Congress

The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) will meet Thursday, November 15, 2012. The meeting will be held in the Room SR325 at the Russell Senate Office Building at Constitution and Delaware Avenues NE., Washington, DC at 8:30 a.m.

The US House of Representatives recently passed a continuing resolution (CR) (HJ Res 117) on September 13, 2012 by a vote of 329-91, followed by passage in the Senate by a vote of 62-30 on September 22, 2012. The CR effectively delays final decisions for fiscal year (FY) 2013 spending until after the elections and will allow, if necessary, the Federal government to run uninterrupted through March 27, 2013 until a new Congress takes office.

A recent Administrative Notice released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development, Notice 4679, announces that the transition to using data from the 2010 decennial Census and American Community Survey (ACS) will be delayed until March 27, 2013, when the recently passed continuing resolution expires.

The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed the Vulnerable Veterans Housing Reform Act of 2012 (HR 6361) which would exclude in-home disability care payments from veterans’ income calculations for some HUD housing programs.

In a recent letter, twelve Freshman House Republicans urged House Leadership to extend the New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) program. While these GOP Representatives note that they do not support extending all tax credits, they do contend that the NMTC is a critical source of financing for a wide variety of businesses and community facilities that provides much-needed support for vulnerable low-income communities during an especially difficult time.

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on behalf of the White House recently released a report which details the potential effects sequestration, or across-the-board cuts to the budget, could have on both defense and non-defense programs. In August 2011, both the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate voted for the threat of sequestration as a mechanism to force Congress to act on reducing the deficit by $1.2 trillion as required by the Budget Control Act of 2011 (BCA).

Both the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate have passed S. 3245, which extends the EB”“5 Regional Center program for three years. EB-5 Regional Centers identify businesses and development opportunities that meet a community’s investment needs and allow foreign investors to channel funds to those opportunities.

The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed by a vote of 402-7 the FHA Emergency Fiscal Solvency Act of 2012 (HR 4264), a measure which would help shore up the fiscal solvency of the Federal Housing Administration’s (FHA) mortgage insurance programs. The bill, introduced by Judy Biggert (R-IL), Chair of the House Insurance, Housing and Community Opportunity Subcommittee, places a minimum on annual FHA mortgage insurance premiums and enhances FHA risk and enforcement measures to protect against fraud and abuse, among other provisions.

NCHMA is pleased to present the conference materials including Power Point presentations relevant articles, reports, memos, etc. from our recent Annual Meeting held in Chicago, IL September 6-7 at the Conrad Hotel.

Earlier this month Representative Bob Filner (D-Calif.) introduce the Clean Energy Victory Bond Act of 2012 (HR 6275). This legislation addresses a number of renewable energy programs and initiatives. Highlights of interest to NH&RA members include and extension of various expiring energy investment credits through 2023.

On June 29, the U.S. House of Representatives approved its fiscal year (FY) 2013 appropriations bill (HR. 5972) for the U.S. Departments of Transportation and Housing and Urban Development, or T-HUD. The approved bill funds HUD programs at around $33.6 billion, which is about $1.36 billion (3.9 percent) below the Senate Appropriations Committee proposed FY 2013 amount, $1.75 billion (4.9 percent) below the President’s FY 2013 request, and $3.8 billion (10.2 percent) below the FY 2012 enacted level. The FY 2013 appropriations bill (HR. 5973) for the U.S. Department of Agriculture including rural housing programs administered by Rural Development is expected to be considered by the full House within the next week. The Senate Appropriations Committee approved its version of both bills (S. 2322, S. 2375) in April but the full Senate has not yet scheduled floor consideration of the bill.

The Senate Finance Committee recently held a markup hearing to discuss the Family and Business Tax Cut Certainty Act of 2012 which includes more than $205 billion in tax cut extensions for families and businesses. The bill, which passed the Committee by a margin of 19 to 5, would extend the new markets tax credit (NMTC) program for two years, through 2013, permitting up to $3.5 billion in qualified equity investments for each of calendar years 2012 and 2013.