42 USC 12721 - Findings

§ 12721. Findings
§ 12722. Purposes
§ 12723. Coordinated Federal support for housing strategies
§ 12724. Authorization
§ 12725. Notice

§ 12721. FindingsThe Congress finds that—

(1) the Nation has not made adequate progress toward the goal of national housing policy, as set out in the Housing Act of 1949 [42 U.S.C. 1441 et seq.] and reaffirmed in the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968, which would provide decent, safe, sanitary, and affordable living environments for all Americans;

(2) the supply of affordable rental housing is diminishing;

(3) the Tax Reform Act of 1986 removed major tax incentives for the production of affordable rental housing;

(4) the living environments of an increasing number of Americans have deteriorated over the past several years as a result of reductions in Federal assistance to low-income and moderate-income families;

(5) many Americans face the possibility of homelessness unless Federal, State, and local governments work together with the private sector to develop and rehabilitate the housing stock of the Nation to provide decent, safe, sanitary, and affordable housing for very low-income and low-income families;

(6) reliable Federal leadership is needed to achieve an adequate supply of affordable housing for all Americans;

(7) to achieve the goal of national housing policy, there is a need to strengthen nationwide a cost-effective community-based housing partnership designed to—

(A) expand the supply of rental housing that is affordable to very low-income and low-income families,

(B) improve homeownership opportunities for low-income families,

(D) protect the Federal, State, and local investment in low-income housing to ensure affordability of the housing for the remaining useful life of the property;

(8) direct assistance to expand the supply of affordable rental housing should be provided in a way that is more cost-effective and targeted than tax incentives;

(9) much of the Nation’s housing system works very well and provides a strong base on which national housing policy should build;

(10) an increasing number of States and local governments have been successful in producing cost-effective low-income and moderate-income housing by working in partnership with the private sector, including nonprofit community development corporations, community action agencies, neighborhood housing services corporations, trade unions, groups sponsored by religious organizations, limited equity cooperatives, and other tenant organizations;

(11) during the 1980’s, nonprofit community housing development organizations, despite severe obstacles caused by inadequate funding, have played an increasingly important role in the production and rehabilitation of affordable housing in communities across the Nation;

(12) additional financial resources and technical skills must be made available in local communities if the Nation is to mobilize the capacity of the private sector, including nonprofit community housing development organizations, to provide a more adequate supply of decent, safe, and sanitary housing that is affordable to very low-income, low-income, and moderate-income families and meets the need for large family units and other additional units that are available to very low-income families receiving rental assistance payments from Federal, State, and local governments; and

(13) the long-term success of efforts to provide more affordable housing depends upon tenants and homeowners being fiscally responsible and able managers.

(Pub. L. 101–625, title II, § 202, Nov. 28, 1990, 104 Stat. 4094.)

§ 12722. PurposesThe purposes of this subchapter are—

(1) to expand the supply of decent, safe, sanitary, and affordable housing, with primary attention to rental housing, for very low-income and low-income Americans;

(2) to mobilize and strengthen the abilities of States and units of general local government throughout the United States to design and implement strategies for achieving an adequate supply of decent, safe, sanitary, and affordable housing;

(3) to provide participating jurisdictions, on a coordinated basis, with the various forms of Federal housing assistance, including capital investment, mortgage insurance, rental assistance, and other Federal assistance, needed—

(A) to expand the supply of decent, safe, sanitary, and affordable housing;

(B) to make new construction, rehabilitation, substantial rehabilitation, and acquisition of such housing feasible; and

(C) to promote the development of partnerships among the Federal Government, States and units of general local government, private industry, and nonprofit organizations able to utilize effectively all available resources to provide more of such housing;

(4) to make housing more affordable for very low-income and low-income families through the use of tenant-based rental assistance;

(5) to develop and refine, on an ongoing basis, a selection of model programs incorporating the most effective methods for providing decent, safe, sanitary, and affordable housing, and accelerate the application of such methods where appropriate throughout the United States to achieve the prudent and efficient use of funds made available under this subchapter;

(6) to expand the capacity of nonprofit community housing development organizations to develop and manage decent, safe, sanitary, and affordable housing;

(7) to ensure that Federal investment produces housing stock that is available and affordable to low-income families for the property’s remaining useful life, is appropriate to the neighborhood surroundings, and, wherever appropriate, is mixed income housing;

(8) to increase the investment of private capital and the use of private sector resources in the provision of decent, safe, sanitary, and affordable housing;

(9) to allocate Federal funds for investment in affordable housing among participating jurisdictions by formula allocation;

(10) to leverage those funds insofar as practicable with State and local matching contributions and private investment;

(11) to establish for each participating jurisdiction a HOME Investment Trust Fund with a line of credit for investment in affordable housing, with repayments back to its HOME Investment Trust Fund being made available for reinvestment by the jurisdiction;

(12) to provide credit enhancement for affordable housing by utilizing the capacities of existing agencies and mortgage finance institutions when most efficient and supplementing their activities when appropriate; and

(13) to assist very low-income and low-income families to obtain the skills and knowledge necessary to become responsible homeowners and tenants.

(Pub. L. 101–625, title II, § 203, Nov. 28, 1990, 104 Stat. 4095.)

§ 12723. Coordinated Federal support for housing strategies

The Secretary shall make assistance under this subchapter available to participating jurisdictions, through the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Housing-FHA Commissioner of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, to the maximum extent practicable, in coordination with mortgage insurance, rental assistance, and other housing assistance appropriate to the efficient and timely completion of activities under this subchapter.

(Pub. L. 101–625, title II, § 204, Nov. 28, 1990, 104 Stat. 4096.)

§ 12724. Authorization

There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this subchapter $2,086,000,000 for fiscal year 1993, and $2,173,612,000 for fiscal year 1994, of which—

(1) not more than $14,000,000 for fiscal year 1993, and $25,000,000 for fiscal year 1994, shall be for community housing partnership activities authorized under section 12773 of this title; and

(2) not more than $11,000,000 for fiscal year 1993, and $22,000,000 for fiscal year 1994, shall be for activities in support of State and local housing strategies authorized under part C.

(Pub. L. 101–625, title II, § 205, Nov. 28, 1990, 104 Stat. 4096; Pub. L. 102–550, title II, § 201, Oct. 28, 1992, 106 Stat. 3751; Pub. L. 103–120, § 5, Oct. 27, 1993, 107 Stat. 1148.)

§ 12725. Notice

The Secretary shall issue regulations to implement the provisions of this subchapter after notice and an opportunity for comment pursuant to section 553 of title 5. Such regulations shall become effective not later than 180 days after November 28, 1990.

(Pub. L. 101–625, title II, § 206, Nov. 28, 1990, 104 Stat. 4096.)