Congress

Last week, the House Committee on Financial Services held a hearing on “Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs): Their Unique Role and Challenges Serving Lower-Income, Under-served and Minority Communities.”

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has indicated that the White House has no plan to overhaul Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in 2010.

HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan testified before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies on February 23, 2010 on President Obama’s proposed budget.

Representatives of the Council for Energy Friendly Affordable Housing (CEFAH), a council within NH&RA, will be meeting with the staff of U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) to discuss the senator’s recently introduced energy efficiency legislation and to express support for it.

Joe Hagan, president and CEO of the National Equity Fund, Inc., is the new president of the Affordable Housing Tax Credit Coalition (AHTCC).

Representative Linda Sanchez (D-Calif.) has introduced legislation (HR 4687) to extend the 1602 exchange program to 4 percent credits. Representative Sanchez noted in a floor statement that “I am introducing this bill because our country cannot afford to let this valuable 4 percent tax credit program fall into disuse due to the economy’s downturn at a time when our country is in desperate need of more jobs and more affordable places for low-income families to live.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has announced that he will push jobs legislation that will not include several tax credit extenders included in a draft bill previously circulated by Senators Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and Charles Grassley (R-Neb.), Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee have released a draft Jobs Bill.

The United States Senate voted, 70-28, today (Wednesday, 2/24)to pass Senator Harry Reid’s (D-Nev.) Jobs Bill. The $85 billion bipartisan jobs proposal was negotiated by the Finance Committee chairman, Max Baucus, D-Mont., and the committee’s top Republican, Charles E. Grassley of Iowa.

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a new report in late January on the New Markets Tax Credit Program entitled, “Credit Helps Fund a Variety of Projects in Low-Income Communities, but Could Be Simplified.” In the report, GAO describes where and how community development entities (CDE) are using NMTCs to finance development in low-income communities and describes options for simplifying the NMTC program.

Senators Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and Charles Grassley (R-Neb.), Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee have released a draft Jobs Bill. The $85 billion “˜”˜Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act” has not been assigned a bill number yet.

U.S. Representative Barney Frank (D-MA), chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, recently announced that the government-backed mortgage finance giants, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are likely to be abolished and replaced with a new system for housing finance.

You can now purchase individual audio recordings of select panel sessions offered throughout 2009. Mix and match sessions from any 2009 event on one convenient CD-ROM!