Author: Georgi Banna

House Passes $1.75 Trillion Build Back Better Plan

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House Takes Steps Toward Historic Housing Investments

The largest single housing investment in American history took a monumental step forward this morning, passing the House by a narrow 220-213 margin. The Build Back Better Act now moves to the Senate for further consideration. 

NAHRO led the fight to fully fund the Public Housing Capital Fund backlog at $70 billion, strongly championed the expansion of the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, and ardently supports the increase in Housing Choice Vouchers and Project-Based Rental Assistance contracts.  

NAHRO members – thank you for raising your voices in support of affordable housing! The more than 50,000 letters you sent to Congress and the White House this year, maintained the spotlight on housing as infrastructure and made sure the critical housing provisions remained in the Build Back Better bill. But the fight isn’t over yet! Be ready to speak out after Thanksgiving to preserve housing in the bill as it moves to the Senate.  

The vote was originally scheduled for Thursday night, but an extended floor speech by Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) delayed the final vote. Build Back Better passed along party lines, with a single Democrat opposing.  

The path forward is not clear in the Senate, as several Democratic Senators have issues with several provisions. Negotiations are expected to heat up after Thanksgiving, aiming for a final vote in the Senate by Christmas. Though there is widespread support for the housing provisions in Build Back Better, it is possible that changes to the bill could put the housing investments at risk. If the bill is approved by the Senate, it is likely to go back to the House for another vote. 

NAHRO member advocacy will be needed to ensure these critical housing resources remain in the Build Back Better bill as it is debated in the Senate. NAHRO will be reaching out to you through future Direct News emails and also follow NAHRO on social media (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Linkedin) for the latest information. 

The bill currently proposes the largest one-time investment in housing and community development programs ever, including: 

  • $65 billion for Public Housing investments 
  • $24 billion for Housing Choice Vouchers 
  • Expanded Low-Income Housing Tax Credits 
  • $15 billion for the National Housing Trust Fund 
  • $10 billion for the HOME Investment Partnerships Program 
  • $3 billion for Community Development Block Grants 
  • $1 billion for Project-Based Rental Assistance 
  • $450 million for Section 811 Supportive Housing for People with Disabilities 
  • $450 million for Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly 

Want more information? Check out NAHRO’s detailed breakdown of the bill’s housing provisions. 

OSHA Releases Vaccine and Testing Mandate for Large Employers

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On Nov. 4, the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) released its vaccine mandate for businesses with 100 or more employees. It is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register tomorrow, Nov. 5, and will take effect immediately. Covered employers have 30-days (by approximately Dec. 5) to become compliant and implement a vaccine and mask mandate and unvaccinated employees must be in compliance with weekly testing requirements within 60-days (by approximately Jan. 4).

A pre-publication copy of the Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) on COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing can be found here. The majority of the ETS provides background, justification, description; and the last section lists the regulatory updates and additions. While the full document is 490 pages, the regulation itself is much shorter and can be found on page 473.

The purpose of the ETS is to protect unvaccinated employees of large employers from the risk of contracting COVID-19 by strongly encouraging vaccination. Covered employers must develop, implement, and enforce a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy, with an exception for employers that adopt a policy requiring employees to either get vaccinated or elect to undergo regular COVID-19 testing and wear a face covering at work in lieu of vaccination.

Unvaccinated employees would need to wear a mask indoors or in vehicles with employees at all times except when alone in a room with floor to ceiling walls or windows and a closed door. There is no mask requirement for vaccinated employees.

At this time the ETS only applies to employers of 100 or more employees, however OSHA is continuing to discuss whether or not this should apply to smaller employers.

NAHRO will continue to follow OSHA’s Emergency Temporary Standard on COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing, and will share additional information as it becomes available.

Housing at Risk of Being Cut from Infrastructure Legislation – Urgent Action Needed!

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Negotiations between a divided Democratic party are threatening to undermine the hard work NAHRO and its members have done to ensure housing is included in infrastructure legislation. The Washington Post reported on Saturday that these critical housing investments “may prove among the first to hit the cutting room floor.” Your voice is urgently needed right now to tell your members of Congress and the White House that this is unacceptable.

