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NAHRO Current IssuesLast Update: October 5, 2007 The Issue: This page is designed to give NAHRO members a quick and easy guide to hot legislative issues coming before Congress in the fall of 2007. For example, action on the FY 2008 appropriations bills will be one of the hottest issues this fall. While not meeting all of our housing and community development needs, the House (HR 3074) and Senate (S 1789) versions of the Transportation-HUD (THUD) bills have greatly improved upon the President's budget proposals. However, HCD advocates will need to make a strong case for our funding this fall in order to maintain or increase these gains in the face of a threatened White House veto. For more information on this and other hot issues, see below. For more comprehensive
information about NAHRO's Legislative Positions, see our 2007
Legislative Agenda NAHRO's 2007 Direct
News index online. What can you do? Please make time to contact each member of your delegation, thank them for their support, share your concerns about issues on the horizon, and ask for his or her help. To help you in your efforts, NAHRO has compiled the following information, talking points, contact information, and other resources to help you in this effort. To learn more about reaching out to the 110th Congress, see NAHRO's Legislation/Congress page or see our Congressional Rosters online for a listing of your legislators and staff contacts in each office. In addition, at the bottom of this page you will find Outreach Tools to help
you make contact with Congress and your community on these important issues.
FY 2008 Appropriations (HR 3074/S. 1789) The Issue: The FY 2008 Appropriations process this fall is likely to be dominated by a spending showdown between the White House and Congress. The showdown could culminate in another omnibus bill enacted as late as December 2007, and efforts to limit the amount of funding provided for HUD and other appropriated programs to the President's requested levels. Housing and community development advocates must speak up to let Congress know what the impact of funding cuts would be on our communities. The full House of Representatives approved its version of the FY 2008 Transportation-HUD bill (THUD, HR 3074) July 24 by a vote of 268-153. The full Senate approved its version of the bill (S. 1789, now also considered HR 3074) Sept. 12 by a solid 88-7 majority. Both HR 3074 and S 1789 make significant improvements over the Administration's requested HUD program funding levels for the coming year. The bills restore cuts called for in the President's budget, and make some selected, critical increases over last year's level in programs such as the Public Housing Operating Fund and Section 8 vouchers. Despite these improvements, the bills do not meet all of the country's well-known housing and community development needs. Nonetheless, the White House has threatened to veto bills that spend more than requested by the President, including HR 3074 and S. 1789. HUD Secretary Jackson recently wrote to House and Senate appropriations leaders urging them not to provide more funding than requested by the President for FY 2008. As necessary as the investments made in the bills are, there are many in Congress who have promised to oppose spending above the amounts proposed by the President and uphold any White House veto. In order to preserve the HUD program gains made so far and reach for further improvements, we must urge Congress to resist any future proposals to reduce HUD funding below the House and Senate levels. Even with Congress' proposed improvements, the funding provided falls short of fully meeting our housing and community development needs. Senate passage of the bill set the stage for House and Senate leaders to begin work on a joint version of the FY 2008 funding measure. At present, it appears that House-Senate conference on the THUD bill will begin in early October. Looming White House veto threats over most domestic spending bills and an expected funding showdown between Capitol Hill and the administration have lead to widespread speculation that final bills may not be enacted until much later this fall. In the absence of final bills, Congress passed a stop-gap Continuing Resolution to keep federal programs operating through Nov. 16. Talking Points:
