Senate Holds Hearings on Housing Preservation and HUD Oversight
By: Jenna Hampton, Legislative Affairs Manager
The Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee turned its attention to housing this week with hearings on housing preservation and oversight of Dept. of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Senators and witnesses in both hearings broadly acknowledged the need for more affordable housing across the country.
Subcommittee Hearing: Challenges in Preserving the U.S. Housing Stock
Tuesday, April 16, 2024
In Tuesday’s subcommittee hearing, witnesses from NeighborWorks, Enterprise Community Partners, and the Wyoming Community Development Authority testified about the need to preserve the nation’s aging housing stock. Robin Davey Wolff, the Senior Director of Rural Communities at Enterprise, explained that affordable housing units are often difficult and cost-prohibitive to replace once they are lost – especially in rural communities.
Subcommittee Chair Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN) promoted her Rural Housing Service Reform Act, which would help preserve affordable housing in rural communities by decoupling Section 515 Rural Rental Housing Loans from Section 521 rental assistance. Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) also mentioned his Whole-Home Repairs Act as a potential solution for homeowners and eligible landlords who struggle to maintain needed home repairs.
As the hearing concluded, the subcommittee’s Ranking Member Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) noted the bipartisan nature of the two bills mentioned and promised Chair Smith (D-MN) to work with her on getting a full committee vote to move the legislation forward.
Full Committee Hearing: Oversight of Federal Housing Regulators
Thursday, April 18, 2024
The Acting Secretary of HUD, Adrianne Todman, and the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), Sandra Thompson, joined the full committee on Thursday for an oversight hearing on the work of their agencies. In her testimony, Acting Secretary Todman championed HUD’s work over the past few years, stating:
“HUD has made historic strides to improve outcomes for the people we serve. We have provided historic levels of rental assistance, expanded opportunities for homeownership, supported the creation of affordable homes to rent and to buy, supported resilient communities, worked to root out housing discrimination, and helped people who don’t make a lot of money just get a fair shot.”
Committee members questioned Acting Secretary Todman about a variety of HUD programs. Senator Jon Tester (D-MT) said that he has heard from Montana PHAs who do not believe HUD’s Fair Market Rents (FMRs) accurately reflect the reality of rising housing costs in the state. Further, he received complaints that HUD is taking away vouchers from PHAs with long waiting lists when the issue is that there are simply no units available where residents can use their vouchers. Acting Secretary Todman said she would be glad to ask PIH staff to work with Montana PHAs on flexibilities they can employ to help residents use their vouchers.
Ranking Member Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) said he is supportive of lifting the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) cap to rebuild public housing units. Secretary Todman agreed about the potential of RAD for redevelopment but said she also must ensure there are tenant protections in place as RAD expands. Senator Scott and Senator Katie Britt (R-AL) also asked Acting Secretary Todman whether she supports expanding HUD’s Moving To Work (MTW) demonstration. She said HUD recently onboarded the last of the 100 agencies that Congress allowed in the most recent expansion of MTW and cited MTW’s role in identifying critical improvements to resident safety and reductions in administrative costs.
Acting Secretary Todman commented on HUD’s ongoing work in response to several questions from the committee. In response to Senator Cortez Masto’s (D-NV) question about HUD’s forthcoming proposed rule on the HOME Investment Partnerships Program, she said the rule is still in the interagency process, but it is “almost there.” In response to Senator Tina Smith’s (D-MN) question about homelessness and overcrowding in tribal communities, Acting Secretary Todman said HUD recently created an advisory committee with tribal leaders to look into possible solutions. Finally, in response to Senator Laphonza Butler’s (D-CA) question about natural disasters and the rising cost of property insurance, Acting Secretary Todman said HUD has an internal working group exploring how to help consumers with rising operating costs resulting from inflated insurance prices. She expects the working group to publish guidance in the next few weeks.
This week’s housing hearings in the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Development Committee highlighted both the persistent need to create and preserve affordable housing and potential solutions that both Congress and the Biden Administration would like to implement to address the ongoing housing crisis.