The $3.5 trillion Build Back Better Act is stuck in the House of Representatives as leadership tries to gather votes for the Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework (BIF), which is a related piece of President Biden’s “Build Back Better Agenda.” The Build Back Better Act is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to preserve and create affordable housing that currently includes $80 billion for public housing, $75 billion for Housing Choice Vouchers, $40+ billion for HOME and CDBG, and billions more for other essential programs. These essential housing infrastructure investments are at risk of being cut from negotiations entirely. We cannot let this happen! We must tell Congress and the White House not to miss this opportunity to help the lives of millions of Americans.

Visit NAHRO’s Advocacy Action Center to send a pre-drafted letter in support of housing is infrastructure. To make your letter more powerful, add personalized stories about what the funding would mean to you, your residents, and your community. Together, our advocacy can help bring this bill across the finish line. Help us send 5,000 letters this week to Congress and the White House – send your letter today!

The NAHRO team will continue to provide real-time updates on where negotiations stand in the coming days, with detailed information provided during the 2021 NAHRO Online National Conference and Exhibition next week. Don’t miss this unique opportunity to hear from NAHRO experts and affordable housing industry thought leaders at this historic time. Join hundreds of fellow affordable housing and community development professionals from across the country at the 2021 NAHRO Online National Conference and Exhibition – click here to register!

US Supreme Court Overturns CDC Eviction Moratorium

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On Thursday, August 26, the United States Supreme Court vacated the stay that has allowed the current CDC eviction moratorium to continue. The order vacating the stay and dissent arguing to keep the stay can be found here. It confirms lower court decisions that the CDC did not have statutory authority to impose a nationwide eviction moratorium and states, “If a federally imposed eviction moratorium is to continue, Congress must specifically authorize it. The application to vacate stay presented to THE CHIEF JUSTICE and by him referred to the Court is granted.”

The Court order placed considerable responsibility on Congress to act on a federal eviction moratorium, “It is up to Congress, not the CDC, to decide whether the public interest merits further action here. And Congress was on notice that a further extension would almost surely require new legislation, yet it failed to act in the several weeks leading up to the moratorium’s expiration.”

NAHRO continues to meet and work with HUD to develop solutions that will provide housing authorities the flexibility to minimize local evictions and will provide additional information when it becomes available. NAHRO encourages housing authorities, landlords, and tenants to work together to avoid COVID related evictions and to review HUD’s Eviction Prevention and Stability Toolkit for information and best practices. A White House Fact Sheet has also been released that provides additional actions that are being taken to prevent eviction and increase access to emergency rental assistance funds.

CDC Extends Modified Eviction Moratorium

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On August 3, 2021, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), signed an order halting evictions between August 3, 2021 and October 3, 2021 in areas rapidly increasing COVID cases. The order is very similar to the previous CDC eviction moratorium that was in place from September 4, 2020 through July 31, 2021 as definitions of “covered persons” and “eviction” remain the same. Additionally tenants that have already signed a Declaration Form do not need to sign a new one and new declaration must be accepted in applicable areas.

The major change is where the August 3rd eviction moratorium applies, “This Order applies in U.S. counties experiencing substantial and high levels of community transmission levels of SARS-CoV-2 [COVID] as defined by the CDC, as of August 3, 2021.” During comments at the White House today, President Biden said that the new CDC eviction moratorium would cover about 90% of renters. On CDC COVID Data Tracker, the community transmission rate for individual counties can be found. The new eviction order allows for the applicable counties to change. The order will apply to counties that enter substantial or high community transmission levels after August 3, 2021, on the date the county enters substantial or high level. Counties that are no longer experiencing high or substantial levels of community transmission for 14 consecutive days will no longer have the order apply to them unless they again experience substantial or high levels of community transmissions while the order is in effect.

NAHRO supports the CDC putting in place a modified eviction moratorium until October 3 which will allow for continued and additional emergency rental assistance program (ERAP) funds to reach eligible tenants and landlords. NAHRO encourages the Administration, Congress, ERAP grantees, landlords, and tenants to work together to simplify and streamline the distribution of ERAP funds to eligible tenants and landlords so the eviction moratorium is not needed after October 3, 2021. NAHRO also encourages the Treasury Department and ERAP grantees to engage HUD and the thousands of local Public Housing Authorities to maximize the outreach and communication to eligible landlords and tenants.

Eviction Moratorium to Expire Saturday; NAHRO Urges Extension

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Despite efforts from House Democratic leaders to extend the federal eviction moratorium, which expires Saturday, July 31, no vote was issued to extend the order as of Friday afternoon. Earlier this week, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) publicly advocated for the Biden administration to act unilaterally to protect renters at risk of eviction due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

About 11 months ago, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) enacted the federal eviction moratorium to prevent the spread of the deadly virus among families and individuals that could be at high risk if made homeless through eviction. The public health measure has been extended on several instances, with the last extension made in June. The moratorium offered uniform protections to renters across the nation.

