[Senate Hearing 116-]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
TRANSPORTATION, HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT, AND RELATED AGENGIES
APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2021
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WEDNESDAY, MARCH 11, 2020
U.S. Senate,
Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations,
Washington, DC.
The subcommittee met at 2:00 p.m., in room SD-192, Dirksen
Senate Office Building, Hon. Susan Collins (chairman)
presiding.
Present: Senators Collins, Boozman, Capito, Reed, Leahy,
Murray, and Manchin.
DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
STATEMENT OF HON. BEN CARSON, SECRETARY
OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR SUSAN M. COLLINS
Senator Collins. This subcommittee will come to order.
I am very pleased today to welcome the Secretary of Housing
and Urban Development, Dr. Ben Carson, who will testify on the
President's fiscal year 2021 budget request.
I am also pleased to be joined by my friend and our ranking
member, Senator Jack Reed, and the committee's vice chairman,
Senator Leahy. I am sure there will be other senators coming by
during the course of the hearing, as well.
Thanks to the two-year budget agreement, we were able to
provide nearly $57 billion for the Department of Housing and
Urban Development in the fiscal year 2020 bill. These funds
provided rental assistance for seniors and low-income families
who might otherwise be of risk of homelessness. The bill helped
to provide safe and secure housing for formerly homeless
veterans and youth, and it supports critical investments in
communities through the HOME and the Community Development
Block Grant Programs.
The Administration's fiscal year 2021 request for HUD,
excluding the FHA and Ginnie Mae receipts, is only $47.9
billion, a reduction of $8.6 billion, and 15 percent below
current levels. This request reflects a significant reduction
in the Federal role in housing and community development.
Just a few of the programs eliminated in the
Administration's budget request include the Community
Development Block Grant Program, HOME, VASH and Family
Unification vouchers, Youth Homelessness grants, and the Public
Housing Capital Fund.
The budget request, once again, includes proposals that
have been rejected year after year by this subcommittee, and I
predict that many of the same program eliminations and other
cost-shifting approaches will, once again, be rejected.
Let me comment on two particularly important eliminations.
First is the Community Development Block Grant Program
(CDBG). It provides funds that can be used by State and local
officials for a wide variety of purposes, such as building
affordable housing, improving roads, and redeveloping
downtowns.
Last year, 75 senators wrote to our subcommittee urging its
restoration. CDBG has proven to be an excellent investment that
leverages outside funding for low- and moderate-income
communities. For every $1 invested in CDBG, it leverages
another $4 in funds from State, local, and private sources.
CDBG provides flexible funding for critical water and sewer
improvements, public services for seniors, revitalization of
distressed downtowns, and countless other worthwhile projects.
Communities across my State have used CDBG funding for
numerous activities, including financing the construction of
mixed income family housing, renovating a former VFW building
to use as a new food bank, helping homebound vets receive
health and wellness services, providing treatment for opioid
abuse and mental illness, and the renovation of a Boy's and
Girl's Club.
This program has been an essential resource for State and
local governments. It lies at the heart of HUD's community
development mission, and eliminating these grants would
negatively affect the lives of millions of low- and moderate-
income Americans.
Second, I want to focus on the HUD VASH Program because the
Administration's request does not include funding for new VASH
vouchers. These vouchers have been critical in reducing
veteran's homelessness by 50 percent since 2010. In the land of
the free, there must always be a home for the brave. This
program has proven to be effective.
While I am concerned by many of the Administration's
proposals, there are areas where HUD and this subcommittee
share common goals.
Reducing lead paint exposure to address health hazards,
particularly to young children, is a priority of mine and of
Senator Reed, and I know that Secretary Carson shares this
commitment, as well. In fact, the Department has requested an
historic funding level of $360 million for the Office of Lead
Hazard Control, an increase of $70 million.
I look forward to hearing about some of the Department's
new initiatives to install, for example, carbon monoxide alarms
in HUD-assisted housing units, to test for radon in areas
identified by the EPA, and to perform lead hazard risk
assessments for public housing agencies.
Low-income households face an affordable housing shortage
across the Country, and in many locations, including Portland,
Maine, that shortage is reaching crisis levels. According to
the National Low Income Housing Coalition, no State has an
adequate supply of affordable rental housing, while Harvard's
Joint Center for Housing Studies notes that 10.9 million
renters, or one in four, spent more than half of their income
on housing in 2018.
Programs such as the Housing Trust Fund and the HOME
Program, along with low-income housing tax credits, are
critical to meeting the affordable rental housing needs of low-
income families.
Moderate-income families are also being hurt. The very
people who make our communities thrive--the schoolteachers,
firefighters, police officers, and nurses--find that they can
no longer afford to live in the communities that they serve.
Yet, the Administration's proposal eliminates both the Housing
Trust Fund and the HOME Program.
With every State suffering from a lack of affordable rental
housing, how can HUD abandon programs that partner with the
private sector to increase the supply of affordable housing?
The budget request also proposes steep cuts in HUD's
Section 8 Program. Funding for Section 8 voucher renewals is
$371 million below the levels of the current fiscal year, while
funding for oversight management, physical inspections, and
assisting tenants with locating housing is reduced by nearly
$172 million.
At the same time, the Administration's request assumes
enactment of proposals to shift more of the cost of rental
assistance to already-struggling working families. These
proposals would underfund the project-based Section 8 Program
by $526 million.
The Administration's request also includes significant cuts
to public housing programs. In addition to eliminating the
Choice Neighborhoods Initiative, the request also eliminates
funding for the Public Housing Capital Fund and would shift
these activities to the operating fund.
While merging these two programs into a single public
housing fund may have its merits, adding the capital activities
to a program that is cut by nearly $450 million in this request
seems like a non-starter. Neither residents nor taxpayers are
well-served by subsidizing poor quality housing.
Mr. Secretary, let me make very clear that I know of your
commitment and I recognize that many of these cuts were
undoubtedly imposed by OMB. At least that has been the
tradition that I have seen year after year after year. I look
forward to hearing from you personally, and I am now pleased to
turn to Senator Reed for his opening statement.
STATEMENT OF SENATOR JACK REED
Senator Reed. Well, thank you very much, Chairman Collins,
and welcome back to the subcommittee, Secretary Carson.
This is going to be something of an echo I hear today.
The Administration's budget would cut HUD by an astounding
$8.5 billion from fiscal year 2020. As with prior three budget
requests, the Administration walks away from the Federal
partnership and affordable housing production and preservation
with the elimination of the HOME Program, the CDBG Program, and
steep cuts to public housing.
I find the cuts to HOME somewhat at odds with your national
Driving Affordable Housing Across America bus tour. As you
travel the Country to discuss the growing affordable housing
crises, I don't know if you are telling stakeholders that your
budget cuts are eliminating many of the programs that provide
affordable housing.
Federal investments of HOME and CDBG are critical to
financing affordable housing. Without these programs, the
development of new units will be even more challenging than it
is today.
While I am pleased that the budget includes funding to
sustain homelessness assistance through the Continuum of Care
Program, it unfortunately decreases targeted resources for
emergency solution grants. It also overlooks necessary
investments for youth and veterans experiencing homelessness,
as well as victims of domestic violence.
And, as the epidemic of the Corona Virus, or COVID-19,
continues to expand, unsheltered homeless are particularly
vulnerable. I understand FEMA may be assigned responsibility of
providing temporary housing assistance for unsheltered homeless
in communities under restrictive quarantine, but there is not
much direction or clarification for State and local communities
on that front. I hope you will work with your Federal partners
and Congress to clarify this gap in our prevention and
containment strategies.
Moving on, I do agree that we need to reform and improve
the way we address disaster assistance overall. Through CDBG
Disaster Recovery Assistance, HUD provides indispensable aid
that fills the gaps between other Federal disaster assistance
programs, but the delivery of this assistance is too slow.
Over 2 years ago, Congress provided HUD with over $35
billion to help areas that were devastated by disasters that
occurred in 2017. HUD took 569 days to issue its mitigation
funding guidance for California, Florida, and Texas, and the
Virgin Islands. And it took 718 days to issue the guidance for
Puerto Rico. Keep in mind, this is guidance, not the actual
funding provided by Congress.
Let me add that the treatment of Puerto Rico's recovery has
been unfair, to say the least. After the Department violated
the law, ignoring congressionally mandated deadlines for the
Federal Register Mitigation Notice to be published, HUD then
placed excessive conditions on the grant agreement, directly
impeding the island's recovery.
HUD's requirement for Puerto Rico to spend 50 percent of
the funds apportioned or appropriated by the Administration in
order to gain access to what had already been awarded is
ridiculous. Out of the $20 billion allocated to Puerto Rico for
the catastrophic hurricanes in 2017, the island only has had
access to a total of $3.2 billion, or 16 percent of the
appropriated funding. This will result in stove piping the
recovery process by activity and eliminates the opportunity for
affordable housing development that leverages low-income
housing tax credits.
No other jurisdiction is required to meet this condition.
States like Tennessee and North Dakota have 34 percent or less
expenditure rates for disaster that occurred in 2013, 4 years
prior to the Puerto Rican hurricanes. The rates are even lower
for 2016 disasters in West Virginia and Texas.
This makes my point two-fold: Puerto Rico is experiencing
disparate treatment by the Administration, and our mechanism
for delivering recovery assistance is too slow.
Mr. Secretary, I hope we can agree that we need to better
coordinate disaster assistance and funding across the Federal
government so aid is available in a timely fashion. I welcome
any discussion on how the Federal government can be more
effective and timely in its disaster response. The status quo
is unacceptable.
Lastly, like the chairman, I do appreciate your attention
to health hazards in public and HUD-assisted housing,
everything from lead-based paint to radon to carbon monoxide.
Indeed, the demonstration programs you propose are investments
that could prevent cognitive impairment, lung cancer, and even
death. Thank you for recognizing these risks and pushing for
interventions and solutions to address them.
Mr. Secretary, I look forward to hearing your response to
our concerns and those of my colleagues. And again, I thank the
chairman.
Senator Collins. Thank you very much, Senator Reed.
Senator Leahy, would you like to make some opening remarks?
Senator Leahy. No. Thank you very much for the courtesy. I
am looking forward to asking a few questions.
Senator Collins. Great. Thank you.
Senator Boozman, would you like to make a--thank you.
I now call on the Secretary for his testimony.
Secretary Carson.
SUMMARY STATEMENT OF HON. DR. BEN CARSON
Secretary Carson. Thank you, Chairwoman Collins, Ranking
Member Reed, and members of the subcommittee. Thank you for the
opportunity to appear before you today to discuss the
President's proposed fiscal year 2021 HUD budget. This is my
fourth time testifying before this subcommittee to update you
on the important work being performed by HUD's immensely
talented and dedicated staff.
Our funding plan for the upcoming fiscal year seeks $47.9
billion, an increase of 8.6 percent over last year's request.
It proposes increased funding to help our fellow citizens
who are homeless.
It calls on Congress to provide a record amount of funding
to make homes safer by reducing lead-based paint and other
hazards like carbon monoxide and radon.
And, our budget will continue providing critical resources
and support for the more than 4.6 million low-income families
HUD serves through our rental assistance programs.
In short, our budget supports HUD's combined efforts to
provide safe, decent, and affordable housing for the American
people, while being good stewards of taxpayer dollars.
In the time I have, I would like to summarize the most
critical aspects of our budget.
First, homelessness has been foremost on our minds in
recent months. HUD's most recent Point-in-Time count found a
sharp increase in homelessness in California. This is stemming
the progress we are seeing across the rest of the Country,
where homelessness was actually down.
Our budget requests $2.8 billion for homeless assistance
grants, which allow communities to serve vulnerable individuals
and families who are homeless or at risk of homelessness
through a variety of proven approaches. In the coming months,
HUD will be targeting unspent funds to areas of the Country
experiencing high levels of unsheltered homelessness.
Our budget includes $425 million for one of my top goals:
Reducing home health hazards. In addition to our continued
focus on lead, this request includes $35 million for carbon
monoxide detectors and $5 million for radon testing and
mitigation. Our goal is not simply healthy homes; it is healthy
people living inside of health homes.
Across our rental assistance programs, HUD has requested
$41.3 billion to ensure all currently served households
continue to receive assistance. Our budget includes $853
million for housing for the elderly, and $252 million for
housing for persons with disabilities. These two programs
assist approximately 125,000 elderly residents and 32,000
people with disabilities pay their rent.
While we are here to talk about our budget requests, I
would like to point out that not every challenge can simply be
solved with more financial resources. One of my priorities as
Secretary and chairman of President Trump's White House Council
on Eliminating Regulatory Barriers to Affordable Housing is
working with Federal, State, local, and tribal partners on
eliminating regulatory barriers, unnecessarily increasing the
cost of America's housing supply. Not only do these barriers
increase costs for consumers, they also place a higher burden
on taxpayers, who shoulder increased costs.
Turning to FHA, I am pleased to report that the most recent
actuarial report found the Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund had a
healthy capital ratio of 4.84 percent, the highest level since
before the financial crisis. FHA's economic net worth stands
north of $62 billion, nearly double from last year.
I want to express to this subcommittee our deep gratitude
for your support in updating FHA's technology. FHA is
digitizing portions of its claim process, which reduces
processing time from months to minutes. We are requesting $20
million to continue this modernization initiative to help FHA
properly manage risk and completely digitize the loan
lifecycle.
To support HUD's fair housing mission, our budget proposes
$65.3 million to continue fighting housing discrimination and
fund a wide range of services related to equality and fair
housing.
HUD is also addressing fair housing through regulatory
reform and legal cases. We have a new Proposed Disparate Impact
Rule, designed to provide plaintiffs with a roadmap for
pleading stronger cases, and an improved Affirmatively
Furthering Fair Housing Rule, which is aimed at increasing
affordable housing options for families.
HUD also filed a discrimination charge against Facebook and
entered into a landmark agreement requiring Los Angeles to
improve housing accessibility for disabled individuals.
Finally, I want to turn to the increased role HUD has been
performing to help communities recover from natural disasters.
During my tenure, Congress has appropriated more than $40
billion for long-term recovery needs. As we administer this
dramatic increase in funding, we found the unpredictable nature
of the program does not allow grantees to plan responsibly or
act quickly. In fact, we found it takes two and a half years
for the first dollar to reach disaster survivors, and another 2
years before the community has spent most of its funding. By
beginning a conversation regarding the inadequacies of the
current program, we hope to work with Congress on reforms that
will speed the pace of recovery.
To conclude, our budget advances the Administration's key
priorities of providing shelter to the homeless, making homes
safer from health hazards, and continuing to assist Americans
in need with their rent payments. Our budget does this while
recognizing the difficult choices that need to be made to
prevent future generations from inheriting a mountain of debt.
I am proud of the tireless work being done by HUD's nearly
7,500 employees, who are serving every community of this great
Nation every day. I often say we have the ugliest building, but
the best people.
[The statement follows:]
Prepared Statement of Hon. Dr. Ben Carson
Chairman Collins, Ranking Member Reed, and members of the
Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today
to discuss the President's proposed fiscal year 2021 Budget for the
Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
This funding plan seeks $47.9 billion, an increase of 8.6 percent
over last year's request. It supports funding increases to programs
essential to carrying out our Department's mission.
Our proposed Budget seeks an increase in funding to house and
provide support services to our homeless. Like last year, our Budget
also seeks a record amount of funding to make homes safer by reducing
lead-based paint and other home health hazards. And, our Budget will
continue providing critical resources and support for the more than 4.6
million low- income families HUD is currently serving through the
Department's rental assistance programs.
In short, our Budget will support HUD's combined efforts to provide
safe, decent, and affordable housing for the American people, while
being good stewards of taxpayer dollars.
I would like to touch upon each of these areas individually.
ending homelessness
We are requesting $2.8 billion for Homeless Assistance Grants
(HAG), which are key to addressing homelessness nationwide. These
grants represent a 6.7 percent increase over last year's funding
request and will allow HUD to serve vulnerable individuals and families
who are homeless or at risk of homelessness through prevention
programs, emergency sheltering, rapid re-housing, transitional housing,
and permanent supportive housing.
The Administration also plans to begin a new initiative to reduce
unsheltered homelessness. This would support comprehensive and
coordinated interventions to reduce street homelessness.
Our ongoing efforts are demonstrating results, as we see homeless
rates of veterans and families on the decline. Our recent 2019 ``Point-
in-Time'' homeless data showed that nearly 800 more homeless veterans
were housed between 2018 and 2019, continuing a nationwide decline in
veteran homelessness by nearly 50 percent over the past decade.
