TOP STORIES

USDA funding bills approved by House and Senate committees

On June 14, the full House Appropriations Committee passed a FY24 funding bill for USDA. The committee did not change any of the dollar amounts for rural housing or community facilities programs that were adopted by the Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee, but its report does show details that were not previously available. For example, Section 514/516 farmworker housing loans and grants, Section 504 repair grants, and Section 533 Housing Preservation Grants would all be reduced. Funding for the community facilities grants competition would fall from $25.3 million in FY23 to just under $3.6 million in FY24. Like the subcommittee, the full committee states that $1.607 billion will fully fund Section 521 Rental Assistance, without explaining why the amount is lower than the administration’s budget request. More information is posted on HAC’s website.

The Senate Appropriations Committee passed its version of the USDA bill on June 22. It would cut Section 502 direct loans from $1.25 billion this year to $850 million and would raise the program’s minimum interest rate to 2% instead of the current 1%. It would provide $1.6 billion for Rental Assistance and would decouple RA from Section 515 mortgages. HAC is reviewing the bill and will post more information online on June 23.

The House’s overall FY24 spending limits for non-defense discretionary programs, adopted by the House Appropriations Committee on June 15, are lower than the amounts provided in the Fiscal Responsibility Act, the debt limit compromise. Roll Call calculates that these limits (called 302(b) allocations), would decrease total funding for USDA by 30% below FY23 levels and for Transportation/HUD by 25%. The House versions of the FY24 appropriations bills may propose larger or smaller cuts in specific programs.

The House and the Senate committees have not yet released proposals for FY24 HUD funding and have not announced when they will begin to consider HUD bills.

Housing markets cool but costs remain high, says State of the Nation’s Housing report

The sharp interest rate hikes over the past year continue to impact housing markets and affordability for both homeowners and renters across the U.S., according to the State of the Nation’s Housing 2023 report from Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies. First-time homebuying dropped sharply as housing costs remain well above pre-pandemic levels. Black and Hispanic homeownership rates were 28.6 and 25.8 percentage points below white homeownership rates in 2022. The number of cost-burdened renters hit a record high of 21.6 million households – about half of all renters – with 11.6 million of them spending over half of their income on housing. People continued to move into lower-cost, lower-density areas in 2022. The aging housing stock and climate change require attention as well, the authors write.

Apply for conference poster sessions by July 1

The deadline is July 1 for researchers and policymakers at all levels to apply to share their research and innovative ideas through a series of poster sessions at the 2023 National Rural Housing Conference, October 24-27 in Washington, DC. The research must be related to rural America and can be on housing or another field such as public health, community development, race and ethnicity, or creative placemaking. Posters will be reviewed and judged by a distinguished panel of rural experts. For more information, contact Manda LaPorte and Natasha Moodie, HAC.

Correction to June 8 HAC News

The last issue of the HAC News stated incorrectly that the debt ceiling compromise rescinded $2 million appropriated for preservation technical assistance for FY21. The Fiscal Responsibility Act did not rescind rental preservation TA funds. HAC apologizes for any confusion.

RuralSTAT

Homes in rural Appalachian counties are less likely to be single-unit buildings than homes in the rest of the rural U.S. (70.4% compared to 75.2%), and more likely to be mobile homes (19.5% compared to 11.4%). Vacancy rates are about the same (22.2% and 22.6%). Source: Appalachian Regional Commission tabulations of 2017-2021 American Community Survey. (Rural counties are defined as those outside of and not adjacent to a metro area.)

OPPORTUNITIES

Main Street Grants available for small cities

HUD’s HOPE VI Main Street Program provides grants to communities with populations under 50,000 to assist in the renovation of historic, traditional central business districts or “Main Street” areas by replacing unused, obsolete, commercial space in buildings with affordable housing units. The only eligible applicants are local governments whose jurisdiction includes the Main Street area. Nonprofit or for-profit entities and others can be subcontractors. The deadline is October 12. For more information, contact Susan Wilson, HUD, 202-402-4500.

