[House Report 110-204]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
110th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
1st Session 110-204
======================================================================
HOUSING ASSISTANCE COUNCIL AUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2007
_______
June 21, 2007.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Frank of Massachusetts, from the Committee on Financial Services,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 1980]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Financial Services, to whom was referred the
bill (H.R. 1980) to authorize appropriations for the Housing
Assistance Council, having considered the same, report
favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill
do pass.
CONTENTS
Page
Purpose and Summary.............................................. 2
Background and Need for Legislation.............................. 2
Hearings......................................................... 2
Committee Consideration.......................................... 3
Committee Votes.................................................. 3
Committee Oversight Findings..................................... 4
Performance Goals and Objectives................................. 4
New Budget Authority, Entitlement Authority, and Tax Expenditures 4
Committee Cost Estimate.......................................... 4
Congressional Budget Office Estimate............................. 4
Federal Mandates Statement....................................... 5
Advisory Committee Statement..................................... 5
Constitutional Authority Statement............................... 5
Applicability to Legislative Branch.............................. 6
Earmark Identification........................................... 6
Section-by-Section Analysis of the Legislation................... 6
PURPOSE AND SUMMARY
H.R. 1980, the Housing Assistance Council Authorization Act
of 2007, authorizes funding for the Housing Assistance Council
(HAC).
H.R. 1980 authorizes $10 million for HAC in FY 2008 and $15
million for Fiscal Years 2009-2014. The bill is a straight
authorization with no program changes.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
HAC, a nonprofit corporation, is the only national housing
assistance group that specializes in rural areas and small
towns. Started in 1971, HAC assists in the development of both
single- and multi-family homes and promotes homeownership for
working low-income rural families. HAC maintains a special
focus on high-need groups and regions: Indian country, the
Mississippi Delta, farm workers, the Southwest border colonias,
and Appalachia.
The authorized funds will allow HAC to provide grants,
loans, technical assistance, training, and other support to
develop the capacities of rural community-based housing
development organizations. The bill allows HAC to offer vital
help to affordable housing projects developed by these rural
community organizations. HAC will be able to continue its
successful program of assistance to a national network of rural
nonprofit, public and for profit builders. Since 1999 HAC has
provided over $105 million in aid to hundreds of organizations
serving rural America. Over its 35-year history HAC has helped
build almost 60,000 affordable homes in 49 states and two
territories.
HEARINGS
On May 8, 2007, the Subcommittee on Housing and Community
Opportunity held a hearing entitled ``Rural Housing Programs:
Review Fiscal Year 2008 Budget and Pending Rural Housing
Legislation,'' which included testimony from witnesses on H.R.
1980:
Panel one
The Honorable Pamela Patenaude, Assistant
Secretary for Community Planning and Development, U.S.
Department of Housing and Urban Development
Mr. Russell T. Davis, Administrator for
Rural Development Housing and Community Facilities
Programs, U.S. Department of Agriculture
Panel two
Mr. Gideon Anders, National Housing Law
Project
Dr. Tom Carew, Director of Design and
Community, Frontier Housing, Inc.
Mr. Moises Loza, Executive Director, Housing
Assistance Council
Mr. Robert Rice, Jr., Council for Affordable
and Rural Housing
The Honorable Peter Carey, Executive
Director of Self Help Enterprises
COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION
The Committee on Financial Services met in open session on
May 23, 2007, and ordered H.R. 1980, the Housing Assistance
Council Authorization Act of 2007, favorably reported to the
House by a voice vote.
COMMITTEE VOTES
Clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives requires the Committee to list the record votes
on the motion to report legislation and amendments thereto. A
motion by Mr. Frank to report the bill to the House with a
favorable recommendation was agreed to by a voice vote. During
consideration of the bill, the following amendment was
considered and disposed of by record vote.
An amendment by Mr. Price, No. 1, requiring offsets, was
not agreed to by a record vote of 24 yeas and 32 nays (Record
vote FC-47). The names of Members voting for and against
follow:
RECORD VOTE NO. FC-47
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Representative Aye Nay Present Representative Aye Nay Present
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mr. Frank....................... ....... X ........ Mr. Bachus......... X ........ ........
Mr. Kanjorski................... ....... ........ ........ Mr. Baker.......... ........ ........ ........
Ms. Waters...................... ....... X ........ Ms. Pryce (OH)..... ........ ........ ........
