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ADVOCATE – November 13, 2024

HUD Publishes a New Moving to Work Innovations Report

In October 2024, HUD published a new report entitled, “From Local Innovation to National Implementation: The Moving to Work (MTW) Demonstration’s Influence on Low-Income Housing Policy.” The report describes ways in which MTW initiatives have influenced, “… seven of HUD’s most important affordable housing policy changes in the last decade.”

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ADVOCATE – October 30, 2024

PHADA Writes to House Committee in Support of LIHTC Expansion

On October 9, PHADA wrote to the Community Development Tax Team to support strengthening and expanding the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program in any future tax legislation. A reprint of the letter—which highlights the importance of LIHTC in delivering affordable housing and to the success of the Housing Choice Voucher program—can be found below.

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ADVOCATE – October 16, 2024

Build America Buy America (BABA)

On August 23, the Department of Housing & Urban Development’s (HUD) Phased Implementation Waivers ended; meaning that any HUD Federal Financial Assistance (FFA) obligated after August 23, 2024, may now be required to comply with the Build America, Buy America Act (BABA). Further, any funding obligated after August 23, 2024, added to ongoing infrastructure projects likely means that BABA applies to the entire project moving forward. Given the broad applicability of BABA to all FFA, excluding opportunities for a waiver, it is critical that housing authorities (HAs) become well informed on the rules, regulations, and requirements of compliance.

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ADVOCATE – October 2, 2024

President’s Forum: A Recap of Our Washington Meeting

PHADA held its annual Legislative Forum September 8–10. For the first time, we were at the new and bright Royal Sonesta Hotel on the Senate side of Capitol Hill. As always, the meeting was timely, providing us the opportunity to meet with HUD officials, members of Congress, and their staff as they work on HUD appropriations and other legislation. While in Washington, PHADA’s various committees also addressed some policy objectives and other organizational priorities.

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ADVOCATE – September 11, 2024

President’s Forum: Uncertainty Looms in Last Quarter

It is hard to believe but, in a few weeks, we will enter the last quarter of 2024 and the start of a new fiscal year. As we approach the autumn season, HAs face a considerable amount of uncertainty in terms of the budget and some important program changes that are in the works. This is an opportune time to review those issues and to let you know what PHADA is doing to ensure as much stability as possible in this uncertain period.

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ADVOCATE – August 7, 2024

Senate Appropriations Committee Passes HUD Funding Bill

On July 25, the Senate Appropriations Committee held a markup session for its FY 25 Transportation, HUD, and Related Agencies (T-HUD) funding bill. The bill includes $78.2 billion in funding for HUD programs, a 11.6 precent increase over FY 24 enacted spending levels. The Senate Majority released a summary of the bill, as well.

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ADVOCATE – July 24, 2024

A Closer Look at the FY 25 House T-HUD Appropriations Bill

On June 26, the House released its FY 25 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies (T-HUD) Appropriations Bill. The T-HUD Subcommittee held a short mark-up session the following day. The full Appropriations Committee met on July 10 to consider the T-HUD bill, which was then approved.

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ADVOCATE – July 10, 2024

House Releases FY 25 T-HUD Appropriations Bill

Ahead of the markup session on Thursday, June 27, the House released its FY 25 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies (T-HUD) Appropriations Bill.

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ADVOCATE – June 26, 2024

PHADA Submits Comments on Proposed Rule Reducing Barriers to HUD-Assisted Housing

On June 10, after substantial member feedback and discussion at PHADA’s 2024 Annual Convention & Exhibition, the Association has submitted comments to HUD on the proposed rule titled “Reducing Barriers to HUD-Assisted Housing,” which address the use of criminal history records in tenant screening and lease enforcement.

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ADVOCATE – June 12, 2024

HUD Notice to Exempt Housing from BABA

PHADA has long maintained that the Build America Buy America (BABA) law will impose significant burdens and complications for HAs. The association believes it will inflate construction and maintenance costs and delay needed physical improvements. As a result, PHADA and other industry groups wrote to President Biden last year to request that his administration exclude residential properties from the definition of “infrastructure,” thereby making BABA inapplicable to our programs.

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ADVOCATE – May 29, 2024

President’s Forum: PHADA, Other Groups Meet With HUD Secretary Todman

I was pleased along with other industry group leaders to meet with Acting HUD Secretary Adrianne Todman on Friday, May 3. The meeting stemmed from the joint letter PHADA, NAHRO, CLPHA, and the MTW Collaborative sent to the Secretary last month. In addition to PHADA’s Executive Director Tim Kaiser and I, participants included: CLPHA President Jeff Patterson and Executive Director Sunia Zaterman; NAHRO President George Guy and CEO Mark Thiele; and the MTW Collaborative’s President, Tracey Scott, and Nicole Barrett, Program Director.

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ADVOCATE – May 15, 2024

HUD Releases HIP Implementation Notice

On April 24, the HUD published Notice PIH 2024-12, “Housing Information Portal (HIP) Implementation,” otherwise known as the HIP implementation notice. The notice provides information on the HIP transition plan, as well as actions that HAs must take before and after moving to the HIP platform.

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ADVOCATE – May 1, 2024

PHADA Submits Comments to HUD on Build America, Buy America (BABA)

The Department published a Request for Information (RFI) Regarding Iron, Steel, Construction Materials, and Manufactured Products used in Housing Programs Pursuant to BABA on February 13, 2024. The RFI sought public input on the implementation of BABA to improve HUD’s understanding of the current state of the domestic market for products required in housing infrastructure projects.

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ADVOCATE – April 17, 2024

President’s Forum: HUD Budget Raises Major Concerns

PHADA has reported on President Biden’s FY 25 budget request in recent editions. Below, I focus on two important aspects, which we believe are misguided. The association feels they set a bad precedent, run counter to prudent business practices, and would penalize well-run housing authorities.

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ADVOCATE – April 3, 2024

A Closer Look At President Biden’s FY 25 Budget

On March 13, President Biden published his administration’s FY 25 budget request. The President has requested $72.6 billion in discretionary funding for HUD, which represents a 3.6 increase over FY 24 enacted funding levels. However, as described below, the budget request shortchanges many crucial HUD programs, including public housing operating funding.

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ADVOCATE – March 20, 2024

President Biden Signs Bipartisan T-HUD Appropriations Bill

After passing four continuing resolutions since last September, House and Senate negotiators unveiled a bipartisan, six-bill appropriations minibus—which includes the Transportation and HUD (T-HUD) appropriations bill—on March 3, 2024. The bill passed both chambers and was signed by President Biden on March 8. The bill’s signage likely ends the FY 24 HUD appropriations process, though it is possible that the HUD budget may be subject to sequestration if Congress does not pass the remaining six appropriations bills by April 1, 2024.

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ADVOCATE – March 6, 2024

HUD Publishes Revised HOTMA Implementation Notice

On February 2, the Department published an revised version of Notice PIH 2023-27, “Implementation Guidance: Sections 102 and 104 of the Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act of 2016 (HOTMA).” In addition to providing technical corrections and clarifying certain examples, the notice revises previous guidance on implementation of the HOTMA asset limit.

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ADVOCATE – February 21, 2024

HUD Publishes Revised HOTMA Notice, Clarifying Asset Limit Guidance

On February 2, HUD published a revised version of Notice PIH-2023-27, “Implementation Guidance: Sections 102 and 104 of the Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act of 2016 (HOTMA).” The revised notice clarifies implementation guidance for the Section 104 asset limit, makes numerous technical corrections, and clarifies language throughout the document.

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ADVOCATE – February 7, 2024

PHADA Writes to HUD Regarding HIP Rollout Concerns and Requests HOTMA Delay

On January 24, PHADA sent the following letter to Richard J. Monocchio, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, HUD-PIH, regarding concerns with implementation of the Housing Information Portal and request to defer the compliance date for Sections 102 and 104 of the Housing Opportunity through Modernization Act of 2016.