CAPITOL HILL

House committee votes to cancel aid for disadvantaged farmers

At its June 14 markup of its FY24 USDA funding bill, the House Appropriations Committee adopted an amendment eliminating an Inflation Reduction Act program created to make payments to anyone who could show they experienced past discrimination in USDA farm lending programs. The program also includes funds to address land access (including heirs’ property) and funds outreach, education, and other aid. That IRA program replaced one created in the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act to aid socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers because lawsuits had determined that USDA loan programs had discriminated against them. White farmers and ranchers sued, charging that the ARPA program itself was discriminatory.

Native American housing covered in Senate hearing

Witnesses and Senators discussed Indian Country’s housing needs and opportunities at a June 13 hearing on the State of Native American Housing convened by the Senate Banking Committee’s Housing Subcommittee.

REGULATIONS AND FEDERAL AGENCIES

HUD releases new inspection standards

The inspection standards notice for the National Standards for the Physical Inspection of Real Estate (NSPIRE) is the first of three subordinate publications that accompany the final NSPIRE rule published in May. NSPIRE provides for consistent property condition evaluations across multiple HUD programs. Notices on scoring and administrative matters are expected later this summer. HUD is developing training that will be posted on the NSPIRE website. For more information, email NSPIRE@hud.gov.

USDA systematizes appraisal assignment guidance for multifamily programs

Applicants to the Section 515 rental housing, Section 514/516 farmworker housing, and MPR preservation programs now do not need to request specific appraisal assignment guidance for each individual transaction. Instead, an owner can download (scroll down to “Quick Links”) the applicable appraisal assignment guidance, based on their specific situation, and provide the guidance to their appraiser prior to obtaining an appraisal. For more information, contact Jonathan Bell, USDA, jonathan.bell@usda.gov.

Comment deadline set for appraisal technology rule

Comments are due August 21 on a proposed rule by five federal regulatory agencies to  establish standards for computer models that may incorporate discrimination in property appraisals.

Fair Market Rent calculation changes under consideration

Comments are due July 24 on a HUD proposal to redefine “recent movers” and to use private rent data in calculating FY24 FMRs. For more information, contact Adam Bibler, HUD, 202-402-6057.

USDA RD creates Tribal relations webpage

RD’s Tribal Relations Page offers information about funding opportunities, events, and publications. For more information, email aian@usda.gov.

HUD will establish working group on LGBTQI+ issues

A June 15 presidential Executive Order instructs several federal agencies to take specific actions to advance equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex people. HUD is tasked with creating a new Working Group on LGBTQI+ Homelessness and Housing Equity, which “shall lead an initiative that aims to prevent and address homelessness and housing instability among LGBTQI+ individuals, including youth, and households.”

Resources posted on homelessness and climate change disasters

Noting that people experiencing homelessness can face greater risks from natural disasters and have less ability to prepare for and recover from them, the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness has posted Homelessness and Climate Change: A Roundup of Resources for Communities Before, During, and After Disasters.

EVENTS

Rural energy funding webinar set for June 27

Rural Clean Energy Funding Opportunities Across Federal Agencies will be offered on June 27 by USDA, EPA, the Department of Energy, and other federal agencies. The webinar will introduce over a dozen clean energy funding opportunities for rural stakeholders.

Equitable Greenhouse Gas Reduction webinar series began June 22

In a set of webinars offered on Thursdays from June 22 through August 3, the Center for Impact Finance at the Carsey School of Public Policy and the Natural Resources Defense Council will make the case for how the EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund can deliver equitable greenhouse gas reduction in low-income and disadvantaged communities through traditional lending lines of business in key market sectors. Recordings will be available online.

PUBLICATIONS AND MEDIA

Housing costs still out of reach nationwide

Out of Reach 2023: The High Cost of Housing, the new edition of the National Low Income Housing Coalition’s yearly report, documents the gap between renters’ wages and the cost of rental housing for every state, metropolitan area, and county, as well as the portion of each state that is outside metropolitan areas. There is no state, metro area, or county where a full-time minimum-wage worker can afford a modest two-bedroom rental home within 30% of their income. The gap between wages and housing costs is largest for people of color, particularly women of color.