Mrs. Maloney.................... ....... X ........ Mr. Castle......... X ........ ........
Mr. Gutierrez................... ....... X ........ Mr. King (NY)...... X ........ ........
Ms. Velazquez................... ....... X ........ Mr. Royce.......... X ........ ........
Mr. Watt........................ ....... X ........ Mr. Lucas.......... X ........ ........
Mr. Ackerman.................... ....... X ........ Mr. Paul........... X ........ ........
Ms. Carson...................... ....... X ........ Mr. Gillmor........ X ........ ........
Mr. Sherman..................... ....... X ........ Mr. LaTourette..... X ........ ........
Mr. Meeks....................... ....... X ........ Mr. Manzullo....... X ........ ........
Mr. Moore (KS).................. ....... X ........ Mr. Jones.......... ........ ........ ........
Mr. Capuano..................... ....... ........ ........ Mrs. Biggert....... ........ X ........
Mr. Hinojosa.................... ....... ........ ........ Mr. Shays.......... ........ ........ ........
Mr. Clay........................ ....... ........ ........ Mr. Miller (CA).... X ........ ........
Mrs. McCarthy................... ....... X ........ Mrs. Capito........ X ........ ........
Mr. Baca........................ ....... X ........ Mr. Feeney......... X ........ ........
Mr. Lynch....................... ....... X ........ Mr. Hensarling..... X ........ ........
Mr. Miller (NC)................. ....... X ........ Mr. Garrett (NJ)... X ........ ........
Mr. Scott....................... ....... X ........ Ms. Brown-Waite.... X ........ ........
Mr. Green....................... ....... X ........ Mr. Barrett (SC)... X ........ ........
Mr. Cleaver..................... ....... X ........ Mr. Gerlach........ ........ ........ ........
Ms. Bean........................ ....... ........ ........ Mr. Pearce......... X ........ ........
Ms. Moore (WI).................. ....... X ........ Mr. Neugebauer..... X ........ ........
Mr. Davis (TN).................. ....... X ........ Mr. Price (GA)..... ........ ........ ........
Mr. Sires....................... ....... X ........ Mr. Davis (KY)..... ........ ........ ........
Mr. Hodes....................... ....... X ........ Mr. McHenry........ X ........ ........
Mr. Ellison..................... ....... X ........ Mr. Campbell....... ........ ........ ........
Mr. Klein....................... ....... X ........ Mr. Putnam......... X ........ ........
Mr. Mahoney (FL)................ ....... X ........ Mrs. Bachmann...... X ........ ........
Mr. Wilson...................... ....... X ........ Mr. Roskam......... X ........ ........
Mr. Perlmutter.................. ....... X ........ Mr. Marchant....... X ........ ........
Mr. Murphy...................... ....... X ........ Mr. McCotter....... X ........ ........
Mr. Donnelly.................... ....... X ........
Mr. Wexler...................... ....... ........ ........
Mr. Marshall.................... ....... X ........
Mr. Boren....................... ....... X ........
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS
Pursuant to clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the
House of Representatives, the Committee has held hearings and
made findings that are reflected in this report.
PERFORMANCE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
Pursuant to clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII of the Rules of the
House of Representatives, the Committee establishes the
following performance related goals and objectives for this
legislation:
H.R. 1980, the Housing Assistance Council Authorization Act
of 2007, authorizes funding for the Housing Assistance Council
with the goal of providing affordable housing and economic
development in rural America.
NEW BUDGET AUTHORITY, ENTITLEMENT AUTHORITY, AND TAX EXPENDITURES
In compliance with clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules
of the House of Representatives, the Committee adopts as its
own the estimate of new budget authority, entitlement
authority, or tax expenditures or revenues contained in the
cost estimate prepared by the Director of the Congressional
Budget Office pursuant to section 402 of the Congressional
Budget Act of 1974.
COMMITTEE COST ESTIMATE
The Committee adopts as its own the cost estimate prepared
by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office pursuant to
section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE ESTIMATE
Pursuant to clause 3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the
House of Representatives, the following is the cost estimate
provided by the Congressional Budget Office pursuant to section
402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974:
June 1, 2007.
Hon. Barney Frank,
Chairman, Committee on Financial Services,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 1980, the Housing
Assistance Council Authorization Act of 2007.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Chad Chirico.
Sincerely,
Peter R. Orszag.
Enclosure.