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ADVOCATE – January 17, 2024

HUD Issues Long-Awaited Notice on Deregulation for Small Rural Agencies

PHADA has worked diligently for years to advocate for the reduction of administrative burdens for all housing authorities (HAs), particularly small agencies. Over a decade ago, the Small Housing Authority Reform Proposal (SHARP), originally conceived by PHADA, kick-started the discussion on regulatory provisions that would make better use of current funding, save HUD and HAs the costs of duplicative and excessive requirements, and allow agencies to focus more on residents and their needs over unnecessary paperwork. Concurrently, PHADA has carefully documented and repeatedly communicated the burdensome and duplicative regulations and data requests required of HAs to both HUD and Congress.

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ADVOCATE – December 24, 2023

PHADA Cites Many Problems with HUD’s 30-Day Notice Proposed Rule

On December 1, HUD proposed to make permanent the rule requiring issuance of a 30-day notice prior to initiating legal action for non-payment of rent for the public housing and PBRA programs. The proposed rule would also require changes to the lease and inclusion of specific information on late payment notices for tenants on how to request a change of income rent redetermination, how to request a hardship waiver of minimum rent, and other information. The proposed rule does not apply to the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) or Project Based Voucher PBV) programs.

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ADVOCATE – December 13, 2023

Updated TARs Data Shows Continued Rent Collection Challenges

On November 16, HUD presented updated data on tenants accounts receivable (TARs) to PHADA and the other housing industry groups. Led by Todd Thomas, Director of the Office of Public Housing Programs, the presentation built on data previously shared by the Department through updated 2022 submissions to the Financial Data System (FDS).

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ADVOCATE – November 29, 2023

President Signs “Laddered” CR, Temporarily Averting Shutdown

On November 15, the Senate passed a continuing resolution (CR) to fund the government on a bipartisan basis, with President Biden signing the CR soon after. The House had passed the same bill the prior day, also with bipartisan support. The CR’s passage averts a government shutdown that was slated to begin on Saturday, November 18. Importantly for PHADA members, the CR is “clean,” meaning it contains neither funding cuts nor harmful policy riders.

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ADVOCATE – November 15, 2023

IT Working Group Hears Update from HUD and Vendors

On October 25, the Joint Industry IT Working Group held its second meeting in Washington, DC. The working group began meeting earlier this year to hold open and honest discussions among the HA industry groups, HUD, and IT vendors about the upcoming rollout of various technology initiatives.

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ADVOCATE – November 1, 2023

Casualty and Liability Insurance Costs Rise at Alarming Rates

PHADA members have raised concerns over the availability and costs of commercial casualty and liability insurance during 2023. Owners and managers of both market rate and subsidized multifamily rental housing share these concerns, and at least two trade associations have completed surveys concerning insurance costs in 2023. The National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC) completed a survey of its members in the spring of 2023, and the National Leased Housing Association (NLHA) completed a survey of multifamily housing providers in September 2023. While findings of these studies differ somewhat in their content, both found comparable problems and sources of those problems. Most recently, HUD convened a discussion with CLPHA, the MTW Collaborative, NAHRO and PHADA to hear concerns that association members have raised.

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ADVOCATE – October 18, 2023

PHADA Writes Secretary for Relief

In response to members concerns raised during PHADA‘s 2023 Legislative Forum, September 17–19 in Washington, DC, PHADA has written to Secretary Fudge repeating and emphasizing concerns about the growing threat to HA programs posed by increased Tenant Accounts Receivables (TARs), and how the 30-day notice requirement negatively impacts both HAs and tenants in those jurisdictions.

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ADVOCATE – September 27, 2023

PHADA Submits Comments on Improving Access to Public Benefit Programs

On July 13, HUD issued a Request for Comments on Improving Access to Public Benefit Programs, and later extended the deadline for submission to September 14, 2023. The information collection “is seeking comments from the public regarding the burden faced when applying for or maintaining eligibility for HUD’s housing programs,” as reported in PHADA’s Breaking News. Members of the PHADA Housing Committee participated in a video call on September 7 to discuss the questions posed by the Request for Comment. Based on that feedback and PHADA’s long-time advocacy for reduced regulatory burdens, PHADA submitted comments to HUD on September 14.

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ADVOCATE – August 23, 2023

President’s Forum: See You in September

There is a popular song more than six decades old called “See you in September,” which has been recorded by a few different artists. It centers on students entering the summer vacation season, looking forward to the return to school. The title could easily be applied to the current situation with Congress in recess and many people enjoying August vacations while getting ready for the busy fall season ahead.

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ADVOCATE – August 2, 2023

A Closer Look at the House T-HUD Appropriations Bill

On July 11, the House released its Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies (T-HUD) Appropriations Bill. The T-HUD Subcommittee held a brief markup session the following day, and the bill was reported out of the subcommittee. Both the majority and minority issued summaries of the bill. On July 18, the full Appropriations Committee approved the T-HUD bill after a lengthy and contentious hearing.

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ADVOCATE – July 19, 2023

HUD Issues Important NSPIRE Notice

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued PIH Notice 2023-16/H 2023-07, titled “Implementation of National Standards for the Physical Inspection of Real Estate (NSPIRE) Administrative Procedures” on June 30, which implements administrative portions of the NSPIRE Final Rule.

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ADVOCATE – July 5, 2023

President’s Forum: Congress Begins Consideration of FY 24 Spending Bills

As reported in the previous edition of the Advocate, Congress and the Biden Administration agreed on a debt ceiling measure that sets strict spending limits for fiscal years 2024 and 2025 while ensuring the ceiling will not have to be raised again before the 2024 elections. The agreement set spending caps that will make it particularly challenging for congressional appropriators to adequately fund domestic programs including housing. In a subsequent and surprising new development, an influential bloc of House lawmakers argued the caps set a ceiling, not a floor. Consequently, the House majority set even lower top line levels that could result in deeper cuts, setting off a new debate on overall spending.

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ADVOCATE – June 21, 2023

A Closer Look at the Debt Ceiling Agreement

On June 3, President Biden signed the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023, H.R. 3746, which raises the debt ceiling through January 2025 while enacting non- defense discretionary spending caps for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 and 2025 budgets. This ends the threat, at least for the next 18 months, of a catastrophic and unprecedented default on the county’s $31.8 trillion debt – which would have had grave consequences for HA operations and the economy at large.

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ADVOCATE – May 31, 2023

HUD Publishes Final NSPIRE Rule, Effective July 1

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) published the Final Rule for the National Standards for the Physical Inspection of Real Estate (NSPIRE) in the Federal Register on May 10, 2023. NSPIRE aligns and consolidates inspection regulations used to evaluate HUD housing across multiple programs, and will take effect on July 1, 2023, for public housing, and October 1, 2023, for all other HUD rental assistance programs.

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ADVOCATE – May 17, 2023

President’s Forum: Contentious Budget Debate Now Underway

The FY 24 budget process began in earnest late last month as House and Senate appropriations panels conducted hearings on HUD’s proposed spending plan. HUD Secretary Marcia L. Fudge testified at both sessions to promote and defend the Biden Administration’s budget. In related action, the House of Representatives voted by a slim margin to increase the government’s debt ceiling while the Treasury Department notified Congress that a final deal is needed by early June. The House legislation also includes large, proposed cuts in domestic spending over the next decade.

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ADVOCATE – May 3, 2023

President’s Forum: PHADA Believes NSPIRE Needs Fixing

Public comments on HUD’s NSPIRE scoring notice are due at the end of the month. PHADA plans to provide the Department with extensive feedback, outlining our many concerns regarding the new inspections scoring methodology and standards. I wanted to take this opportunity to note some of our overarching concerns, identified below.