Chartbook shows changes and challenges in Appalachia

The Appalachian Region: A Data Overview from the 2017-2021 American Community Survey, published by the Appalachian Regional Commission, provides data and maps on a variety of topics including population, age, race/ethnicity, housing, education, internet access, employment, and more. Figures are listed for each of the region’s 13 states, for subregions, for county types, and for the Appalachian and non-Appalachian parts of each state (West Virginia is the only state entirely within the region).

Modular construction and local financing make homes affordable and expandable

Housing Innovation in Rural America, the last in a Nonprofit Quarterly set of articles titled Eradicating Rural Poverty: The Power of Cooperation Series, highlights the housing affordability challenges faced in rural America. Modular housing with community-based financing is an innovative approach to addressing these issues, as demonstrated with MiCASiTA. This model was pioneered by come dream. come build (cdcb) in the Rio Grande Valley, Tex. and is now being expanded to Pine Bluff, Ark. The modules are constructed off-site but locally, allowing for low-cost home construction that is affordable to lower-income families, who can add sections as they can afford them.

Connecticut begins baby bonds program

A National Community Reinvestment Coalition post discusses the potential implications of Connecticut’s new baby bond program in addressing wealth inequities. Starting on July 1, every baby born into a Medicaid eligible household in the state – disproportionately Black and Latino – will receive a $3,200 deposit into a trust. Those who are still Connecticut residents can redeem the funds between ages 18 and 30 for specific uses including purchasing a home.

HAC

National Rural Housing Conference set for October

Mark your calendars and save the date! HAC’s National Rural Housing Conference will be held October 24-27 in Washington, DC and online.

Need capital for your affordable housing project?

2HAC’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).

Want to reprint a HAC News item?

Please credit the HAC News and provide a link to HAC’s website. Thank you!

TOP STORIES

Researchers predict consequences of debt limit stand-off

While congressional leaders and President Biden work to agree on provisions for raising the U.S. debt limit before the country’s borrowing reaches it in early June, economists and others are attempting to predict possible consequences of various scenarios.

• If the House-passed Limit, Save, Grow Act becomes law, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities estimates, it would require a 33% cut in “the two-fifths of the discretionary budget outside of defense and veterans’ medical care.” As a result, over 2 million people would lose rental assistance and 119,000 people experiencing homelessness would not receive aid. Because the spending reductions would increase over time, the cut would grow to 59% in 2033. CBPP provides an interactive graphic showing how protecting some programs changes the level of cuts to others.
• If there is no agreement before the debt limit is reached, a short-term default of less than a week would lead to a “mild” recession in the second half of 2023, according to Moody’s Analytics. Real GDP would decline by 0.7 percentage point, employment would fall by 1.5 million jobs, and the unemployment rate would rise from 3.4% to a peak of almost 5%. There would be little long-term fallout on the economy, although global investors would demand higher interest on Treasury debt to compensate for the risk of future debt limit breaches, creating a significant cost to taxpayers in the long run.
• If the debt limit breach lasts for a month or longer, Moody’s predicts a “cataclysmic” blow to the economy. The federal government would have to slash its spending, leading to an economic downturn comparable to that in 2007-2008. More than 7.8 million jobs would be lost, and unemployment would rise to 8%. The effects would still be felt a decade in the future. In both the short and long term, healthcare providers would likely become more hesitant to see Medicare and Medicaid patients. Confidence in other government supports would weaken spending and confidence, especially in areas with more lower-income or elderly households.

House subcommittee approves FY24 USDA spending bill

The House has begun working on appropriations bills for fiscal year 2024, which begins on October 1, 2023. The Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee passed a bill on May 18 that would fund many rural housing programs at levels lower than those requested in the administration’s budget, and in some cases lower than the amounts appropriated for FY23 or FY22. HAC has posted details on its website. The bill will move next to the full House Appropriations Committee, which has postponed a markup originally set for May 24.

