Access a pdf version of this HAC News. • HUD, USDA spending bills for FY 2011 approved by House Subcommittees • Financial reform bill finalized • Sustainable Communities Regional Planning Grant NOFA released • 2009 American Housing Survey data available • Varying definitions of homelessness complicate services and data, GAO finds • HAC testifies at Rural Development Forum on Self Help Housing • HAC seeks nominations for rural housing awards • SAVE THE DATE FOR HAC’S NATIONAL RURAL HOUSING CONFERENCE 2010!

July 7, 2010
Vol. 39, No. 14

HUD, USDA spending bills for FY 2011 approved by House Subcommittees. Congressional appropriators on June 30 and July 1 began the first steps toward an FY 2011 budget for HUD and USDA rural housing programs. The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture passed a bill on June 30, but full details are not yet known on the rural housing programs. Rural Housing Service loans and grants are funded at $1.322 billion, $101.8 million below the 2010 level but $71.9 million above the President’s 2011 budget request. Rural housing programs will most likely stay at 2010 levels.

The Transportation-HUD Subcommittee, meeting July 1, rejected HUD’s proposals to cut or eliminate HOME, Indian housing, Sec. 202, Sec. 811, SHOP, and the Rural Innovation Fund. Those programs continue at 2010 levels. But the panel also declined to fund several new ideas proposed in the President’s budget, including Transforming Rental Assistance, Catalytic Investments, and Capacity Building. See the table below for HUD details.

Information on both bills, including lists of earmarks, is available at https://appropriations.house.gov. Complete details will be available after the full House Appropriations Committee considers the bills. Details, as available, will be posted at https://ruralhome.org.

a. New program replacing Rural Housing & Economic Development.
b. New program for economic development and gap financing for community revitalization.
c. New program for rental preservation, efficiency and resident choice.
d. Demonstration initially proposed in FY 2010 budget to replace HOPE VI.
e. Replaced by Rural Innovation Fund.

Financial reform bill finalized. The House has passed a conference committee’s version of H.R. 4173, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. The Senate may vote next week on the bill, which would extend the Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act, provide $1 billion for a third round of HUD’s Neighborhood Stabilization Program, and try to block predatory lending. Search by bill number at https://thomas.loc.gov.

Sustainable Communities RegionalPlanning Grant NOFA released. HUD has posted the FY 2010 NOFA for the Sustainable Communities Regional Planning Grant, which has approximately $98 million to support multijurisdictional planning efforts that integrate housing, land use, economic and workforce development, transportation, and infrastructure investments. At least $25 million will go to areas with populations under 500,000. Deadline to apply is August 23, 2010. For information, visit https://www.hud.gov/sustainability or contact Zuleika K. Morales-Romero, 202-402-7683 or Zuleika.K.Morales@hud.gov.

2009 American Housing Survey data available. AHS is conducted every two years by the Census Bureau and HUD. Preliminary figures from the 2009 AHS estimate there are approximately 111.9 million occupied housing units in the United States, an increase of about 1.2 million units from 2007. The survey indicates that roughly 25 million, or 22 percent of occupied homes are located outside of metropolitan areas. Data are published online at https://www.huduser.org/portal/datasets/ahs/ahsdata09.html. To order data in print or on disk, call the Customer Services Center, 301-763-INFO (4636).

Varying definitions of homelessness complicate services and data, GAO finds. Researchers report that data collected by the Departments of Education, HHS, and HUD cannot be compared, and eligibility rules may be confusing. Homelessness: A Common Vocabulary Could Help Agencies Collaborate and Collect More Consistent Data (GAO-10-702) is free at https://www.gao.gov or at cost from GAO, 866-801-7077.

HAC testifies at Rural Development Forum on Self Help Housing. Rural Development held public forums to solicit feedback on the current method of delivering the self-help program with a focus on the Technical and Management Assistance contracts under Section 523. Ten forums were held between February and June across the country. Written comments can be submitted until July 15. Visit https://www.rurdev.usda.gov/rhs/Admin/2010SelfHelpForums.htm. Contact Debra S. Arnold, RD, 202-720-1366, debra.arnold@wdc.usda.gov. HAC’s testimony can be viewed at https://ruralhome.org.

HAC seeks nominations for rural housing awards. At the National Rural Housing Conference in December, HAC will present three rural housing awards; the Cochran/Collings Award for national rural housing service, the Skip Jason Community Service Award, and the Henry B. Gonzalez Award for local or tribal elected officials. The national service award is named after Clay Cochran and Arthur M. Collings. Dr. Cochran was a mentor and pioneer in the rural housing movement whose work dates back to the 1930s and 1940s. Collings, who passed away in March 2010, combined feistiness, humor, and an extensive knowledge of rural housing programs while working for USDA and HAC. The Community Service Award is named after Robert “Skip” Jason, a long-time housing activist with considerable community experience. The Elected Official Award is named for Henry B. Gonzalez, who served in Congress from 1961 to 1998 and chaired the House Banking Committee. Nominations are due September 15. For information, visit https://ruralhome.org or contact Lilla Sutton, HAC, 202-842-8600, lilla@ruralhome.org.

SAVE THE DATE FOR HAC’S NATIONAL RURAL HOUSING CONFERENCE 2010! Plan to join rural housers from around the country in Washington, DC, December 1-3, 2010 for “A Place to Live: Rural Housing in a Changing Landscape.” Details will be posted at https://ruralhome.org as available.