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Recently, more than 20 major federal agencies, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and HUD came out with new climate adaptation plans. The plans started from an executive order from President Biden calling for a whole-of-government approach to addressing climate change. The idea is to “embed adaptation and resilience planning and implementation” throughout agencies’ programs and operations, and to continually update those plans.

On Sept. 28, HUD published a Federal Register notice announcing the extension of the National Standards for the Physical Inspection of Real Estate and Associated Protocols (NSPIRE) to April 30, 2023. The NSPIRE demonstration is a part of HUD's efforts to test the overhaul of 20-year-old inspection protocols. The program tests new approaches for making certain thousands of public housing authorities and private owners provide housing that’s safe and livable.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury released updated Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) spending data through Aug. 31. The data shows that state and local ERA programs have distributed more than 1.4 million payments to households, totaling more than $7.7 billion to support the housing stability of vulnerable renters.

On Sept. 1, the White House released a fact sheet on the Biden administration’s efforts to increase the affordable housing supply. The plan is to create 100,000 additional affordable homes for homeowners and renters over the next three years, with an emphasis on the lower and middle segments of the market.

HUD announced the implementation of federal disaster assistance for areas of Louisiana affected by Hurricane Ida. The president’s declaration of these places as disaster areas allows HUD to aid impacted families living in identified parishes. As part of the assistance, HUD has issued a package of 27 regulatory waivers to make it easier for communities to respond quickly in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida.

HUD has published the fiscal year 2022 Fair Market Rents (FMRs). The FMRs are effective Oct. 1. FMRs are used to determine payment standards for HUD’s various housing programs. In general, the FMR for an area is the amount that a tenant would need to pay the gross rent (shelter rent plus utilities) of privately owned, decent, and safe rental housing of a modest nature; HUD’s housing assistance payments for residents are limited by FMRs for different geograph...

FCC Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel recently announced that over four million households have enrolled in the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program, the nation’s largest broadband affordability program to date. The $3.2 billion subsidy program initiated by Congress provides a temporary $50 to $75 discount on eligible households’ Internet bills during the duration of the pandemic.

Recommendations include processes to address lead paint hazards.

On July 6, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) updated its April 2020 list of priority recommendations for HUD. The earlier list outlined 17 “priority open” recommendations—those that warrant priority attention from heads of key departments or agencies because their implementation could:

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently issued a report on a review the office made on HUD’s efforts to address lead paint hazards. HUD has primary responsibility for identifying lead paint hazards in housing receiving HUD assistance, including private rental units in the voucher program. Some members of Congress have raised questions about whether the voucher program should change from visual assessments to a stricter lead evaluation method.

HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge and Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg recently testified in a joint hearing on the American Jobs Plan for the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. The infrastructure plan seeks to expand affordable housing, and the joint hearing focused on how housing and transit work together to support communities and jobs, and the importance of housing as infrastructure.