This progress has prompted 78 communities across 33 different
states to declare an effective end to veteran homelessness in their
areas. Three states--Connecticut, Virginia, and Delaware--have also
declared an effective end to veteran homelessness altogether, which
means more veterans are off the streets and have a safe place to call
home.
However, we still have a great deal of progress to make. California
alone has 27 percent of our nations' homeless population with more than
151,200 homeless individuals and is where half of all unsheltered
Americans reside. Not only does California have the largest increase in
homelessness of any state, but were it not for this increase,
homelessness would have decreased nationwide. Clearly, there is a
serious problem there that deserves our attention.
healthy homes
Our Budget includes a request of $425 million for reducing hazards
in the home; this includes $360 million for the Office of Lead Hazard
Control and Healthy Homes, and $65 million for lead safety initiatives
in programs administered by the Office of Public and Indian Housing.
This request, which is $90 million higher than the funding enacted last
year, will help achieve one of my signature goals for the year ahead:
the reduction of hazards in the home, including lead-based paint, lead
water pipes, carbon monoxide, and radon.
Lead-based paint in housing presents one of the largest threats to
the health, safety and future productivity of America's children, with
over 22 million homes (34 percent of the homes built before 1978)
having significant lead-based paint hazards. Our Budget requests $240
million in funding for the Lead Based Paint Hazard Reduction Grants and
Demonstration programs, which is $5 million more than the enacted level
last year. The grants funded through this program would make over
20,000 unassisted low-income older homes free of lead-based paint
hazards over the life of the program.
Our Budget also requests funding for lead safety initiatives in the
Public Housing Fund, including $35 million for grants to remove lead-
based paint hazards from public housing. To address lead water pipes,
our Budget proposes $30 million for replacement of lead service lines
to Public Housing properties where the local public water system is
undertaking a comprehensive water main replacement program.
In addition to lead, our Budget requests funding to reduce other
hazards in the home, including $45 million for Healthy Homes Grants and
Support, $35 million for installing carbon monoxide detectors, $5
million for radon testing and mitigation, and $30 million for
conducting the Housing Choice Voucher Lead Risk Assessment
Demonstration Program.
As a doctor myself, it pained me to send a young child home from
the hospital when I knew they were not returning to a healthy home.
This undeniable link between health and housing has been a driving
force in our ongoing effort to overhaul the home inspection process the
Department has been using for more than 20 years.
This past year, HUD's Office of Public and Indian Housing performed
a wholesale reexamination of the Real Estate Assessment Center's (REAC)
inspection process, after hearing many complaints from the families
living in public housing and other HUD-assisted units.
As a result, HUD is phasing in a 14-day inspection notice policy,
down from the old 120-day notice policy. Four months--a quarter of a
year--is too long to wait for a home inspection to certify a unit is up
to code. This shortened time period still allows property managers and
public housing authorities enough time to ensure they have staffing in
place to facilitate an inspection, while also assuring the inspection
results more accurately reflect the housing conditions and operations.
We continue to pursue every possible way to remove environmental
hazards from housing, because this is, in fact, a life and death issue.
Ultimately, HUD's goal is not just healthy homes; it is healthy people
living inside healthy homes.
rental assistance
Across our rental assistance programs, HUD has requested funding to
ensure all currently served households continue to receive assistance,
without any evictions.
Our Budget continues support for the more than 4.6 million HUD-
assisted households by requesting $41.3 billion for rental assistance.
This request will allow HUD to support the same number of assisted
households through our primary housing programs, including our tenant-
based, project-based rental assistance, and public housing programs. It
is increasingly clear, however, that the way we subsidize rental
housing in this country is broken. In fact, the way we calculate a
family's rent has not changed since President Reagan was in office. Our
Budget proposes reforms to HUD's current rent structure, including
incorporating the Administration's uniform work requirements. These
reforms would: require work for those who are able to work; reduce the
administrative burden for housing authorities and residents alike; and
allow greater flexibility to create local solutions to local
challenges. HUD looks forward to working with Congress to enact the
Administration's proposed rent reforms to ensure these programs are
sustainable for the future.
Our Budget requests $13.7 billion for rental assistance programs
managed by the Office of Housing, including Housing for the Elderly
(Section 202) and Housing for Persons with Disabilities (Section 811).
This funding level supports the same number of households currently
assisted and includes a proposed $180 million to construct
approximately 1,000 units of housing for the elderly and persons with
disabilities.
Our Budget requests $853 million for the Section 202 program, which
is $60 million more than the enacted level for fiscal year 2020. The
Section 202 program helps more than 124,000 elderly households pay
their rent. Our Budget will fully fund contract renewals and amendments
of existing Project Rental Assistance Contracts and Senior Preservation
Rental Assistance Contracts. In addition, we are requesting $100
million for Capital Advances to build approximately 600 units of new
affordable housing for seniors.
In addition, the Budget includes $252 million for the Section 811
program, which is $50 million more than the enacted level for fiscal
year 2020. The Section 811 program helps more than 32,000 persons with
disabilities pay rent. This Budget fully funds the annual renewals and
amendments for existing units and includes $80 million for Capital
Advances to build approximately 400 units of new housing for persons
with disabilities.
While we are here to talk about our Budget request, I would like to
point out that not every challenge can simply be solved with more
financial resources. One of my priorities as Secretary is to work with
our Federal, state, local and Tribal partners on identifying and
eliminating regulatory barriers that unnecessarily increase the cost of
America's housing supply. Not only do these barriers increase costs for
consumers, they also place a higher burden on taxpayers who are asked
to shoulder increased costs.
To encourage the growth of new homes, last summer, President Trump
established the White House Council on Eliminating Regulatory Barriers
to Affordable Housing. This Council, which I also have the privilege to
chair, is working with local and state leaders to identify and remove
regulatory barriers that artificially limit housing supply in their
jurisdictions.
federal housing administration and ginnie mae
Since its creation during the Great Depression, the Federal Housing
Administration (FHA) has been instrumental in supporting homeownership
in this country. Our Budget requests $400 billion in single-family loan
guarantee authority, as well as $130 million for FHA administrative
contract expenses. In addition, consistent with HUD's Housing Finance
Reform Plan, the Budget requests $20 million to continue modernizing
FHA's outdated single-family information technology systems and
includes legislative proposals that would strengthen the viability of
reverse mortgages, improve FHA's lender enforcement program, and
protect taxpayers.
FHA's most recent annual report stated that at the end of fiscal
year 2019, the FHA Mutual Mortgage Insurance (MMI) Fund Capital Ratio
was 4.84 percent. This represents its highest level since fiscal year
2007. MMI Capital/Economic Net Worth for fiscal year 2019 was at $62.38
billion, an increase of $27.52 billion from the previous fiscal year.
To facilitate HUD's progress, the fiscal year 2021 Budget proposes
$30 billion in loan guarantee authority for FHA's General and Special
Risk Insurance programs, including programs that insure financing for
multifamily housing and healthcare facilities. And, we propose $550
billion in loan guarantee authority for Ginnie Mae to continue
supporting the secondary market for federally-insured loans.
fair housing
To support HUD's fair housing mission, our Budget proposes $65.3
million to continue fighting housing discrimination, increase awareness
of peoples' rights, and fund a wide range of services related to
equality and fair housing. This request is $3 million more than the
amount requested in last year's Budget.
Notably, our Budget requests $39.6 million for HUD's Fair Housing
Initiatives Program, which will provide support for fair housing
enforcement activities conducted by approximately 98 private fair-
housing organizations.
HUD is also addressing fair housing concerns through regulatory
reform. For example, last year, HUD issued a new proposed Disparate
Impact rule designed to provide plaintiffs with a roadmap for pleading
stronger cases, while empowering defendants to assert effective
challenges to frivolous lawsuits. Ultimately, this new rule will bring
HUD into compliance with the 2015 Supreme Court decision that placed
important guardrails on the use of this legal theory.
In addition, HUD recently unveiled our improved Affirmatively
Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) rule, which is aimed at increasing
affordable housing options for families and empowering localities to
pursue policies that meet their unique housing needs. This updated rule
simplifies compliance, promotes local solutions, and focuses on
encouraging what everyone needs more of: lower cost, affordable housing
that is free from discrimination.
self-sufficiency
Our Budget bolsters HUD's efforts to break the cycle of poverty by
requesting $190 million for self-sufficiency programs. These funds
directly support key initiatives like our Family Self-Sufficiency
Program, which has over 70,000 active households and had more than
5,400 graduates last year who are employed and do not require Temporary
Assistance for Needy Families; 41 percent of those who graduated left
the program with savings in their escrow accounts, which had an average
balance of approximately $6,700. Our Budget requests $90 million for
Family Self-Sufficiency, a $10 million increase above the fiscal year
2020 enacted level.
Our Budget supports HUD's Jobs-Plus Program, which is geared toward
increasing employment opportunities and earnings of public housing
residents through a three-pronged approach of employment services,
rent-based work incentives, and community support. Through Jobs-Plus,
nearly 1,500 individuals have been continuously employed for at least
180 days after placement, and residents have saved over $21.3 million
in rent payments. Our Budget requests $100 million for Jobs-Plus, an
$85 million increase above the fiscal year 2020 enacted level.
In addition to allocated funds, HUD's efforts to foster self-
sufficiency have been greatly enhanced by the bipartisan support of the
Opportunity Zone initiative. Opportunity Zones were created to spur
greater private sector investment into economically distressed
communities through powerful tax incentives. There are more than 8,700
Opportunity Zones across the country, creating a new pathway to
prosperity and impacting nearly 35 million Americans, including 2.4
million HUD-assisted individuals.
To maximize the impact of this initiative, in December 2018,
President Trump established the White House Opportunity and
Revitalization Council, which I have the privilege to chair. In
February 2020, the Council released its annual report, which details
180 actions Federal agencies have taken over the past year to maximize
the impact of Opportunity Zones. The actions span a wide range of grant
preference points, updated loan qualifications, reduced application
fees, and improved eligibility criteria for funding and incentives.
Through Opportunity Zones, we are fostering partnerships between
people who have never sat at the same table before: community leaders,
business leaders, faith-based leaders, public housing advocates,
investors, builders, state officials, and Federal officials. The
conversations I've been a part of have been groundbreaking, and the
progress we are starting to see is promising.
disaster recovery
HUD plays an important role in long-term disaster recovery efforts
across the country, providing assistance for disaster survivors
strengthening mortgage relief for homeowners, and partnering with
public housing agencies to address emergency safety and security
improvements.
Since 2005, Congress has appropriated over $80 billion in Community
Development Block Grant--Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds to the
Department, with more than $40 billion of that appropriated in the last
3 years alone.
While CDBG-DR funding is intended for long-term recovery needs, the
unpredictable and overlapping nature of the program does not allow
grantees to responsibly plan or act quickly. A re-examination of the
CDBG-DR program, its role in disaster recovery, and its impact on
Federal disaster spending is past due.
To that end, our Budget discusses the need to comprehensively
reform disaster recovery programs across all Federal agencies. Our
intent is to set the stage for future reforms by beginning a
conversation regarding the current inadequacies of the program (e.g.,
unsustainable spending, proliferation in the number and complexity of
Federal programs that adds to interagency coordination challenges,
misalignment of incentives, distortion of risk, and misalignment of
expertise). We look forward to working with Congress on potential
legislative changes to the CDBG-DR program.
eliminating/reducing ineffective programs
The Administration continues to propose eliminating the Community
Development Block Grant program, the HOME Investment Partnerships
Program, the Housing Trust Fund, the Choice Neighborhoods Initiative,
and the Self-Help and Assisted Homeownership Opportunity Program. In
today's budget environment, these activities are best undertaken by
state and local governments.
conclusion
Our Budget advances the Administration's key priorities by
providing shelter to the homeless and making homes safe from health
hazards. It ensures that the people HUD serves continue to receive
rental assistance. And it does this while recognizing that difficult
budget choices need to be made to prevent future generations from
inheriting a mountain of debt.
I'm proud of the tireless work being done by HUD's nearly 7,500
employees, who are serving every community in this great nation each
and every day.
Thank you for the opportunity to present next fiscal year's Budget
and update you on the progress being made at HUD.
Senator Collins. Thank you, Mr. Secretary. I will note some
irony in your last line because I, too, think that HUD has the
ugliest building.
[Laughter.]
Senator Collins. And I did know that you do have a number
of very good people. But, it is ironic that the housing
secretary is housed in an ugly building.
[Laughter.]
Senator Leahy. It does have competition from the FBI
building.
[Laughter.]
Senator Collins. There are a few of those.
Mr. Secretary, I am going to start with the issue of the
day. As a physician, as HUD Secretary, and as a member of the
Administration's Corona Virus Task Force, you have undoubtedly
done a lot of thinking about this problem that we face in the
recent weeks.
HOMELESSNESS/RENTAL ASSISTANCE
Two of the populations that HUD programs serve, the
homeless and seniors, who comprise a significant portion of
HUD's rental assistance programs, are particularly at risk of
this new virus and related complications.
Mr. Secretary, how has the spread of the Corona Virus
affected your Department's administration of programs that are
aimed at at-risk populations?
Secretary Carson. Well, obviously, we have been very
concerned about it. We have formed a task force of the
leadership at HUD. They meet at least once every day to talk
about things, looking at, first of all, how do we remain
efficient; what contingency plans are needed in case we have
to, you know, work from home; how to get the cleaning staff to
clean appropriate places in the appropriate way.
We have also, you know, designed a toolkit, which we sent
out to all of the people that we serve--the PHAs that manage
the public housing, all of the assisted housing, the 202
programs for the elderly and the disabled--in terms of best
practices, in terms of who they need to be in contact with
respect to the local health agencies, and a list of best
practices in order to prevent the spread of disease.
Senator Collins. Thank you.
CDBG
I want to turn next to the CDBG funding. As I have
mentioned, I am a big fan of this program. It is flexible. The
State and local governments love it because they can use it for
community development across our State. For example, the City
of South Portland used the Community Development Block Grant
funds to help demolish three abandoned buildings and clean up
contaminated sites that will be used to build affordable
housing units.
The small town of Harrison, Maine used CDBG funds to
renovate that former VFW building that is now a home to a food
bank that I mentioned in my opening statement.
State and local governments very much appreciate the
flexibility of the program to improve their communities. You
know, this is a popular program. Every year that it is cut, we
put the money back in. Why is the Administration proposing the
elimination of the CDBG Program?
Secretary Carson. Well, because just as many wonderful
things that you can talk about that it provided, I can talk
about as many things that were inappropriate. But, it is the
way the program is designed, and it allows a lot of communities
that really don't need the funding to do pretty much anything
they want with it, and there is no responsibility. They get the
money every year, no matter what they do.
I actually agree that it is a good program, and we have
been working for the last several months on significant changes
to the program. And, I have talked to OMB about it, also. If we
can change it appropriately, I would be happy to work with you
to make it really do what it is supposed to do and serve the
people that it is supposed to serve. I am hopeful that next
year, maybe that recommendation won't be made.
SECTION 8 VOUCHER AND PD&R
Senator Collins. Let me switch to another issue. Under the
Section 8 Voucher Payment Standards, a public housing authority
can set the maximum amount of subsidy that the voucher
provides, between 90 and 100 percent of HUD's calculation of
the fair market rent for an area.
Now, what I have heard from numerous communities in Maine,
including Portland, Lewiston, Auburn, and Westbrook, from the
PHAs there, is that HUD's calculations are lower than the
actual rental market conditions, and that makes it extremely
difficult for the holders of the vouchers, those families, to
find housing.
I understand part of the problem may be the limitations of
the available data, but how is HUD working to improve the
accuracy of that very important fair market rent calculation?
Secretary Carson. Well, we are concerned about making sure
that we are accurate in doing that. And, you know, our PD&R,
Policy Development and Research, Office is actually funding a
NOFA for universities and research institutions to help look
for the most valid ways to determine what those fair market
rents should be.
Senator Collins. I think that would be very helpful.
It is my understanding, Senator Reed that you are yielding
to Senator Leahy, to our vice chairman.
Senator Leahy.
Senator Leahy. Thank you very much, and thank you also to
Senator Reed.
Mr. Secretary, I think it is safe to say that a lot of
Americans have been concerned, alarmed, by the Administration's
response to the Corona Virus threat, a response that is fluid,
at best.
First, they waited six weeks to propose an abysmal request
for supplemental funding to address the pending epidemic and
request if people would take money out of Ebola and low-income
heating. I know at my home the day I heard about that, it was
five below zero.
That is why both Republicans and Democrats quickly rejected
what the President and the Administration offered. We quickly
rejected it and came back with a bill that Republicans and
Democrats wrote together that passed virtually unanimously in
the House and the Senate having well over $8 billion.
