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The Week Ahead: HUD to Outline Its Equitable Housing Goals on the Hill

The U.S. House Committee on Financial Services will present a hearing at 10:00 a.m. EDT titled “Building Back a Better, More Equitable Housing Infrastructure for America: Oversight of the Department of Housing and Urban Development [1].”

Established as part of the U.S. Housing Act of 1937 [2], the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development was created as Cabinet-level agency in 1965. HUD is responsible for national policy and programs that address the nation’s housing needs, improving and developing the communities, and enforcing fair housing laws.

The House Committee on Financial Services will more closely examine HUD’s role in today’s market, as the Department changed leadership earlier this year.

In March 2021, Marcia L. Fudge was confirmed [3] as Secretary of HUD, continuing HUD’s goal of creating a suitable living environment for all Americans. HUD plays a major role in supporting homeownership by underwriting homeownership for low- and moderate-income families through its mortgage insurance programs.

The House Committee on Financial Services will review some of the actions HUD has taken over the past year, focusing on the Department’s measures to protect homeowners from financial harm throughout the pandemic.

Related to COVID-19, HUD extended forbearance and foreclosure and eviction moratoria. HUD also issued guidance to HUD recipients on how HUD funding can be used to support vaccination efforts, HUD reports.

HUD announced a $450 million investment to provide American Rescue Plan funding to Native American communities across the nation. HUD awarded $5 million in ARP funding to address the housing needs of low-income Native Hawaiian families. HUD is assisting the Treasury Department with the implementation of the Emergency Rental Assistance Program. Here, we reported on what the American Rescue Plan might mean for housing.

HUD has also allocated $5 billion in American Rescue Plan funds to increase affordable housing to address homelessness. Additionally, HUD awarded $2.5 billion to renew support to thousands of local homeless assistance programs across the nation.

Just this past week, Secretary Fudge was in Colorado discussing innovative solutions to the affordable housing crisis, highlighting the Biden-Harris Administration’s Build Back Better agenda.

“We need to make sure people who are homeless are not only moved to stable housing, but have the kinds of support they need to stay there, that might mean job training, health care, educations,” said Secretary Fudge. “There are many things we can do to help people.

Part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Build Back Better plan is to house the approximately 11 million Americans who have no place to live.

“This is our time. If we don’t do it now, we’re going to lose the opportunity, said Secretary Fudge. “We’re not going to change the world overnight, but we are going to change it. I promise you.”

Click here [1] for more on the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services hearing on HUD.

Here's what else is happening in The Week Ahead: