Weekly update from the National Housing Conference
May 8, 2018
President's Message I By David M. Dworkin
Dear Friend,

May has been our busiest month of the year at NHC. Today we issued a press release on the Trump administration’s gratuitous and ill-informed budget rescissions. We formed an Opportunity Zone Task Force made up of our members, which has already met once and will sit down with senior Treasury Department staff tomorrow. I met with the Office of Comptroller of the Currency to discuss CRA modernization. We hosted a webinar for our members with the Federal Housing Finance Agency on the Federal Home Loan Banks’ Affordable Housing Program, following our briefing with the Federal Home Loan Banks on that subject last week. Next week, I am going to be in Columbus, Ohio, to meet with the Ohio Capital Corporation for Housing. I will also address the presidents of the Federal Home Loan Banks here in Washington. The following week, I will moderate panels on affordable housing in Chicago and at the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Secondary Market Conference in New York. Next month, of course, we will hold our Annual Gala and Policy Symposium, which I encourage all of you to attend regardless of your membership status, to get reacquainted with NHC and our new energy and direction.

NHC is sometimes called the “big tent” of housing, a term which I understand but never liked, as it implies a fixed object where others have to come. I much prefer thinking of NHC as the “Big Umbrella of Housing” because we are moving forward, regardless of the prevailing winds or inclement weather of the moment. Since the housing crisis, our industry and advocacy have become splintered as each of us has had to fight for our agenda in the face of historic opposition and economic distress. Yet as I often say, everyone for themselves has not served anyone well. Today, we are moving forward to address the biggest challenges to housing for all Americans, especially those who struggle to afford the kind of quality housing that most of us take for granted.

Your membership in NHC has never been more valuable or important. Every member and every dollar matters. Whether you are a Basic member for $800 a year, a Full member for $2000, which includes a ticket to the annual Gala, or you are a member of our Leadership Circle, you have a home in NHC. Please join us today!
David M. Dworkin
President and CEO
News from Washington I By Kaitlyn Snyder
White House rescissions package puts housing, community development programs programs at risk

Today, the White House and Office of Management and Budget sent a rescissions package to Congress requesting $15.4 billion in rescissions. The package requests over $257 million rescissions from housing and community development programs including USDA’s Rental Assistance program and Rural Community Facilities program, HUD’s Public Housing Capital Fund and Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institution Fund and Capital Magnet Fund. NHC’s full press release is available here.

Under the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974, the accounts in the rescissions package are frozen for 45 legislative days or until Congress accepts or rejects the package. In the Senate, a simple majority of 50 votes is needed as opposed to the standard supermajority of 60 votes. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget has a helpful blog post on the mechanics of the of a rescissions package.
ICYMI: Recording from FHLBanks AHP proposed rule briefing with FHFA

Yesterday, NHC and the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) held a webinar for members on FHFA’s proposed rule on the Federal Home Loan Banks (FHLBanks) Affordable Housing Program (AHP). Materials from the webinar, including the slides and a recording, are available here. Comments on the proposed rule are due on June 12. 
Register for the May Restoring Neighborhoods webinar

Join NHC for on May 22 at 3 p.m. EDT for our May Restoring Neighborhoods Task Force webinar as we discuss preservation and the role of Tenant Protection Vouchers. Vincent Reina, Ph.D. will present on his recently published paper " Safety Net? The Utility of Vouchers When a Place-Based Rental Subsidy Ends ." Ellen Lurie Hoffman and Laura Abernathy from the National Housing Trust will then discuss the efforts of the Preservation Working Group to preserve this valuable housing stock as well as state and local preservation efforts. Register here .
2018 Fair Housing Trends Report

The National Fair Housing Alliance released its 2018 Fair Housing Trends Report, “ Making Every Neighborhood a Place of Opportunity.” The report assesses progress on achieving the goals of the Fair Housing Act on its fiftieth anniversary. According to the report, the three most common types of complaints in 2017 were based on disability (57 percent), race (19 percent) and family status (9 percent). Since 1991, more than 70,000 units of multifamily housing have been made accessible to persons with disabilities through litigation brought primarily by the Department of Justice and private, nonprofit fair housing organizations.
CPD releases FY 2018 program allocations

The Office of Community Planning and Development (CPD) at HUD recently released FY 2018 formula allocations for Community Development Block Grants, HOME Investment Partnerships, Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS, Emergency Solutions Grants and the Housing Trust Fund. Allocations for each state and territory are available here , and the combined allocation is available here
IRS releases population figures

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently released Notice 2018-45, which provides population estimates for each state and territory. The population estimates are used to calculate the 2018 volume cap for the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) and private activity bonds. The 0.8 percent population increase, combined with the 12.5 percent boost for LIHTCs included in the FY 2018 omnibus spending bill, means even more in tax credit allocations.  
NLIHC to host webinar on rent reform proposals

The National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) will host a webinar at 1 p.m. EDT May 10 to discuss recent proposals from HUD and Rep. Dennis Ross (R-Fla.) that would change work requirements and rents for HUD-assisted households. Speakers include Elayne Weiss of NLIHC, Will Fischer of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Deborah Thrope of the National Housing Law Project and Stanley Hardy of the New York City Housing Authority. Register here
Civil rights groups sue HUD over suspended implementation of AFFH

The National Fair Housing Alliance, Texas Appleseed and Texas Low Income Housing Information Service asked a federal court today in Washington, D.C., to order HUD to reinstate a federal requirement that local and state governments address segregated housing patterns as a condition of receiving HUD funding. The complaint alleges that HUD unlawfully suspended the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) requirement. HUD released a notice in January 2018 that local governments will not be required to submit an Assessment of Fair Housing (AFH) until their next submission date that falls after October 31, 2020. Because of the three year submission cycle, most recipients of federal housing funds will not have to complete or submit an AFH until at least 2024. NHC’s comment on HUD’s January 2018 notice is available here
Everyone in America should have equal opportunity to live in a quality, affordable home in a thriving community. The National Housing Conference educates decision makers and the public about housing policies and practices to move housing forward together. NHC convenes and collaborates with our diverse membership of housing stakeholders including tenant advocates, mortgage bankers, nonprofit and for-profit home builders, property managers, policy practitioners, real estate professionals, equity investors and more to advance our policy, research and communications initiatives to effect positive change at the federal, state and local levels. Founded in 1931, we are a nonpartisan, 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.
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