HOUSE PASSES BUDGET RESOLUTION WITH SIGNIFICANT CUTS. H.Con.Res. 34, the FY12 budget guidelines introduced by Budget Committee chair Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wisconsin), passed the House on April 15. See HAC News, 4/13/11, for a summary and https://thomas.loc.gov for the bill’s text. A Center on Budget and Policy Priorities analysis of how these guidelines might affect housing and community development programs is at https://www.cbpp.org/files/4-26-11hous-pc.pdf.

FY11 NOFAS RELEASED FOR INDIAN CDBG, FSS, ROSS. Visit https://www.hud.gov/offices/adm/grants/fundsavail.cfm or https://www.grants.gov. Deadline for Indian Community Development Block Grant applications is June 15; contact is Roberta L. Youmans, roberta.l.youmans@hud.gov, 202-402-3316. Deadline for Housing Choice Voucher Family Self-Sufficiency program is June 8; contact HUD’s Public and Indian Housing Resource Center, 800-955-2232. Apply by June 29 for Public and Indian Housing FSS or by July 13 for the ROSS Service Coordinators program; contact Anice S. Chenault, anice.s.chenault@hud.gov, 202-402-2341.

HUD EXPLAINS HOUSING COUNSELING PROGRAM FUNDING. A “frequently asked questions” document says that although the program was funded in the continuing resolutions covering the first half of FY11, the elimination of funding in the final CR means there is no HUD housing counseling appropriation for FY11. FY10 grants, announced in December, are not affected. HUD hopes to make available “limited funding” from previous years. See https://www.nlihc.org/doc/FY11-Housing-Grant-Cuts-FAQ.pdf.

USDA REQUESTS COMMENTS ON SIMPLIFYING REGULATIONS. USDA is reviewing its existing regulations to identify areas where it can simplify and reduce the reporting burden on the public, while also reducing its administrative and operating costs. RD is particularly interested in hearing how to streamline application procedures to reflect the size and risk of certain types of loans and grants. The notice includes a list of questions for commenters. Deadline for comments is May 20. See Federal Register, 4/20/11 or https://www.regulations.gov. Contact Julie Hetrick, USDA, 202-720-1269.

RENTAL AFFORDABILITY PROBLEMS WORSENING, STUDY SAYS. America’s Rental Housing: Meeting Challenges, Building on Opportunities reports a record number of renters are paying more than half their incomes for housing and predicts economic recovery will further tighten rental markets, especially for those with the lowest incomes. The report, by Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies with support from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, is free at www.jchs.harvard.edu. Contact the Joint Center, 617-495-7908.

HUD RESEARCH FINDS ADDING ASSISTED HOUSING REDUCES WORST CASE NEEDS. An analysis of data for metro areas concluded that when units of assisted housing are added to a market, there is a commensurate reduction in the number of households with worst case needs (unassisted renter households with very low incomes who pay more than 50% of income for housing or live in severely inadequate conditions or both). Various methods found that 68 to 94 of every 100 newly assisted units went to tenants with worst case needs. Reduction of Worst Case Housing Needs by Assisted Housing is free at https://www.huduser.org. Contact HUD User, 800-245-2691.

EXPANDED WEBSITE PROVIDES TAX CREDIT INFORMATION. Research and resources on state and federal Earned Income Tax Credits, Child Tax Credits, Child and Dependent Care Tax Credits, and Property Tax Circuit Breakers are collected at https://www.taxcreditsforworkingfamilies.org.

FORECLOSURE RISK SCORES AVAILABLE BY ZIP CODE. Data developed by the Local Initiatives Support Corporation showing relative risk of foreclosures throughout each state and metro area are posted at https://www.foreclosure-response.org/maps_and_data/lisc_data.html. Additional delinquency and foreclosure data are also available at https://www.foreclosure-response.org.

2011 ADVOCATES’ GUIDE TO HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT POLICY AVAILABLE. The National Low Income Housing Coalition’s annual publication covers federal programs and issues and is free at https://nlihc.org/template/page.cfm?id=274. For print copies, contact Sarah Brundage, NLIHC, sarah@nlihc.org.

U.S. WEALTH DISTRIBUTION MORE UNEQUAL THAN DISTRIBUTION OF WAGES OR INCOME. An Economic Policy Institute study reports the top 5% of U.S. households hold 63.5% of the country’s wealth. From 2007 to 2009, average annualized household declines in wealth were 16% for the richest fifth of Americans and 25% for the other four-fifths. The median net worth of black households was $2,200 in 2009, the lowest ever recorded. EPI writes that the imbalance explains why the economic recovery is affecting different income levels differently. The State of Working America’s Wealth and related reports are free at https://www.epi.org/pages/epinews.