This article was written by Richa Goel, NAHRO’s Legislative Affairs Intern.

The House Financial Services Committee held a markup on July 27 and July 28 that included multiple housing-related bills. Chairwoman Maxine Waters (D-CA) led the markup, overseeing amendments offered by committee members. Waters began the markup by offering a brief overview of the housing-related legislation:

“This markup includes a slate of bills to strengthen oversight of our country’s affordable housing and give communities the tools they need to address the homelessness crisis”

The “Studying Barriers to Housing Act” and “Housing Inspections Accountability Act of 2022” would increase transparency and oversight of affordable housing. The first bill would instruct the Government Accountability Office to produce a report about the barriers that make it difficult to address homelessness with Housing Choice Vouchers. The second bill would require HUD and the USDA to provide a joint report to Congress about failed inspections in public housing. Rep. John Rose (R-TN) proposed an amendment to require HUD and the EPA to also analyze the prevalence of superfund sites within one mile of public housing. Rose’s amendment did not pass. Both bills passed along party lines.

In May 2022, NYU researchers Ingrid Gould Ellen, Katherine O’Regan, and Katharine WH Harwood published “Advancing Choice in the Housing Choice Voucher Program: Source of Income Protections and Locational Outcomes”. This blog post summarizes the key findings from their paper, which explores how source of income (SOI) laws impact locational outcomes for housing choice voucher (HCV) holders.  

This article was written by Richa Goel, NAHRO’s Legislative Affairs Intern.

Affordable housing is becoming increasingly scarce in the United States. Last week, the Senate held three hearings discussing drivers and solutions to homelessness and the affordable housing crisis. On July 19^th, the Housing, Transportation, and Community Development Subcommittee held a hearing addressing homelessness. The Finance Committee held a hearing on July 20^th discussing the importance of tax incentives in affordable housing. On July 21^st, the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee held a hearing about rising costs in both the homebuying and rental markets.

This article was written by Richa Goel, NAHRO’s Legislative Affairs Intern

Housing is a basic necessity, but many Americans struggle to find affordable housing, both in the rental and homeownership markets. On July 13^th, The Ways and Means Committee held a hearing about the affordable housing crisis and its impacts on communities across the country.

Chairman Rep. Richard Neal (D-MA) opened the hearing by discussing the impacts of affordable housing shortages on minority and low-income communities:

“The housing affordability crisis has deepened the already wide racial, wealth, and homeownership gaps. Today’s racial disparities in housing and wealth grow out of a long legacy of discrimination and unequal access.”

The deadline for the Resident Opportunity and Self-Sufficiency – Service Coordinator (ROSS-SC) Program Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) is approaching as applications are set to close by July 18, 2022. The grant program will provide funds to hire a Service Coordinator with the goal of assisting residents of Public and Indian Housing through economic improvements and housing self-sufficiency. Funding flexibility will also be given for grantees to provide direct services to ROSS participants. Approximately 125 awards are set to be granted with available funds totaling to $35 million.

In addition, the Family Self Sufficiency (FSS) Program announced on July 12, 2022 that their NOFO is set to be released this summer. Potential applicants should make sure their SAM.gov registration and Unique Entity ID (UEI) is up to date in preparation for the upcoming grant application. Guidance on how to ensure up to date information for your future grants can be found here.

More information regarding the ROSS FY2022 NOFO will be found in our next addition of The Monitor.

Trainings begin on July 11^th

HUD’s Office of Capital Improvements will provide six webinars on the Public Housing Capital Fund requirements. These trainings will each cover different important program elements and provide an update of recent changes to the program. Though the trainings will provide background on the Capital Fund program, participants who are unfamiliar with it should view short background “vignettes” prior to attending the trainings, available here. Participants must register in advance to attend the trainings and the separate question-and-answer session for participants that will follow each.

The link to register for the July 11^th training is available here. The webpage with information and registration for the remaining five trainings is available here.

In May, the White House released a report titled Advancing Equity through the American Rescue Plan (ARP). The report explores 32 different ARP programs– each with a roadmap on how to improve their policy design and better serve historically marginalized communities. This blog post summarizes the sections of the report on the Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) program, the Emergency Housing Voucher (EHV) program, and the Homeowner Assistance Fund.  

Emergency Rental Assistance Program 

The ERA program provides $46.5 billion in federal funds to state, local, Tribal governments, and the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands to support low-income households impacted by the economic consequences of the pandemic. The program also provides housing stability services, including access to legal counsel for eviction prevention.