Affordable Housing Trust Fund Bill (HR 2895/No Senate Companion Bill): The House Financial Services Committee approved H.R. 2895, the National Affordable Housing Trust Fund Act of 2007, on July 31. The bill, introduced by Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) on June 28, would establish a dedicated source of funding for the production, preservation and rehabilitation of affordable rental and homeowner units. The full House may consider HR 2895 during the week of October 8. NAHRO has endorsed H.R. 2895; the creation of a new and viable federal production program is a long-standing NAHRO legislative priority. We have also made some suggestions for improvement in the legislation as it moves forward in the House or Senate. These suggestions are outlined in our July 25 endorsement letter. H.R. 2895 would establish a trust fund capitalized through the transfer of mandatory Government Sponsored Enterprise (GSE) contributions as required by the GSE regulatory reform bill (H.R. 1427) recently passed by the House. A revenue-generating mechanism included in a Federal Housing Administration (FHA) modernization bill (H.R. 1852) was approved by the Financial Services Committee in May. It is estimated that these sources would together provide approximately $900 million for the trust fund in its first year. Funds would be distributed through a formula similar to the HOME program, with 60 percent allocated to local jurisdictions and 40 percent allocated to states, tribes, and insular areas. There is currently no counterpart to H.R. 2895 in the Senate. However, the Senate Banking Committee is expected to take up both GSE reform and FHA modernization legislation when the Congress returns from its August recess. Recent troubles in the subprime housing mortgage market may drive Senate action on GSE reform in early September. In a Sept. 11, 2007 letter to Senate Banking Committee Chairman Dodd (D-Conn.), NAHRO urged quick action on Government Sponsored Enterprise (GSE) regulatory reform legislation. In its letter, NAHRO urges the Banking Committee "to move expeditiously to approve GSE reform legislation that includes the creation of a new revenue source for the expansion of our nation's affordable housing inventory." Who to Contact: Ask your Representatives in the House to support HR
2895 and the creation of an affordable housing trust fund. Ask your Senators
to act on legislation to create an affordable housing trust fund, particularly
if your Senator sits on the Senate
Banking Committee. Tell them how necessary a new source of dedicated housing
production funds is in your community.
Reverse Public Housing Disinvestment: Federal investment in public housing has declined precipitously this decade. For FY 2008, the administration's budget requested $1.2 billion less to maintain and operate public housing than Congress provided in FY 2001, despite rising utility, insurance, and human resources costs and an aging inventory. Agencies receive just 83 cents of every dollar necessary for basic public housing operations in FY 2007. While public housing faces an $18 billion capital needs backlog, funding for the Public Housing Capital Fund and HOPE VI revitalization efforts have fallen dramatically since FY 2001. This disinvestment is jeopardizing local agencies' ability to preserve their public housing resources. It also seriously undermines services to residents, from maintenance response times to having housing agency staff available to help residents or provide programs for seniors and children. This year, Congress must reverse this pattern of disinvestment in our $100 billion affordable housing asset and the 1.1 million families that reside there. Congress' budgets (HR 3074/S 1789) thus far have made significant improvements over the president's request. However, under the current bills, agencies will still receive just 84 - 85 cents of every dollar needed for operations. The president's threatened appropriations veto would endanger even this amount of funding. To assist members in making the case for public housing funding, NAHRO developed Paying the Price, a 2006 booklet describing the impact of the long-term disinvestment in public housing. Who to contact: The public, all members of Congress, but especially
your Senators. The Senate should take up its version of the FY 2008 THUD appropriations
bill (S. 1789) this fall. Be sure to share the impacts of funding cuts on your
community and families you serve.