This weekend you appeared on ABC News. You minimized the
threat this virus posed, telling the American people, this
virus is like other viruses; this should be treated the same
way. And, Friday, counsel to the President, Ms. Conway, said it
is being contained.
Okay. Dr. Carson, you are a medical doctor, and I
appreciate that. Confirmed cases in the United States, over
1,000, eight times the number just a week ago. At least 31
people died. Is that being contained?
Secretary Carson. Well, first of all, you know, I think we
will probably do much better as a Nation, rather than fighting
over this.
Senator Leahy. No, no. I am asking you a question. I am not
fighting over it. Be glad that Senator Shelby, the chairman,
and myself, as vice chairman, and key Republicans and Democrats
rejected what your Administration came up with for money. That
wasn't fighting over it. We just said it made absolutely no
sense, and we passed something which actually the President
didn't sign.
I am asking you, is the virus being contained? That is an
easy yes or no.
Secretary Carson. We are making every attempt to contain
the virus.
Senator Leahy. Is it being contained? Because the
Administration says it is. Is it being contained? Yes or no?
Secretary Carson. We are making every attempt to try to
contain it as much as we possibly can.
Senator Leahy. That is a no.
On Friday, at the CDC, the President, as he is standing
there wearing a campaign hat, the President said that anybody
that wants a test can get a test; said the tests were all
perfect.
Are they all perfect? Can anybody get a test who wants a
test?
Secretary Carson. There are very few things that are
perfect.
Senator Leahy. Can anybody--okay. So, the President was
wrong on that.
Can anyone get a test who wants a test?
Secretary Carson. The test is determined by a healthcare
provider.
Senator Leahy. If a healthcare provider in Vermont wanted
to get tests for 10 patients, could he easily get them?
Secretary Carson. They can order the tests, yes.
Senator Leahy. Well, can they easily get them?
Secretary Carson. In some places, it is easy; in some
places, it is more difficult.
Senator Leahy. What if they wanted to get 500 out in
Washington State where they have had----
Secretary Carson. If you need one tomorrow, you can get it.
Senator Leahy [continuing]. Okay. That is your statement.
Remember, you are required to speak truthfully here under our
law. You are saying that if they wanted to get one tomorrow,
they can get them?
Secretary Carson. The tests are available here in
Washington, D.C.
Senator Leahy. No, no. I am not talking about Washington,
D.C. I mentioned Washington State. I mentioned Vermont and
elsewhere. Are you saying that if somebody wants a test, they
can get it tomorrow?
Secretary Carson. I said you. You, Senator Leahy----
Senator Leahy. No, I am not asking about me. Come on.
Doctor, you are making this stuff up.
Secretary Carson. I am not making anything up.
Senator Leahy. Be honest with the American people. They are
concerned. If somebody in Washington State, Massachusetts,
California, Arizona wants to get a test tomorrow, can they get
it?
Secretary Carson. Many of them can, yes.
Senator Leahy. Oh, many of them can. Okay. That is a little
bit different than your earlier testimony.
Now, you say this is like other viruses. Don't we have
vaccines to prevent other viruses?
Secretary Carson. Well, when I talked about it being like
other viruses and like the flu, I am talking about the way it
is transmitted and how you should conduct yourself in order to
prevent it from spreading and being contaminate to other
people.
Senator Leahy. I guess most people didn't gather that from
your testimony.
HOMELESSNESS
Over a half a million people are homeless every single
night in America. Many of them have no access to healthcare.
Has HUD provided guidance to homeless shelters or State and
local agencies that will make sure they ensure the virus is not
spread among our homeless population?
Secretary Carson. I didn't hear the question.
Senator Leahy. Well, let me say it again slowly. What
guidance has HUD provided to homeless shelters or State and
local agencies that serve them to ensure this virus does not
spread among our homeless population?
Secretary Carson. Okay. Thank you. We have sent guidance
to, as I said, all of the public housing authorities and all of
the people who are in contact with those that we serve in terms
of how to get in contact with the local health providers in
order to make sure that they have a plan if somebody amongst
that group does in fact contract the virus.
Senator Leahy. Are you providing any resources?
CDBG
Secretary Carson. We have made it clear to them that they
can use the Emergency Solutions Grants for that purpose, and
there is also a way to use CDBG funding for that.
Senator Leahy. I would hope it is more available than the
billions of dollars that HUD has received for Puerto Rico
after--that they have held back, even though they had five
hurricanes back to back, 3,000 people losing their lives, and
so on.
And, I will submit, Madam Chair, because my time is up, a
question on Puerto Rico. I would actually like a real answer.
Senator Collins. Senator Boozman.
Senator Boozman. Thank you, Dr. Carson, for being here. We
do appreciate your hard work in combatting this health crisis
that we face ourselves with.
Secretary Carson. Thank you.
Senator Boozman. I know that you are working, very hard,
and the rest of the team, and I want to compliment you on your
efforts in that regard.
In your testimony, first of all, I want to thank you for
taking the time to stop in Arkansas on your upcoming Driving
Affordable Housing bus tour. I won't be able to be there, but I
really am grateful that you are going to be there and helping
us in Arkansas address a huge issue affordable housing.
Secretary Carson. Yes.
Senator Boozman. And, most people don't realize that live
in the urban areas what a huge problem that is in our rural
areas.
Secretary Carson. Absolutely.
Senator Boozman. So, again, we appreciate that.
In your testimony, you mentioned that you are working with
partners to identify and eliminate regulatory burdens. I
appreciate the efforts in that regard to try and tackle the
problem.
I hear countless stories from Arkansas about how
cumbersome, time consuming, and costly many of the regulatory
burdens are. Could you share with us some examples of the
regulatory red tape that you are trying to eliminate?
Secretary Carson. Yes. Thank you for that question. You
know, there are two ways to tackle these rising costs. One of
them is obviously to chase them with more Federal dollars,
which is what has been done in the past.
And, the other way is to say, what is driving these costs?
We are finding things like zoning restrictions, height
restrictions, noise restrictions, density restrictions,
historical preservation, parking, decibels. I mean, it goes on
and on and on, and each one of those things costs money, and it
costs time, which adds more money to it, as well.
A lot of them have been just added on. Some things that
were meant to replace something else didn't replace them; they
just added onto them, so you end up with a lot of duplication
going on.
And, we found that many of the places, and it really
doesn't matter whether Democrat or Republican, are quite
willing to look at some of these. And, certainly, if we can
incentivize them, they are even more willing to look at those
things. That will make a big difference.
Senator Boozman. Very good.
Secretary Carson, Freddie Mac estimates that 1.62 million
housing units are needed annually to meet the housing demand.
Could you share with us the work that the White House Council
on Eliminating Regulatory Barriers to Affordable Housing is
doing, again, to ensure that there is a supply of the
affordable housing that meets the demand.
Secretary Carson. Yeah.
Senator Boozman. And that would help us with the homeless
problem we were discussing.
Secretary Carson. Sure. Well, one of the things that would
help us very much is to be able to utilize the incredible
entrepreneurship and innovative spirit that exists here in the
United States of America.
Senator Boozman. Right.
MANUFACTURING HOUSING
Secretary Carson. The progress that we have made, for
instance, with manufactured housing has been phenomenal. A lot
of people still think about trailers and doublewides. We are
talking about things now that you cannot distinguish from a
site-built home that costs a lot less, that accumulate equity
at the same rate, and that are more resilient when it comes to
natural disasters.
You talk--accessory dwelling units, I saw beautiful ones
when I was in Los Angeles recently on the tour. Much less
expensive. And, in this particular case, one of the teachers
was able to utilize this rather than driving 40 miles back to
the place where she could actually afford something.
And, being able to utilize things like 3-D printable
housing, modular units, and it is removing the barriers to
allow us to be able use these things. And, they are beautiful.
We are also, you know, fighting the whole concept of
NIMBYISM. I understand NIMBYISM. You know, people think that
the government is going to come in and build these gigantic
structures with no forethought or afterthought.
Senator Boozman. Right.
Secretary Carson. They are going to become the nidus of
crime and prostitution and every other horrible thing. But, it
is not done that way now.
Now we are talking about public-private partnerships.
We are talking about things that are architecturally
consistent with the area.
We are talking about mixed income areas so that your nurses
and your policemen and firemen and teachers can live in the
same neighborhood where they work. That doesn't decrease the
neighborhood. It increases the neighborhood's values.
And, we are not talking about building a multi-family
structure in the middle of a block of single family homes. You
are going to use commonsense in the way that this is done.
And, the more attention that we can get to that, I think,
the more--the less resistance we will have.
Senator Boozman. Thank you, Madam Chairman, and thank you,
Dr. Carson.
Senator Collins. Thank you, Senator.
Senator Reed.
Senator Reed. Thank you very much, Madam Chairman. Thank
you, Mr. Secretary.
CDBG
In my opening comments, I talk about the HUD CDBG Disaster
Recovery Program, and it does, as we agree, provide critical
assistance after disasters.
Over the last two fiscal years, the subcommittee has
attempted to engage the Department on a reform and staffing
plan for disaster recovery offices and programs. But, we have
not, in my view, received the type of productive engagement we
had hoped for in order to inform our annual appropriations
process. I was pleased to see some mention of disaster reform
in the budget, but it provides very little detail.
So, what reforms are you seeking? And how will those
reforms streamline the delivery of disaster aid to expedite
assistance to recovering communities?
Secretary Carson. Well, you know, the Office of Disaster
and National Security, for one thing, we want to divide that
into two offices.
But, you know, one of the really big problems is the way
that we structure how we deal with the disasters. It is like
every disaster is a brand new event and no one has ever seen it
before and, so, we have to do everything from the start for
each disaster. If we can find a way to codify the way things
are done and to have standing methods of being able to do
things, I think we could speed it up quite a lot.
That has been something that has bothered me enormously. I
am sure it has bothered you enormously, too. We are spending a
lot of time working on that right now.
Senator Reed. Well, I think it is time well spent. You
know, 500 days from the time of issuing guidance from the time
we appropriate the money is probably average.
Secretary Carson. I agree.
Senator Reed. That is much too long.
VASH/HOMELESSNESS
Let me turn my attention and your attention to the HUD VASH
Program, recognizing we have made some significant progress
reducing veteran's homelessness in the last decade, but we
still have over 37,000 veterans who are without homes; they are
on the street.
Congress continues to have strong support for the HUD VASH
Program. That is one issue that it crosses the aisle with great
rapidity. I am concerned, however, that we have nearly 18,000
vouchers that are allocated but underutilized. So, they are
available, but we have not found veterans.
So, what are you doing to work with your counterparts at
the V.A. to address this problem? And, for example, have you
encouraged the V.A. to reconsider the referral process to allow
for additional entities, like public housing authorities or
social service organizations, to screen for eligibility?
Secretary Carson. Thank you for your interest in that, and
for your military service to our Country.
Senator Reed. Thank you.
Secretary Carson. Very much appreciate it.
You know, I love the HUD VASH Program. I was recently at a
place in San Antonio for homeless vets. Ninety percent of the
veterans that came in there were exiting self-sufficient. It is
a great program because it provides the wraparound services.
The problem is that the V.A., which administers the
wraparound services, has not had appropriate capacity to do
that. I talked to the Secretary of the V.A. recently about
maybe farming out that to outside and, you know, he wants to
think about it.
Now, of course, that requires a statutory change, but I am
sure you guys would be willing to make that statutory change if
it comes to that. That would include being able to have the
PHAs themselves make the referral. It means that they would
have to be able to provide some of the wraparound services, but
that might be a good tradeoff, you know, for the funding that
they would get for doing that.
Senator Reed. Thank you.
Another issue related to the HUD Vouchers for Veterans.
Unlike the Supported Services for Veterans and their Families,
the SSVF Program, you have to essentially have an honorable
discharge to get the HUD VASH voucher. In the SSVF Program in
2016, we changed it so that you could have less than an
honorable to qualify for these services.
Are you finding that some potential homeless veterans are
being disqualified because of their discharge status? And is
that something that we should address?
Secretary Carson. Yes. Obviously, we are going to defer to
the V.A. on that, but, you know, my strong feeling is that many
of those individuals were dishonorably discharged because they
had a brain injury and, so, I mean, I think we still have an
obligation to help them.
Senator Reed. No, I think you make a very good point. Thank
you, Mr. Secretary. Thank you, Madam Chairman.
Senator Collins. Thank you, Senator Reed.
Senator Capito.
Senator Capito. Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you, Mr.
Secretary, for being here today.
CDBG
I have heard a couple questions of interest on the HUD CDBG
Disaster Recovery, so I have a site-specific question I would
like to ask you about our State because you and I talked about
this program in relation to the 2016 floods that occurred in
West Virginia, and we were very pleased to receive $106 million
to support our long-term flood recovery and mitigation efforts.
And, so, we are very appreciative of that.
I was wondering if you could give me an update on how the
State is doing in terms of responsiveness of this and where you
see that disaster relief dollars being best spent in our State.
Secretary Carson. Right. Well, you know, there was some
capacity issues that existed with that money, both in terms of
people and in terms of capacity to administer the grant. And,
we have sent some technical assistants down there who have been
working with them. It seems to be making a big difference. I
think they are making significant progress.
They have asked us for an extension on the action plan.
And, considering the progress that they have made already, we
have granted that extension, and I anticipate good things
happening.
Senator Capito. Good. Well, I am sorry that, you know, we
did have the holdup with the capacity issue. I am well aware of
that. We have had some sort of ongoing issues with just the
general recovery.
Secretary Carson. Right.
Senator Capito. We just now got our money from FEMA on the
replacement of our schools that were destroyed in that flood,
so I am pleased about that. But, some kids who were going to
the high school are never going to be in a high school
building. They are going to be a temporary facility.
So, anything we can do to help you speed this along, I
think would be very useful.
Secretary Carson. Thank you.
Senator Capito. Another area that, you know--and you and I
talked about this, as well. The opioid epidemic flowing through
our State, unfortunately, has a ripple effect of negative
consequences across the family unit, family structure. We have
grandparents, a lot of grandparents, raising children.
We also just, through our State legislature, had to
reformulate our foster care system because of the enormous
amounts of children that are flowing, and it is difficult
finding foster parents. So, the legislature, to their credit,
has met that--or is trying to meet that challenge.
HOMELESS
But, I wanted to talk about homeless students. The West
Virginia Department of Education reported that there are over
10,000 homeless students in the State, including children that
are sleeping on somebody else's couch or living in a car or an
RV.
How do you work collaboratively with other States, the
Department of Education, SAMHSA, and others to identify and
give the support for these children that are really falling
through the cracks and living homelessly?
Secretary Carson. Certainly, you know, my heart goes out to
them as a pediatric neurosurgeon dealing with children and
their issues all the time. You know, we have instructed all of
the COCs that are receiving our grant money to specifically
concentrate on creating relationships with all the other
agencies, and with a special attention to those young people.
You may also be familiar with our FYI Program, our Foster
Youth to Independence, because about 20,000 children age out of
foster care each year. About one-quarter of them will end up
homeless.
FOSTER YOUTH TO INDEPENDENCE
And, so, a few of them actually came to HUD in April of
last year and told us about their plight. It was so compelling
that our fabulous team put together a program and we were
giving out the first grants in four months. So, people that
tell you things can't be done fast in the government are wrong,
and it was eye-opening to me.
But, getting these students off the street during the most
critical time in their life when they are transitioning is
absolutely important, and it remains a high priority for us.
Senator Capito. What was the name of that program again?
Secretary Carson. Foster Youth to Independence, FYI.
Senator Capito. FYI. And are those grants given to the
State to help? Or are they given to non-profits that will help
around the States? How are those granted?
Secretary Carson. They are given to the child welfare
systems.
Senator Capito. Yeah, through the State.
Secretary Carson. They each get 25 apiece.
Senator Capito. That sounds good. Well, I am about at the
end of my time. Thank you.
I know the Corona Virus obviously is on all of our minds.
You probably addressed this, and it has been addressed through
questions.
I am certain with the housing situations that you have, I
am sure you have protocols set up for your housing authorities
and others to be able to do best practices?
Secretary Carson. Absolutely.
Senator Capito. Alright. Thank you.
Secretary Carson. Okay.
Senator Collins. Thank you, Senator.
Senator Murray.
Senator Murray. Thank you, Chairwoman Collins.
Mr. Secretary, thank you for being here.
Secretary Carson. Thank you.
Senator Murray. I, too, am going to ask you about Corona
Virus. As you know, my home State of Washington is really on
the front lines of this outbreak.
Secretary Carson. Absolutely.