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ADVOCATE – April 19, 2023

PHADA Encourages Members to Comment on NSPIRE Scoring Notice

On March 28, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) released the proposed notice for scoring methodology under the National Standards for the Physical Inspection of Real Estate (NSPIRE). A summary of the proposed notice, which was included in the previous edition of this newsletter. Comments to the proposed notice are due on April 27, and may be submitted through regulations.gov.

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ADVOCATE – April 5, 2023

HUD Ends Efforts to Amend the Public Housing Annual Contributions Contract

On March 22, HUD’s General Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing Dominique Blom announced that the Department will end its ill-considered efforts to amend the public housing Annual Contributions Contract (ACC). This concludes a years-long departmental effort that would have undercut the contractual relationship between HAs operating public housing and the Department, which first began in 2018. At that time, PHADA members alerted the association of HUD’s attempt to amend the ACC by publishing revisions as an updated form. Members expressed concern that the proposed amended ACC and the process for its implementation were unacceptable and violated terms of the existing contract.

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ADVOCATE – March 22, 2023

President Biden Releases Budget Overview, with Increases for HUD Programs

President Biden released an overview of his budget for Fiscal Year (FY) 24, including $73.3 billion in funding for HUD. This represents a $1.1 billion increase (1.6 percent) from the 2023 enacted level. While the budget overview does not provide funding information for all public housing and Section 8 accounts, a more detailed budget is expected next week. PHADA will provide additional detail as it becomes available.

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ADVOCATE – March 8, 2023

Build America, Buy America Important Updates

There are a number of recent updates to the implementation of Build America, Buy America (BABA) that will result in immediate positive impacts on housing authorities (HAs), including two important documents. On February 15th, HUD published a proposed waiver for BABA provisions. Under the proposed public interest phased implementation waiver, federal financial assistance for many HUD programs will not be subject to BABA until at least February 22, 2024.

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ADVOCATE – February 22, 2023

HUD Publishes Preview of HOTMA Final Rule for Income, Assets, and Over-Income Policies

On January 31, HUD published a preview of a final rule for Sections 102, 103, and 104 of the Housing Opportunity through Modernization Act of 2016 (HOTMA). These sections concern HOTMA provisions on income reviews, policies on over-income families, and limitation for eligibility based on assets. The preview rule is lengthy – over 300 pages, though over 100 pages are devoted to discussing public comments. While the rule is not yet published in the Federal Register, HUD officials expect it to be published on February 14.

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ADVOCATE – February 8, 2023

HUD Announces a New Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing Proposed Rule

On January 19, HUD announced that it would “imminently publish” a new proposed rule implementing the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) requirement of the Fair Housing Act of 1968, and made a prepublication version of the proposed rule available on the 19th. HUD will receive public comments on the proposed rule for 60 days following the date the proposed rule is published in the Federal Register, and PHADA will notify members of the deadline for submission of comments.

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ADVOCATE – January 18, 2023

A Closer Look at Recently Enacted HUD Appropriations

On December 29, President Biden signed into law the “Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023,” (H.R. 2617, the Omnibus bill) for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2023, which includes funding for all HUD programs. The legislation comes after three months of negotiations and provides $1.7 trillion in discretionary funds, including $61.8 billion for HUD programs. This is an increase of just under $6.5 billion (or about 12 percent) increase from FY 22 enacted levels, though many accounts are only level funded with escalating program costs (especially in the voucher and PBRA programs) consuming much of the overall increase.

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ADVOCATE – December 31, 2022

Congress Passes FY 23 Omnibus Spending Bill

On December 20, House Appropriations Committee Chair Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) and Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) released the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 with all 12 appropriations bills for FY 23 including T-HUD. The measure was approved by the Senate and House days afterwards and will fund federal agencies through September of 2023. The two chambers also adopted another short term continuing resolution to fund the government until President Biden signs the omnibus before December 30.

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ADVOCATE – December 21, 2022

President’s Forum: Next Congress to Include Many New Members

The 118th congressional session starts in just a few weeks. Once again, the margins in each chamber will be very slim. This time, however, Republicans will hold the majority in the House of Representatives, meaning their leadership will set the policy and budget agenda on their side of the Capitol. Meanwhile, Democrats will retain control of the Senate and the White House.

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ADVOCATE – December 6, 2022

Lame Duck Congress Seeks Closure on FY 23 Appropriations

Members of the House and Senate returned to Washington, DC, in mid-November to take up legislative activities before the new 118th Congress convenes on January 3, 2023. Continued funding of the federal government is a top priority given that the current Continuing Resolution (CR) expires on December 16. Yet PHADA has heard knowledgeable sources on the Hill predict that a short-term extension of the current CR is likely, possibly into the new year. One reason there may be a delay until the new Congress comes in is to allow the new Republican House leadership to weigh in on budget decisions.

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ADVOCATE – November 23, 2022

HUD Waives BABA Until at Least February for Most Programs

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently released three proposed Build America, Buy America Act (BABA) waivers as it applies to Federal Financial Assistance (FFA). BABA was enacted as part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act on November 15, 2021, which established a domestic content procurement preference for all FFA obligated for infrastructure projects after May 14, 2022.

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ADVOCATE – November 9, 2022

HUD Continues to Stress Occupancy and Utilization Despite Challenges

In recent calls with industry groups PHADA, CLPHA, NAHRO and the MTW Collaborative, HUD has continued to stress the importance of occupancy and utilization to serve more families and achieve occupancy and utilization goals. Recent data, including data from the Public Housing and Housing Choice Voucher Data Dashboards, suggest that the programs may fall short of the nationwide 2022 occupancy and utilization goals of 95.5 percent and 98 percent, respectively.

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ADVOCATE – October 19, 2022

PHADA Submits Fair Market Rent Comments

HUD published FMRs for 2023 on September 4 and accepted comments on those FMRs until October 3. PHADA submitted a comment letter (below) that made the following points:

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ADVOCATE – October 5, 2022

PHADA Asks HUD to Defer NSPIRE Implementation

Following ongoing dialogue with the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) related to the implementation of the National Standards for the Physical Inspection of Real Estate (NSPIRE) on April 1, 2023, PHADA’s Board of Trustees took a position to advocate for a deferment of the NSPIRE demonstration. While the Department has provided regular communication with industry groups and other stakeholders on the demonstration, the industry has a number of serious concerns and questions the capacity of both HUD and housing authorities to successfully implement.

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ADVOCATE – September 7, 2022

Industry Groups Meet with HUD to Discuss NSPIRE

On August 19, PHADA and several members, NAHRO, CLPHA, and other housing authority (HA) representatives from across the country met with the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Real Estate Assessment Center (REAC) to discuss the NSPIRE demonstration, related proposed rule, and future rollout of the National Standards for the Physical Inspection of Real Estate (NSPIRE). PHADA requested and arranged the industry group meeting, a two-hour roundtable discussion which focused on several critical questions and concerns. These concerns have been detailed comprehensively in PHADA’s comments to the NSPIRE Proposed Rule, submitted on July 31, 2022.

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ADVOCATE – August 24, 2022

A Closer Look at the Senate Appropriations Bill for HUD Programs

On July 28, the Senate Appropriation Committee released its FY 23 funding bill for Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development (T-HUD). The Committee noted in its press release that the bill provides $4.3 billion more than the FY 22 enacted amount. The table on page 13 shows how the Senate numbers compare with the previously approved House numbers, the White House Budget, PHADA’s recommendations, and last year’s appropriation for HUD.

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ADVOCATE – August 10, 2022

President’s Forum: Quiet August? Not This Year

The month of August is typically a quiet one in Washington D.C. and other parts of the country as people enjoy the last full month of summer with the congressional recess, vacations, and other personal activities. Nevertheless, there is quite a bit happening on some serious policy matters right now. Developments on those issues promise to heat up more by the time of PHADA’s Washington meeting in mid-September.

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ADVOCATE – July 13, 2022

House Appropriations Committee Approves FY 23 HUD Funding Bill

On June 30, the House Appropriations committee approved funding for HUD programs on a 32 to 24 vote. The Committee had previously noted in its press release that the bill provides a total of $62.7 billion for HUD, which is an increase of $8.9 billion above fiscal year 2022, or 16.5 percent.