Making Asset Management Manageable: HUD has adopted a micromanaged approach to implementing the new Operating Fund rule covering public housing's conversion to asset management. For example, HUD's approach attempts to restrict use of Capital Funds for operating support, threatening the statutory flexibility of public housing funding -- flexibility which is desperately needed in this time of funding shortfalls. NAHRO and its industry partners seek a fair and flexible implementation of
asset management. Together, we are urging Congress to adopt
4 modifications to HUD's asset management regime: On Sept. 7, Representative Albio Sires (D-N.J.) introduced legislation (HR 3521) that would enact the four modifications suggested by NAHRO, CLPHA and PHADA. At introduction, the legislation was cosponsored by House Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank (D-Mass.) and Housing and Community Opportunity Subcommittee Chair Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) NAHRO strongly supports HR 3521 and urges members to ask their Representatives in the House to cosponsor the legislation. Click here to see the Sept. 21 NAHRO-CLPHA-PHADA support letter to Rep. Sires. The House Financial Services Committee approved HR 3521 on Sept. 25. See NAHRO's Sept. 30 Monitor coverage of the bill and markup online. At this time, full House consideration of HR 3521 has not been scheduled. NAHRO, through its Small Agency Task Force, is advocating for a 5th proposal: To completely exempt the smallest agencies from asset management by capping the losses of agencies operating 250 or fewer units of public housing at 5 percent, even if they do not transition to asset management. This will prevent the needless conversion of over 600 HAs with 250 or fewer units to asset management. Click here for an explanation of this proposal. Congress is beginning to take action on asset management. In January 2007, the new Chairmen of HUD's House and Senate authorizing committees, Rep. Barney Frank and Sen. Christopher Dodd, wrote to HUD Secretary Jackson asking him to delay implementation of asset management until their respective committees have had a chance to look into the matter. Click here for a copy of that letter. The Senate Banking and House Financial Services committees have held briefings on these issues. Banking Committee Chair Dodd and Ranking Member Shelby have requested that HUD postpone asset management fee setting until 2011. Additional oversight by the House Financial Services Committee is anticipated for the fall. The Senate Appropriations Committee has adopted the first two of the industry recommendations (500-unit exemption, capital funds,) as sections 223 and 224 of its version of the FY 2008 appropriations bill (S. 1789). The House version of the THUD bill (HR 3074) did not include this language, but there is a strong record of House support for similar provisions. In the 109th Congress, 107 members of the House signed a letter initiated by Rep. Brian Higgins (D-NY) in support of the Capital Fund flexibility provision. NAHRO strongly supports inclusion of these two provisions in any final FY 2008 THUD appropriations bill. Talking Points: Ask your Members of Congress and Senators to:
HUD Plans to Cancel FY 2007 Capital Fund Performance Bonuses: On July 27, 2007, HUD PIH Assistance Secretary informed agencies anticipating Capital Fund performance reward funding that HUD had decided not to distribute such performance bonuses for FY 2007. In explaining its decision, HUD officials contend that the Department does not have sufficiently current Public Housing Assessment System (PHAS) performance scores upon which to make the awards, and that award of these bonuses is made at HUD's discretion. Total FY 2007 performance bonus funding nationwide is approximately $20 million of the $2.4 billion in total Capital Funds available for the year. Because of the Department's failure to prepare scores in a timely way, the Department instead plans to redistribute the $20 million in bonus funding to all agencies through the regular capital fund formula during the week of August 27. Agencies anticipating the bonus funding have suddenly found themselves without funds they had budgeted for capital improvements in their communities. NAHRO strongly disagrees with HUD's contention that the bonus fund --- which is mandated by federal law --- is discretionary. On August 1, NAHRO responded to HUD's letter to agencies and requested a meeting with the Assistant Secretary for further discussion. NAHRO and its industry partners met with August 10. We have also alerted Congress to this chain of events to seek a remedy for HUD's unilateral action. On Sept. 11, the Senate adopted an amendment to its version of the FY 2008 THUD Appropriations bill (HR 3074/S 1789) directing HUD to pay high performers their FY 2007 bonuses during FY 2008, in addition to distributing any FY 2008 bonuses. The amendment was sponsored by Vermont Senators Sanders and Leahy. This provision will be considered during House-Senate discussions on the final FY 2008 THUD bill. NAHRO strongly supports inclusion of these two provisions in any final FY 2008 THUD appropriations bill. Who to Contact: Agencies should contact their Congressional delegations
to let them know of HUD's failure to distribute the statutory Capital Fund Performance
Bonus. Let your representatives know of the work your agency has done to maintain
high performer status under PHAS and activities in your community that you will
not be able to conduct due to HUD's failure to execute the bonus program. Ask
your representatives to contact HUD to express their support for the bonus program
and inquire how this issue came about.