With the COVID-19 delta variant surging across the nation, now is not the time to put vulnerable families at risk by ending the eviction moratorium. NAHRO calls on Congress and the Administration to extend the moratorium through at least the end of September 2021.

Whether or not the eviction moratorium expires, NAHRO’s housing agency members remain committed to using every available resource to keep as many people in their homes as possible. Nationwide, NAHRO members continue to work with their residents and with local and national partners to provide support and aid – especially to those who have been most impacted by the pandemic. We are continually looking for new and better ways to help.

The Emergency Rental Assistance Program is a vital and cost-effective tool to help people stay in their homes. As Treasury, HUD, and state and local entities work to distribute these much-needed funds as quickly as possible, we also look forward to the passage of a robust FY 2022 HUD budget and additional housing resources that will further help to provide the safety and stability of a home to all who need it.

NAHRO Interim CEO Mike Gerber statement on extending the eviction moratorium and quickly distributing Emergency Rental Assistance Program funds.

As more information is released on the status of the eviction moratorium, NAHRO will continue to provide updates.

Join Us!! NAHRO Summer Symposium is Tomorrow!

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Please join National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO) for our 2021 Summer Symposium on universal vouchers and expansion of the housing voucher program tomorrow, July 13, 2021. There is no cost to attend the NAHRO Summer Symposium! Register at https://www.nahro.org/events/summer-symposium/registration/.

The NAHRO Summer Symposium is a day-long event on the present and future of the Housing Choice Voucher program. The event will bring thought leaders from across the country along with housing industry professional together to discuss the expansion of the housing voucher program. There is no registration fee to attend the Summer Symposium. Anyone interested can register at https://www.nahro.org/events/summer-symposium/registration/ for the July 13, 2021 NAHRO Summer Symposium.

Eviction Moratorium Upheld by US Supreme Court

~ Georgi Banna ~ Leave a comment

On June 29, 2021, the United States Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision, allowed a stay of a US District Court order vacating the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Eviction Moratorium to stay in place. This means that the recently extended CDC Eviction Moratorium will remain in effect until July 31, 2021.

Justice Kavanaugh in a short opinion stated that, “the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention exceeded its existing statutory authority by issuing a nationwide eviction moratorium.” Justice Kavanaugh further went on to say that because July 31, 2021 is only a “few weeks” away and those weeks will allow for additional time to distribute the Emergency Rental Assistance Program funds appropriated by Congress; therefore, Justice Kavanaugh voted to deny the removal of the stay.

NAHRO encourages PHAs, property owners, and landlords to use the resources available in HUD’s updated Eviction Prevention and Stability Toolkit to work with the residents to minimize evictions.

CDC Extends Eviction Moratorium, White House Promotes Housing Stability

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On June 24, the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Dr. Rochelle Walensky, signed an extension of the CDC order halting residential evictions due to non-payment of rent. The CDC eviction moratorium is now in effect until July 31, 2021, a one-month extension.

Existing and new tenant declarations are in effect until July 31, 2021. A CDC statement further provided that the CDC intends this to be the final extension. In preparation of the end of the CDC eviction moratorium on July 31 ,2021; PHAs, property owners, and landlord are encouraged to use the resources available in HUD’s updated Eviction Prevention and Stability Toolkit to work with the residents to minimize evictions.

Additionally, the White House released Fact Sheet: Biden-Harris Administration Announces Initiatives to Promote Housing Stability By Supporting Vulnerable Tenants and Preventing Foreclosure. The fact sheet highlights a number of actions that the Administration is taking to help state and local governments prevent evictions with a focus of local court eviction diversion programs and speeding the process of distributing emergency rental assistance funds.

NAHRO and Industry Partners Release Joint Statement Supporting Universal Housing Vouchers

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On June 17, 2021, NAHRO along with its industry partners—CLPHA, PHADA, and the MTW Collaborative—jointly issued a statement on universal housing vouchers. Only one in five low-income households that are eligible to receive housing assistance can be served by existing programs due to limited funding. The statement discusses the need for additional rental assistance to address housing instability and prevent homelessness. The statement also discusses the strengths of the voucher program in providing scalable assistance that is proven and effective.

The full statement is can be view here.