PHADA President Mark Gillett.
This is the first Advocate of 2025—Happy New Year! I would note as well that this year marks Volume 40 of this publication. Many of us have long believed the Advocate is the best industry newsletter and we are especially proud that it has reached its 40th anniversary.
Our Collaboration with Industry Partners
A presidential transition paper developed by PHADA and our three industry partners (CLPHA, MTW Collaborative, and NAHRO) appears in this edition. The associations sent the paper to career HUD staff as well as members of the Trump transition team. The paper lays out our general goals and objectives for the next couple of years including a major push for more local flexibility and deregulation.
Some of the overarching goals included in the paper include ensuring public housing agencies are fully funded to serve vulnerable populations. We further stress that regulatory barriers must be reduced so that HAs can better meet local housing needs. More specifically, we call on the incoming administration and the new Congress to address the capital backlog to better ensure public housing’s long-term viability.
Other issues include the need to address fiscal challenges related to uncollected rents and the need for HUD to modernize and vet its information technology systems before implementing the Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act (HOTMA) rule. The full letter is available here.
I have previously mentioned that PHADA is strongly advocating that Congress enact major regulatory reforms through a Local Flexibility Option (LFO). This is a plan we developed that would provide housing authorities the ability to opt-in to a housing assistance
model that provides flexibility in their use of funds to better address local conditions.
We believe this kind of flexibility will be even more necessary considering the tight budgets we expect in 2025-26. We also believe local flexibility can result in improved outcomes, as demonstrated through the Moving to Work Demonstration (MTW), conversions to the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD), and implementation of CARES Act waivers during the pandemic.
We will be working with other advocates and key lawmakers to try and move this plan forward in Congress during the new session that starts soon.
Reminder: Scholarship Applications Due by January 24
To encourage academic excellence and community responsibility among high school students, PHADA operates a scholarship program for graduating seniors who are preparing to enter college. In 2025, we will again award three scholarships to deserving youth currently residing in a PHADA member agency.
The most prominent one is our Stephen J. Bollinger Memorial Scholarship. This scholarship will be formally presented at PHADA’s Annual Convention & Exhibition (May 13–16 in Seattle, WA). The scholarship is named after a former PHADA Vice President who served at HUD during the Reagan Administration.
The winner will receive a trip for him/herself and one parent/guardian to attend the convention.
We will also sponsor a Civil Rights and Social Justice Scholarship and are proud to partner in the Nan McKay Pathway to Achievement Scholarship. For more details and application materials, see our website.
Please act soon because the end of January is rapidly approaching.