Section 8 Voucher Reform (HR 1851/No Senate Companion: The House of Representatives passed the Section Eight Voucher Reform Act (SEVRA, HR 1851) on a strong bipartisan vote of 333-83. The House SEVRA bill, which primarily reforms the Section 8 voucher program, also modifies and expands the Moving to Work program and has certain rent simplification elements affecting public housing. No companion bill has been introduced in the Senate, but the Senate Banking Committee could begin work on such a bill this fall. One of the most important aspects of SEVRA is the adoption of sound voucher renewal and administrative fee funding policies. Since the April 2004 release of PIH Notice 2004-7 and subsequent conversion to a "budget based" funding formula, the Section 8 voucher program has undergone tremendous upheaval. Since 2004, NAHRO has been fighting for both a sensible, efficient voucher funding formula and responsible program reforms. The FY 2007 Appropriations Act (H J Res 20) began the initial reform of these funding policies. Unfortunately, a seven-month delay in implementing FY 07 funding to agencies has meant that these reforms are just beginning to be felt in our communities. For ongoing program stability, however, funding policies should be adopted in permanent authorizing statute. Using its "Framework to Restructure the Housing Choice Voucher Program" as a guide, NAHRO has worked diligently with Committee staff on a bipartisan basis to improve SEVRA. These efforts paid off. The House-passed bill represents a notable improvement compared with SEVRA as first introduced. NAHRO endorsed SEVRA. However, there is more to be done, and We will continue the hard work of ensuring passage of a voucher reform bill that best responds to meeting local affordable housing needs. Who to Contact: If your Representative voted
to approve SEVRA, be sure to thank him or her for their support in your
communications. Action now moves to the Senate, so contact your Senators about
future action on voucher reform, particularly if he or she sits on the Senate
Banking Committee.
Section 8 Project-Based HAP Payment Delays: For several months, thousands of owners and managers participating in the Section 8 Project-Based multifamily housing program have experienced severe delays or not received Housing Assistance Payments (HAP) from HUD. Many agencies and owners have reported that late HAP payments have compromised their ability to pay operating expenses, make mortgage payments, or set aside funds for repairs. This problem has been building in recent months, but was particularly severe in July and August 2007. We have learned that many owners have received retroactive payments for July and August, but others have not. HUD has also instructed field offices to permit owners to tap available reserves to stay afloat. The origins of this problem, and HUD's funding needs for this program going forward, are not entirely clear. However, the immediate crisis appears to have been precipitated by a new internal HUD legal opinion regarding the amount of funding that must be on hand to commit to renewing expiring HAP contracts. HUD apparently did not have sufficient funds on hand to satisfy this new requirement, and therefore delayed making payments owed. For FY 2007, Congress provided HUD with $300 million more in the Project-Based program than HUD formally requested for the program. For FY 2008, HUD's request is suspected to be well over $1 billion short of the level needed to sustain the program. According to Secretary Jackson earlier this spring, HUD has undertaken a review of program needs. Despite Congressional requests, however, HUD did not transmit revised estimates of its FY 2008 needs prior to Congressional action on the budget this summer. Members of Congress have expressed real concern over this funding crisis. In remarks before the Senate, THUD Appropriations Subcommittee Ranking Member Christopher Bond(R-Mo.) admonished both HUD and the Office of Management and Budget saying "Let's get serious." Bond went on to call upon the administration to "provide the necessary funds for the program through a budget amendment or as part of a continuing resolution or through emergency supplemental legislation." To date, no such request has come from the Administration. Given the urgency of the situation and the uncertainty of the funding picture going forward, NAHRO is closely monitoring progress towards the resolution of this matter. Who to Contact: Members experiencing funding delays or with other questions
should contact NAHRO Policy Analyst Jonathan Zimmerman at jzimmerman@nahro.org.
Affected members should also make sure that their Congressional delegations
are aware of this problem so that those offices can help advocate for a solution.
