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HUD recently published PIH 2018-12, “Process for Public Housing Agency Volunteer Transfers and Consolidations of Housing Choice Vouchers and Project-Based Vouchers.” The notice can be found at https://www.hud.gov/sites/dfiles/PIH/documents/pih2018-12.pdf.

The Senate Appropriations Committee voted on June 7 to approve draft legislation to largely boost or maintain spending on housing programs. A similar bill was approved last month by the House appropriations panel. The Senate’s $71.4 billion measure increases spending on programs by more than $1 billion over 2018 levels. The bill now heads to the Senate floor. 

HUD effectively suspended the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing rule, a 2015 regulation that required any community receiving HUD development block-grant funding to routinely identify instances of racial segregation and provide solutions to counter them. Those local governments were required to submit a summary of their findings and goals to HUD for approval.

On May 24, President Trump signed the Family Self-Sufficiency Act into law. The Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) Act permanently reauthorizes the program; combines the FSS programs for Housing Choice Vouchers and public housing, which are currently run separately; and expands eligibility to include families in privately owned properties subsidized with HUD project-based rental assistance. The program also offers new services for financial literacy and educational attainmen...

The Senate recently confirmed Brian Montgomery as the HUD Assistant Secretary for Housing and Commissioner of the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). The final vote was 72-23. Montgomery’s confirmation marks his second term as Assistant Secretary for Housing and FHA Commissioner at HUD. He previously held the job under President George W. Bush, staying on for six months after President Barack Obama’s inauguration.

HUD recently announced that C. Lamar Seats is the new Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Office of Multifamily Housing Programs. Mr. Seats was a managing director at M&T Realty Capital Corporation, responsible for multifamily loan production related to Federal Housing Administration, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac products. Prior to that, he was CEO of Bellwether Enterprise Real Estate Capital LLC, senior vice president at Enterprise Community Investment, Inc., and sen...

HUD recently published Notice PIH 2018-09, titled “Implementation of the Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 2018 Funding Provisions for the Housing Choice Voucher Program.” This notice provides information about the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program implementation in 2018. The notice also provides a brief summary of FY18 HCV account totals, which are as follows:

·       HAP Renewal Funding – $19.6 billion;

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In January, HUD announced that the agency was suspending the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) Rule, which required communities to study and rectify policies and processes that stand in the way of racial integration. Passed in 2015 under the Obama administration, the rule aimed to improve the government’s enforcement of the 1968 Fair Housing Act (FHA), which bars housing discrimination.

House Democratic Policy & Communications Committee Co-Chair Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), Senator Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Congressman Stephen F. Lynch (D-MA), and Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh recently introduced “A Better Deal for Public Housing & Ladders of Opportunity for American Families,” a comprehensive plan to address the public housing crisis in America. A Better Deal for Public Housing specifically does the following:

President Trump is looking to cut $15.4 billion out of the $1.3 trillion federal spending bill approved in March, using a process called rescission. This rescission request is expected to include funding from old accounts that was approved but hasn’t been obligated or spent, including HUD funding. This package is likely to be the first round of rescissions, with more to come later this year.