Washington Hotline - May 8, 2009(Print All Articles) CMBS Collateral Expansion Will Improve LiquidityThis month, the Federal Reserve Board announced that, starting in June, commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) will be eligible for collateral under the Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility (TALF) program.
The Board is allowing five-year maturities on these loans (compared to three years for all other TALF loans). Up to $100 billion is authorized, with the Board evaluating that limit as the program continues.
For more information e-mail Claudia Kedda or call her at 800-368-5242 x8352. Implementation of the Tax Credit Assistance ProgramThis week HUD issued CPD Notice 09-03 – ‘Implementation of the Tax Credit Assistance Program.’ This notice explains program requirements and provides guidance to state housing credit agencies regarding the information they must submit to HUD as a condition of receiving their grant. These submissions are due to HUD within 30 days - by Wednesday, June 3, 2009. In the Notice, HUD has confirmed their position that a LIHTC project is ineligible to receive TCAP funds if the only source of credits for a project is the Gulf Opportunity Zone or Midwestern Disaster Area Housing Credit. NAHB reported that projects solely receiving Gulf Opportunity (GO) Zone or Midwestern Disaster Area Housing Credits are not eligible for TCAP funding. However, if a project that has been awarded GO Zone or Midwest credits also has been awarded LIHTCs awarded under Section 42(h) “standard” credits, it is eligible to use TCAP. State agencies can award 2009 standard LIHTCs until Sept. 30, 2009, to GO Zone or Midwest credits projects, thus making the project eligible for TCAP. The amount of standard credits awarded may be “nominal.” This is an important provision for many states. Other program highlights are below. A full summary of the TCAP is available here. Eligible Projects
Ineligible Uses of Funds
Program Requirements
Cross-cutting Federal Requirements* These are federal requirements that must be met, even though they may not be required under the regular LIHTC program.
*The HUD Secretary has waived the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Section 3 requirements. Allocating Agency Responsibilities
The TCAP Notice and other information can be accessed through HUD's Recovery webpage.
Administration Proposes $17 Billion in Budget CutsThe Obama Administration on May 7 unveiled details of its $3.6 trillion budget for fiscal year 2010. The budget dedicates $1.2 trillion to discretionary spending and proposes to eliminate or reduce $17 billion from 121 government programs. Although the $17 billion amounts to just a fraction of the overall budget, many Democratic lawmakers vowed to fight the White House's efforts to cut their favorite programs.
Department of Agriculture
Department of Labor
The House and Senate Appropriations Committees have already begun drafting the fiscal year 2010 appropriations bills, so it is unclear how much of an impact the Administration’s budget blueprint will have on that process. House appropriators are scheduled to begin marking up their versions of the spending bills within the next few weeks and the House hopes to complete floor consideration of all of the fiscal year 2010 bills before the end of June. The Senate will likely begin marking up its own spending bills sometime in late June. The House and Senate always work towards meeting the goal of having all appropriations bills completed and signed by the President prior to the fiscal year-end deadline of September 30. Fiscal year 2010 will begin on October 1, 2009. NAHB will continue to monitor the appropriations process as funding decisions are made on key housing and labor programs. For more information, e-mail Jenna Hamilton or contact her at 800-368-5242 x8407. New HUD Secretaries Sworn in This Month
Helen Kanovsky, Peter Kovar, and John Trasviña were sworn in on May 1 as the General Counsel, Assistant Secretary for Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs, and the Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. Ron Sims was sworn in this week as the Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Sims will be charged with managing the Department's day-to-day operations, a nearly $39 billion annual operating budget, and the agency's 8,500 employees. Helen Kanovsky: Prior to serving as HUD's General Counsel, Kanovsky, held the positions of Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel of the AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust. In the late 90's, she was chief of staff to U.S. Senator John F. Kerry of Massachusetts. Earlier in her career, she served as a Special Assistant to HUD Secretary Patricia Harris. Kanovsky holds a Bachelor's Degree in Government from Cornell University and Juris Doctor Degree from the Harvard Law School.
Return to Old ESA Rules Foster Bureaucratic Setbacks | ||||
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Rescinding modifications made to the Endangered Species Act (ESA) at the end of last year, the Obama Administration has reinstituted a 1986 rule requiring federal agencies to consult with the Fish and Wildlife Service or the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration before moving forward on projects that may affect endangered species The move represents a return to more government bureaucracy in the approval process, but adds no protection for threatened and endangered species, said NAHB.
"The appropriate way to make significant changes to a federal regulation is to allow for notice and comment. Instead, the secretaries of Commerce and Interior were given the authority to unilaterally change the law. That's hardly an argument for consensus or transparency," said NAHB Chairman Joe Robson. Read the full article in NBN. For more information, e-mail Calli Schmidt at NAHB, or call her at 800-368-5242 x8132. Fed Chairman Expects Improvements in Housing and the Economy
Looking forward, he said the Fed expects economic activity to bottom out before long and turn upward later this year. Key elements of his forecast are judgments that the housing market is beginning to stabilize, the sharp liquidation of business inventories will slow down and fiscal and monetary stimulus already in train will support final demand. Bernanke stressed that his forecast assumes continuing gradual repair of the financial system, a process that’s still got a long way to run. In this regard, he noted that mortgage markets have responded favorably to the Fed’s purchases of agency debt and mortgage-backed securities. However, he stressed that the supply of mortgage credit is still relatively tight and that the mortgage market remains heavily dependent on the support of government programs like FHA and the government-sponsored enterprises, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Bernanke noted that the early stages of the projected economic recovery are likely to display below-trend GDP growth that will involve further deterioration of the labor market and keep downward pressure on inflation for some time. These features also are part-and-parcel of NAHB’s current economic outlook. Resources: Impact Fee Webinar Resources; Commercial Diversification Opportunities
Calendar: Conferences and EventsMay 2009
July 2009
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