Stand Behind Community and Economic Development Funding: Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds allow communities to provide housing, economic development, and job creation opportunities and services to our low- and moderate-income citizens. Despite their success, community development program funding has been eroded in recent years. In FY 2006, CDBG was cut by 10 percent and the HOME program by 6 percent compared with the previous year. In FY 2007, both CDBG and HOME were frozen at the FY 2006 levels. In FY 2008, the House and Senate have so far rejected the president's call for a 25 percent cut in CDBG. However, CDBG is threatened with stagnating funding or even funding cuts in the final FY 2008 appropriations bill if the overall pool of funding for HUD shrinks. Congress should sustain support for CDBG and HOME through the final FY 2008 appropriations measure. Section 108 Loan Guarantees, Brownfields Economic Development Initiative and
Rural Housing and Economic Development programs deliver a large return on a
small federal investment by supporting vital economic development and capacity
building opportunities in both rural and urban communities. Thus far, the FY
2008 House and Senate appropriations bills have rejected the administration's
proposal to eliminate these programs.
Eminent Domain: The Supreme Court's 2005 ruling in Kelo v. the City of New London set off a firestorm of debate over state and local governments' ability to exercise eminent domain in support of economic redevelopment. The Kelo decision emphasized that states remain free to place their own restrictions on eminent domain, and nearly every state legislature has considered and/or passed legislation to that effect. At the federal level, several wide-ranging bills curtailing the use of eminent domain, and with the potential to undermine local community revitalization efforts, were introduced but not enacted in the 109th Congress. NAHRO opposes all federal legislation placing new restrictions on the use of eminent domain by state and local agencies for the purposes of community and economic development. In the 110th Congress, Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (D-S.D.) along with a bipartisan group of co-sponsors introduced H.R. 926 on Feb. 7, 2007. The House Committee on Agriculture approved H.R. 926, the Strengthening the Ownership of Private Property (STOPP) Act of 2007, by voice vote on May 17, 2007. Under the bill, states and localities using the power of eminent domain to transfer private property for "private development purposes" would in most cases lose access to all federal economic development funding for up to two years. The bill has also been referred to the House Financial Services Committee, where no action has yet been scheduled. There is no companion bill in the Senate. Also introduced, but not yet acted upon, is the Private Property Rights Protection Act of 2007 (H.R. 3053/S. 48). Congress has imposed initial limitations on the local use of federal funds
for eminent-domain related activities as part of the FY 2006 and FY 2007 HUD
Appropriations Acts by inserting a provision now known as the Bond
Amendment. Language similar to the Bond Amendment appears in the Senate
version of the FY 2008 spending bill (S. 1789). NAHRO has been on
the record in opposition to the Bond Amendment since September 2005. Small PHA Paperwork Reduction/PHA Plan Exemption (HR 3067/S. 809): Bills to exempt smaller agencies from the PHA Plan requirement are currently moving in the House and Senate. The "Small Public Housing Authority Act" (HR 3067) would exempt agencies with 250 or fewer units of public housing and vouchers (combined total) from the requirement to prepare and submit a PHA Plan. HR 3067 exempts non-troubled agencies (under PHAS or SEMAP) from the requirement to prepare and submit the PHA plan to HUD. Agencies would continue to consult with Resident Advisory Boards and hold an annual public hearing on the formulation of agency goals, policies and objectives, however. The full House of Representatives approved HR 3067 under fast-track procedures July 30. In the Senate, Sen John Sununu (R-NH) has introduced a similar but expanded bill (S. 809). S. 809 would expand the exemption to agencies with 500 or fewer units of public housing and any number of Section 8 vouchers. The Senate Banking Committee has not yet scheduled any action on S. 809. NAHRO supports this legislation, particularly the Senate's version of the bill (S. 809). We believe this provides some common-sense relief to local agencies while still ensuring community input on local decision-making. However, action on an expanded bill has been opposed by several groups who fear that the lack of a formal Plan submission to HUD will reduce tenant input to local policies. Talking Points: Additional Resources: HOPE VI (HR 3126/S 829): Authorization for the HOPE VI program will expire Sept. 