Senator Murray. I am incredibly frustrated and very
concerned that we are not seeing a sense of urgency from this
Administration to deal with this and to get ahead of this
crisis. And, I am especially concerned and want to ask you
about the impact of this outbreak on people who are
experiencing homelessness or housing instability, both in my
State and Nationwide.
HOMELESSNESS
I wanted to ask you, what specific steps is HUD taking to
respond to this outbreak to make sure that people who are
experiencing homelessness or people who are at risk of losing
their homes receive support during this Corona Virus outbreak?
Secretary Carson. I don't know if you were here before, but
like I say, we have made it clear to all of the PHAs and the
people who are dealing with the population that they may
repurpose some of the money from the Emergency Solutions
Grants.
Senator Murray. Okay. Let me ask you about that. I did hear
you say that to Senator Leahy. And, communication with the
public housing authorities is really important. What I am told
is they have received the guidance that we are all hearing
about wash your hands, those kinds of things, from CDC.
Obviously important.
Secretary Carson. Yes.
PHA AVAILABILITY
Senator Murray. But, have you sent out information to all
of the PHAs that these emergency grants are available? And what
exactly are you telling them?
Secretary Carson. I can't tell you exactly what it says,
but that is the general--it tells them that they are able to
utilize that money, and that they are also able to repurpose
some of the CBGD money for that same purpose.
Senator Murray. And have you given them guidance on how to
do that? Because we have not seen it.
Secretary Carson. That would always----
Senator Murray. You know, I am at the epicenter of this.
Secretary Carson [continuing]. That would come with it.
But, I can have our people send that to you.
Senator Murray. Can you verify to me that that has been
sent to them?
Secretary Carson. I have been told that it has been sent.
Senator Murray. Alright. Well, let me ask you, are you
preparing for potential mass shelter needs in any of the
States? I mean, plans are so important here. You don't want to
be behind the curve on this, and it is coming at us fast. Do
you have any plans in place should we need large, unsheltered
places for homeless populations?
Secretary Carson. Well, as I am sure you probably know, in
terms of that, it is going to be primarily a FEMA issue. And
you probably also know that in terms of the immediate medical
care, that is going to fall to the State health agencies. Are
we going to help them? Absolutely.
Senator Murray. I know you are a member of the task force,
so I hope that you are bringing these needs up as a part of
that task force because what we are seeing.
Secretary Carson. That is a specific area that the task
force is working on.
Senator Murray. Okay. Will you commit to taking prompt
action to delay some routine inspections and grant extensions
for housing authorities who are currently responding to this
outbreak?
Secretary Carson. Will I commit to?
Senator Murray. There is really limited staff time, and
this is a rapidly evolving situation. On a daily basis, we are
seeing the numbers grow, the populations that are impacted. So,
the routine reporting and inspections are taking a lower
priority for some of our housing folks who are dealing with
this critical emergency in front of them.
Secretary Carson. This is very high priority. Very high
priority.
Senator Murray. Can you make sure that they will be given
some relief to delay some of the routine inspections and grant
extensions as they respond to this, so they are responding to
what is in front of them?
Secretary Carson. Of course. As that is a really urgent
situation, that goes right to the top.
Senator Murray. Okay. And this is critical. Do you have any
plans to provide housing authorities with additional cleaning
supplies and personal protective equipment as they respond in
our housing agencies?
Secretary Carson. Well, again, that would not be something
that HUD would do, but we have asked them to be----
Senator Murray. These are our facilities. These are our
employees. These are our people in these sites, and they need
to know that should there, when they have outbreak in one of
their--our housing, that they have personal protective
equipment.
This is the challenge that we are facing right now.
Firefighters who are showing up at nursing homes and are then
exposed to the virus and testing positive, obviously taking it
home to their families, as well. Having personal protective
equipment so they can respond to an outbreak in one of our
housing units is absolutely important, and I would assume that
is part of your purvey over----
Secretary Carson. You don't have to convince me of that,
but there is a mechanism for taking care of it.
Senator Murray. What is that mechanism?
Secretary Carson. That mechanism is working through their
local health departments.
Senator Murray. Our health departments are on the ground
doing everything they can. It seems to me that under HUD, we
should be having plans at the Federal level to deal with
housing units, making sure that our folks who are on the ground
there are taking care of themselves so, as they respond to
this, they are not getting the virus or spreading it to their
families, especially those who are vulnerable.
Secretary Carson. HUD does not have a mechanism for
distributing all of that material all over the Country. We
simply don't.
Senator Murray. Then we have a problem.
Secretary Carson. It doesn't exist.
Senator Murray. That is how I hear it. Okay. Thank you.
Senator Collins. Thank you, Senator.
Senator Manchin.
Senator Manchin. Thank you, Madam Chairman. Thank you, Mr.
Secretary, for being here.
First of all, I was not here, but I know your statement,
when you first made your statement basically of addressing
homelessness, which I appreciate very much, and also saying if
you had any unspent funds, you were going to direct that
unspent funds toward homelessness?
Secretary Carson. Right.
Senator Manchin. Okay. With that being said, I know my
colleague, Senator Capito, and I agree wholeheartedly on what
is going on in West Virginia. We are on the same page.
Secretary Carson. Right.
Senator Manchin. A couple things I want to know. As far as
on the FEMA distribution of the money, I know there were some
concerns that we had that some of our agencies were not
complying the way they were supposed to in the State, and I
remember some money was kind of held, if you will, before more
was released.
Are you all satisfied with the reporting that is being done
now? And is there any money being held or money being released
because they have not fulfilled the duties you need or the
information you need?
Secretary Carson. I am not aware of any that is being held
for that reason.
Senator Manchin. Could you check and just see? Any of your
staff could just check on the FEMA money, the distribution from
the 2016 flood, which was horrendous. People are still trying
to get in some form of order. There are still people living in
trailers and everything else haven't been made whole yet. So,
you could help us on that. I know there were some problems.
And, also, there was a time when I believe I recall that
you thought that it was overspent or over-applied and there was
money requested back from you all that might not have been
spent the way it was supposed to. And, I know you were working
with the agency to try to correct that.
Secretary Carson. Right.
Senator Manchin. You and I spoke at one time a good while
ago about that.
Secretary Carson. Right.
YOUTH HOMELESSNESS
Senator Manchin. My other thing is youth homelessness. Your
annual homelessness report identified 248 people in West
Virginia, families with children, and only 89 unaccompanied
youth as homeless.
The Department of Education, along with the United States
Department of Education, has a minimum of 10,500 homeless
children.
There is a big gap. I guess the way you report. And, so,
only thing I am asking is, we have to look at that to make sure
that--there is a big gap. Ten thousand, at least. We think
there is more than that.
Our biggest problem, Mr. Secretary, is this. We don't have
the resources in our Education Department in West Virginia to
be able to truly identify and help the kids that are truly
homeless. We are not identifying every child. Now, the cooks
know. The janitors know who they are. Sometimes the teachers
know. But, for some reason, they are not getting reported.
So, in our McKinney-Vento, you know, the money that comes
through that, we only had a few counties that even applied for
the money because they never had the personnel.
Can you consider, and would it be possible that we might
be, in some of the untapped funds, be able to use it to get
people to truly be able to identify the homeless children in
our schools? Is that possible?
Secretary Carson. Well, we have a different way of counting
homeless children than the Department of Education does.
Senator Manchin. I know you do.
Secretary Carson. We do it the way that we do it so that we
can target the people who really need it the most.
Senator Manchin. You are talking people without a shelter
at all?
Secretary Carson. Right. And if we change it to their
system, it has a domino effect on a lot of different things.
Senator Manchin. I am sure of that. I am just saying we are
getting children right now that are coming to school. They are
not worried about did they get their homework done.
We have a program called Handle With Care. Handle With Care
basically has adopted from some of the hard-working people that
have fallen addicted to opiates because of the work they have
done, families dissipate, and here is a child being kicked
around. The child the night before might have seen their dad or
their mom get arrested and taken out of the premise. Then, the
arresting officer basically identifies and contacts the school.
We call that Handle With Care because that child is not
coming to school the next day prepared for that homework,
prepared for that test. And these kids that are couch surfing
right now--I just couldn't believe what is going on.
Secretary Carson. Right.
Senator Manchin. And the culture is just falling away. But
they come to school. They are not worried about anything
except, can I make it one more day?
Secretary Carson. That is a significant problem, the
domestic violence issue. The children suffer from it. The women
suffer from it.
You know, in this past cycle, we provided 2,800 more units
for domestic violence, and we will accelerate that this next
cycle.
Senator Manchin. I am just saying we cannot allow the
homelessness of children that are growing at disproportionate
rates to be--say they don't fit in this category, or we are not
counting them in that. And, I don't know, I am just saying if
you had some extra funds, you are wanting those funds, I am
understanding, to go to people without shelters whatsoever.
Secretary Carson. Sure.
Senator Manchin. I understand that completely. If there is
anything left over after you do that, would you consider, if we
could help some of these kids so we can identify them and get
them off of a neighbor's couch or someone's car they had to
sleep in last night.
Secretary Carson. Absolutely. Sure. I would absolutely
consider that if there is money left over.
Senator Manchin. I know you would. I know.
Secretary Carson. Absolutely.
Senator Manchin. I appreciate it, Mr. Secretary. Thank you.
Secretary Carson. Okay.
Senator Collins. Thank you, Senator Manchin, for bringing
up that important issue.
HOMELESSNESS/POINT IN TIME
Mr. Secretary, just to follow up on that, I hear from
superintendents in my State that the HUD survey, the Point-in-
Time Survey trying to count the number of homeless people, does
not really reflect how high the numbers are, particularly when
it comes to children. The superintendents and the principals
and the teachers know, but when HUD is trying to count them,
that population is often missed.
I just want to pass that onto you. I don't know whether it
is feasible for you to survey school systems or State
Departments of Education, but I do think that we are missing
children who are homeless and are not reflected in the Point-
in-Time Survey.
Secretary Carson. I will ask our Point-in-Time people to
take a look.
Senator Collins. Thank you. I would very much appreciate
that.
Also, on homelessness, you alluded in your opening
statement to the unsheltered homelessness being a growing
problem, particularly in California, which accounts for more
than half of our Nation's unsheltered population. You briefly
alluded to a new initiative. Do you have any details to share
with us yet or is that still being fleshed out?
Secretary Carson. Well, we are working with the Mayor of
Los Angeles, with the County Executive of Los Angeles County,
on ways that we can use Federal, State, and local resources.
One of the things that we found that when people tend to
concentrate just on long-term homelessness with, for instance,
Housing First, the number of homeless tends to go up because
they are not dealing with the acute phase and with the sub-
acute phase. And, I think we have come to understand that you
have to deal with all three phases simultaneously: Acute, sub-
acute, and chronic.
And, I think we have also come to understand that leaving
people on the street with urine and feces and used needles and
exposed to violence is not really compassionate.
You know, compassionate is putting them in a place where
they have a clean, safe bed, where they can get a shower, where
they can get fed, where you can take care of their addiction
needs or their mental illness needs or whatever needs there
are, and where you can set them on a pathway to recovery.
You know, that is what real compassion is all about. I
think we have all come to agree on that. It is just working out
the mechanisms.
Senator Collins. Thank you. I look forward to learning more
about that from you as you complete the work on it.
Secretary Carson. Okay.
Senator Collins. I want to thank you for coming to Maine
and visiting, seeing both our lead paint remediation projects,
our Choice Neighborhoods Grant in Lewiston, the planning, and I
think you were impressed with the collaboration on that.
Secretary Carson. Absolutely.
Senator Collins. And, also, going to New Beginnings, which
is one of the very few shelters in Maine for young people, and
that is why I am so concerned about that. Because I think so
many times these teenagers in particular just have no place to
go.
Secretary Carson. Absolutely.
Senator Collins. And, in my State, there are very few
shelters for teens. So, I hope that that is something that we
can continue to work on as well.
Secretary Carson. Absolutely.
RENTAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM
Senator Collins. Let me just end my questioning by talking
about the rental assistance program known as RAD. We created
this program in 2012 as a way to address the capital needs of
public housing projects by using long-term Section 8 contracts
to leverage private capital. I always love when we can leverage
private capital, State funds, local funds, with our Federal
investments.
And, the result has been pretty impressive so far. The RAD
Program has resulted in more than $8 billion in construction,
as well as related job creation to improve and preserve
critical housing resources.
The budget request includes proposals for further expansion
of RAD, which I was pleased to see, including expansion in the
housing for the elderly program and persons with disabilities
programs, as well as removing the cap, which has been very
controversial, as you know, on the number of public housing
properties that can convert to Section 8 through RAD.
In general, what has HUD learned from this demonstration
project?
Secretary Carson. Well, we have learned that when you
create these public-private partnerships, as with the RAD
Program, you get a lot of intense interest by the private
sector in maintaining the properties, so you do not see the
same kind of deterioration that we see with public housing, and
that is huge. It is one of the reasons that so many places
around the Country are interested in the RAD Program.
The problem is that many times, you know, they are making
plans, rehabilitation and renovation plans, that extend 5, 6,
7, 10 years into the future, and they are not able to use it
because it expires in 2024. Plus, they don't know, you know,
what the cap is going to do to them.
So, you know, it is a demonstration program. It has been
shown to work extraordinarily well. It seems to me that this
would be a great time to just get rid of the cap and, you know,
let the horses run.
Senator Collins. Thank you.
Secretary Carson. Okay.
Senator Collins. Senator Reed.
Senator Reed. Well, thank you, Madam Chairman.
Mr. Secretary, we all share the concern Senator Manchin
expressed about homeless youth, and that is why the chairman
and I started the Youth Homeless Demonstration Program, and we
will continue to support that strongly because we want to also
ensure that there are no children that fall through the cracks
when it comes to housing issues. Thank you.
Secretary Carson. Thank you.
PHA RECEIVERSHIP
Senator Reed. Turning now to public housing authorities,
you and the Department, both directly and through the Office of
Public and Indian Housing, supervise over 3,000 public housing
agencies throughout the United States.
A recent report by the HUD's Office of Inspector General
found that HUD is not complying with Federal law by failing to
refer troubled PHAs to the Assistant Secretary for
Receivership, and that the proposed revisions to this process
would also not comply with HUD's statutory obligations.
What is also disturbing is that the OIG identified 18 PHAs
that have been troubled for over 2 years and still have not
been referred for receivership, despite the fact that HUD
consistently carries over funding specifically appropriated for
receiverships.
What is HUD's progress on implementing the OIG's five
recommendations, which include referring troubled Public
Housing Assessment System (PHAs) for receivership within the
required timeframes so that residents are not subject to poor
living conditions for an extended period of time, and providing
training for staff?
Secretary Carson. Sure. Well, you know, receivership is
obviously a serious issue, but our legal department has been
meeting regularly with the IG to figure out the best way to do
it. I mean, we are moving in the direction of trying to satisfy
the issues that were brought up.
Senator Reed. Why are you requesting this year $40 million
in receivership funding without clearly targeting these PHAs
that have already been identified as troubled and in desperate
need of additional funding?
Secretary Carson. Why are we asking for $4 million?
Senator Reed. Forty million.
Secretary Carson. Oh, $40 million. I was going to say $4
million won't do anything.
Senator Reed. You are asking for 40 when you have not been
spending the money you already have in the budget for 18
agencies that are in trouble.
Secretary Carson. Well, you know, it costs an enormous
amount of money when you take one of these things into
receivership and an enormous amount of manpower to do it. You
know, that is why you want to have on-hand what you need, and
you can very quickly go deeply into the hole if you don't.
Senator Reed. No, I appreciate that, but the inhibition
might be then the fact that you don't have either the personnel
or the resources to effectively take any PHA into receivership.
Is that what you are saying?
Secretary Carson. I wouldn't say to take any into
receivership. But, even to take one additional one into
receivership requires a lot of money and resources and people.
Senator Reed. Well, there are legal requirements. And,
again, the IG is looking at the law and advising you as to----
Secretary Carson. And we are working with them to try to
fix it.
Senator Reed. I think one other area I would like to touch
on is the transitional housing assistance for persons
receiving--recovering from substance abuse. Last year we
provided $25 million to fund a pilot program for transitional
housing assistance for persons recovering from substance abuse.
And that, I don't have to tell you, Doctor, that that is an
increasingly difficult problem, particularly opioid aspects.
Secretary Carson. Right.
Senator Reed. And, I realize you have notified eligible
States about their allocation, but HUD has not issued guidance
to make the funds available. So, when will HUD publish the
guidance? And what type of best practices are you intending to
highlight to make the effective use of these very limited
resources?
Secretary Carson. We have been in contact with all 25.
There is $25 million, and there are 25 locations. I think your
State is actually getting a little over $1 million for that.
