information on rural low-income housing issues September 14, 2011

Vol. 40, No. 19

PRESIDENT’S JOB PLAN INCLUDES POSSIBLE HOUSING AID. Project Rebuild, part of the American Jobs Act described in President Obama’s September 8 speech and sent to Congress September 12, would hire unemployed workers to repair distressed properties, emphasizing commercial properties. Visit http://www.whitehouse.gov.

CONTINUING RESOLUTION EXPECTED TO START FY12. Funding bills, including those for USDA and HUD, are not likely to be complete by the beginning of fiscal year 2012 on October 1. Visit http://www.ruralhome.org for updates and http://thomas.loc.gov/home/approp/app12.html for bill texts.

SENATE COMMITTEE’S FY12 RURAL HOUSING SPENDING LEVELS HIGHER THAN HOUSE’S. The Senate Ap-propriations Committee passed a bill September 7 that provides more funding for almost all USDA housing programs than the House, though less than FY11 appropriations. The Section 502 guarantee and Section 538

programs would remain at FY11 levels. The bill includes $30 million for Section 523 self-help, $2 million for multifamily preservation, and $904.7 million for Section 521 Rental Assistance. The $900 million for RA contract renewals is the amount pro-posed in the Administration’s budget, which assumed 300 properties (HAC estimates about 8,100 units) will leave the Section 515 and 514/516 programs in FY12.

USDA Rural Devel.

FY 12 Sen.

Program

FY11

FY12 Admin.

FY12 Hse.

App. Cmte.

(dollars in millions)

FY10 Approp.

Approp.a

Budget

(H.R. 2112)e

(H.R. 2112)

Loans and Payments

502 Single Fam. Direct

$1,121

$1,121

$211.4

$845.6

$900

502 Single Family Guar.

12,000

24,000

24,000

24,000

24,000

504 Very Low-inc. Rpr.

34.4

23.4

0

0

10

514 Farm Labor Hsg.

27.3

b

27

d

23.4

515 Rental Hsg. Direct

69.5

69.5

95.2

58.6

64.5

538 Rental Hsg. Guar.

129.1

30.9

0

0

130

Rental Prsrv. Revlg. Lns.

1.8

1

0

0

0

Grants

504 Very Low-inc. Rpr.

31.6

c

11.5

32

27

516 Farm Labor Hsg.

9.9

b

9.8

d

8

523 Self-Help TA

41.9

37

0

22

30

533 Hsg. Prsrv. Grants

9.4

c

0

0

7.3

521 Rental Assistance

980

955.6

906.7

890

904.7

Preservation RA

(6)

0

0

0

0

New Constr. 515 RA

(2.03)

(2.03)

(3)

(1.5)

(2)

New Constr. 514/516 RA

(3.4)

(3)

(3)

(2.5)

(2)

542 Rural Hsg. Vouchers

16.4

14

16

11

11

Rental Prsrv. Demo. (MPR)

25

15

0

0

2

Rural Cmnty. Dev’t Init.

6.3

5

8.4

3

4.2

a. Figures shown do not include 0.2% across the board reduction. b. Budget authority (the cost to the government) in the farm labor housing account remains at FY10 levels, but loan costs have risen as interest rates have risen, so the 514/516 program levels could be somewhat lower. c. The Rural Housing Assistance Grants pool, which funds Section 504 loans, Section 533, and some other smaller programs, is reduced by $1.1 million from FY10 levels. d. The BA for Section 514 and 516 would fall from $9.7 million in FY11 to $2.5 million for FY12, but the House bill does not allocate amounts specifically for loans or grants.

e. Figures shown do not include 0.78% across the board reduction.

HOUSE SUBCOMMITTEE PROPOSES HUD SPENDING CUTS. On September 8 a House appropriations subcommittee passed an FY12 spending bill for HUD that would reduce funding for most programs and provide no funding for the Rural Innovation Fund or housing counseling. Dates have not been scheduled for consideration by the full House committee or by Senate appropriators.

HUD Program

FY10

FY11

FY12 Admin.

FY12 House

(dollars in millions)

Approp.

Approp.b

Budget

Bill

Cmty. Devel. Block Grants

$4,450

3,508

3,781

3,500

Sustainable Commun. Initiative (150)

(100)

0

0

Rural Innovation Fund a

(25)

0

(25)

0

HOME

1,825

1,610

1,650

1,200

Tenant-Based Rental Asstnce.

18,184

18,408

19,223

18,467.9

Vets. Affairs Spptve Hsg. Vouchers (75)

(50)

(75)

(75)

Project-Based Rental Asstnce.

8,551.5

8,882

9,429

9,028.7

Transforming Rental Asstnce. a

-

0

200

0

HUD Program

FY10

FY11

FY12 Admin.

FY12 House

(dollars in millions)

Approp.

Approp.b

Budget

Bill

Public Hsg. Capital Fund

2,500

2,044

2,405

1,532.1

Public Hsg. Operating Fund

4,775

4,626

3,962

3,861.9

Public Hsg. Revtlztn. (HOPE VI) 135

100

0

0

Choice Neighbrhd. Initiative 65

0

250

0

Housing Trust Fund

-

0

1,000

0

Native Amer. Hsg. Block Grant 700

650

700

648.7

Homeless Assistance Grants

1,865

1,905

2,372

1,901.2

Hsg. Opps. for Persons w/ AIDS

335

335

335

334.3

202 Hsg. for Elderly

825

400

757

600

811 Hsg. for Disabled

300

150

196

196

Fair Housing

72

72

72

71.9

Healthy Homes & Lead Haz. Cntl.

140

120

140

119.8

Sustainable Communities Init.

-

-

150

0

Self-Help Homeownshp. (SHOP) 27

27

0

15.9

Housing Counseling

87.5

0

88

0

a. New program proposed by the Administration. b. Figures shown do not include 0.2% across the board reduction.

USDA AND HUD TESTIFY AGAINST MOVING RHS TO HUD. Their statements were made at the House Financial Services Committee’s housing subcommittee’s second hearing, held September 8, on a draft bill that would move USDA’s Rural Housing Service to HUD (see HAC News, 5/25/11) and also change FHA and Ginnie Mae. At a September 13 House agriculture subcommittee hearing, RHS Administrator Tammye Treviño again made clear that the Administration opposes the idea. Visit http://www.ruralhome.org for a summary and links.

USDA OFFERS RA AND EQUITY LOANS FOR PRESERVATION. $3 million in Section 521 Rental Assistance and $10 million in equity loans are available to owners or nonprofit purchasers of Section 515 properties already on RD’s

incentives

waiting

list.

See

August

8

Unnumbered

Letter

at

http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/RD_UnnumberedList.html. Contact Cynthia L. Johnson, RD, 202-720-1940, cynthial.johnson@wdc.usda.gov.

GUIDANCE ISSUED ON USING SECTION 538 FOR SECTION 515 PRESERVATION. See August 16

Unnumbered Letter at http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/RD_UnnumberedList.html. Contact Tammy Daniels, RD, 202-720-0021, tammy.daniels@wdc.usda.gov.

NATIONAL POVERTY RATE WORSENED IN 2010. Visit http://www.ruralhome.org for a rural perspective on new poverty, income, and health insurance data from the Census Bureau, http://www.census.gov.