30, 2007 unless extended by Congress. Legislation to reauthorize and substantially change the HOPE VI program have been introduced in both the House (HR 3524) and Senate (S 829). Note that HR 3524 is a revision of HR 3126, which was introduced by Rep. Waters in July. Both bills offer comprehensive changes to the program, but with different emphases. Both bills contain provisions aimed at concerns about the length of time required for HOPE VI implementation and establishing leveraging and performance standards. The Senate bill includes new provisions calling for greater ties between HOPE VI redevelopment and education and school reform in the community. The House bill includes greater emphasis on issues such as one for one replacement, strengthening resident input and control over redevelopment processes and emphasizing green building standards. The House Financial Services Committee approved HR 3524 Sept. 25. Click here to see NAHRO's Sept. 30 Monitor coverage of the approved bill and markup. Full House consideration of HR 3524 has not been scheduled at this time. If a reauthorization bill cannot be enacted prior to the expiration date, Congress could choose to extend the current program through via an appropriations bill. Section 222 of the Senate's FY 2007 THUD Appropriations bill (S. 1789) extends the current program through Sept. 30, 2008; the House THUD bill (HR 3074) does not contain a similar provision. Additional Resources: Homeless Assistance Grants Reauthorization (HR 840/S. 1518): Bills to reauthorize and consolidate HUD's Homeless Assistance Grants program have been introduced in both the House and Senate. This legislation may be marked up in the House Financial Services and Senate Banking Committees, respectively, this fall. NAHRO has long advocated for the consolidation of the competitive homeless assistance grant programs, favoring the creation of a block grant program that would distribute funding according to a formula. On Sept. 19, the Senate Banking Committee approved the Community Partnership to End Homelessness Act (CEPHA / S. 1518). The bill was introduced by Senator Jack Reed (D-R.I.) on May 24. S. 1518 would consolidate HUD's competitive programs (Supportive Housing, Shelter Plus Care, and Single Room Occupancy) into a single competitive program with a broad set of eligible activities, including construction of new transitional or permanent housing, supportive services, and rental assistance. In a recent letter to S 1518 cosponsors Sen. Reed and Sen. Allard, NAHRO Executive Director Saul Ramirez communicated NAHRO's positions on the issue of McKinney-Vento reauthorization. At the Sept. 19 markup, the Banking Committee adopted a substantial manager's package modifying S. 1518 as introduced. These included modifications to define rural areas for the purposes of applying for rural homeless grants - which would be guaranteed a minimum of 5 percent of funding - and streamline application criteria. Another significant change is the creation of the "Emergency Solutions Grant," to replace the current Emergency Shelter Grants block grant program. The new ESG would expand the percentage of funds distributed through this formula grant to 20 percent of overall funding and provides additional flexibility to communities to address homelessness, including homeless prevention activities. NAHRO's Board of Governors voted in March to express general support for H.R. 840, the Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing Act (HEARTH). H.R. 840 was introduced in February. Like S. 1518, this legislation would consolidate the competitive McKinney-Vento programs into one competitive program with a broad set of eligible activities. Unlike S. 1518, H.R. 840 does not include the 30 percent set-aside for permanent supportive housing. H.R. 840 also includes language codifying the HUD definition of homelessness in a way that aligns the definition more closely with the definition used by other federal agencies by including people living in doubled-up situations or in hotels/motels due to lack of adequate alternatives. The NAHRO Board of Governors endorsed this definitional change during its Oct. 2006 meeting. S. 1518 does not include the expanded definition but does change the definition of chronic homelessness to include families. NAHRO will continue to work toward a formula-based fund distribution, which is not included in HR 840. At this time, full Senate consideration of S 1518 has not been scheduled. The House Financial Services Committee is conducting two days of hearings on
homeless reauthorization on October 4 and 11. Click here
for links to the committee's hearing announcements and testimony. Who to Contact: Any Senator or Member of Congress, but particularly if your Representative sits on the House Financial Services Committee. Action on these bills is likely to be concentrated in committees in the early fall. Additional Resources: |
