HAC News: February 6, 2025
TOP STORIES
Save the dates! HAC’s National Rural Housing Conference planned for November 3-7
HAC is excited to announce that the 2025 National Rural Housing Conference will take place November 4-7 in Washington, DC, with pre-conference activities on November 3. This biennial event is an unparalleled opportunity to connect, learn, and collaborate with fellow leaders in rural development. Whether you’re a long-time participant or joining us for the first time, you’ll find a welcoming space where challenges and solutions in rural housing come to the forefront. Sponsorship information is posted here. To receive more details as they become available, watch the HAC News or sign up for conference emails.
Lawsuits on federal spending freeze continue
On January 27, the Office of Management and Budget issued Memorandum M-25-13, instructing federal agencies to temporarily stop obligating or disbursing funds – except for payments directly to individuals – while they analyzed their programs for compliance with the executive orders President Trump issued during his first week in office. The next day, two lawsuits were filed in federal courts challenging OMB’s directive, one in the District of Columbia by the National Council of Nonprofits and others, and the second in Rhode Island by 22 states and D.C., led by New York State. On January 29, OMB issued Memorandum M-25-14, which rescinded M-25-13, but both suits are still being litigated. Both judges have issued temporary restraining orders (available here and here) putting the spending freeze on hold while court proceedings continue.
Turner confirmed as HUD Secretary
The Senate confirmed Scott Turner as Secretary of HUD on February 5. The Senate Agriculture Committee unanimously supported Brooke Rollins’s nomination as USDA Secretary on February 3, but the full Senate has not yet voted to confirm her.
February is Black History Month
A proclamation by President Trump recognizes February as National Black History Month. The Association for the Study of African American Life and History explains this year’s theme, African Americans and Labor.
RuralSTAT
Between 2000 and 2022, the mean wages of U.S. workers grew by 15%. Wage growth was not distributed evenly, however. The top 10% of earners’ wages grew by 26%, while the wages of the bottom 50% grew by only 8% during the same time period. Source: USDA Economic Research Service, Trends and Patterns of Job Quality in the United States.
OPPORTUNITIES
HUD offers awards for excellence in Tribal communities
The new Secretary’s Award for Excellence in Tribal Communities acknowledges innovative approaches, best practices, policies, and community engagement that make significant contributions to serving HUD-assisted Tribal residents. Awards will be considered under four priority areas: community development, new housing construction, supporting Native youth, and honoring and serving Native veterans. Nominations are due February 28 and may be made by Tribes, Tribal leaders, TDHE staff, Tribal partners, and other individuals and organizations working in the Tribal space. There is no fee to submit a nomination.
Small grants available to address rural issues in Western states
The Western Rural Development Center at the University of Idaho is accepting proposals for grants of up to $35,000 to address critical challenges and opportunities in rural Western communities. Multistate projects must involve at least two Western land-grant institutions and include both research and extension activities. Fellow projects are for Western faculty from land-grant institutions. The graduate assistance program is available to Ph.D. students. Apply by March 7.
REGULATIONS AND FEDERAL AGENCIES
Remove 10 regulations for every new one, Trump orders
An Executive Order requires repeal of at least 10 existing rules, regulations, or guidance documents for every new one promulgated. It also states that for FY25, the total incremental cost of all new regulations must be “significantly less than zero.” For FY26 and later years, OMB will set a cap on each federal agency’s total incremental cost of new regulations. Agency actions related to defense, foreign relations, and immigration are exempt from this EO’s provisions and OMB is given authority to exempt other categories as well.
New HOME regulation effective date delayed
Pointing out that its action is consistent with President Trump’s January 20 memorandum titled Regulatory Freeze Pending Review, HUD has delayed the effective date of the final rule for the HOME program that was published January 6. The rule will take effect on April 20 rather than February 5. Note that the compliance dates for some portions of the rule are not the same as the effective date.
USDA rental programs’ credit report rule delayed
USDA’s recently published a final rule to update its regulation on obtaining credit reports for developers using its multifamily housing programs, scheduled to take effect on January 30. USDA has changed the effective date to March 31.
