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July 20, 2011
Vol. 40, No. 15

• House postpones consideration of FY12 HUD funding • Subcommittee votes to eliminate National Housing Trust Fund • Section 515 funds offered • Household Water Well System Grants available • Continuum of Care applicant registration open • RD to withdraw SAVE immigration verification requirement for FLH • Comments on Con Plan changes invited • HUD explains public housing work preference policies • Four major lenders hold almost half of Section 502 guaranteed loans, NHLP reports • California public radio features self-help housing • 2010 Census data added to Atlas of Rural and Small-Town America • ERS reports on evidence of Delta Regional Authority’s impact • GAO considers Dodd-Frank’s possible effect on mortgage credit • Nominations sought for HUD planning award

July 20, 2011
Vol. 40, No. 15

HOUSE POSTPONES CONSIDERATION OF FY12 HUD FUNDING. The Transportation-HUD mark-ups scheduled for July have been postponed, with no new date established yet.

SUBCOMMITTEE VOTES TO ELIMINATE NATIONAL HOUSING TRUST FUND. On July 12, a House Financial Services subcommittee approved a package of bills intended to dismantle Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, including H.R. 2441, which would abolish the NHTF as well as the Capital Magnet Fund. Full committee consideration has not yet been scheduled. For details visit https://www.nhtf.org/template/page.cfm?id=40 and https://financialservices.house.gov/Calendar/EventSingle.aspx?EventID=250326.

SECTION 515 FUNDS OFFERED. Pre-applications are due August 29 for new construction or purchase and rehabilitation. Requests are capped at $1 million; $18 million is available for Section 515 as well as $2 million for new Rental Assistance. Points will be awarded for energy initiatives. See Federal Register, 7/13/11 or https://www.rurdev.usda.gov/RD_NOFAs.html. Contact a state RD office.

HOUSEHOLD WATER WELL SYSTEM GRANTS AVAILABLE. Rural Development offers grants to nonprofits that will make loans to homeowners to construct or repair household water wells for existing homes. Deadline is August 10. Visit https://www.grants.gov or https://www.rurdev.usda.gov/UWP-individualwellsystems.htm. Contact Cheryl Francis, 202-720-1937, cheryl.francis@wdc.usda.gov.

CONTINUUM OF CARE APPLICANT REGISTRATION OPEN. Applicants must register in the e-snaps system by July 25 to be eligible for the FY11 funding competition. Visit https://www.hudhre.info. For assistance, contact a HUD CPD field office.

RD TO WITHDRAW SAVE IMMIGRATION VERIFICATION REQUIREMENT FOR FLH. HAC has learned that RD plans to rescind its June 9 Unnumbered Letter requiring use of the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements system to check the immigration status of Farm Labor Housing tenants (see HAC News, 7/6/11).

COMMENTS ON CON PLAN CHANGES INVITED. A forum is available until August 11 at https://www.hud.gov/ideasinaction for comments about the new data, mapping tool, and system upgrades HUD plans to implement.

HUD EXPLAINS PUBLIC HOUSING WORK PREFERENCE POLICIES. Notice PIH 2011-33, issued June 24, clarifies how work preference policies must operate if a public housing agency chooses to impose them for applicants on a public housing waiting list and for those already living in public housing. Contact a PHA or visit https://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/documents/huddoc?id=pih2011-33.pdf.

FOUR MAJOR LENDERS HOLD ALMOST HALF OF SECTION 502 GUARANTEED LOANS, NHLP REPORTS. JP MorganChase Bank alone has made 246,000 of these loans, according to a National Housing Law Project analysis of data it obtained from USDA. Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and US Bank hold a total of just under 100,000 loans. The data also showed that several state housing finance agencies participate in the program as lenders. “RHS Releases Data on Guaranteed Home Loan Program,” to be published in the Housing Law Bulletin, is available on HAC’s site, https://ruralhome.org.

CALIFORNIA PUBLIC RADIO FEATURES SELF-HELP HOUSING. “Rural Homebuilding Project Faces Budget Axe” includes Self-Help Enterprises and USDA RD. Visit https://www.californiareport.org/archive/R201107180850/b.

2010 CENSUS DATA ADDED TO ATLAS OF RURAL AND SMALL-TOWN AMERICA. This online application provides county level data and maps on people, jobs, agriculture, and county characteristics. Visit https://www.ers.usda.gov/data/ruralatlas/.

ERS REPORTS ON EVIDENCE OF DELTA REGIONAL AUTHORITY’S IMPACT. Impacts of Regional Approaches to Rural Development: Initial Evidence on the Delta Regional Authority compares nonmetro counties covered by the DRA, which began funding rural development projects in 2002, with similar counties. Per capita income, net earnings, and transfer payments grew more rapidly in DRA counties than in similar non-DRA counties, and those impacts were stronger in counties in which DRA spending was higher. The report is online at https://www.ers.usda.gov/Publications/ERR119/.

GAO CONSIDERS DODD-FRANK’S POSSIBLE EFFECT ON MORTGAGE CREDIT. Mortgage Reform: Potential Impacts of Provisions in the Dodd-Frank Act on Homebuyers and the Mortgage Market discusses the Act’s qualified mortgage criteria, credit risk retention requirement, and provisions concerning homeownership counseling and regulation of high-cost loans. The report (GAO 11-656) is free at https://www.gao.gov or from GAO, 1-866-801-7077.

NOMINATIONS SOUGHT FOR HUD PLANNING AWARD. The HUD Secretary’s Planning and Empowerment Award, offered in partnership with the American Planning Association, honors excellence in community planning that has led to measurable benefits for low- and moderate-income residents. Deadline is Aug. 30. No entry fee is required. Visit https:// www.planning.org/awards. Contact Roberta Rewers, APA, 312-786-6395, rrewers@planning.org.