And, working to smooth out logistics of the program. We are
writing the Register notice at this point in time. I expect it
to be available by the end of the spring.
Senator Reed. Well, I think, again, the crisis is there.
Secretary Carson. Sure.
Senator Reed. If you could expedite the guidance and the
Notice and the paperwork so we can get the money out would be
very much appreciated.
Secretary Carson. Absolutely.
Senator Reed. Thank you very much, Mr. Secretary. Thank
you, Madam Chairman.
HUD CONGRESS RELATIONS
Senator Collins. Thank you, Senator Reed.
Secretary Carson, I want to thank you for being with us
this afternoon. I know you have an important meeting of the
Corona Virus Task Force that you need to be going to, so I am
glad that we were able to conclude the hearing on time so that
you can continue your important work and add your medical
expertise, as well as your housing knowledge, to the task
force.
Secretary Carson. Thank you.
ADDITIONAL COMMITTEE QUESTIONS
Senator Collins. The hearing record will remain open until
next Friday, March 20th, and additional questions for the
record will undoubtedly come from the ranking member and
myself, as well as other members of the subcommittee.
I want to, in addition to thanking Secretary Carson, thank
our staff for their hard work on this hearing.
Questions Submitted by Senator Susan M. Collins
gao report on lead paint
Question. Ninety percent of lead poisoning in Maine occurs in homes
built prior to 1950. More than two out of three of these lead
poisonings occur in rental dwellings. In 2017 the Committee directed
GAO to review HUD's efforts to address lead paint hazards. GAO
published its report making several recommendations to HUD to improve
its oversight of lead paint hazards.
What steps has HUD taken to fully implement GAO's recommendations,
especially those related to compliance monitoring?
Answer. The 2018 GAO recommendations above appeared in the GAO
report, Lead Based Paint in Housing, GAO-18-394, June 19, 2018. HUD's
progress on implementing the recommendations is summarized as follows.
Recommendation 1
GAO recommended that the OLHCHH Director ensure the office more
fully documents its processes for scoring and awarding lead grants and
its rationale for award decisions.
The Office of Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes did this for
its fiscal year 2018 and fiscal year 2019 Application Review Guide for
its Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction (LHR) Notice of Funding
Availability (NOFA) and will also do this for its fiscal year 2020 LHR
NOFA.
Recommendation 2
GAO recommended that the OLHCHH Director ensure the office
periodically evaluates its processes for scoring and awarding lead
grants.
For the 2019 Highest Lead-Based Paint Abatement Needs LHR grant
category (funded by the Lead Hazard Reduction Demonstration
appropriation line), the OLHCHH updated the list of eligible
jurisdictions using the American Housing Survey's most recent published
edition.
For the 2019 High Impact Neighborhoods LHR grant category (funded
by a set-aside), the OLHCHH, in collaboration with PD&R, developed a
High Impact Neighborhoods Jurisdictions table that included the number
of Census tracts that met the set-aside's threshold criteria.
The OLHCHH will base the 2020 scoring and application methods on
the 2019 methods.
Recommendation 3
GAO recommended that the OLHCHH Director set timeframes for
incorporating relevant data on lead paint hazard risks into the lead
grant programs' processes.
As part of the development of each fiscal year's LHR (NOFA), the
OLHCHH reviews and updates the previous NOFA, and sets a timeframe for
drafting and posting the NOFA by third quarter of the fiscal year. For
the 2018 LHR NOFA, the OLHCHH included, in the application rating
factor on target area need, on the percentages of housing that is older
(i.e., pre-1978), houses low-income families, factors associated with
lead-based paint hazard risks, and has a child under age 6, a factor
associated with health effects of lead exposure. The scoring for the
table was based on Census' Current Population Survey. For the 2019 LHR
NOFA, the OLHCHH included two such tables, with one for the grant
category pertaining to pre-1978 housing and one for the two grant
categories pertaining to pre-1940 housing. The scoring for the tables
is based on Census' American Community Survey. The OLHCHH is similarly
developing the 2020 LHR NOFA and expects to post it in June with such
tables. When the American Community Survey is updated, the OLHCHH will
review the scoring for the LHR NOFA accordingly.
Recommendation 4
GAO recommended that the OLHCHH Director and the Assistant
Secretary for PIH collaborate to establish a plan to mitigate and
address risks within HUD's lead paint compliance monitoring processes.
PIH published, with technical support from the OLHCHH, new
technical assistance resources for public housing authorities in
identifying children with elevated blood lead levels. PIH is also
developing new webinars on the Lead Safe Housing Rule and will post
them on its lead resources website and on the HUD Exchange.
Similarly, the OLHCHH has developed new webinars on the rule in
collaboration with PIH and Multifamily Housing, as applicable, on
tenant-based rental assistance and on public housing, and project based
assistance, and posted them to the HUD Exchange. In addition, in fiscal
year 2019 and the first half of fiscal year 2020, the OLHCHH trained
over 850 external stakeholders at in-person sessions on these subjects.
For use in the second half of fiscal year 2020 and in fiscal year 2021,
the OLHCHH is developing remote training on these subjects. To
facilitate participation, the remote training will be presented in
several short sessions so participants can fit it into their schedules
more easily; the sessions, including interactive discussions with
instructors, will be recorded, and then posted for later viewing by
those who missed sessions.
Recommendation 5
GAO recommended that the OLHCHH Director and PIH Assistant
Secretary collaborate to develop and document procedures to ensure that
HUD staff take consistent and timely steps to address issues of PHA
noncompliance with the lead paint regulations.
The OLHCHH and PIH are preparing a description of lead regulatory
compliance enhancement steps. The application of PIH's general process
for regulatory compliance oversight and sanctions can vary by field
office, and compliance with the Lead Safe Housing Rule requires more
technical knowledge. The Guidance will help field offices better
distinguish egregious vs. routine LSHR noncompliance, emphasize the
field office's authority, and describe how to escalate egregious cases
to HQ. Once finalized, PIH will train field staff in the procedures and
its monitoring plan.
Recommendation 6
GAO recommended that the Secretary of HUD request authority from
Congress to amend the inspection standard to identify lead paint
hazards in the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program as indicated by
analysis of health effects for children, the impact on landlord
participation in the program, and other relevant factors.
Every major study that has looked at how to improve access to
opportunity for families has cited the time required to complete HUD
required inspections as a major obstacle to landlord acceptance of the
HCV program. Adding a lead risk assessment would typically add an
estimated 5 to 15 days to the HCV approval process. This reflects the
estimated incremental time for a certified lead-based paint risk
assessor to assess the property beginning concurrently with other
portions of the approval process. In the up to about one-third of units
(based on HUD's American Healthy Homes Survey) in which lead-based
paint hazards are expected to be present, the landlord would hire an
EPA or state-certified lead-hazard control renovator (if the landlord
is not already one). The estimated time for lead hazard control work
would be up to 30 days.
Without a statistically rigorous study on the impact of risk
assessments on leasing times and availability of housing for extremely
low-income families that would demonstrate the feasibility of the
recommended risk assessment for HCV housing, HUD is not comfortable
advocating for a statute to require it.
The OLHCHH, PIH, and PD&R have been collaborating on designing such
a study; in the OLHCHH's 2021 Budget, HUD is requesting $30 million for
a Housing Choice Voucher Lead Risk Assessment Demonstration, under
which, public housing agencies that administer housing choice voucher
programs would enroll, on a voluntary basis, to conduct lead hazard
screens or risk assessments in pre-1978 units in which children under
age six reside or are expected to reside, to study if and how the
leasing process and the availability and affordability of units are
affected.
Recommendation 7
GAO recommended that the OLHCHH Director develop performance goals
and measures to cover the full range of HUD's lead efforts, including
its efforts to ensure that housing units in its rental assistance
programs are lead-safe.
OLHCHH, PIH, and PD&R are collaborating on establishing performance
goals and measures to cover the full range of HUD's lead efforts. The
initial effort will focus on identifying and reviewing data in existing
systems to establish a baseline for reporting.
Recommendation 8
GAO recommended that the OLHCHH Director, in conjunction with PD&R,
finalize plans and develop a timeframe for evaluating the effectiveness
of the Lead Safe Housing and Lead Disclosure Rules, including an
evaluation of the long-term cost effectiveness of the lead remediation
methods required by the Lead Safe Housing Rule.
The OLHCHH evaluated the long-term cost effectiveness of the lead
remediation methods required by the Lead Safe Housing Rule, and
published it in the Economic Analysis of the Final Rule on Lead-Based
Paint: Requirements for Notification, Evaluation and Reduction of Lead-
Based Paint Hazards in federally-Owned Residential Property and Housing
Receiving Federal Assistance, September 7, 1999, especially in that
analysis' executive summary and chapter 5, Cost-Benefit Analysis. To
determine whether the analytical results have changed since the rule
was published, the OLHCHH has included an action item for its 2021
Annual Procurement Plan to design the evaluation study in partnership
with PD&R, and pilot test the design. Based on the results of the
design work, the OLHCHH would decide on the feasibility of including a
contract action for conducting the study under its 2022 Annual
Procurement Plan for completion by 2023.
Recommendation 9
GAO recommended that the OLHCHH Director complete statutory
reporting requirements, including but not limited to its efforts to
make housing lead-safe through its lead grant programs and rental-
assistance programs, and make the report publicly available.
The OLHCHH is finalizing the annual report required by the
Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act of 1992 (``Title
X''), for the past fiscal year. After the final report is submitted to
Congress, HUD will post the report on the OLHCHH's website.
HUD will draft the next Title X annual report and the biennial
report, provide them to Congress, and post them after the end of fiscal
year 2020.
consolidation of public housing operating and capital programs
Question. Mr. Secretary, the Department's budget request includes a
proposal for a single Public Housing Fund instead of separate Operating
and Capital Funds. A single account is how the other project-based
rental assistance accounts of HUD are administered including project-
based Section 8, Section 202 Housing for the Elderly, and Section 811
Housing for Persons with Disabilities.
Setting aside the question of the Administration's proposed funding
levels, how would a consolidated Public Housing Fund benefit P.H.A.s?
Answer. The Public Housing program is the only rental assistance
program administered by HUD that bifurcates funding into capital and
operating workstreams. This creates arbitrary distinctions between
expenses and limits a PHA's ability to target limited resources to
local needs. The fiscal year 2021 budget request proposes to provide a
single appropriation of Public Housing funds to PHAs and to permit them
to use these funds for any eligible public housing purpose. This would
benefit PHAs in several ways:
1. PHAs would be able to utilize available resources for any public
housing purpose, thereby allowing them to apply limited Federal funding
to whatever needs are most urgent in their local context.
2. A single fund would reduce burden on PHAs through a single,
simplified set of eligible uses. PHAs currently have to categorize each
expense as being eligible for the Operating Fund or Capital Fund, and
track accordingly. Through a single fund, PHAs would benefit from
simplified tracking requirements.
3. A single fund would encourage PHAs to look at their properties
holistically rather than by funding source, allowing them to understand
their property needs and better plan for the future. This would give
public housing a similar funding and regulatory model to HUD's Section
8 programs, so, if they wish, it would be easier to transition to the
more stable Section 8 funding stream using RAD.
______
Questions Submitted by Senator John Hoeven
tribal housing
Question. Dr. Carson, I appreciate you coming to visit North Dakota
last summer, and seeing firsthand some of the unique housing needs we
have in the State. I want to revisit an issue that was brought up by
Chairwoman Cavanaugh of the Spirit Lake Nation while touring the
tribe's housing developments.
As you know, the primary source of Federal funds to help rehab and
construct new tribal housing units is the Indian Housing Block Gant.
This program is administered by locally controlled tribal housing
authorities.
Chairwoman Cavanaugh pointed out that many times tribes will have
to divert funds from construction and rehab, in order to administer
multiple layers of costly environmental review for a single project.
There have been examples where a home being built by a tribe may need
to undergo environmental review by HUD, the Indian Health Service, the
Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the EPA. That's four different Federal
agencies for one project.
What can be done to expedite this process and alleviate some of the
costs associated with these reviews?
Answer. The Office of Native American Programs (ONAP) has led
efforts to streamline Federal agency National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA) processes for housing and housing infrastructure projects on
tribal lands. This effort has been held up due to staff losses but PIH
is aggressively recruiting additional staffing this year and
anticipates getting the effort back on track as soon as those hires are
completed. Prior to this loss in staffing, ONAP organized the
Coordinated Environmental Review Process Work Group (CERPWG), an
interagency working group to coordinate reviews for housing and related
infrastructure. In 2015, CERPWG issued a report with short and long-
term recommendations for streamlining and coordinating NEPA reviews. A
plan to implement these recommendations was developed with input from
participating agencies and Indian tribes and it is near finalization.
In addition, the participating agencies in CERPWG put together a
memorandum of understanding to encourage use of NEPA efficiency tools
and was in the process of obtaining signatures from the appropriate
agency officials. On September 19, 2019, the Senate Committee on
Appropriations issued a report accompanying the Transportation, and
Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill
(S. 2520). In it, the Committee noted the gap in CERPWG activity and
directed HUD to establish and lead a Tribal Housing and Related
Infrastructure Interagency Task Force within the calendar year that
includes the previous participating working group agency partners. This
Task Force is to address and implement CERPWG's recommendations,
including the continued review of environmental laws and authorities to
identify opportunities for greater efficiencies; exploring whether
environmental reviews could be expedited if agencies developed aligned
categorical exclusions; and identifying specific regulatory and policy
improvements. ONAP has now hired staff to support this effort.
On January 10, 2020, the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ)
published 85 Fed. Reg. 1684, a proposed rule to update its regulations
for implementing the procedural provisions of NEPA. CEQ's proposed rule
includes a number of changes that mirror some of the recommendations of
the CERPWG. Accordingly, the Task Force will need to work within the
parameters of CEQ's rulemaking process.
HUD is currently revising its agency-wide NEPA regulations, Parts
50 and 58. HUD anticipates a notice of proposed rulemaking on Part 50
and 58 revisions this year.
Question. Would the department be supportive of efforts to
consolidate these reviews under one streamlined process?
Answer. HUD continually seeks ways to improve the efficiency of its
programs, and looks forward to working with Congress on options for
streamlining environmental reviews as part of the Native American
Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act reauthorization process.
wire fraud
Question. Will HUD be encouraging its counseling partners to add
education and warnings about the risk of fraudulent wire instructions
when buying a home?
Answer. A core element of HUD's work with agencies and counselors'
work with clients is making them aware of fraud and scams in the
housing market. New scams always emerge when there is increased
economic uncertainty. In 2008, HUD worked with housing counseling
agencies to develop materials focused on foreclosure scams and is
therefore prepared to address this latest area of fraud.
Currently, HUD is working with the housing counseling industry to
increase awareness of fraud and scams in its counseling to clients and
to ensure clients are vigilant about remitting funds to complete the
various steps in buying a home and closing the transaction.
To accomplish this:
1. HUD has already reached out to its training partners to assess
the current level of fraud detection and awareness in their curriculums
and discuss including additional information when appropriate.
2. HUD is working to develop training materials (webinar and fact
sheets) to help educate counselors on this emerging fraudulent
practice.
3. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is the primary
agency for monitoring and addressing consumer complaints and scams. As
such, HUD works with CFPB and many other agencies to remain abreast of
fraud and scams to ensure counseling agencies are aware and able to
help clients avoid these schemes. HUD will continue to work closely
with CFPB to make sure HUD is aware of the latest fraud schemes so as
to update its webpages and to inform housing counselors.
4. HUD has posted the following information on its HUD Exchange
website for housing counselors:
--https://www.hudexchange.info/programs/housing-counseling/resources/
consumer-protection/
--https://www.hudexchange.info/resource/4746/ohc-information-on-loan-
fraud/
--https://www.hud.gov/sites/dfiles/Housing/documents/
HUD_HC_FirstTimeMortgage101.pdf
homelessness
Question. During your visit to North Dakota last summer, I was glad
you had the opportunity to visit LaGrave on First, a facility in Grand
Forks that provides both housing and supportive services for the
homeless.
The President's fiscal year 2021 budget proposal includes $2.8
billion for Homeless Assistance Grants (HAG). According to the United
States Interagency Council on Homelessness, North Dakota had an
estimated 557 individuals experiencing homelessness as of January of
2019.
Aside from funding, what are the biggest hurdles to preventing and
ending homelessness, and what is HUD doing to create a path to self-
sufficiency?