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ADVOCATE – June 29, 2022

Input Needed on Impacts of Build America, Buy America Act

HUD recently published a Request for Information Notice on the Build America, Buy America Act (BABA), asking for housing authorities (HAs) to provide public input on the information collection burden, compliance costs, and program impacts. BABA’s requirements could have a potentially significant impact on HA programs and operations.

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ADVOCATE – June 15, 2022

New NSPIRE Notice Expected Soon

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently informed PHADA that a new National Standards for the Physical Inspection of Real Estate (NSPIRE) notice would be released in the Federal Register soon. The Association heard from HUD recently that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approved an NSPIRE notice for publication on June 1st, and as a result, it should be released in the near future. Additional details on the specific nature and details of the notice are unclear.

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ADVOCATE – May 25, 2022

President’s Forum: Biden Administration Prepares Broadband Expansion

Even before the pandemic, it was clear how critically important internet access is to our way of life. We rely on it for our daily business, social and educational communications. The onset of Covid in March 2020 forced much of the world into isolation, further boosting our reliance on the internet and our dependence has increased exponentially since then. As we know all too well, however, many people still do not have adequate access, placing them at a major disadvantage.

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ADVOCATE – May 11, 2022

HUD Issues Notice on Implementation of Section 3 for Public Housing Authorities

On April 18, HUD issued Notice PIH 2022-10: Implementation of the Final Rule on Section 3 Regulations – 24 CFR Part 75. The notice attempts to be inclusive, clarifying some questions but leaving others insufficiently addressed. As highlighted in PHADA’s comments on the proposed rule, the absence of a public housing funding threshold for Section 3 applicability does create additional complications for HAs in implementation, reporting, and monitoring. The PIH notice includes more explanation and rationale information regarding the guidance than do the companion notices from HUD’s Community Planning division.

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ADVOCATE – April 27, 2022

Department Releases FY 2022–2026 Strategic Plan

Earlier this year, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requested feedback on five specific focus areas to its draft Fiscal Year 2022-2026 Strategy Plan no later than January 28, 2022. While the full draft strategic plan was not available, PHADA submitted comments to HUD’s anticipated primary focus areas after discussion with members at the 2022 Commissioners’ Conference in mid-January. In lieu of the ability to provide comprehensive feedback, the Association requested maximum flexibility to agencies to serve households efficiently and effectively given the likelihood of continued challenges as result of the pandemic and resulting adverse economic effects.

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ADVOCATE – April 13, 2022

President Releases FY 23 Budget with Significant Increase for HUD Programs

On March 28, President Biden released his FY 23 budget, with $71.9 billion for HUD programs, which is $6.2 billion more than the FY 22 enacted level.

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ADVOCATE – March 30, 2022

President’s Forum: PHADA Concerned About Lost Rental Income

PHADA has lately been focusing on rental income matters because of serious concerns some members have raised about HUD’s operating fund formula as well as lost revenues and inflation. The association has broached the problem with HUD and suggested ways the Department could help mitigate it.

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ADVOCATE – March 16, 2022

Housing Stability and the Benefits and Deficiencies in Emergency Approaches

Early in the COVID-19 Pandemic, the growing risks of housing instability were broadly recognized. Localities, state governments and HUD implemented policies that explicitly or effectively suspended eviction actions. In some instances, governments prohibited landlords from taking action to evict households for some period. In other instances, operating restrictions imposed due to the pandemic (limiting access to public buildings, restricting interpersonal interactions) effectively restricted landlords’ ability to pursue evictions even if no formal eviction moratorium was in place.

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ADVOCATE – March 3, 2022

Rising Concerns with Operating Subsidy Distributions

Some PHADA members have contacted the association expressing concerns with operating subsidy distributions lower than they expected. Discussions with HUD staff and CPAs with expertise in public housing operating finances at BDO USA revealed that these lower operating subsidy distributions resulted from interactions of a complex set of factors and that, while there are steps that may ameliorate impacts of lower funding, there are no obvious direct solutions to these problems.

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ADVOCATE – February 16, 2022

Treasury Authorizes Housing Capital Needs as Eligible Use of State/Local Fiscal Recovery Funds

On January 27, the Department of the Treasury issued the Final Rule for Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF). This final rule broadens and clarifies eligible expenditures and activities of the state and local government recipients. Capital costs for certain affordable housing, including public housing, is now an enumerated eligible expenditure of these funds. Eligible categories for public and assisted housing expenditures can include water, sewer, or broadband infrastructure improvements. Other housing initiatives, including activities ranging from housing counseling and emergency rental assistance to loans, grants and investments for the development, rehabilitation, or preservation of affordable housing are eligible.

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ADVOCATE – January 5, 2022

$150 Billion in Housing Programs at Risk

On December 19, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) said that he will not support the Build Back Better Act (BBBA). Manchin cited growing inflation, the spread of the Omicron COVID-19 variant, and the national debt as his major concerns. President Biden and White House advisors said that Manchin has failed to honor his commitments and was “reneging on his promises.” While Sen. Manchin had originally agreed to a $1.5 trillion package, not the over $2 trillion bill that the Senate received from the House in November, the original $3.5 trillion blueprint had already been cut significantly to appease Sen. Manchin and other centrists such as Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ).

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ADVOCATE – December 15, 2021

PHADA Members Act Now: Build Back Better Act Awaits Senate Vote

The House of Representatives voted on November 19 to approve the Build Back Better Act (BBBA), a $2 trillion economic recovery package that includes more than $150 billion in affordable housing investments. The legislation includes $65 billion for the public housing capital fund and nearly $25 billion to expand the voucher program. The bill also includes a significant expansion of the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) and the introduction of the Neighborhood Homes Tax Credit.

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ADVOCATE – December 1, 2021

President’s Forum: Rapidly Approaching, December 3 is a Big Day

December 3 is a big day for Congress and our programs. By that day, lawmakers must extend the FY 22 Continuing Resolution (CR) or risk a government shutdown with the holiday season approaching. Congress set the same deadline for raising the debt ceiling so that the USA retains uninterrupted ability to borrow money. Without that statutory authority, the government will not have sufficient funds for many federal programs. In addition, Congress is moving towards conclusion of debate on legislation that includes tremendous opportunities for our industry (the “Build Back Better Act”).

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ADVOCATE – November 17, 2021

Latest Reconciliation Bill Includes $150 Billion for Housing Programs and LIHTC Investments

On October 28, President Biden released his Build Back Better Framework with $150 billion in affordable housing investments. The House Rules Committee then released the reconciliation legislation (H.R. 5376) with details of the $1.75 trillion spending package. It was reported that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) would allow another week for senators to advocate for provisions left out of the President’s framework. Even if the House approves the bill, the Senate will have to work from that legislative text and both chambers would have to agree on the revisions before this funding is assured.

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ADVOCATE – November 3, 2021

Concern for Housing Programs Mounts as Reconciliation Negotiations Continue

The Build Back Better Act (H.R. 5376) is a 2,466-page bill that includes most of President Biden’s domestic priorities and comes at a price tag of $3.5 trillion over 10-years. Because the bill is opposed by Republicans, Democrats are trying to enact the legislation through a budgetary process called reconciliation, which requires only a majority in the Senate and avoids the risk of a filibuster, which requires 60 votes to overcome. Meanwhile a group of 22 centrist senators put together a $1.2 trillion package aimed at traditional infrastructure, with none of the social or housing programs of the Build Better Act.

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ADVOCATE – October 20, 2021

President’s Forum: Please Contact Congress Now on Reconciliation Bill

Congress approved a Continuing Resolution (CR) in late September, funding government operations until December 3. All federally funded programs, including those under HUD’s jurisdiction, are set at existing levels until then. It is essential for us to weigh in on the Build Back Better Act (BBBA, reconciliation bill) as lawmakers near decisions on a potentially historic package for our industry. This is necessary because there have been some reports that the capital, Section 8 funding, and the LIHTC provisions could be significantly reduced or eliminated from the legislation.

