiency of communities nationwide.

On Wednesday, July 15 the U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Financial Services held a hearing to discuss legislative options for preserving federally- and state-assisted affordable housing and preventing displacement of low-income, elderly and disabled tenants. During the hearing, Committee heard testimony from a panel of witnesses.