Answer. HUD is committed to ending homelessness across this
country. While HUD is grateful for the resources provided by Congress
dedicated to addressing this issue, HUD also recognizes that while
Federal spending on homelessness has increased in recent years,
homelessness has not decreased commensurately. In fact, since 2010, the
appropriation for Continuum of Care has grown by 40 percent, yet
overall homelessness has decreased by only 11 percent. Even then,
there's evidence that a significant portion of that reduction may be
due to changes in methodology for counting homeless persons and the
evolution of Federal definitions of homelessness, rather than an actual
decrease in homelessness.
While HUD fully supports housing people experiencing homelessness,
an approach which focuses solely on housing, without addressing the
underlying issues which led our vulnerable American neighbors to
homelessness in the first place, will not be effective. This is why we
are thankful for facilities like LaGrave in North Dakota, which
provides both supportive services in addition to housing persons
experiencing homelessness.
To that end, in order to improve self-sufficiency, in HUD's fiscal
year 2019 Continuum of Care competition HUD provided new scoring that
incentivized grantees to work with local employment agencies and
employers to prioritize training and employment opportunities. It also
rewarded grantees who demonstrated increased earned income among
homeless individuals served. Further, it granted additional flexibility
by allowing grantees to implement service participation requirements
leading to self-sufficiency and independence outcomes--such as
employment, increased income, reduced substance use, and strengthened
social connection--after a person has been stably housed.
______
Questions Submitted by Senator Jack Reed
hiring efforts for the disaster office
Question. We have increased staffing resources to both the Office
of Disaster and Emergency Management and to the Office of Grant
Programs to help the Department manage the huge amount of work
associated with disaster relief. However, we have not received the
required reports on hiring efforts.
Can you provide an update on your hiring initiatives, how you've
used the resources this Committee provided to improve HUD's disaster
response and recovery work internally, and, lastly, how do you plan to
improve HUD's coordination with its other Federal partners in larger
reforms?
Answer. Office of Grants Programs: CPD is proactively working to
hire additional full-time disaster staff to provide oversight resources
to support the expanded disaster portfolio. CPD began fiscal year 2020
with 24 full-time disaster staff on board in the Office of Disaster
Recovery and Special Issues (DRSI). Through Quarter II, CPD has hired
an additional 15 full-time disaster staff and currently has five
additional actions in process that are projected to be on board before
the end of Quarter III.
Furthermore, CPD will begin recruiting for an additional 7 full-
time disaster positions at the beginning of Quarter III. Factoring in
the loss of 3 full-time disaster staff through attrition, fiscal end of
year staffing levels in the Office of DRSI will be doubled, ending
fiscal year 2020 with 48 full-time staff. Additionally, CPD has hired
four more term employees funded under the disaster supplemental
appropriations which increases the number of term hires to 15. Total
staffing levels in the Office of DRSI are estimated to be at 63 at the
end of the fiscal year.
Office of Disaster Management and National Security: The Department
has completed the assessment of the Office of Disaster Management and
National Security, and is analyzing ways to improve the Department's
response and recovery efforts as well as improve our coordination with
other Federal partners. HUD will keep the Committee abreast of any
potential reorganization that comes out of this effort. As part of the
fiscal year 2020 budget, HUD received 5 full-time disaster positions
and is in the process of developing position descriptions and
recruitment actions. HUD anticipates filling 3 of those positions by
the end of June 2020 and the remaining two by the end of August 2020.
In the interim, HUD has detailed staff to this initiative and has
been successful in developing working relationships with other Federal
agencies (FEMA, SBA, HHS, EDA, and Treasury). Those relationships and
coordination have been further strengthened as a result of COVID-19.
housing for the elderly
Question. In Rhode Island, roughly half of our seniors are in need
of affordable housing, and the current shortage is expected to worsen
in the coming decades, both in my home state and nationwide. This
Committee has provided $256 million to construct new affordable elderly
housing since fiscal year 2017 through HUD's Section 202 program, yet
only $51 million has been awarded.
Why are you delaying the allocation of these funds for senior
affordable housing?
Answer. When funding became available for Section 202 Capital
Advances for the first time in 7 years, HUD developed a new strategy
for allocating the funds for senior affordable housing to maximize the
quality and quantity of affordable units. In its announcement, HUD
ensured that the Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) focused on very
low-income seniors' housing needs, for seniors aging-in-place, and
their quality of life. Additionally, HUD ensured that potential
applicants, who would not have had an existing pipeline of transactions
appropriate for submission for funding, would be able to develop
proposals that would be responsive to the updated NOFA scoring
framework.
In 2017, Congress provided up to $10 million for the development of
housing for the elderly through new Section 202 Capital Advances or for
preserving older unassisted Section 202 housing that was at risk of
losing affordability through Senior Preservation Rental Assistance
Contracts (SPRAC). HUD viewed preservation to be a more cost-effective
use of the funds and initially expected to spend this funding
exclusively on SPRAC. HUD worked to determine how to use SPRAC funding
most impactfully and find alternative strategies to preserve older,
unassisted Section 202 housing. After developing and implementing these
alternative preservation strategies, HUD repurposed some of the fiscal
year 2017 funds for Section 202 Capital Advances. Congress subsequently
provided $105 million in fiscal year 2018, but the larger amount of
funding required a reworking of the NOFA. Currently, HUD has awarded
virtually all the fiscal year 2017 and almost half of the fiscal year
2018 funds. The NOFA awards and amounts are available at https://
www.hud.gov/press/press_releases_media_advisories/HUD_No_20_020.
HUD developed a ramp-up period for the NOFA funding amounts to re-
acclimate non-profit developers to the updated NOFA requirements after
a multi-year gap in annual NOFA rounds. While HUD could have made more
funding available in the prior round, given the absence of funding for
new 202 Capital Advances for several years, HUD found that most non-
profit developers were not prepared with a pipeline of potential
projects to form a robust applicant base. By splitting the funding into
two tranches, HUD was able to get some funds out the door while
allowing other potential applicants time to assemble proposals that
would be responsive to the new NOFA scoring structure. HUD initially
anticipated splitting the fiscal year 2018 funds into the two NOFA
rounds to achieve this purpose and fund the highest quality
applications. When additional fiscal year 2019 funds were made
available, HUD awarded $51 million in the 2019 NOFA. The next 2020 NOFA
round will make $150 million available. HUD believes that the non-
profit developers of these units are now re-oriented to this funding
source and familiar with the new NOFA criteria and expects to be able
to obligate these funds quickly to high-impact projects.
Question. When will the remainder of the $205 million we
appropriated be made available?
Answer. The fiscal year 2020 NOFA will award $150 million in
Capital Advance funds. This NOFA, incorporating lessons learned from
the prior rounds, has been drafted and is currently going through the
review process. The Department expects publication of the fiscal year
2020 NOFA this summer. Project sponsors will have 4 months to assemble
financing commitments to submit competitive applications, and HUD
anticipates awarding funds 4-5 months after deadline . In the third
quarter of fiscal year 2021, a new NOFA will make available the
remaining fiscal year 2020 funds.
financial and physical assessments
Question. Due to frequent and alarming reports of health and safety
hazards at HUD-assisted properties, Congress has issued multiple
directives to the Department in recent years to account for its
insufficient physical inspections process and standards. In response to
growing Congressional pressure and 14 GAO recommendations, in 2017 the
Department launched NSPIRE as a wholesale reexamination of REAC's
inspections.
Two years into this process, we still do not have a firm
understanding of your overall costs, human capital oversight plan, or
implementation timelines.
Meanwhile, the Department reports that roughly 49 percent of
properties saw a decline from their previous inspections score.
What is HUD's progress in improving physical conditions for
residents in all of its assisted housing units NOW?
Answer. In alignment with the Secretary's directive, HUD's primary
responsibility is to ensure the safety and strength of sustainable and
quality affordable housing. HUD continues to prioritize resident safety
and continually works to develop policies and protocols to better
identify health and safety risks posed to residents.
Over the last 2 years, HUD has instituted policies and issued
guidance to properties, which will help improve physical conditions for
residents in all its assisted housing units. For example, in 2019, HUD
issued Notice PIH 2019-02 aligning the notification period for HUD-
assisted properties subject to REAC inspections to 14 days. HUD
believes that some properties may have been completing repairs
immediately before a REAC inspection instead of conducting preventive
maintenance year-round. Moving to a 14-day notice lessens the interval
between the inspection notification and the inspection date, and thus,
will encourage year-round maintenance practices in public housing and
multifamily properties.
Since 2018, HUD has issued guidance to properties on best
management practices, which specify how to address serious issues that
impact the health and safety of the resident. Last year, HUD issued
notices that provided properties with guidance on carbon monoxide,
radon, and emergency call systems to recommend best practices and
encourage compliance with local code requirements. More recently, HUD
provided public and multifamily properties with guidance on how to
address property maintenance amid social distancing due to the COVID-19
pandemic.
Moreover, since 2018, REAC has conducted 34,831 Uniform Physical
Condition Standards (UPCS) field inspections in order to ensure the
safety of residents. In concert with the current model, HUD is also
running a parallel effort to modernize the inspection process with a
resident-focused model called the National Standards for the Physical
Inspection of Real Estate (NSPIRE).
HUD has also tested the implementation of electronic inspections
through the ``Demonstration To Test Proposed New Method of Assessing
the Physical Conditions of Voucher-Assisted Housing'' launched in 2016
(frequently referred to as the Uniform Physical Conditions Standards
for Vouchers or UPCS-V demonstration). HUD provided Public Housing
Authorities (PHAs) with an electronic inspection system that
streamlined inspections, enabled data analysis and facilitated fact-
based decisionmaking at all levels. During the demonstration, PHAs used
HUD-provided technology to conduct over 90,000 electronic inspections
on Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) units. HUD is leveraging the lessons
learned to date from the demonstration to ensure that the safety of
residents, policy, technology, and data collection needs are reflected
in NSPIRE. This continuous learning approach will assist in the
successful transition of demonstration participants, and all other HCV
units, to NSPIRE.
Specifically, the modernization and improvement initiative created
under the NSPIRE portfolio is a key component of the Secretary's
directive to ensure the safety of residents. With the decision to test
and align to NSPIRE, the Department is moving towards more objective,
consistent, and accurate physical inspection standards that will better
assess health and safety hazards for the residents. Additionally, the
alignment decreases administrative burden, reduces regulatory sprawl
and improves the quality of housing for residents by focusing on
resident safety and a year-round maintenance model.
HUD is working with the public, contractors, subject matter
experts, and property owners to test and refine the combined inspection
and reporting protocols. For continuous learning and improvement, the
NSPIRE team is building an ``intellectual infrastructure'' to provide
technical input and scientific guidance by collaborating with partners
across the Federal government including the National Institutes of
Health and the National Institute of Standards and Technology; and
standards development with organizations and academic institutions such
as the National Fire Protection Association, American Society for
Testing and Materials, University of Pennsylvania Medical School, and
Georgetown University. Additionally, through NSPIRE, HUD's subject
matter experts are working with contractors to develop webinars that
engage with property owners and resident groups to provide additional
guidance and ensure resident safety. HUD has also developed a plan to
adapt to the needs of residents and to ensure transparency by moving to
establish procedures that would provide the opportunity for public
comment on the protocols, at intervals no less than once every 3 years.
HUD's efforts to increase transparency and trust will encourage
PHAs and owners to seek guidance or assistance now and in the future.
The NSPIRE project has helped build trust with key stakeholders,
including the submission of more than 300 public comments. The NSPIRE
project has also led to more than 2,785 properties (61 percent of pilot
capacity) agreeing to participate in modernization efforts, which is
ahead of the original 12-month projected target of 2,500 properties. As
such, HUD believes that the NSPIRE project will achieve the necessary
enrollment into the demonstration and collect essential data needed to
perfect the end state of HUD's inspection modernization efforts.
Question. What are your estimated costs to develop and implement
NSPIRE, when will it be finalized, and how will this new model better
inform and target HUD's requirements for addressing conditions at
deficient properties?
Answer. REAC had anticipated and planned for inspection costs to
rise because of the transition away from the Reverse Auction Program to
a performance-based model and due to the increase in the number of
units inspected under the NSPIRE protocol. Specifically, higher
qualified and certified contract inspectors will be required under the
NSPIRE model, which will likely increase the price of inspections over
time. Such an increase is justified because the inspectors will be able
to better identify risks to residents. HUD also expects per inspection
costs under NSPIRE to be higher than today because NSPIRE evaluates
more dwelling units to ensure those places on the property where
residents spend the most time are safe and habitable. Although these
changes would increase costs, they will improve the quality of the
inspections to ensure resident safety.
In fiscal year 2020, HUD has invested approximately $6,523,002 of
its Financial and Physical Assessment (FPA) funding to NSPIRE business
support contracts, demonstration inspections, and other program
requirements. HUD will also apply $6,842,969 in Multifamily funding
toward the development of NSPIRE. IT costs are being determined and
will be shared with the Committee.
In fiscal year 2021, HUD proposes to apply $6,650,209 in FPA
funding to NSPIRE business support contracts, demonstration
inspections, and other program requirements. Currently, HUD is
proposing $6,610,877.00 in Multifamily funds to be applied to NSPIRE.
OCIO's planned investment for NSPIRE for fiscal year 2021 has been not
fully determined at this time.
Social distancing restrictions required by COVID-19 are likely to
delay routine maintenance in properties. This deferred maintenance is
likely to result in an increase in the number of deficiencies noted and
may initially reduce property scores. As properties begin to return to
normal operations, HUD will continue to balance the advancement of
NSPIRE with the constraints of properties.
The date of NSPIRE finalization is dependent on IT modernization,
data collection and the delays related to the COVID-19 pandemic. HUD
continues to make progress on the standards and scoring models and
remains committed to providing updates to the timeline as new data
becomes available.
It is important to note that NSPIRE standards and scoring model
prioritizes residents' health and safety over asset management or
exterior conditions of properties. The emphasis on inspecting the unit
is a critical component of this approach, given that people generally
spend more time in their homes than they do in common areas inside
their buildings or outdoors on the property. For example, under the
current protocol, a UPCS property can receive an overall passing score
with a minimum of 60 points even with a score of zero with respect to
dwelling units. NSPIRE, however, ensures that a property will not
receive a passing score if the dwelling unit area fails.
This emphasis is reflected not only in the scoring model but also
in standards development through description of discrete deficiencies
for conditions inside the unit, distinct from those that are not in the
unit. Moreover, in order to best serve to the health and safety of
residents, the NSPIRE team is collaborating with public health and
public safety professionals who are providing critical input to the
standards.
Question. HUD's budget request asks for an additional $9 million
for ``Financial and Physical Assessments'' in order to run two parallel
inspections models in 2021.
Can you please elaborate on what your current inspections model
costs, what the additional NSIPRE inspection model will cost and how
long we can expect this duplicative investment to occur?
Answer. For fiscal year 2020, out of HUD's FPA spend plan of
$17,038,393 (appropriation of $14 million and carryover funds of $3.038
million), $11,059,764 was aligned to the physical inspection line of
business with $6,523,002 going to NSPIRE business support contracts,
demonstration inspections, and other program requirements. The
remaining $4,536,762 was aligned to support the current physical
inspection processes. HUD is planning to apply $12,922,531 in
Multifamily funding toward physical inspections, with $6,842,969 going
toward the development of NSPIRE with the remaining $6,079,562 being
applied to the current physical inspection process. IT costs are being
determined and will be shared with the Committee.
For fiscal year 2021, HUD's request for FPA funding stands at $23
million. Of that total, $15 million is proposed for the physical
inspection line of business with $7 million of that amount aligned to
NSPIRE business support contracts, demonstration inspections, and other
program requirements. The remaining $8 million will be aligned to
support NSPIRE nationwide physical inspections. Currently, HUD is
proposing $16 million in Multifamily funds to be applied to the
physical inspection line of business with $7 million going toward
NSPIRE support contracts, demo inspections and other program
requirements and the remaining $9 million going to support NSPIRE
nationwide physical inspections.
HUD continues to assess and refine business process, effectiveness,
and efficiency. Business process design efforts to operationalize
NSPIRE are ongoing. Design efforts focus heavily on automation and the
use of data to create more efficient processes. Once that is complete,
HUD will be able to better calculate the life-cycle human capital
costs. HUD anticipates these parallel costs to continue until such time
as NSPIRE is fully implemented, which is currently targeted for fiscal
year 2022.
affirmatively furthering fair housing
Question. Within the Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity
(OFHEO), your proposed changes to the 2015 Affirmatively Furthering
Fair Housing rule significantly scales back existing tools and mandates
to proactively reduce and address housing discrimination, and instead
focuses on reducing regulatory barriers to development. While this
Committee is concerned with affordability and access to ownership and
rental markets for all Americans, we want to ensure OFHEO continues to
focus its efforts on reducing discrimination among the protected
classes as outlined in the Fair Housing Act.