President-appointed council to review FEMA
The Secretary of Homeland Security and the Secretary of Defense will head a new Federal Emergency Management Agency Review Council with up to 18 other members, all appointed by the President. A report evaluating the agency will be due in mid-August.
Rural Partners Network website down
USDA and other agencies launched the Rural Partners Network in 2022 to help “rural people build economic development through job creation, infrastructure development, and community improvement,” as described on an archived version of its website. The website is currently “temporarily unavailable while we perform updates and improvements.” Since June 2024, funding applications from RPN communities have been receiving priority points from USDA Rural Development.
Consumer Finance Protection Bureau director removed
After President Trump removed Rohit Chopra from his position, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is now serving as acting director of the CFPB.
EVENTS
Webinar series to address administration’s impacts on Indian Country
The Native CDFI Network will host a series of Thursday webinars on Navigating the Executive Orders of the New Administration and Impacts They Could Have on Indian Country. Recordings and materials, including those from the first session on February 6, will be available online for NCN members. NCN plans to provide updates on federal funding and policy, risks to key programs, and strategies to navigate funding uncertainties and drive economic progress in Indian Country.
PUBLICATIONS AND MEDIA
Old mine sites become homes for flood survivors in Kentucky
Kentucky’s Mountaintop Mines are Turned into Neighborhoods, a New York Times article, describes a state effort to build 665 homes for survivors of the 2022 eastern Kentucky floods on reclaimed strip mine land, well above the floodplain. It features two long-time HAC partners, HOMES, Inc., and the Housing Development Alliance.
Study reviews rural evictions, 2000-2018
An academic article titled Eviction and the Rental Housing Crisis in Rural America, by Carl Gershenson and Matthew Desmond, examines evictions filed in counties outside metropolitan areas from 2000 to 2018. The authors found about 220,000 evictions filed in these counties each year, an average rate of around 4.3% while the metro area filing rate was about 9.7%. Eviction filing rates outside metro areas were highest in heavily Black counties in the rural Southeast, in counties with higher rent burdens, and in those where more households included children. While eviction filing rates in metro counties fell from 2000 to 2018, rural rates remained flat.
Homebuilders seek exemption from proposed tariffs
The National Association of Home Builders has written to President Trump, urging him to exempt building materials from his proposed tariffs against Canada and Mexico. Noting that almost 25% of imported building materials come from those two countries, NAHB states that tariffs will raise materials costs and increase home prices, contrary to the president’s goals of increasing the housing supply and improving affordability.
Black-owned farms uplift local economies and highlight climate-smart farming practices
A Civil Eats op-ed titled Black Producers Have Farmed Sustainably in Kansas for Generations. Let’s Not Erase Our Progress tells the story of Nicodemus, Kansas and the resilience of Black-owned farms that have supported the rural community since the 1870s. JohnElla Holmes, president and CEO of the Kansas Black Farmers Association, writes that as other Black-owned farms around the country are slowly disappearing, Nicodemus offers a story of hope because Black farmers’ land ownership is on the rise in that area. Holmes emphasizes the need for programming that supports and preserves Black-owned farms.
Guide focuses on rural healthy housing
The National Environmental Health Association and the National Center for Healthy Housing released a new guide, Opportunities to Address Healthy Housing Needs in Rural and Frontier Communities, highlighting best practices for public health professionals to address environmental and housing health hazards for rural communities.
HAC
HAC is hiring
HAC job listings and application links are available on our website.
Need capital for your affordable housing project?
HAC’s loan fund provides low interest rate loans to support single- and multifamily affordable housing projects for low-income rural residents throughout the U.S. and territories. Capital is available for all types of affordable and mixed-income housing projects, including preservation, new development, farmworker, senior and veteran housing. HAC loan funds can be used for pre-development, site acquisition, site development, construction/rehabilitation and permanent financing. Contact HAC’s loan fund staff at hacloanfund@ruralhome.org, 202-842-8600.
Please note: HAC is not able to offer loans to individuals or families. Borrowers must be nonprofit or for-profit organizations or government entities (including Tribes).
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