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Self-Help Builder News December 2012 Volume 5, Issue #4 >
Self-help housing issues discussed in Washington, D.C.
By Stanley Keasling, RCAC chief executive officer
The National Rural Self-Help Housing Association (NRSHHA) met in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 5. Bob Rapoza, from the National Rural Housing Coalition (NRHC), talked about the unfinished legislative issues of particular concern to the self-help grantees.
Foremost among those issues is the fact that the new census population requirements are set to become effective March 31, 2013, if there is not a bill to extend or expand the grandfather clause and/or the rural definition for the housing programs. At the moment, the most promising bill is still a new Farm Bill, which has passed the Senate and which could get attached to the “grand bargain to resolve the fiscal cliff” issues facing the federal government. Rapoza was optimistic, because the NRHC secured 100 House member signatures on a letter asking that the issue be resolved, and the signatures were divided almost equally between republicans and democrats. This represents an all-time high of House support for self-help issues.
Clinton Jones, chief clerk for the House Financial Services Committee (the committee with policy oversight of the rural housing programs) also spoke with the NRSHHA folks. Jones has been an outspoken opponent of extending the “grandfather clause,” which allows communities with populations greater than 10,000 in urban counties to continue to be eligible for the programs. During the conversation, Jones admitted that he did not realize how big counties were in California and other western states. Jones also has been a proponent of moving the housing programs out of USDA and placing them in HUD. NRSHHA voiced its concerns and urged that such a move not take place.
Tammye Trevino, rural housing service administrator, also spoke with NRSHHA. She was particularly concerned with staffing for her agency, and the impact that further staff cuts (250 by the end of 2012) would have on Rural Development’s ability to process 502 direct loans. She was optimistic that the new loan packaging rule that is moving through approvals would speed up processing applications. She acknowledged that UniFi, Rural Development’s loan underwriting software, was a major stumbling block, and said that they are contemplating a patch, but have very limited resources.
If your organization is not a member of NRSHHA, you should consider becoming one. NRSHHA is a strong, unified voice for Mutual Self-Help Housing in rural America. You can contact them at NRSHHA@selfhelphousing.us.