The House of Representatives recently passed a $1.23 trillion Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 omnibus spending bill that includes funding for HUD. The Make America Secure and Prosperous Appropriations Act for FY 2018, H.R. 3354, is now headed to the Senate. However, the bill is not expected to be brought...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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....
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...
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.
The ranking member of the committee on financial services, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), recently introduced the Public Housing Tenant Protection and Reinvestment Act of 2017. Its goal is to preserve public housing, increase tenant protections, and provide additional funds to address the...
