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The Senate recently confirmed Pamela Patenaude as Deputy Secretary of HUD by an 80-17 vote. In her role as deputy secretary, Patenaude will coordinate much of the day-to-day operations of HUD, working closely with the assistant secretaries and other leaders of 16 programs and support offices such as the offices of Public and Indian Housing, Community Planning and Development, Policy Development and Research, Federal Housing Administration, Fair Housing and Equal Opportu...

In the wake of Hurricane Harvey, HUD has announced that it will speed federal disaster assistance to the State of Texas and provide support to homeowners and low-income renters forced from their homes due to the hurricane. The original disaster declaration has been amended four times to expand the areas covered. To date, 43 counties are covered for emergency protective measures, including direct federal assistance, under the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (...

On Sept. 6, the House of Representatives approved nearly $8 billion in Hurricane Harvey relief funds Wednesday in an overwhelming bipartisan vote, the first of several expected installments to aid recovery in areas devastated by the massive storm.

In August, President Trump signed an executive order that he said would streamline the approval process for building infrastructure such as roads, bridges, and offices by eliminating a planning step related to climate change and flood dangers. The executive order revokes an earlier executive order by former President Obama that required recipients of federal funds to strongly consider risk-management standards when building in flood zones, including measures such as ele...

On July 25, the Senate Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Appropriations Subcommittee advanced its FY 2018 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (THUD) spending bill. The committee voted to approve the bill by a vote of 31 to 0. The bill includes a $1.4 billion increase in funding for HUD over FY 2017. And it sets the stage for a bipartisan budget deal.

On July 14, a group of Senate Republicans led by Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) sent a letter to Secretary Carson asking him to rescind HUD’s Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) rule. The rule requires cities and towns that receive federal funding to examine their local housing patterns for racial bias and to design a plan to address any measurable bias. The letter claims that the rule would “extend the reach of the federal government beyond its authority ...

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently published a report entitled, “Federal Low-Income Programs: Eligibility and Benefits Differ for Selected Programs Due to Complex and Varied Rules.” It compares the eligibility criteria and benefits of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), Medicaid, Housing Choice Vouchers (HCVs), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Supplemental Security Income (SSI), and Temporary Assistance to Needy Famili...

By voice vote, the U.S. Senate confirmed several of President Trump’s nominees for key HUD positions. Neal Rackleff, for HUD Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development, and Anna Farias, for HUD Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, were confirmed. Mr. Rackleff, an attorney working in private practice, previously headed the City of Houston’s Housing and Community Development Department, where he administered HOME, CDBG, a...

The Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University (JCHS) recently released “The State of the Nation’s Housing” report for 2017. The data shows that renters are continuing to experience affordability challenges and that construction hasn’t been keeping pace with demand for affordable housing.

In response to HUD’s recent decision to remove resources for members of the LGBTQ community from its website, a group of 29 Senate Democrats sent a letter to HUD’s Secretary Ben Carson urging him to protect members of the LGBTQ community from housing discrimination.