RuralSTAT

According to the 2020 Census, there are approximately 697,000 rural Asians and Pacific Islanders in the United States. Source: Housing Assistance Council Tabulations of the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2020 Census of Population and Housing. For more information on race and ethnicity in rural America visit HAC’s website.

OPPORTUNITIES

USDA offers Native CDFIs funds to relend

Certified Native CDFIs can apply to USDA for loans from the Native Community Development Financial Institution Relending Demonstration Program. Awardees will relend money to low- and very low-income households to acquire, build, rehabilitate, improve, or relocate dwellings on Tribal land in rural areas. The deadline is July 17. For more information, contact Brian Hudson, USDA, 608-697-7725.

Powering Affordable Clean Energy Program to finance renewable energy

The Rural Utilities Service is launching the Powering Affordable Clean Energy (PACE) Program, appropriated $1 billion in the Inflation Reduction Act to serve places with populations of 20,000 or less, or service areas of current RUS Borrowers or former RUS and Rural Electrification Act borrowers. The program will provide loans for projects that generate and/or store electricity from renewable energy resource systems. Nonprofits, for-profits, state and local governments, Tribes, institutions of higher education, community-based organizations, distribution electric cooperatives, and generation and transmission electric cooperatives are eligible and may submit letters of interest between June 30 and September 29. Loans are potentially partially forgivable, with the forgivable portion varying depending on the geography served. For more information, contact Christopher A. McLean, USDA, 202-690-4492.

REGULATIONS AND FEDERAL AGENCIES

USDA proposes to waive Buy America requirements for some community facilities and water and environmental projects

USDA has requested a one-year exemption from Build America, Buy America procurement requirements for infrastructure projects funded by USDA’s water and environmental or community facilities programs that were planned prior to May 14, 2022. The waiver would apply to projects that were awarded funds before that date, submitted an application to USDA, or held “substantial public engagement” such as having public meetings or publishing a notice related to project selection. Comments on the waiver request are due June 2. For more information or to submit comments, email ffac@usda.gov with the subject “RD Waivers: Public Interest Waiver for Projects Planned Prior to BABAA Implementation.”

FEMA seeks comments on risk assessment data

FEMA requests public input as it implements new statutory requirements that include designating “community disaster resilience zones” for targeting disaster mitigation efforts. Its questions address methodology and data, the designation process, and the types of assistance to be provided to resilience zones. Comments are due July 25. For more information, contact Pamela Williams, FEMA, 202-212-8007.

HUD releases income limits

Income limits that determine eligibility for programs including public housing, Section 8 project-based, Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher, Section 202, and Section 811 have been posted online and took effect May 15. Income limits for Community Planning and Development programs including CDBG and HOME are available here and will be effective June 15.

Tribal input invited on environmental review

A Tribal/Interagency Environmental Streamlining Toolkit developed by the HUD-led Tribal Housing and Related Infrastructure Interagency Task Force is available for Tribal consultation. The toolkit is intended to provide Tribes with information and tools to create one environmental review when multiple agencies are involved in a Tribal housing project. The website can also serve as a hub providing environmental requirements for Tribal housing and related infrastructure from eight different federal agencies, and it offers guidance and best practices for coordination, including coordinating endangered species and historic preservation reviews. The task force requests feedback by June 9.

ReConnect regulatory changes confirmed

USDA has adopted the changes it proposed in January for the Rural eConnectivity Program, effective May 1. For more information, contact Laurel Leverrier, USDA, 202-720-3416.

HUD and USDA move towards revising energy standards

Taking the first step in adopting revisions to their energy standards, HUD and USDA announced a preliminary determination that the changes do not negatively affect the availability or affordability of new construction of single- and multifamily housing covered by the relevant law. They relied on studies showing the incremental costs of the additional efficiency measures pay for themselves with energy cost savings on a life-cycle basis. Comments are due July 17. For more information, contact Michael Freedberg, HUD, 202-402-4366 or Meghan Walsh, USDA, 202-573-3692.