How did you arrive to the conclusion that increased housing
affordability is a sufficient response to address decades of housing
discrimination and systemic segregation?
Answer. Your question incorrectly presumes that HUD's proposed
Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) rule is the Department's
only mechanism for addressing housing discrimination. In fact, HUD has
an entire Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity dedicated to
enforcing the Fair Housing Act.
The public comment period for HUD's proposed AFFH rule commenced on
January 14, 2020 and closed March 16, 2020. During the comment period,
HUD received over 19,500 public comments to its proposed AFFH rule. All
public comments will be carefully considered by HUD prior to moving
forward with a final AFFH rule.
Question. Do you believe that affordability and fair housing are
interchangeable?
Answer. HUD believes both objectives are important and should be
pursued.
Question. If this rule is finalized and requirements for
jurisdictions to fulfill the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing
requirements are loosened, how will you ensure those jurisdictions are
held accountable in current and future cases of housing discrimination?
Answer. HUD is proposing a new process to evaluate each
jurisdiction's efforts to AFFH that not only allows HUD to enforce
civil rights requirements effectively but also empowers individual
jurisdictions to develop new approaches to affirmatively further fair
housing.
One of the key ways HUD would confirm that program participants
fulfill their AFFH responsibilities would be to reward only
jurisdictions that are free of material civil rights violations. HUD
recognizes that jurisdictions have multiple layers of civil rights
enforcement, including state attorneys general, Fair Housing Initiative
programs, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), and HUD. HUD proposes
to take all these methods of enforcement into account in determining a
jurisdiction's civil rights record.
Question. About 2.2 million children under the age of 6 live in
pre-1978 HCV units and are therefore at risk for lead poisoning. Over
90,000 of those children have tested positive for lead poisoning
already, resulting in serious adverse impacts to their health and
subsequent financial strain on their families.
How will HUD's lead risk assessment demonstration address the
remaining units that still need remediation?
Answer. HUD does not have the authority to require lead risk
assessments in pre-1978 housing choice voucher units under 42 U.S.C.
Sec. 4822(a)(1). However, because of its interest in this subject, the
Department's 2021 Budget includes the Lead Risk Assessment
Demonstration Program, a voluntary program, that would seek to
determine whether public housing agencies can effectively incorporate a
lead risk assessment or a lead hazard screen into the Housing Choice
Voucher (HCV) units' Housing Quality Standards inspection process and
improve the detection of lead-based paint hazards, while preserving
rental housing availability and affordability. HUD has expressed the
concern, originally expressed by Congress in the legislative history
for Title X (in Senate Report 102-332), that adding a risk assessment
to the process will impact a family's ability to find a suitable home
within fair market rents. Additionally, it may deter landlord
participation in the program if they are responsible for completing
additional lead hazard control and clearance examinations prior to
leasing.
The demonstration would examine landlords' willingness to (1) add
the approximately 5 to 15 days to the HCV approval process for
conducting a lead risk assessment (i.e., scheduling it, having the risk
assessor conduct it, having the accredited lead laboratory analyze the
samples, and having the risk assessor prepare the report), and (2)
conduct interim controls of any lead-based paint hazards identified
(rather than the current requirement of stabilizing any deteriorated
paint identified) even in tight rental markets when there is high
demand for affordable rental housing. Based on the results of the
demonstration, HUD would determine whether a legislative request to
require lead hazard screens or lead risk assessments would be
justified.
On a technical note, the question uses inaccurate data on the
number of children living in pre-1978 HCV units and the number of such
children with elevated blood lead levels.
--Regarding the number of children under the age of six living in
pre-1978 HCV units:
--As of March 2020, HUD's administrative records show that there
were 253,155 children under age six living in 184,551 pre-
1978 HCV units. The number of such children is far lower
than the 2.2 million number that had been provided to the
Senator.
--Regarding the number of children under the age of six with an
elevated blood lead level living in pre-1978 HCV units:
--The number of children under age six living in pre-1978 HCV units
with an elevated blood lead level number that had been
provided to the Senator is also high. If it were accurate,
this number would represent 35 percent of the children in
such units. This is a percentage far larger--by a ratio of
14 to 1--than the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention's determination of the national prevalence of
elevated blood lead level cases, 2.5 percent, from its
National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.
--The prevalence of lead-based paint hazards in government-
supported housing units is significantly lower than the
prevalence in the national housing stock, by about a factor
of two, as determined by the American Healthy Homes Survey.
So the percentage of children in such units with elevated
blood lead level is likely less than the 2.5 percent
national rate, rather than 14 times higher.
union representation
Question. How often do you meet with leaders of unions that
represent those employed by HUD?
Answer. HUD management officials throughout the Department meet
with union representatives on a near daily basis on a variety of
topics. Most significantly, a team of management officials meet with
union officials concerning term bargaining. Specifically, HUD
management officials met with union representatives every other week,
five days per week, from March 21, 2019 to February 28, 2020. During
this period, HUD and union leaders spent 680 hours at the negotiating
table, approximately 8,840 work hours of meeting time. This was time
not spent in furtherance of HUD's mission of creating strong,
sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes for
all.
union representation
Question. Please provide an update on the status of contract
negotiations with unions that represent those employed by HUD.
Answer. After 1 year of direct negotiations, the parties received
mediation service from the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service
at 55 joint sessions. On February 28, 2020, after the parties had
reached voluntary agreements on the majority of open issues, a Federal
mediator released the parties from mediation and HUD requested
assistance from the Federal Service Impasses Panel. The FSIP asserted
jurisdiction over the impasse dispute on April 6, 2020. Currently, HUD
is fully cooperating with the FSIP to reach a conclusion to contract
negotiations.
reasonable accommodations
Question. As of March 11, 2020, how many requests remain pending
with the HUD's Office of Reasonable Accommodations?
Answer. Cases are tracked by the number of reasonable
accommodations provided. For fiscal year 2019, HUD received 368
requests, and of that number 197 were provided reasonable accommodation
in fiscal year 19, or 53.5 percent.
Question. What is the date of the oldest pending request?
Answer. The oldest request is dated August 23, 2018 and remains
pending due to ordering challenges associated with the approved
equipment. The employee has been kept informed regarding status of the
acquisition throughout the procurement process. HUD is on track to
fulfill the accommodation or interim workplace solution aligned with
HUD's re-opening planning.
Question. On average, how long does it take to process a request?
Answer. For fiscal year 2019, HUD provided reasonable accommodation
on 197 cases in approximately 42 business days from the date HUD
received the request for reasonable accommodation. HUD policy
identifies accommodations be provided within 30 business days from
receipt of the request for reasonable accommodation. This 30-day
standard will be attainable once the current Reasonable Accommodation
Branch staffing vacancies have been filled.
Question. What, if anything, are you doing to process these
requests efficiently?
Answer. Due to vacancies occurring in the Reasonable Accommodations
Branch between August 2019 and January 2020, the number of Reasonable
Accommodations Case Managers was cut in half. The Office of the Chief
Human Capital Officer (OCHCO) moved swiftly to re-advertise for these
positions and continues to actively recruit and fill jobs. Two
candidates have been selected thus far, one of whom is scheduled to
enter on duty May 11, 2020. In addition to permanent recruitment
efforts, temporary details of employees into the branch were pursued,
and both the Reasonable Accommodations Branch Chief and the Division
Manager have assumed some of the staff-level work.
hud response to coronavirus pandemic
Question. How are you ensuring that HUD employees can continue
performing their duties safely so that HUD programs remain available as
the nation responds to the coronavirus?
Answer. HUD is following appropriate guidelines to ensure its
employees are able to continue performing their duties safely.
hud response to coronavirus pandemic
Question. What have you done to combat disinformation or
misinformation related to the coronavirus among the homeless population
of the United States and others that HUD serves?
Answer. HUD has prioritized working with Federal partners,
especially the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to
pass along information about the impact of coronavirus to HUD's
partners and those HUD serves. HUD is issuing guidance documents to
keep its stakeholders informed.
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Questions Submitted by Senator Dianne Feinstein
hud response to coronavirus pandemic
Question. It is imperative that we support state and local
governments, as well as nonprofit service providers, as they work to
get people into emergency housing as quickly as possible to prevent the
rapid spread of coronavirus.
Will HUD provide additional flexibility to voucher recipients,
CoCs, and PHAs during this emergency?
Answer. Yes. Pursuant to the authority provided under the
Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act (Public Law
116-136), HUD waived and established alternative requirements for
numerous statutory and regulatory requirements for the Public Housing
and Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) programs through Notice PIH 2020-05.
These waivers provide administrative flexibilities and relief to public
housing agencies (PHAs) in response to the COVID-19 national emergency.
Use of these waivers is at the discretion of the PHA; however, HUD
strongly encourages PHAs to utilize any and all waivers and alternative
requirements as necessary to keep public housing and HCV programs
operational to the extent practicable. Several of the waivers or
alternative requirements afford flexibility to families when adopted by
a PHA. For example, PHAs may consider self-certification as the highest
form of income verification to process annual reexaminations. (See
Section PH and HCV-3.)
HUD began informing communities as early as March 5 that it would
be flexible with grant funds and encourage communities to make changes
as needed to help people experiencing homelessness. In early March, HUD
released guidance on what recipients can do immediately with the
funding they have to address the COVID-19 pandemic. HUD also worked
with its field office teams to quickly respond to grant amendment
requests. HUD released a new resource page on the HUD Exchange to
expedite such amendment requests.
On April 1, HUD published a ``mega waiver'' describing several
allowable waivers to the Continuum of Care, Emergency Solutions Grants,
and Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS Programs, and waivers
for the Consolidated Plan requirements. Recipients simply need to
notify HUD of which waivers they will use and it is automatically
approved in 2 days. HUD is investigating other waivers that may be
needed. Examples of allowable waivers include allowing remote
inspections, reducing the frequency of check-ins, renting housing for
shorter lease terms, and allowing rents above the FMR.
On April 3--one week after the CARES Act was signed--HUD announced
its first allocations for the CDBG, ESG, and HOPWA Programs, totaling
$1 billion for the ESG Program. This rapid announcement gave surety to
communities of dollars coming to them and how much. HUD is working on a
Notice for the ESG funding that will provide additional flexibility.
HUD also plans to allocate the second ESG allocation (of $2.96 billion)
prior to the date required by CARES Act.
On May 11, HUD announced its third allocations for CARES Act-
related CDBG, ESG, and HOPWA Programs, increasing the funding for CDBG
to $3 billion in total funding.
Question. Are CoCs being given flexibility in how they spend
Federal grant money during the emergency?
Answer. Yes. As stated above, HUD is giving flexibility to CoCs to
spend grant funding. HUD is encouraging CoCs to amend existing grants
to use existing funds to serve those experiencing homelessness during
the COVID-19 outbreak.
Question. Will HUD suspend search period restrictions for Housing
Choice Voucher recipients who have not yet found housing?
Answer. HUD regulations only set a minimum search time of 60 days
and does not set a maximum time limit. Instead, PHAs are required to
adopt local policies that establish search time and qualifications for
extensions of that time. In Notice PIH 2020-05, HUD provided a waiver
that allows PHAs to extend voucher search time regardless of the PHA's
policies to allow maximum flexibility. (See Section HCV-3.)
Question. Will HUD relax deadlines for inspections and
certifications to PHAs during this emergency?
Answer. Yes, through Notice PIH 2020-05, HUD established several
waivers and alternative requirements for HQS inspections for both the
tenant-based and project-based programs. For example, HUD waived the
requirement for initial HQS inspection in the tenant-based program and
turnover inspections in the project-based voucher program and as an
alternative. HUD is also allowing PHAs to accept owner self-
certification that the unit has no life-threatening deficiencies which
will allow participants to continue leasing units. HUD also allowed for
extensions of biennial and non-life-threatening interim inspections.
(See Sections HQS-1- HQS-11).
Question. Will HUD continue to advance administrative funding to
PHAs during this emergency?
Answer. HUD will continue providing regular HCV administrative fees
monthly throughout fiscal year 2020. Additionally the Department is
providing all PHAs in the first week of May with an additional 2 months
of admin fees (for a total of $380 million) out of the CARES Act
supplemental HCV administrative funding to ensure that the PHAs can
continue supporting assisted families during these uncertain times. The
remaining CARES Act supplemental administrative funds will be awarded
in future actions designed to best address the needs of the PHAs.
Question. Will HUD extend deadlines within grants, based on leasing
activities by a specific date, to PHAs during this emergency? For
example, will deadlines for the 811 Mainstream Vouchers, which are
required to be 80 percent leased up before September, be extended?
Answer. Yes, HUD is taking the coronavirus emergency into account
with respect to grant requirements. With respect to the 80 percent
leasing threshold deadline for Mainstream vouchers, HUD has already
taken action to extend the deadline. HUD informed PHAs through the
COVID-19 FAQs for Public Housing Agencies, published on March 30, 2020,
of the following: The [Mainstream] NOFA stated that PHAs must lease 80
percent of the awarded vouchers or budget within 1 year of the award
becoming effective. The NOFA provides that HUD may recapture awarded
funds if a PHA fails to meet this requirement. HUD understands that
COVID-19 may impact a PHA's ability to lease up their award within 12
months, and therefore, HUD will exercise its discretion to allow an
additional 6 months for leasing of the fiscal year 2019 Mainstream
awards. PHAs do not need to request this extension from HUD. (See FAQ
OC22.)
hud-vash vouchers
Question. I recognize that 77,000 chronically homeless veterans
have been housed through the HUD-VASH program since the program was
created in 2008, contributing to a 46 percent decline in the number of
veterans experiencing homelessness. However, I am concerned that
approximately 14,000 vouchers went unused last year, despite there
being nearly 40,000 American veterans who are still homeless.
What has HUD done to help Public Housing Authorities improve HUD-
VASH voucher utilization rate?
Answer. HUD remains focused on increasing HUD-VASH utilization. HUD
is working through our Office of Field Operations to monitor
utilization and troubleshoot any issues with individual PHAs and their
partnering VA facilities. Additionally, a cross-Federal program working
group between HUD and the Veterans' Administration has been established
where the core function is monitoring and improving utilization of HUD-
VASH and determining how we can work together to solve low leasing
rates.
HUD continues to make additional HAP and Administrative Fees
available to HUD-VASH through the funding set-aside category
established in the fiscal year 2020 funding notice. This allows PHAs
with additional leasing or increased costs to request additional
funding to reach their maximum HUD-VASH leasing potential.
Additionally, PIH has extended the deadline for requesting these funds
until October 2020 in order to allow more PHAs time to submit their
requests.
HUD continues to approve requests from PHAs for HUD-VASH exception
payment standards which allows HUD-VASH vouchers to be leased at over
120 percent FMR, where needed, to keep pace with the local housing
market.
Question. What efforts has HUD undertaken to improve the
calculation of FMRs to better reflect real market conditions, which
would make it easier to use HUD-VASH vouchers?
Answer. The Senate report accompanying the Consolidated
Appropriations Act, 2018, directed HUD to submit a report ``describing
proposals to update the Fair Market Rent (FMR) formula to more
accurately reflect the current housing market.'' In the report,
submitted in August 2018, HUD included an assessment of the accuracy of
FMRs using the then current calculation methods along with a synopsis
of the three main components of each FMR: a base rent, an inflation
adjustment and a trend factor.\1\ HUD enumerated potential avenues of
improvement in each of these three components.
To begin addressing these areas of improvement, HUD commissioned a
research study, Deriving Local Trend Factors for Fair Market Rent
Estimation, in late 2018. The report was published in March of 2019 and
included recommendations for replacing the single nationally forecasted
trend factor with metropolitan area and regional trend forecasts.\2\
The report also investigated possible improvements in the calculation
of the inflation factor component in the FMR calculations. Using the
methods described in the report, HUD proposed and incorporated local
area forecasting of gross rents paid growth which replacing a single
national forecast of gross rents paid growth. Consequently, the fiscal
year 2020 Fair Market Rents combine 22 metropolitan area gross rent
forecasts and 4 regional gross rent forecasts in place of the national
gross rent growth forecast.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ The report is available at: https://www.huduser.gov/portal/
sites/default/files/pdf/Proposals-To-Update-the-Fair-Market-Rent-
Formula.pdf
\2\ The report is available at: https://www.huduser.gov/portal/
sites/default/files/pdf/deriving-local-trends-factors.pdf
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
HUD staff are currently extending the work of the research team in
the area of improvements to the inflation factor calculation. HUD
anticipates incorporating new data sources for use in the inflation
factor calculation in the fiscal year 2022 FMR calculations.
Question. Did HUD and the Department of Veterans Affairs coordinate
fiscal year 21 budget requests related to HUD-VASH, and if so how?
