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NAHRO Endorses the "Housing Affordability for America Act of 2002"
NAHRO is pleased to endorse the "Housing Affordability for America Act of 2002" (HR 3995). It clearly demonstrates insights that have been gained from the series of hearings on housing affordability and availability held last year before the House Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity Subcommittee, said NAHRO President Kurt Creager.
"H.R. 3995 promises to enlarge affordable housing opportunities throughout the nation," said Michael Kelly, executive director of the District of Columbia Housing Authority. "However, in addition to this regulatory tool, housing authorities will definitely need an infusion of more funding to translate the legislation into reality. I applaud Congresswoman Roukema's sponsorship of this important piece of legislation."
NAHRO President Kurt Creager said that HUD's initiative to Section 8 project-base public housing merits exploration, but that capital funding should be funded at $3.5 billion until results from the initiative bear out. NAHRO believes that Congress and HUD should not attempt an experiment in the development-based subsidy provision of the bill, by reducing capital funding by $417 million in FY 2003 with the hope of leveraging those funds by the private sector in the future. This cut would affect all agencies. However only those agencies that are successful with this new proposal will be able to recoup any loss.
NAHRO believes this program should begin as a small demonstration and a feasibility test should be performed to measure its usefulness to address local housing needs. Creager added that such a demonstration would provide flexibility to local housing agencies as one of several different ways to deliver effective, low-cost housing to low-income families. Among its possible benefits, the demonstration would help determine whether or not housing agencies would benefit from greater management and regulatory simplicity as a result of reconciling their public housing and Section 8 management systems.
NAHRO supports reauthorizing the HOPE VI program for five years instead of the two years the bill proposes. NAHRO recommends amending the statute to consider projects that are, relative to the size of the agency, and by geographic location. This would open the program for participation by smaller agencies, and help achieve greater geographic diversity. NAHRO also recommends: 1) permitting production of incremental units to increase the supply of public housing; 2) amending the definition of "severely distressed" to include social distress factors, and units for elderly and disabled persons, and 3) authorizing funding for the program at $625 million.
NAHRO supports the provision that establishes a third-party assessment system of public housing.
NAHRO supports the provision that would suspend filing requirements for small LHAs for three years. As the bill proceeds through the legislative process, NAHRO would like to explore the opportunity of defining small housing agencies as those with 250 public housing units or less and the elimination of this requirement; for the purpose of this provision.
HR 3995 helps raise the issue on the need for multi-family affordable housing programs. NAHRO does have a number of concerns with the provision that would amend HOME to establish a housing production program. This HOME provision is an effort to increase the production and preservation of mixed income rental housing affordable to very low- and extremely low-income families. However, it uses recaptured Section 8 funds as its funding source. The provision would take needed resources from one housing program that is addressing a particular problem to fund another housing program to solve a different problem.
NAHRO supports the provision that would allow LHAs with unutilized Section 8 funds to use them on activities designed to assist families in finding housing. Such assistance could be in the form of loans or grants to cover activities such as housing search assistance, landlord outreach and incentive programs, credit counseling/repair, move-in fees or security deposit revolving loans, tenant education and tenant/landlord mediation, etc. In tight rental markets, counseling and tenant outreach efforts can help increase the lease-up, budget utilization and success rates of voucher recipients.
NAHRO supports the provision that would permit the 40 percent cap to be based on gross income versus adjusted income and to provide LHAs with some discretion to waive the cap for good cause. Softening the requirement on new tenants' rent caps from 40 percent of monthly adjusted income to 40 percent of monthly gross income, would help families be successful in utilizing their voucher, and improve national utilization rates
NAHRO supports authorizing the Shelter Plus Care and Supportive Housing programs for five years instead of the two years the bill proposes. NAHRO also appreciates the language authorizing the funding of SHP permanent housing renewals through the Housing Certificate Fund. In recognizing the importance of housing stability for extremely vulnerable tenants, NAHRO would ask that consideration be given to extending this authorization for five years, as opposed to the two years currently in the language.
Creager said that NAHRO believes that HR 3995 will help America realize the
goal to provide more effective federal programs to serve some of the neediest
of Americans. NAHRO lends our support to the bill, which is ambitious in its
scope, and looks forward to it becoming law.
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