Congress

Alaska Governor Sean Parnell signed two bills last week that establish a statewide energy policy (S.B. 220) to stimulate the state’s economy by attracting renewable energy investment.

The U.S. House of Representatives has passed The FHA Reform Act of 2010 (H.R. 5072) on a vote of 406-4.

HUD has released its proposal to Congress for its Transformation of Rental Assistance (TRA) Program. The proposed legislation would authorize major changes to HUD’s rental assistance programs, aimed at rethinking the entire nature of rental assistance, making it more user-friendly, enabling more tenant mobility, facilitating more preservation and development.

The $350 million proposal would provide owners of public and HUD-assisted housing the opportunity to convert to Section 8 like property-based rental assistance contracts. This would provide owners an important new tool to sustain operations and leverage private financing to address long-term capital needs and implement energy-efficiency improvements. View the complete story for a section-by-section summary.

U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) recently introduced legislation (S. 3326, bill text not available at press time) that would extend for one-year the Section 1602 low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) cash grant exchange program and expand the program to include 4 percent LITHCs. The “Job Creation and Affordable Housing Act” would also allow a 5-year carryback of the LIHTC.

Today (Friday, May 28) the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 4213, the American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act (Tax Extenders Legislation). The legislation contains several provisions of note for affordable housing and tax credit developers…

NH&RA is pleased to offer a CD-ROM containing digital audio recordings of select panel sessions from the Spring Forum.

The U.S. House Ways and Means Committee last week released additional documents related to the American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act (H.R. 4213), better known as the tax extenders bill.

Last week, the National Housing & Rehabilitation Association welcomed over 120 industry professionals to Washington, DC for its 2010 Spring Affordable Housing Policy Forum. The highly praised program explored the critical nexus between today’s changing public policy environment and affordable housing development, as well as combined NH&RA’s traditional transaction-oriented sessions with valuable social networking opportunities.

Earlier this week, U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan testified before the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services on the Preservation, Enhancement and Transformation of Rental Assistance Act (TRA), an initiative proposed in the FY-2011 budget to streamline HUD’s rental assistance programs and revitalize the existing stock of public and assisted housing.

Last week, the National Housing & Rehabilitation Association welcomed over 120 industry professionals to Washington, DC for its 2010 Spring Affordable Housing Policy Forum. The highly praised program explored the critical nexus between today’s changing public policy environment and affordable housing development, as well as combined NH&RA’s traditional transaction-oriented sessions with valuable social networking opportunities.

The legislative text the American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act (H.R. 4213) was released last week by the U.S. House of Representatives as an amended version of an earlier version of the bill, in response to the companion legislation, passed by the Senate on March 10.

The House Financial Services Committee passed energy efficiency legislation based on proposals developed by NH&RA and its Council for Energy Friendly Affordable Housing.