Answer. HUD and VA did not have meetings specific to the 2021
Budget. However, HUD and the VA had several meetings over the past year
about the need to coordinate funding on an ongoing basis, as well as in
future years to ensure the VA has the staffing they need to provide
sufficient levels of case management to support the number of vouchers
awarded. HUD and VA also continue to engage on issues to address
operational challenges, as needed.
rental assistance vouchers
Question. Despite the incredibly high demand for this assistance
rental assistance, more than 10 percent of housing vouchers go unused
each year. It is my understanding that the barriers that limit the
ability of voucher holders to find housing are short timeframes to
secure a unit, delays in unit inspections and move-in approval, and a
lack of available and affordable units within a specific Public Housing
Agency's (PHA) jurisdiction.
What efforts has HUD undertaken to require the use of Small Area
Fair Market Rents to set Housing Choice Voucher payment standards?
Answer. The November 2016 rulemaking ``Establishing a More
Effective Fair Market Rent System; Using Small Area Fair Market Rents
in the Housing Choice Voucher Program Instead of the Current 50th
Percentile FMRs,'' 81 FR 80567, implemented criteria to determine areas
where voucher holders are more concentrated in areas of high poverty or
relative low income than are renters in general and where Small Area
Fair Market Rents (SAFMRs) are likely to be an effective tool to assist
Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) families to move to neighborhoods of
opportunity. The rule includes a provision for HUD to assess new data
every 5 years and determine if additional areas would be required to
use SAFMRs in their HCV programs. With the initial rulemaking completed
in late 2016, the first 5-year period ends in 2021.
Through the rule, HUD requires the use of SAFMRs in the operation
of the HCV program in 24 metropolitan areas around the country. HUD
estimates approximately 190 PHAs operate in these 24 metropolitan
areas. Of these, 7 PHAs participate in the Moving to Work program and
have developed alternative payment standard strategies and are not
using SAFMRs. PHAs operating outside the 24 required areas can opt-in
to the use of SAFMRs with HUD approval. Finally, PHAs outside of the
mandatory areas may use SAFMRs as the basis for exception payment
standards without the need for approval from HUD.
To date, two PHAs have opted-in to the use of SAFMRs and 11 PHAs
have notified HUD that they are using SAFMRs as the basis for exception
payment standards.
Question. What steps has HUD taken to streamline initial
inspections and re-inspections for units to be rented to Housing Choice
Voucher holders?
Answer. HUD recognizes it is critical to balance the need for
decent, safe, and sanitary housing with the need to not create barriers
to landlord participation. To streamline the inspection process, HUD
allows PHAs to complete HQS inspections biennially, or triennially at
small rural PHAs, instead of annually as required previously (Notice
PIH 2016-05 and 85 Fed. Reg. 11381).
Under HOTMA, PHAs have the option to adopt the non-life-threatening
(NLT) provision, which allows tenants to move in and be assisted under
HAP if a unit fails HQS for only NLT deficiencies. PHAs can also adopt
the alternative inspection provision, allowing tenants to move in and
be assisted under HAP before an HQS inspection has been completed, if
the unit has previously passed a qualifying alternative inspection
(Notice PIH 2017-20).
PHAs are encouraged to allow alternative means of verifying
correction of HQS deficiencies, which can include owner-provided photos
or owner/tenant certification.
Question. Does HUD provide flexibility for PHAs to distinguish
habitability issues from need for minor repairs? If so, do PHAs have
the flexibility to allow move-in prior to certain minor repairs being
completed?
Answer. Yes. PHAs have the option to allow participants to move-in
a unit prior to it passing HQS as long as the unit does not have any
life-threatening deficiencies. This provision allows families to be
more competitive in the private market (Notice PIH 2017-20).
Question. Has HUD issued guidance for PHAs that want to provide
prequalifying inspections for units they plan to rent to voucher-
holders? If not, will HUD do so?
Answer. Many PHAs find it helpful to have units pre-inspected to
expedite the lease-up process. HUD has issued guidance in the past
specific to the HUD-VASH program and leasing for individuals
experiencing homelessness. HUD will explore the feasibility of
including this option for pre-inspections in future HQS guidance. In
addition, HUD has implemented the HOTMA provision that provides PHAs
with the option to rely on a previous alternative inspection to approve
a unit for a voucher family before conducting their own inspection.
Question. What guidance does HUD provide PHAs regarding the
portability of Housing Choice Vouchers either between jurisdictions or
through regional pooling?
Answer. HUD has issued two PIH notices related to portability and
opportunities for regional coordination:
1. PIH Notice 2016-09 provides guidance on portability; and
2. PIH Notice 2018-12 describes how PHAs can transfer or
consolidate voucher programs.
homelessness prevention
Question. HUD and the United States Interagency Council on
Homelessness have rightly acknowledged that prevention strategies are a
critical component of any Federal, state, or local plan to end
homelessness. To reduce the number of people living on the street, it
is critically important to stop the inflow of newly homeless families
and individuals. I wrote to you--in a letter dated February 10, 2020--
on this particular issue.
Has HUD taken any recent steps to evaluate homelessness prevention
strategies to determine their impact?
Answer. HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research recently
published a paper on efforts to establish a housing insecurity research
module that will provide a research basis to understand how to most
effectively target homelessness prevention. Further, HUD has revisited
the recent Market Predictors of Homelessness study to develop an
understanding of how to better target homelessness prevention resources
to address COVID-related changes in community-level risk and protective
factors that impact inflow into homelessness. Some of the risk factors,
including evictions, unemployment, and overcrowding, are particularly
sensitive to changes in light of the COVID-19 crisis. Similarly,
protective factors that are particularly important to post-COVID
outcomes include housing density and the availability of cash and
housing assistance.
HUD is also collecting recent state and local prevention program
evaluations to offer more insight into the prevention strategies that
have the most impact on reducing inflow into homelessness.
Question. Has HUD issued, or does it plan to issue, any policy
guidance to promote homelessness prevention program best practices?
Answer. Yes. HUD is collecting and disseminating best practices in
homelessness prevention program models, including:
1. Targeting resources to people who are expected to become
homeless, but for the prevention assistance;
2. Estimating who is expected to become homeless to appropriately
scale community-level prevention response;
3. Partnering with other system partners to target their
homelessness prevention resources; and
4. Coordinating with institutions to reduce discharges into
homeless settings.
affordable housing
Question. HUD could help address the affordable housing shortage by
helping localities ease density restrictions and streamline land-use
policies to allow for more affordable housing construction.
Under your leadership, how has HUD worked with states and
localities to reduce the regulatory burdens associated with
exclusionary zoning?
Answer. Secretary Carson serves as the Chair of the White House
Council on Eliminating Regulatory Barriers to Affordable Housing. The
Council's report, due in Summer 2020, will identify specific actions
the Federal government can take to support state and local actions to
reduce regulatory barriers to housing supply, including land use
regulations. Recognizing the states' and localities' dominant role in
this area, the Report will focus on resources the Federal government
can provide, including technical assistance, to help jurisdictions
reduce regulatory barriers.
Question. Has HUD developed any joint strategies with the Federal
Transit Administration to assist communities in developing mixed-income
and affordable housing near transit? If not, does HUD have any plans to
study this issue more in-depth?
Answer. The Department of Transportation is one of the agency
members of the Council on Eliminating Regulatory Barriers to Affordable
Housing. The Council's activities have included discussions on how to
encourage more housing near transit as well as on opportunities to use
FTA programs to encourage greater housing production and regulatory
reform. The agencies will continue to consider joint strategies as they
develop recommendations for the Council's forthcoming report.
flexibility for the administration of housing vouchers
Question. My staff has heard from local public housing authorities
that they do not use their allocated Section 8 housing vouchers to
serve homeless individuals and families over concerns of being
penalized for choosing to prioritize difficult to serve populations.
Will your Department grant full authority to pro-rate Section 8
administrative fees at any time as requested by PHAs and remove any
penalties associated with prioritizing difficult to serve populations,
particularly those that are homeless?
Answer. As part of the Department's response to the coronavirus
pandemic, HUD provided all PHAs with an additional 2 months of
supplemental administrative fees to ensure that the PHAs can continue
supporting assisted families during these uncertain times. HUD
understands that PHAs must balance serving those most in need while
ensuring its programs are administered in compliance within the
statutory and regulatory framework.
While HUD must award Section 8 administrative fees in accordance
with the fiscal year 2020 Further Consolidated Appropriations Act,
there is no ``penalty'' for a PHA that chooses to adopt an admissions
preference for homeless families. PHAs must comply with eligibility and
admissions requirements that no less than 75 percent of the families
admitted to the HCV program during the PHA's fiscal year shall be
extremely low-income families. To assist PHAs in serving these most
vulnerable populations HUD continues make additional vouchers available
through our HUD-VASH, Mainstream, and Family Unification special
purpose vouchers NOFAs.
admissions and verification process for housing vouchers
Question. Currently, public housing authorities (PHAs) are required
to obtain documents within 60 days from the date that an applicant
requests housing assistance. This creates barriers for PHAs to process
in a timely manner an application submitted by a homeless individual
who may no longer have all of the necessary documentation required,
which may take longer than 60 days.
Answer. Another burdensome process for PHAs is the income
verification process of potential housing voucher recipients.
Currently, PHAs are required to follow a six-level hierarchal
verification process in order to verify an individual or family's
income.
Question. Is your Department willing to extend the third-party
expiration date from a 60-day period to a 180-day period from the
public housing authority request date?
Answer. Under Notice PIH 2020-05 (see Section PH and HCV-4), HUD
waived the requirements to use the income verification hierarchy as
described by PIH Notice 2018-18 for interim determination of family
income. HUD is allowing PHAs to forgo third-party income verification
requirements for interim reexaminations, including the required use of
EIV. The period of availability ends on July 31, 2020. During the
allowable period of eligibility, PHAs may consider self-certification
as the highest form of income verification to process interim
reexaminations.
While Notice PIH 2020-05 provided guidance to PHAs on how to
streamline the income verification process for reexaminations, it did
not include a waiver of the requirement for income verification of
applicants. HUD is currently considering waivers and alternative
requirements to provide administrative flexibilities around income
verification of applicants. This guidance will be informed by the CARES
Act.
Question. What steps will your Department take to streamline the
income verification process to make it easier for PHAs to expedite the
consideration of housing voucher applications?
Answer. As noted above, Under Notice PIH 2020-05 (see Section PH
and HCV-4), HUD waived the requirements to use the income verification
hierarchy as described by PIH Notice 2018-18 for interim determination
of family income. HUD is allowing PHAs to forgo third-party income
verification requirements for interim reexaminations, including the
required use of EIV. During the allowable period of eligibility, PHAs
may consider self-certification as the highest form of income
verification to process interim reexaminations.
housing voucher discrimination
Question. I am concerned that voucher holders often encounter
landlords who refuse to take their vouchers or find other ways to avoid
renting to them, including falsely claiming that they have no available
apartments.
HUD even acknowledged that in its own 2018 report (A Pilot Study of
Landlord Acceptance of Housing Choice Vouchers), many landlords
``refuse to accept vouchers and participants who seek housing in
opportunity-rich areas with high-quality schools, jobs, and
transportation are especially likely to be turned away.''
What efforts has HUD undertaken since the release of this report to
recruit more landlords to participate in the Housing Choice Voucher
program as well as combat discrimination against voucher holders?
Answer. HUD's HCV Landlord Task Force evolved from a growing body
of research, including ``A Pilot Study of Landlord Acceptance of
Housing Choice Vouchers'', on landlord participation in the HCV
Program. The overarching goals of the Landlord Task Force are to
improve landlord participation and landlord satisfaction with the HCV
program by improving the program, providing enhanced resources, and
enabling better communication between HUD, Public Housing Agencies
(PHAs) and landlords.
In the fall of 2018, the Landlord Task Force heard from
approximately 300 property owners, managers, and other stakeholders in
the HCV program from across the country. This provided HUD with a
richer understanding of what matters most to landlords. The HCV
Landlord Task Force has been engaged in several efforts over the past
year to address issues raised by landlords. This includes developing an
HCV Landlord Strategy Guidebook for PHAs. This guidebook will provide
PHAs with a variety of strategies they may implement to recruit and
retain landlords in the HCV Program. HUD recently conducted a webinar
on education and outreach strategies for increasing landlord
participation in the HCV program from the Landlord Strategy Guidebook.
The HCV Landlord Task Force is also developing more user-friendly
materials on the HCV Program for landlords--such as a flow-chart of the
lease-up process and descriptions of common forms that landlords may
encounter when participating in the HCV program.
HUD's HCV Landlord Task Force's efforts over the past year also
include organizing quarterly HCV Landlord Symposiums in communities
across the country. The goals of these symposiums are to provide
opportunities for HUD, PHAs and landlords to continue to connect,
introduce new materials and tools to landlords and PHAs, and ultimately
to increase landlord participation and improve landlord satisfaction in
the HCV program.
To learn more about the HCV Landlord Task Force's efforts, please
visit https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/public_indian_housing/
programs/hcv/landlord.
Question. Has HUD made progress in recruiting and maintaining more
voucher holders compared to the data provided at the time of this
report? If so, please provide the most recent data available on the
number of landlords and voucher-holders participating in the program.
Answer. HUD administrative data shows a steady decline in the
number of landlords participating in the HCV program over the years.
Among non-Moving To Work (MTW) PHAs, HUD has seen a 14 percent
reduction in landlords per 100 tenant-based voucher householders since
2010. In 2010, there were approximately 39 landlords per 100 Tenant
Based Vouchers. In 2019, there were 33 landlords per 100 Tenant Based
Vouchers. The HCV Landlord Task Force is working to reverse this trend.
It is important to note that there are many factors that influence
a landlord's willingness to accept Housing Choice Vouchers. This
includes local rental market conditions, state and local source of
income protections, the landlord's existing knowledge or perception of
the HCV program and HCV tenants, as well as the size of the landlord's
portfolio. The HCV Landlord Task Force is working to address some of
these factors to make the HCV Program more appealing to landlords and
to increase landlord recruitment nationwide.
additional housing vouchers
Question. In December 2019, Governor Gavin Newsom sent President
Trump a request for 50,000 more housing vouchers. To support this bid,
I sent you a letter dated December 11, 2019, urging your Department to
grant California's request.
Will you work with the State of California and grant this request
to ensure that homeless individuals and families get off the streets
and into safe living environments? If not, please share your
justifications for why you are denying this request.
Answer. The Further Consolidated Appropriations Act for fiscal year
2020 (Public Law 116-94) did not include an allocation of new
incremental vouchers to be targeted to California. In the past year,
HUD has awarded over 2,700 new HUD Veteran Affairs Supportive Housing
(HUD-VASH) vouchers to PHAs across California to prevent and end
veteran homelessness. Since the inception of HUD-VASH, California PHAs
have been allocated more than 17,000 HUD-VASH vouchers. Current
utilization of these vouchers is reported by PHAs to be 63 percent or
just over 10,000 vouchers.
PHAs in California were also awarded 60 Family Unification Program
(FUP) vouchers in 2019. An additional 558 FUP vouchers were awarded in
2020. Since inception of FUP, California PHAs have been allocated more
than 3,658 FUP vouchers. Current utilization of these vouchers is
reported by PHAs to be 75 percent or approximately 2,700 vouchers.
These vouchers are used to unify families lacking adequate housing and
to prevent or end homelessness for former foster youth. Under the
recently launched Foster Youth to Independence (FYI) initiative, 37
vouchers have been awarded to prevent and end homelessness for former
foster youth in California. Based on the information reported by
California PHAs, there are over 8,000 special purpose vouchers
available to be used to serve persons experiencing homelessness.
Over the same time period, HUD awarded nearly 2,800 Mainstream
vouchers to PHAs in California to serve non-elderly disabled
households. Current utilization of these vouchers is reported by PHAs
to be 54 percent or just over 1,500 vouchers. PHAs have administrative
discretion to prioritize non-elderly families experiencing homelessness
for this resource.
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act,
Public Law 116-136) requires HUD to allocate at least 25 percent of the
remaining unobligated Mainstream balances as a proportional increase in
awarded vouchers for PHAs that received an award in either of the most
recent two Notices of Funding Availability (NOFAs) (FR-6100-N-43 and
FR-6300-N-43). This will result in the allocation of additional
Mainstream vouchers to California PHAs.
SUBCOMMITTEE RECESS
Senator Collins. And, unless Senator Reed has any further
words of wisdom, this hearing is now adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 3:15 p.m., Wednesday, March 11, the
subcommittee was recessed, to reconvene subject to the call of
the chair.]