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ADVOCATE – October 6, 2021

House Financial Services Committee Advances $327 Billion Legislation for HUD Programs

On September 14, on a 30–24 vote, the House Financial Services Committee passed its portion of the Build Back Better Act, part of the $3.5 trillion reconciliation package being negotiated in Congress, separate from the FY 22 appropriations process. The Act would provide $327 billion in funding, largely for HUD programs. The Committee noted the effect of investments in housing infrastructure, stating that such investment helps those in need of housing as well as the economy.

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ADVOCATE – August 18, 2021

CDC Issues Targeted Eviction Moratorium Through October 3

On August 3, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), issued a targeted moratorium on evictions through October 3, 2021, for counties experiencing “heightened levels of community transmission.” The order is intended to address the COVID-19 pandemic, including the rise in the Delta variant. The previous moratorium expired on July 31, 2021.

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ADVOCATE – August 4, 2021

HUD Spending Bill Approved by House Appropriations Committee

On July 16, the House Appropriations committee approved the HUD budget for fiscal year 2022 on a 33–24 vote. At the markup of the full committee, Rep. David Price (D-NC), Chair of the T-HUD Appropriations Subcommittee, passionately asserted the Committee’s expansive housing investment in the budget: “It bears witness to our conviction that housing is infrastructure.”

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ADVOCATE – July 21, 2021

HUD Publishes a Proposed Fair Housing Disparate Impact Rule

As part of the department’s decade long effort to revamp fair housing oversight and enforcement, on June 25, 2021, HUD published a set of proposed changes to the rule governing the department’s implementation of a disparate impact standard in its enforcement of the Fair Housing Act of 1967, recodifying definitions originally established in 2013.

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ADVOCATE – July 7, 2021

President’s Forum: The Latest on the American Jobs Plan

PHADA participated in a June 21 meeting with HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge, Department staff and dozens of national housing organizations to discuss the Biden Administration’s American Jobs Plan (AJP), which contains about $150 billion in housing investments under HUD’s jurisdiction. PHADA supports provisions in the plan and encourages members to contact their Representatives and Senators to help move the legislation forward.

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ADVOCATE – June 23, 2021

HUD Publishes an Interim Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing Rule

On June 10, HUD published an interim final rule concerning HUD grantees’ obligations to affirmatively further fair housing, effective on July 31, 2021. The department is soliciting comments on this interim rule which are due by July 12. According to the summary of the interim rule, HUD will reinstate definitions that had been included in the Obama administration’s 2015 AFFH rule and that were amended by the Trump administration’s 2020 final rule. HUD does not intend to reinstate the requirement for Assessments of Fair Housing (AFHs) that was included in the 2015 rule.

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ADVOCATE – June 9, 2021

President Releases Budget with 15 Percent Increase for HUD Programs

On May 28, the White House released its FY 22 budget, the first budget in a decade without federal sequestration or strict budget cap limits. This allowed the President the opportunity to significantly increase domestic discretionary spending, which he did by 16 percent. In contrast, Defense funding is increased by only 1.7 percent, a fact that is sure to create opposition among many members of Congress. With very tight vote margins in both chambers of Congress, and with several other costly plans released by the Administration over the past few months, it will be very challenging for the President to see passage of this budget before the current fiscal year ends on September 30.

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ADVOCATE – May 26, 2021

HUD Issues Updated CARES Act Waiver Notice

In an unexpected decision, HUD Notice PIH 2021-14 includes modified provisions relating to both the PHAS and SEMAP assessment programs. In a helpful response to PHADA advocacy, HUD has determined that it will NOT issue new SEMAP or PHAS scores for fiscal years ending on or before December 31, 2021, unless requested by the agency. This is a change from the superseded Notice PIH 2020- 33, which indicated a resumption of SEMAP scoring for fiscal years after December 31, 2020, and the issuance of PHAS advisory scores for fiscal years ending on or after June 30, 2021. PHADA supports this move and appreciates HUD’s responsiveness to PHADA’s arguments that SEMAP scoring should not resume and that both programs should be treated in the same way.

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ADVOCATE – May 12, 2021

REAC Makes Plan to “Substantially Increase” Inspections

On Friday, April 23, HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge sent a letter to public housing authority Executive Directors (EDs) and Multifamily housing owners and property managers announcing that REAC will conduct “increased inspections” of its portfolio beginning June 1. In the letter, Secretary Fudge writes that the Department’s priorities are for the health and well-being of residents, and that “REAC will conduct inspections using protocols informed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) guidance that will help ensure safety and minimize the risk of COVID-19 transmission among residents, inspectors, and property staff alike.”

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ADVOCATE – April 28, 2021

White House Releases $1.5 Trillion Budget Plan with Major Increase for HUD

The first proposed budget request released by President Biden on April 9 for FY 22 includes $769 billion in non-defense discretionary funding, a 16 percent increase over the FY 21 enacted level, and $753 billion for defense programs, a 1.7 percent increase. Significantly, $68.7 billion is proposed for HUD to expand housing assistance, representing a $9 billion or 15-percent increase from the FY 21 enacted level. The budget outline is the first in a decade without federal sequestration limits.

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ADVOCATE – April 14, 2021

President Biden’s Infrastructure Plan Includes $40B for Capital Fund

On March 31, President Biden unveiled his $2 trillion infrastructure plan in Pittsburgh. The Plan includes $40 billion for public housing capital needs, which have been severely under-funded for decades. PHADA has advocated over many years and to the current Administration for a significant infusion of capital funds to address seriously deteriorating public housing, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic to keep as many affordable units available as possible for low-income seniors, persons with disabilities and families with children.

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ADVOCATE – March 31, 2021

A Review of the American Rescue Plan

On March 10, the U.S. House of Representatives, on a vote of 220–211, passed the American Rescue Plan Act, a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill that includes nearly $50 billion in assistance for housing and homelessness, with $27.4 billion for rental assistance. A total of $5 billion is provided for emergency vouchers.

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ADVOCATE – March 17, 2021

President’s Forum: An Unhappy Anniversary

It is now one full year ago since the entire world changed. Beginning in March 2020, we all had to make adjustments in our professional and personal lives, adjustments that will continue into some unknown time in the future depending on a variety of factors. In the interim, more than half a million Americans have tragically lost their lives to COVID-19 and about 2.5 million worldwide have perished. The pandemic has resulted in the greatest public health crisis the world has faced in 100 years while precipitating an economic calamity too.

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ADVOCATE – March 3, 2021

President’s Forum: What is “Reconciliation” and Why is it Important?

Like me, many of you follow what is happening in Congress and have been hearing and reading a lot about the term “budget reconciliation” in recent weeks. In fact, we have more frequently heard those two words over the last several years, but we may not totally understand what the process entails and why it is so important in public policy formulation and even to the programs we administer.

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ADVOCATE – February 17, 2021

PHADA Pushes for Waiver Extensions, Permanence

Since the start of the pandemic, PHADA has taken the lead in advocating for broad regulatory relief for public housing authorities, sending a letter to the HUD Secretary calling for such relief on March 13. Since then, we have worked closely with the dedicated staff at HUD and our members to identify, clarify, and implement the much-needed waivers authorized by the CARES Act and the HUD Secretary.

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ADVOCATE – February 3, 2021

Proposed Rule on Inspections and Conditions of HUD Housing Published

On January 13, HUD’s proposed rule outlining a new physical inspection protocol was published in the Federal Register. The National Standards for the Physical Inspection of Real Estate (NSPIRE) will be the foundation for assessing the quality of housing assisted by the federal government. For several years, the Department has been evaluating various aspects of its main inspection models (HQS and UPCS) and this proposed rule is one part of the “effort across HUD to revise the way HUD-assisted housing is inspected and evaluated.” Comments to the proposed rule are due March 15, 2021.

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ADVOCATE – January 20, 2021

A Review of FY 21 HUD Appropriations

A massive $2.3 trillion omnibus spending bill, including $1.4 trillion in Appropriations and $900 billion for COVID-19 funding, was passed by the House and Senate on December 21 and signed by the President on December 27. The Appropriations measure funds federal agencies through next September. The spending package includes $740.5 billion in defense spending and $664.5 billion for domestic programs.

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ADVOCATE – December 23, 2020

Rep. Marcia Fudge Tapped to be Next HUD Secretary

Representative Marcia Fudge (D-OH) is President-elect Biden’s pick to run the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The appointment had been announced by several media outlets early in the second week of December and a December 10 post on the Biden transition team’s website made it official, stating that the “driving mission of [Fudge’s] career has been to reduce poverty and address inequality.”

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ADVOCATE – December 9, 2020

PHADA Provides Recommendations to Biden-Harris Transition Team

On November 24, PHADA submitted the following memo to the Biden-Harris transition team, outlining priorities for the new administration’s first 100 days. Below is an excerpt of PHADA’s correspondence.

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ADVOCATE – November 25, 2020

Senate Appropriations Committee Releases FY 21 Spending Bills

With the election over, the Senate Appropriations Committee released drafts of all 12 spending bills for FY 21. The House released its bills earlier this year and now negotiations will begin with the hope of a deal before the current Continuing Resolution (CR) expires on December 11, averting the need for another CR or a government shutdown.

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ADVOCATE – November 11, 2020

PHADA Advocates for Extension of Waiver Authority and Flexibilities

The Association met with Assistant Secretary of Public and Indian Housing (PIH) Hunter Kurtz, PIH staff, and the industry groups in late October to discuss several topics. On the call, PHADA requested an update on the extension of all waivers associated with PIH Notice 2020-13. Notice PIH 2020-13 (HA), REV-1 is entitled, COVID-19 Statutory and Regulatory Waivers and Alternative Requirements for the Public Housing, Housing Choice Voucher, Indian Housing Block Grant and Indian Community Development Block Grant programs, Suspension of Public Housing Assessment System and Section Eight Management Assessment Program, Revision 1.

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ADVOCATE – October 28, 2020

HUD Publishes HOTMA HCV and PBV Proposed Rule

On October 8, 2020, HUD published a proposed rule titled: “Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act of 2016 – Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) and Project-Based Voucher Implementation; Additional Streamlining Changes” in the Federal Register. This rule largely does three things: codifies previously implemented parts of the Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act of 2016 (HOTMA), proposes to implement certain HCV and Project-Based Voucher (PBV) provisions of HOTMA, and proposes regulatory reforms unrelated to HOTMA. Comments to the proposed rule are due December 7, 2020.

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ADVOCATE – October 14, 2020

House Passes Updated Version of the Heroes Act

The House Majority released an updated version of The Heroes Act in late September, addressing needs that have developed since the House passed an earlier iteration and reflecting ongoing negotiations between Democrats and Republicans. The $2.2 trillion bill passed the House of Representatives on October 1 by a vote of 214–207.

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ADVOCATE – September 23, 2020

A New and Broader Eviction Moratorium

On September 4, 2020, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published an agency order in the Federal Register that placed a moratorium on almost all evictions for non-payment of rent from the order’s publication until December 31, 2020, unless rescinded, modified or extended.

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ADVOCATE – September 9, 2020

HUD Has Published “Brand New” Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing Final Rule

On August 7, HUD published a “brand new” Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) rule that is effective on September 8, 2020. After almost 10 years of rulemaking and information collection publishing, the department has elected to jettison virtually all components of its 2015 final AFFH rule and associated forms for submission of Assessments of Fair Housing (AFHs). HUD’s 2020 final AFFH rule even retreats from the department’s Analysis of Impediments (AI) approach it used since 1988 to implement its AFFH obligations.

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ADVOCATE – August 5, 2020

President’s Forum: Correcting a Misleading Report

There is no question that seniors and disabled persons living in multifamily housing – subsidized and unsubsidized – face many daunting challenges during the coronavirus pandemic. Many elderly residents live alone, are frail, immobile and may not have others they can count on to help them through the difficulties they are now enduring. Many housing authorities all over the country have therefore stepped-up efforts to help this vulnerable population, notwithstanding this flawed report.

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ADVOCATE – July 8, 2020

House Announces Infrastructure Package with $70 Billion for Public Housing Capital Fund

On June 18, the House leadership, including Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), House Financial Services Committee Chairwoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), and House Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal (D-MA), announced a $1.5 trillion infrastructure package, the Moving Forward Act (H.R. 2), which represents a merger of several bills into one massive package for roads and bridges, housing, education, clean air and water, broadband and more.

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ADVOCATE – June 24, 2020

HUD Updates CARES Act FAQ’s, Clarifies Eligible Uses, Timelines, More

On Friday, May 29, the HUD Office of Public and Indian Housing (PIH) issued an updated Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document, COVID-19 FAQs for Public Housing Agencies, Version 4. Organized around seven topic areas, the document is now over 40 pages. PHADA has highlighted many concerns with HUD, and the expanded section on Eligible Uses of Funds responds to many of these concerns.

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ADVOCATE – June 10, 2020

HAs and Program Participants Confront Short, Medium, and Long-Term Uncertainties

Since March 2020, HAs have faced rapid changes resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic impacts. They have also benefited from steps taken by the federal government to moderate those economic impacts. However, uncertainties over medium- and long-term effects of the dramatic national economic contraction remain.

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ADVOCATE – May 27, 2020

House Passes $3 Trillion COVID-19 Legislation

On May 15, the House of Representatives passed the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act. The bill, if enacted, would be the largest legislative response from Congress to the COVID-19 emergency and contains $3 trillion in stimulus and emergency spending for federal programs, public health, and to support state and local governments.

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ADVOCATE – May 13, 2020

HUD Releases Guidance on Supplemental Public Housing Funding

On April 28, HUD published PIH Notice 2020-07, “Implementation of Supplemental Guidance to the Federal Fiscal Year 2020 Operating Fund Appropriations.” The notice details the funding and flexibilities provided to housing authorities (HAs) through the CARES Act. The CARES Act included $685 million in supplemental funding for the Public Housing Operating Fund and allows full fungibility between operating and capital monies provided to HAs.

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ADVOCATE – April 29, 2020

HUD Publishes Waiver Notice for Public Housing and Voucher Programs

Late on Friday, April 10, HUD published Notice PIH 2020-05 (https://bit.ly/3ahLmML) entitled, “COVID-19 Statutory and Regulatory Waivers for the Public Housing, Housing Choice Voucher, Indian Housing Block Grant and Indian Community Development Block Grant programs, Suspension of Public Housing Assessment System and Section Eight Management Assessment Program.” This Notice implements waivers authorized by the CARES Act which was enacted on March 27.

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ADVOCATE – April 15, 2020

A Review of the CARES Act

On Friday, March 27 the President signed H.R. 748, the CARES Act into law, the same day it was passed by the House of Representatives. The Act is the latest federal effort to provide emergency assistance and response to the coronavirus pandemic. In addition to the relief provided to families and businesses, the Act provides supplemental appropriations for various governmental activities including the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s housing, homelessness, and community development programs.

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ADVOCATE – April 1, 2020

President’s Forum: HUD Regulations, Requirements Should be Eased So HAs Can Focus on Residents’ Needs

These are unprecedented times. Dealing with the coronavirus outbreak is understandably our highest priority as we all work to preserve the health and safety of the residents and staffs in our communities. As always, PHADA can help be our voice in Washington and advocate for our needs to those at HUD and on Capitol Hill. With this in mind, I recently wrote to HUD Secretary Ben Carson on the public health crisis, and our staff sent similar communications to Congress.