Feedback sought on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s single-family pricing

After canceling fees it had previously announced, the Federal Housing Finance Agency is requesting input on the goals and policy priorities it should pursue in overseeing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s single-family pricing framework, as well as the process for setting their single-family upfront guarantee fees. Comments are due August 14.

HAC comments on Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund framework

Responding to an implementation framework released by the Environmental Protection Agency for the new $27 billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, HAC asked EPA to address the unique needs of rural and persistent poverty communities; ensure that nonprofit CDFIs and their nonprofit housing development partners are explicitly eligible for GGRF resources; increase clarity and reduce administrative burden on recipients; and exempt housing from Build America, Buy America requirements. EPA expects to announce funding availability as early as June.

PUBLICATIONS AND MEDIA

Digital technology can help elders age in place but has limitations

Centering the Home in Conversation about Digital Technology to Support Older Adults Aging in Place, published by Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies, explores how digital technology can enable older adults to age in place by supporting activities of daily living as well as monitoring health and communicating information to healthcare providers. Barriers like housing problems and the digital divide, however, may limit effectiveness for rural elderly households.

Study examines U.S. trends for people experiencing homelessness

The State of Homelessness: 2023 Edition, published by the National Alliance to End Homelessness, uses HUD and Census Bureau data to provide information about homelessness in the U.S. on a given night in 2022 and to illustrate emerging trends by race/ethnicity, age, sheltered or unsheltered status, and other characteristics. Data is presented at the national, state, and Continuum of Care levels through an interactive dashboard.

Energy efficiency programs can become more equitable, research finds

Some customers and communities are underserved by energy efficiency efforts, according to Toward More Equitable Energy Efficiency Programs for Underserved Households, a new report from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy. Utilities and other program administrators can use a variety of approaches to better serve low- and moderate-income consumers, renters, Black, Latino/a, rural, tribal, and non-English speakers, the study explains, with examples from both rural and urban areas. ACEEE also provides a variety of other energy equity resources, including Advancing Equity through Energy Efficiency Resource Standards, a report recommending state policies that could target energy savings for underserved households; an Energy Equity for Renters Toolkit; and a factsheet that summarizes the toolkit.

Rental incentive program makes workforce housing possible

Vermont Digger reports that the town of Woodstock will provide financial incentives to landlords in nearby towns to build or renovate units to house renters working at least 25 hours per week in Woodstock. Funding ranges from $2,500 for a qualified tenant with a one-year lease to $10,000 for four or more tenants with two-year leases.

HAC

National Rural Housing Conference set for October

Mark your calendars and save the date! HAC’s National Rural Housing Conference will be held October 24-27 in Washington, DC and online.

HAC invites poster session proposals for national conference

Researchers and policymakers at all levels can apply by June 2 to share their research and innovative ideas through a series of poster sessions at the 2023 National Rural Housing Conference, October 24-27 in Washington, DC. The research must be related to rural America and can be on housing or another field such as public health, community development, race and ethnicity, or creative placemaking. Posters will be reviewed and judged by a distinguished panel of rural experts. For more information, contact Manda LaPorte and Natasha Moodie, HAC.

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).

Want to reprint a HAC News item?

Please credit the HAC News and provide a link to HAC’s website. Thank you!

TOP STORIES

House narrowly passes debt ceiling bill

By a 217-215 vote on April 26, the House passed the Limit, Save, Grow Act (H.R. 2811), which would raise the debt ceiling, cut federal spending, and rescind or repeal previously authorized spending. The bill is unlikely to pass the Senate, however, and the White House has said President Biden would veto it. USDA issued a press release quantifying possible impacts of the bill’s proposed cuts, including loss of rental assistance for up to 63,000 households and reduced support from the Rural Partners Network.

