https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room, USDA’s announcement of regional meetings in a November 1 press release at https://www.usda.gov, and a HUD blog post at https://portal.hud.gov/portal/page/portal/HUD/press/blog.

NOVEMBER 14-20 IS NATIONAL HUNGER AND HOMELESSNESS AWARENESS WEEK. Details from the National Coalition for the Homeless are posted at https://www.nationalhomeless.org/projects/awareness/index.html.

NEW CONGRESS MEANS SIGNIFICANTLY DIFFERENT KEY PLAYERS FOR HOUSING. The new 112th Congress next year will have many new chairs and members of committees that impact appropriations and authorizations for both USDA and HUD programs. Details are posted on HAC’s site, https://ruralhome.org.

FUTURE OF 2011 APPROPRIATIONS UNCLEAR. With a continuing resolution in effect until December 3, the current Congress reconvenes on November 15 for a lame duck session. It is currently unclear whether 2011 appropriations will be funded in an omnibus bill, a year-long continuing resolution, or another short-term CR until early next year. There also seem to be possibilities for inclusion of several pieces of authorizing legislation in an omnibus spending measure, but that too is uncertain. Watch HAC’s website at https://ruralhome.org for updates.

PRESERVATION REVOLVING LOAN FUND NOFA PUBLISHED. USDA Rural Development will grant funds to intermediary lenders for revolving funds to assist with preservation of Section 515 and 514/516 housing. Deadline is January 10. See Federal Register, 11/9/10, or https://www.rurdev.usda.gov/RD_NOFAs.html. Contact Timothy James, RD, 202-720-1094, timothy.james@wdc.usda.gov.

HUD OFFERS FSS AND ROSS FUNDS. PHAs can apply by December 6 for Housing Choice Voucher Family Self-Sufficiency funds; contact HUD’s Public and Indian Housing Resource Center at 800-955-2232. PHAs, THDEs, tribes, nonprofits, and resident groups can apply by February 21 for the Resident Opportunity and Self-Sufficiency Service Coordinators Program; contact Anice Schervish Chenault at Anice.S.Chenault@hud.gov or 202-402-2341. PHAs and TDHEs can apply by January 19 for ROSS FSS funds; contact Ms. Chenault. Visit https://www.grants.gov or https://portal.hud.gov/portal/page/portal/HUD/program_offices/administration/grants/fundsavail.

FUNDS AVAILABLE FOR NATIVE CDFIS. Current or potential CDFIs that target at least 50% of their activities to Native Americans, Hawaiians, or Alaskans are eligible for financial or technical assistance grants. Deadline is December 22. Visit https://www.cdfifund.gov. Contact CDFI Fund staff, 202-622-6355, cdfihelp@cdfi.treas.gov.

NATIONAL HOUSING TRUST FUND REGULATIONS PROPOSED. Comments are due December 28. A National Low Income Housing Coalition summary is at https://www.nlihc.org/detail/article.cfm?article_id=7443. See Federal Register, 10/29/10 or https://www.regulations.gov. Contact Marcia Sigal, HUD, 202-402-3002.

RURAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ENERGY EFFICIENCY EFFORT LAUNCHED. Under a USDA-DOE partnership, contractors will inspect homes and make recommendations for energy retrofits. The program will be piloted in Indiana, South Carolina, Texas, and Virginia. Homeowners may apply for existing RD energy efficiency program funding. USDA’s November 9 press release is in the newsroom at https://www.usda.gov.

RURAL CHILD POVERTY RATES AS HIGH AS 55.8%, CARSEY INSTITUTE REPORTS. Reviewing data for children under age 6, researchers found rural children poorer than those in central cities, with African Americans having the highest rates, followed by Hispanics and then whites. “The Unequal Distribution of Child Poverty: Highest Rates among Young Blacks and Children of Single Mothers in Rural America” is at https://www.carseyinstitute.unh.edu/.

JOINT CENTER CONSIDERS FUTURE OF LOW INCOME HOUSING TAX CREDIT. A new Joint Center for Housing Studies paper entitled “Long-Term Low Income Housing Tax Credit Policy Questions” is available at https://www.jchs.harvard.edu/.

LENDING INFORMATION SCARCE FOR RURAL AREAS, HAC REPORTS. A new research note, “Improving HMDA: A Need to Better Understand Rural Mortgage Markets” is free at https://ruralhome.org or $1.00 from Lawrence Adams, HAC, lawrence@ruralhome.org, 202-842-8600.

PREPARE FOR THE CONFERENCE ON TWITTER! HAC has launched a Twitter feed for the 2010 National Rural Housing Conference at @NRHC10. To get started, visit https://www.twitter.com. The conference will be held in Washington, DC, December 1-3.