A number of key Members of Congress and others will be on hand for the meeting. PHADA has invited Representatives James Walsh (R-NY) and Alan Mollohan (D-WV) to speak at the general session on Thursday, September 14. Walsh and Mollohan are the chair and ranking member of the House VA/HUD appropriations subcommittee.

The Thursday general session will be followed by a detailed briefing on the pending HUD appropriations bill. Participants will get an overview of the legislation and will be provided with detailed information they can use in their individual meetings with lawmakers and congressional staff.

HUD Inspector General Susan Gaffney will address a general session on Friday morning, September 15. She will be followed by representatives who are conducting the cost study on public housing operations mandated under the terms of the new operating fund proposed rule. Details on that study and the operating fund proposed rule are covered at length in separate reports in this publication.

Representatives from the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA) will tell attendees about their latest version of a report which deals with accreditation and other potential public housing assessment mechanisms.

There will also be a "current events" session, which will provide attendees with the latest information on some of the major pending HUD regulations including PHAS, deconcentration, lead-based paint and others.

Finally, PHADA has invited representatives from the Gore and Bush campaigns to give attendees an overview of their prospective administration's views and policies on low-income housing issues.

Those interested in taking the PHADA-Rutgers University Executive Director Education Program (EDEP) classes can do so by attending the latest sessions right before PHADA's legislative conference. Get more information about the conference or more information about EDEP.