Housing Affairs Letter

District of Columbia

Housing Legislation Activity Accelerates

As House lawmakers readied for a one-week vacation, the House Financial Services Committee decided to move 22 legislative proposals to the House floor including housing and community development bills

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Storms Bode Ill For FY 2018 Spending

When lawmakers tallied the dollars for FY 2018 appropriations, they hadn’t anticipated the devastation of three major hurricanes and a multitude of fires in California that would run up a deficit tab of tens of billions of dollars, all borrowed against a new national debt ceiling.

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Scathing Critique Of Fannie Mae Offices

Fannie Mae’s preparation of new office space takes a page from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s remodeling manual in its design of palatial surroundings and cost overruns at taxpayer expense.

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Notes From Inside The Beltway

Legislation designed to reauthorize the Native American Housing Assistance & Self-Determination Act through 2022 begins wending its way through Congress. The parallel legislation crafted by Sen. Tom Udall (D-NM) and Rep. Steve Pearce (R-MN) would renew

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Notes From Inside The Beltway

Enterprise Community Partners, the Columbia, Maryland-based low-income housing developer, providers a tool to help families seeking housing in better neighborhoods. The tool, dubbed Opportunity 360, gives users a wide selection of economic, education, environmental,

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A Summary of Industry Activities

Mortgage applications for new home purchases increased .8% in August from the same time a year ago and 7% from July’s pace. The changes are not seasonally adjusted according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Builder Application Survey. MBA estimates the sales of new

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Notes From Inside The Beltway

Without clear guidance from Congress, HUD is ready to interpret the Personal Responsibility & Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 to allow illegal immigrants to live in subsidized housing funded through the department’s community development programs and administered

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Harvey Upends Government Shutdown

Hurricane Harvey’s devastation of Southeast Texas, coupled with the likely onslaught of Hurricane Irma, has backed President Donald Trump into a political corner. The result will be to keep government operating after Oct. 1 despite Trump’s earlier vow to shutter government if

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Trump Gets Bitter Spending Pill

A spending deal struck by President Donald Trump with leading Democrats to thwart a possible national financial default tosses the congressional fall agenda into disarray and deals Trump a personal blow -- failure to stand firm on his vows to reduce overall government spending.

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FY 2018 Spending Quandary

Despite congressional leadership vows to complete action on the 12 appropriations bills to authorize FY 2018 spending beginning Oct. 1, events have made completion of budget negotiations impossible in the three-week timeframe left before the end of the current federal

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