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ADVOCATE – March 18, 2020

HUD Issues Notice on Long Awaited Deregulation for Small Rural Agencies

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) published a notice entitled, “Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act: Initial Guidance on Property Inspections and Environmental Reviews,” (the Act) on February 27, 2020. This long-awaited guidance implements useful provisions that can reduce administrative burdens for small, rural public housing authorities (PHAs).

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ADVOCATE – March 4, 2020

President’s Budget Would Slash and Eliminate HUD Programs

On February 10 the White House released its FY 21 budget, “A Budget for America’s Future.” The Budget, while adhering to the Defense spending limits agreed to between Congress and the Trump Administration in last July’s two-year budget deal, seeks to cut Non-Defense Discretionary (NDD) spending by nearly $45 billion.

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ADVOCATE – February 19, 2020

PHADA Replies to HUD’s Request for Information on Barriers to Affordable Housing

On November 22, on behalf of the White House Council on Eliminating Regulatory Barriers to Affordable Housing, HUD requested information from the public to identify barriers and possible solutions. PHADA submitted a response. Following is an excerpt of PHADA’s submitted comments.

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ADVOCATE – February 5, 2020

HUD Publishes a New Proposed AFFH Rule

On January 14, 2020, HUD published a proposed rule entitled, “Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing.” This is the latest proposal in HUD’s 10-year effort to revise the affirmatively further fair housing (AFFH) rule. This proposal makes significant revisions to the requirements for HUD’s governmental grantees to complete periodic Assessments of Fair Housing (AFHs), and to the standards for assessing success in complying with AFFH policies. The public may comment on this latest proposal by March 16, 2020.

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ADVOCATE – January 5, 2020

A Review of Final FY 20 HUD Appropriations

A final FY 20 appropriations package was released by House and Senate leaders on December 16, allocating $1.4 trillion in federal spending for the fiscal year that began on October 1. The legislation resolves differences between the House and Senate bills, which were put forward by each chamber earlier this year. The negotiated bill was approved on December 17 by the House on a vote of 297–120, on December 19 by the Senate on a vote of 71–23 and signed by the president on December 20, averting a government shutdown.

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ADVOCATE – December 25, 2019

PHADA Comments on the New Annual Terms and Conditions for the ACC

On December 9, PHADA submitted its comments concerning HUD’s latest proposed changes to the Annual Contributions Contract (ACC). HUD made substantial changes to the language in the new ACC that could have addressed many of the concerns raised with the previous version of the ACC. However, in HUD’s notice and in a meeting with industry associations on November 19, HUD has asserted that the changes to this language do not represent changes to the policy positions the department adopted in earlier versions of the ACC.

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ADVOCATE – December 11, 2019

President’s Forum: PHADA Participates in Two Important HUD Meetings

I traveled to Washington on November 18 for two separate meetings with HUD staff. The subject matters included the Annual Contributions Contract (ACC) and HUD’s “repositioning” tool for small HAs known as the Streamlined Voluntary Conversion (SVC). PHADA appreciates the outreach and cooperation of Public and Indian Housing (PIH) Assistant Secretary Hunter Kurtz and Deputy Assistant Secretary Dominique Blom and their staffs in convening these productive meetings.

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ADVOCATE – November 27, 2019

HUD’s Latest Version of the Annual Terms and Conditions for the Public Housing Program (ACC)

On November 8, HUD published its latest version of a revised document laying out the terms and conditions under which HAs will operate public housing. This is the latest step in the department’s 3-year effort to implement a document replacing the 1995 version of the Annual Contributions Contract (ACC).

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ADVOCATE – November 13, 2019

HUD Releases Evaluation of Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD)

On October 22, 2019, HUD released an evaluation of the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) prepared by Econometrica, Inc. under contract with HUD. The report concludes that RAD has been successful in leveraging non-public housing sources, improving physical conditions for residents and putting the properties on more stable financial footing for the future.

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ADVOCATE – October 30, 2019

PHADA Submits Comments to NSPIRE Demonstration Notice

On October 18, PHADA submitted comments to HUD’s Notice describing the NSPIRE Demonstration. PHADA has been a leading voice asking for change to HUD’s REAC inspections for well over a decade and looks forward to a new protocol.

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ADVOCATE – October 16, 2019

HUD Publishes a New Proposed Rule Implementing HOTMA Provisions

On September 17, HUD published a proposed rule implementing sections of the Housing Opportunities Through Modernization Act (HOTMA).

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ADVOCATE – October 2, 2019

President’s Forum: PHADA’s DC Meeting

PHADA held its Legislative Forum in Washington September 8–10. As in the past, the meeting was especially timely, highlighting several important issues that we will be dealing with for some time to come. We were fortunate to hear from some influential policymakers from the Department of Housing and Urban Development including Secretary Ben Carson and Assistant Secretary R. Hunter Kurtz, as well as prominent lawmakers including Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), who chairs the Senate’s HUD spending panel. Also on hand were Reps. David Price (D-NC) and Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL), the Chairman and ranking Republican, respectively, of the House of Representatives’ T-HUD Appropriations Subcommittee.

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ADVOCATE – August 14, 2019

President’s Forum: Please Contact Congress Soon About Potential Funding Impacts

Before leaving for their August recess, the House and Senate adopted important legislation that will avert sequestration in the coming fiscal year and raise the overall spending caps for domestic discretionary programs in both FY 20 and 21. The bipartisan package will also help the government avoid a fiscal meltdown by raising the debt limit ceiling for the next two years. The latter provision is needed because the government has reached its maximum borrowing authority and would have been forced to drastically cut spending had Congress not acted.

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ADVOCATE – July 31, 2019

Reversing ‘One Strike’ Policies: Fair Chance at Housing Act Introduced

On July 10, 2019, Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA) and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) introduced companion bills in the Senate and House called the Fair Chance at Housing Act. Both the sponsors and the supporters of the bills present them as part of larger criminal justice system reform efforts, and as a means of minimizing the harm caused by ‘tough on crime’ policies of the 1980s and 1990s. “This legislation is one of many steps that need to be taken to repair our broken criminal justice system,” said Representative Ocasio-Cortez in a press release.

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ADVOCATE – July 17, 2019

President’s Forum: Unfinished Business Means Another Busy September

With Independence Day now behind us, we are well into the summer as Congress approaches its August recess. Between now and when lawmakers return to Washington after Labor Day, they will confront a large amount of unfinished business. This includes the need to enact a large-scale budget agreement that averts sequestration in FY 20 along with a measure that raises the debt limit ceiling, authorizing the Federal Government to continue borrowing.

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ADVOCATE – July 3, 2019

LIHTC Legislation Reintroduced in Congress

Bipartisan legislation to strengthen and increase the flexibility of the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC, pronounced lie-tek) has been reintroduced in Congress. The Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act of 2019 would build upon the proven success of LIHTC. Both S. 1703… and H.R. 3077 are comprehensive bills that would expand LIHTC, which is considered to be the primary vehicle for encouraging private investment in affordable rental housing.

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ADVOCATE – June 12, 2019

House Appropriations Committee for T-HUD Releases FY 20 Funding Bill

On May 22, the House Appropriations Committee released the draft FY 20 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies (T-HUD) funding bill, which was considered in subcommittee on Thursday, May 23. The bill provides a total of $50.1 billion for HUD, which is $5.9 billion above the 2019 enacted level and $13.4 billion above the President’s budget request.

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ADVOCATE – May 29, 2019

OMB Seeks Comments on Inflation and Poverty Measures

On May 7, 2019, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) published a Notice of Solicitation of Comment in the Federal Register. OMB is seeking comment on varying methodologies for calculating inflation “and in particular how those differences might influence the estimation of the Official Poverty Measure (OPM).” The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) at the Department of Labor produces several inflation measures, including the one currently used.