H.R. 1980--Housing Assistance Council Authorization Act of 2007
Summary: H.R. 1980 would authorize the appropriation of $10
million in 2008 and $15 million for each of fiscal years 2009
through 2014 to provide funding to the Housing Assistance
Council (HAC). The HAC is a nonprofit corporation that assists
public, nonprofit, and private organizations in the development
of affordable housing in rural communities. Assuming
appropriation of the authorized amounts, CBO estimates that
implementing the bill would cost $70 million over the 2008-2012
period, with additional amounts spent in later years. Enacting
H.R. 1980 would not affect direct spending or revenues.
H.R. 1980 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA);
any costs to state, local, or tribal governments would be
incurred voluntarily.
Estimated cost to the Federal Government: The estimated
budgetary impact of H.R. 1980 is shown in the following table.
For this estimate, CBO assumes that the amounts authorized by
the bill will be appropriated by the beginning of each fiscal
year and that outlays will follow the historical rate of
spending for similar programs. The costs of this legislation
fall within budget function 600 (income security).
------------------------------------------------------------------------
By fiscal year, in millions of
dollars--
---------------------------------------
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHANGES IN SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION
Authorization Level............. 10 15 15 15 15
Estimated Outlays............... 10 15 15 15 15
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Intergovernmental and private-sector impact: H.R. 1980
contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as
defined in UMRA. Funds authorized in the bill would benefit
state, local, and tribal governments that participate in
affordable housing projects and programs in rural areas. Any
costs to those governments to comply with grant conditions
would be incurred voluntarily.
Estimate prepared by: Federal Costs: Chad Chirico; Impact
on State, Local, and Tribal Governments: Lisa Ramirez-Branum;
Impact on the Private Sector: Page Shevlin.
Estimate approved by: Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy Assistant
Director for Budget Analysis.
FEDERAL MANDATES STATEMENT
The Committee adopts as its own the estimate of Federal
man- dates prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget
Office pursuant to section 423 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform
Act.
ADVISORY COMMITTEE STATEMENT
No advisory committees within the meaning of section 5(b)
of the Federal Advisory Committee Act were created by this
legislation.
CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY STATEMENT
Pursuant to clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the
House of Representatives, the Committee finds that the
Constitutional Authority of Congress to enact this legislation
is provided by Article 1, section 8, clause 1 (relating to the
general welfare of the United States) and clause 3 (relating to
the power to regulate interstate commerce).
APPLICABILITY TO LEGISLATIVE BRANCH
The Committee finds that the legislation does not relate to
the terms and conditions of employment or access to public
services or accommodations within the meaning of section
102(b)(3) of the Congressional Accountability Act.
EARMARK IDENTIFICATION
In compliance with clause 9 of rule XXI, the Committee is
in receipt of the following correspondence:
House of Representatives,
Washington, DC, May 18, 2007.
Hon. Barney Frank,
Chairman, Committee on Financial Services,
Washington, DC.
Hon. Spencer Bachus,
Ranking Member, Committee on Financial Services,
Washington, DC.
Chairman Frank and Ranking Member Bachus: I am writing to
request that the Committee on Financial Services authorize $10
million in funding for the Housing Assistance Council in Fiscal
Year 2008 and $15 million in Fiscal Years 2009-2014. The
funding will be provided under HUD's Self-Help and Assisted
Homeownership Opportunity Programs.
The Housing Assistance Council is located at 1025 Vermont
Ave., N.W., Suite 606, Washington, D.C. 20005. Created in 1971,
the Housing Assistance Council offers seed-money loans, grants,
training, technical aid, and information to local community
groups that are building decent, safe and affordable housing in
underserved rural areas. Much of HAC's work is focused on
homeownership for rural families, particularly using the sweat
equity, self-help approach.
I certify that neither I nor my spouse has any financial
interest in the Council or its projects. Again, I request that
the Committee authorize $10 million in funding for HAC in FY'08
and $15 million in Fiscal Years 2009-2014.
Sincerely,
Ruben Hinojosa,
Member of Congress.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS OF THE LEGISLATION
Section 1. Short title
This section establishes the short title of the bill, the
``Housing Assistance Council Authorization Act of 2007.''
Section 2. Assistance to Housing Assistance Council
This section authorizes the Secretary of the Department of
Housing and Urban Development to provide assistance to the
Housing Assistance Council, and authorizes appropriations for
the program in the amount of $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2008;
and $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2009, 2010, 2011,
2012, 2013, and 2014.