Senate committee considers rural housing

HAC CEO David Lipsetz is scheduled to testify on May 2 at a Rural Housing Legislation hearing before the Senate Banking Committee’s Housing, Transportation, and Community Development Subcommittee. The event will focus on a bill intended to improve several USDA rural housing programs, expected to be introduced by Senators Tina Smith (D-Minn.) and Mike Rounds (R-S.D.). Testimony at Building Consensus to Address Housing Challenges, a hearing before the full Senate Banking Committee on April 26, also recognized the distinct housing issues facing rural America.

HAC invites poster session proposals for national conference

Researchers and policymakers at all levels can apply by June 2 to share their research and innovative ideas through a series of poster sessions at the 2023 National Rural Housing Conference, October 24-27 in Washington, DC. The research must be related to rural America and can be on housing or another field such as public health, community development, race and ethnicity, or creative placemaking. Posters will be reviewed and judged by a distinguished panel of rural experts. For more information, contact Manda LaPorte and Natasha Moodie, HAC.

RuralSTAT

Nationally, shipments of new manufactured homes have eclipsed 100,000 for the past two years. In 2022 113,000 new manufactured homes were shipped. Source: Housing Assistance Council tabulations of HUD and the U.S. Census Bureau’s Manufactured Home Survey.

OPPORTUNITIES

Youth homelessness funding offered with rural priority

State, local, and Tribal governments, TDHEs, and nonprofits may apply by June 27 for the Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program, which supports communities in developing and implementing coordinated community approaches to preventing and ending homelessness among youth aged 24 and under. HUD will support projects in up to 25 communities, with a priority for up to eight with substantial rural populations. For more information, contact Caroline Crouse, HUD, 612-843-6451.

USDA opens Housing Preservation Grants competition

The Section 533 Housing Preservation Grants program funds state and local governments, Tribes, and nonprofits for repair or rehabilitation of housing owned or rented by low- and very low-income rural residents. Part of this year’s funding is set aside for repairs to units damaged in presidentially declared disasters in calendar year 2022. Applications are due June 5. For more information, contact a USDA RD State Office.

REGULATIONS AND FEDERAL AGENCIES

HUD requests input on disability-based discrimination

HUD is considering changes to its regulations for Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in programs and activities receiving federal financial assistance. HUD wants to update its federal accessibility standard and clarify recipients’ obligations, including accounting for advances in accessible design, information and communication technology, and assistive technologies. Comments are due July 24. For more information, contact Amy Gioletti, HUD, 405-609-8561.

Fair housing, fair lending, and equitable finance rule proposed by FHFA

A proposed Federal Housing Finance Agency regulation would cover Equitable Housing Finance Plans for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as well as fair housing and fair lending for those entities and the Federal Home Loan Banks. Comments are due June 26. For more information, contact James Wylie, FHFA, 202-649-3209.

EPA releases framework for Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund

EPA’s implementation framework divides the new $27 billion GGRF, created by the Inflation Reduction Act, into three competitions. The $14 billion National Clean Investment Fund will fund two or three national nonprofits to partner with private capital providers to deliver financing at scale to businesses, communities, community lenders, and others. The $6 billion Clean Communities Investment Accelerator competition will fund two to seven hub nonprofits to build the capacity of lenders such as CDFIs and housing finance agencies to finance clean technology projects. The $7 billion Solar for All competition will make grants to states, Tribal governments, municipalities, and nonprofits to prepare low-income and disadvantaged communities for residential and community solar. The agency will hold public listening sessions on this framework during the week of May 1. Comments can also be emailed to ggrf@epa.gov by May 12. EPA expects to issue Notices of Funding Opportunity as early as June.

USDA updates lender submission process for Section 538 guarantees

Changes for lenders submitting requests for rental housing guarantees under the Section 538 program will take effect on April 28, when USDA’s notice is published in the Federal Register. They include revisions to the priority criteria and the fee structure. For more information, contact Jonathan Bell, USDA, MFHprocessing1@usda.gov, 254-742-9764.

New comment deadline set for extending HUD’s Buy America waiver for Tribes

Comments are now due May 8 on HUD’s proposal to extend its waiver of Buy America requirements for Tribes and Tribal entities. For more information, contact Faith Rogers, HUD, 202-402-7082.

HUD announces rural-targeted funding awards

Following an earlier round of awards announced in February, the second set of communities receiving resources to address unsheltered and rural homelessness will get $171.2 million in grants for 115 new projects in 29 Continuums of Care, and approximately 3,300 Stability Vouchers will go to 139 PHAs that partnered with CoCs. Separately, HUD’s Older Adults Home Modification Program will provide $14.5 million to modify over 1,900 housing units, 1,100 of which are in “substantially rural” places, so that low-income elderly residents can remain in their homes.

HAC comments on Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing

HAC submitted comments this month on a proposed HUD regulation that is intended to ensure that HUD and entities receiving funding from HUD will “Affirmatively Further Fair Housing.” In addition to supporting many aspects of HUD’s proposal and supporting suggestions made by other organizations, HAC wrote its own comment letter to address some specifically rural issues. HAC suggested that community engagement must be offered in many different ways, analyses must be conducted in smaller geographic areas, and data on USDA-supported housing must be specifically included.

EVENTS

Online placemaking conference set for May 23

USDA and the University of Kentucky will host an online conference May 23 on expanding access to placemaking resources for people in rural America. Rural leaders and placemaking experts will discuss ways to help advance placemaking strategies to create successful, thriving communities, as well as the importance of preserving and sustaining rural culture. Register here.

PUBLICATIONS AND MEDIA

Farm Bill may be opportunity to address rural rental preservation

Advocates Eye Farm Bill to Avert Drop in Affordable Rural Housing, a CQ Roll Call article, covers the anticipated loss of Section 515 rental units. HAC’s Director of Public Policy, Jonathan Harwitz, is quoted explaining legislative changes that could assist with preservation and could be adopted in the Farm Bill.

Report covers links between reentry and housing

The Council of State Governments Justice Center published Building Connections to Housing During Reentry, a report on a national survey of state Departments of Corrections highlighting connections between reentry after incarceration and housing.

HBO reports on farmworkers

A recent 25-minute segment on Last Week Tonight with John Oliver covers the working and living conditions of farmworkers in the U.S.

Rural placemaking article features CIRD

A Daily Yonder piece, Rural Renewal: Placemaking in Small Towns Through Good Design, describes the role of design and creative placemaking in building rural communities. It features the Citizens’ Institute on Rural Design (CIRD), a leadership initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with HAC, and quotes Shonterria Charleston, HAC’s Director of Training and Technical Assistance.

Feedback sought on substance use recovery mapping tool

The Fletcher Group, Inc., NORC at the University of Chicago, and East Tennessee State University seek participants for virtual focus groups to provide feedback on the Recovery Ecosystem Index Mapping Tool. The system maps county-level factors that are in place to support individuals in recovery from substance use disorder.

Diversifying child population described

The Changing Child Population of the United States: First Data from the 2020 Census, published by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, reports that the U.S. child population is decreasing in size, increasing in diversity, and changing substantially. The nation’s child population fell from 74.2 million in 2010 to 73.1 million in 2020. Children of color, who represented just 26% of all kids in 1980, were a majority – 53% – in 2020. Data is presented at the state and city levels.

HAC

HAC is hiring a Chief Financial Officer

The Chief Financial Officer is a newly created position responsible for overseeing the accounting, finance, capital markets, and administrative functions of HAC, while also providing overall leadership and strategy to the organization. This executive must have a background in accounting or finance, managing staff, and serving as a senior leader at a sophisticated and multidimensional organization, such as another CDFI, community lending institution, or housing-related nonprofit. The CFO is expected to work in HAC’s downtown Washington, DC office with a portion of their week eligible for remote work.

National Rural Housing Conference set for October

Mark your calendars and save the date! HAC’s National Rural Housing Conference will be held October 24-27 in Washington, DC and online.

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).

Want to reprint a HAC News item?

Please credit the HAC News and provide a link to HAC’s website. Thank you!