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ADVOCATE – May 15, 2019

HUD Proposes Rule on Non-Citizen Residency in Assisted Housing

An April 17, 2019, article in The New York Times detailed, for the first time, HUD’s intent to fundamentally change the rules regarding non-citizen residency in assisted housing. The article surprised the affordable housing industry, which had not previously been aware of the Department’s intent to amend such regulations. A draft of the proposed rule obtained by PHADA is concerning because it would separate families, disrupt current business practices....

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ADVOCATE – May 1, 2019

President’s Forum: PHADA Meets with New Assistant Secretary Hunter Kurtz

On Monday, April 8, PHADA Senior Vice President John Hodge (Brunswick, ME), Vice President for Housing David Northern (Champaign County Il), Executive Director Tim Kaiser, and I had a productive meeting with Hunter Kurtz. Kurtz, who has previously worked in a few different capacities at HUD as well as the city of Detroit’s housing department, is President Trump’s nominee for Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing.

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ADVOCATE – April 17, 2019

GAO Issues Report on REAC’s Inspection Process

On March 21, 2019, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report on HUD’s Real Estate Assessment Center (REAC) titled, “HUD Should Improve Physical Inspection Process and Oversight of Inspectors” (www.gao.gov/products/GAO-19-254). This report was the result of an assessment required by Congress in the 2017 appropriations bill.

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ADVOCATE – April 3, 2019

President’s Budget Would Slash and Eliminate HUD Programs

The President’s FY 20 Budget, A Budget for A Better America, was released on March 11. The Public Housing budget is hit hard with a $4.6 billion reduction, which is more than 60 percent of the FY 19 enacted budget. The Operating Fund, with a proposed budget of $2.863 billion, is $1.79 billion (nearly 40 percent) lower than the FY 19 enacted level of $4.653 billion. PHADA, CLPHA, and NAHRO have put forth a joint industry needs statement that estimates a $5.4 billion budget for the Operating Fund.

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ADVOCATE – March 20, 2019

HUD Holds First REAC Listening Session, Releases Outline for New Inspection Protocol

On February 21, HUD held the first of a series of listening sessions concerning new and planned changes to the REAC inspection protocol in Philadelphia. PHADA President John Clarke and a number of PHADA trustees, members, and staff were in attendance at the meeting. In addition to reviewing the ill-conceived change to the inspection notification period, HUD staff unveiled the outline of an inspection Demonstration to be piloted in Region 3 later this year.

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ADVOCATE – March 6, 2019

A Look at the Final FY 19 Spending Deal

Congress passed a full year spending package for FY 19 for the remaining seven appropriations bills, including T-HUD, and President Trump approved it slightly before the expiration of the existing continuingesolution (CR) on February 15. The other five appropriations bills had been previously enacted through two spending packages before the start of the fiscal year on October 1.

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ADVOCATE – February 20, 2019

PHADA Has Serious Concerns With HUD’s Proposed ACC Changes

In the spring of 2018, HUD began to implement a new Consolidated Annual Contributions Contract (CACC) for public housing. A number of PHADA members expressed serious concern with the document and with the method HUD proposed to use to implement the new contract.

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ADVOCATE – February 6, 2019

House Passes FY 19 Appropriations for HUD

On Wednesday, January 23, the House passed an FY 19 appropriations bill (H.R. 648) for HUD and other agencies. The bill reflects the agreements reached by the House and Senate late last year. If passed by the Senate and signed by the President, the bill would provide full-year funding for the Department…

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ADVOCATE – January 9, 2019

President’s Forum: Shutdown, Fiscal Uncertainty Dictate Need for Reserves

As this edition of the Advocate went to print, subject to change at any time, the federal government is partially shut down including the Department of Housing and Urban Development. This means the brand new 116th Congress may have to deal with the shutdown and figure a way to finalize FY 19 appropriations (months after the October 1 deadline) while beginning work almost immediately on the FY 20 budget.

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ADVOCATE – DECEMBER 26, 2018

HUD Pursues Changes to REAC Inspection Protocols

Along with other groups representing the public and multifamily housing industries, PHADA attended a meeting at HUD on November 29, 2018, billed to discuss improvements to the physical inspection process. To demonstrate the importance of the issue, the Department’s Chief of Staff Andrew Hughes led a contingent of principal aides to Secretary Carson in attending the meeting.

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ADVOCATE – DECEMBER 12, 2018

PHADA Comments on HUD’s Proposed Moving to Work Expansion Operations Notice

On November 26, PHADA submitted comments on HUD’s recent version of its Operations Notice applicable to the 100 agency Moving to Work (MTW) expansion authorized in the 2016 appropriations statute. HUD had published an initial version of this notice in January 2017 which was broadly critiqued at the time.

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ADVOCATE – NOVEMBER 28, 2018

President’s Forum: Changes Coming in Congress

I noted in my late August column that, due to retirements and other factors, we could expect a lot of personnel changes in Congress even before the votes were counted. Now that Election Day has come and gone, the political lay of the land we will be dealing with for the next two years is much clearer.

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ADVOCATE – NOVEMBER 14, 2018

PHADA and Member HAs Join with HUD to Address Landlord Participation in the Voucher Program

As part of an effort by HUD to increase landlord participation in the Housing Choice Voucher Program, HUD asked PHADA to convene an expert panel of its members in late October to address programmatic barriers, incentives and other ways to attract and retain landlords.

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ADVOCATE – OCTOBER 31, 2018

HUD Reverses Course on Unfair ACC

In important news, Dominique Blom, HUD’s Acting Assistant Secretary for PIH, informed the Directors of PHADA, NAHRO, and CLPHA on October 15 that HUD will pull back its revised version of the Annual Contributions Contract (ACC). PHADA has been strongly advocating this action since the spring...

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ADVOCATE – OCTOBER 17, 2018

President’s Forum: Another Year, Another CR

October 1 has now come and gone, and with that, we are now in federal fiscal year 2019. For the first time in years, Congress was able to complete work on time on a large portion of the overall federal budget. In fact, Politico reported that the mammoth $854 billion spending bill signed into law... 

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ADVOCATE – OCTOBER 3, 2018

PHADA Announces Launch of New Website

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ADVOCATE – AUGUST 22, 2018

President’s Forum: Big Changes Coming in Congress

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ADVOCATE – AUGUST 8, 2018

Groups Continue to Raise Concerns with HUD on the New Annual Contributions Contract

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ADVOCATE – JULY 25, 2018

President’s Forum: Please Ask Your Reps. to Join Public Housing Caucus

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ADVOCATE – JULY 11, 2018

PHADA Raises Concerns with the New Annual Contributions Contract

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ADVOCATE – JUNE 27, 2018

Senate Appropriations Committee Marks-up Its FY 19 T-HUD Appropriations Bill

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ADVOCATE – JUNE 13, 2018

HUD Publishes Three New Assessment of Fair Housing Notices – Likely to Extend AFH Delays

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ADVOCATE – MAY 30, 2018

House T-HUD Marks Up FY 19 Appropriations Bill

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ADVOCATEMAY 2, 2018

Presidents Forum: Why Congress Increased the Capital Fund

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ADVOCATE – APRIL 18, 2018

Additional Policy and Program Provisions in Final 2018 Appropriations Law Are Noteworthy

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ADVOCATE – APRIL 4, 2018

President Trump Signs Massive Spending Bill

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ADVOCATE – MARCH 21, 2018

Presidents Forum: Proposed Budget Includes Flawed, Misleading Assumptions

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ADVOCATE – MARCH 7, 2018

PHADA Advocates to Appropriators for FY 2018 Funding

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ADVOCATE – FEBRUARY 21, 2018

Congress Reaches a Two-Year Budget Deal

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ADVOCATE – FEBRUARY 7, 2018

PHADA Submits Comments In Response to HUD’s Proposed FSS Performance Measurement System

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ADVOCATE – JANUARY 10, 2018

Congress Passes Major Tax Reform Legislation

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