Bipartisan Commission Tasked With Shaping Housing Recovery

By Adrianna McGinley

The Bipartisan Policy Center introduced a new Housing Commission led by former Cabinet members and senators that has been tasked with giving lawmakers policy suggestions for long-term housing wellness.

Former U.S. Senators Kit Bond, George Mitchell, and Mel Martinez; and Henry Cisneros, former HUD Secretary under President Clinton, will serve as co-chairs of the commission that was touted as an idea generator to solve the lingering housing issues plaguing the country. 

Mitchell jokingly said the bipartisan commission “does not have the luxury” of proposing solutions that will not be able to pass in Congress. Instead, Mitchell said he had high hopes that his new team will be able to “assist those in office by demonstrating that it’s possible to come up with a meaningful, practical solution that is deliberately bipartisan in nature.”

One notion that members of the commission came to consensus on was that the revival of the housing market and job creation are linked and should both be considered when designing a path to recovery. 

“I don’t think you can have a meaningful jobs recovery without improvement in the housing sector and I think the reverse is true as well,” Mitchell said.

Cisneros in addition emphasized the importance of addressing homelessness when debating housing policy.

“It’s an example of where we can’t allow other things to be eliminated because they involve real people and real pain,” Cisneros said.

He also acknowledged the role immigration reform could play in boosting the housing market saying he believes immigrant populations will provide the spark the housing market is looking for.

“I suspect that one of the really big surges in the market for housing going forward is going to be the immigrant population,” Cisneros said. “We’re blessed in this country to have that rich infusion of workers and talent and many of them completely believe in the American dream, their definition of the American dream is home ownership.”

The grim numbers of homelessness

The grim numbers are in and 1.6 million Americans are homeless. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) held a news conference to announce details of the 2007 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress.

Mark Johnston from the Office of Community Planning and Development at the Department of Housing and Urban Development, said HUD works with over 3,800 cities and counties across the United States that represent 98 percent of the national population. He said this is the first homeless assessment that covers an entire year and will be used in the future to measure homeless populations. He said HUD focuses people who have nowhere permanent to sleep and are living either outside or in homeless facilities. Johnston said the United States has seen a 30 percent reduction in homeless rates since 2005.

Jill Khadduri, a researcher from Abt Associates Inc. and a contributor to the report, gave statistics concerning the homeless population. Among those statistics were that 77 percent of homelessness occurs in cities, 70 percent of the homeless are self-dependent, and that on any given night 57 percent of those seeking shelter in temporary housing facilities spent the previous night with family, friends, in jail, or at the hospital. Of the 1.6 million homeless in the United States, she said 69 percent are men, 57 percent are minorities, 55 percent are middle-aged, and 13 percent are veterans.

Dr. Dennis Culhane from the University of Pennsylvania discussed the 30 percent of the homeless population is comprised of families. He said 55 percent of homeless families are African-American and that homeless families require housing on average twice the amount of time individuals do. He also said the typical homeless family consists of a mother with two children, half of those children being under the age of six.

Johnston said tremendous federal resources have been devoted to assure a reduction in homeless. He said HUD has allocated $1.4 billion in the last several years to programs that provide housing, substance abuse and mental health therapy, and job training. He said the 40,000 permanent housing units provided have made a significant difference in lowering the rate of homelessness.

Hope Six programs still owe 78 million dollars worth of funds

The House Financial Services Committee held a hearing on “Federal Spending Requirements in Housing and Community Development Programs: Challenges in 2008 and Beyond.” Chairwoman Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) presided over the hearing and talked about the Hope Six housing and development program and the reforms that need to be made to it.

Waters explained that all grantees who started Hope Six programs in 2002 or later are required to expend all funds granted to them in five years. Unfortunately, many of these programs have had to deal with natural disasters and the mortgage sub-prime crisis which caused project delays and increased cost. Waters said that the Hope Six Amendment Act of 2008 will grant a one year extension to those programs who have dealt with these problems and cannot therefor meet their five year deadline.

Deputy Assistant for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Secretary Dominique Bloom, explained HUD’s roles to monitor and assist all Hope Six projects and grantees. Bloom said that HUD works with grantees to create a development schedule in order to make a five year funding expenditure deadline realistic. However, she also explained that a total of 78 million dollars worth of funds from the twenty eight Hope Six programs started in 2002 still remain unexpended. Twenty one of these programs are on track to meet their September 30, 2008 deadline, but three of them are unlikely to be able to expend their funds, a maximum value of four million dollars.

Bloom explained that HUD does not yet have an official position on the Hope Six Amendment Act of 2008, though they are reviewing it very closely and expect to form an opinion in the next couple of weeks. Bloom said that in most cases granting programs a one year extension on their funds will be much easier than simply granting these programs “technical assistance” or canceling the project overall.

Veterans owed more than blanket, hot meal

At the Senate Appropriations Committee, Joint Subcommittee meeting on “Homeless Veterans,” Senator Patty Murray(D-WA) said when our country fails to live up to obligations to our veterans, there is a result of high rates of drug abuse, alcohol abuse, and chronic unemployment, and all of these are contributing factors to homelessness. Experts estimate that 1 in 4 of all the nation’s homeless are veterans. Our veterans are heroes, she said, and we must ensure that they never reach the point of homelessness. Women veterans are the fastest growing group of homeless veterans, and we must ensure that the Veteran’s Administration evolves along with the needs of the veterans that it is serving, but HUD (Housing and Urban Development) must take steps to promote affordable housing.

Senator Kit Bond (R-MO) said we have to provide veterans with health care, mental health care, and transitional services. He quoted a different set of statistics, saying that approximately 20-33 percent of the homeless in shelters are veterans. The bottom line, he said, is that it’s critical for the success of the programs to have properly trained staff and appropriate facilities. A large percentage of veterans that are homeless served in Vietnam or Korea, and they’ve got trouble dealing with transitioning back into civilian life and dealing with guilt and forgiveness. “Our veterans are owed more than a blanket and a hot meal,” he said.

Mark Johnston, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Office of Special Needs Assistance Programs, HUD, said they have developed programs specifically to deal with homeless veterans. Because homeless people face many challenges, there is a need to have many separate programs to deal with each specific issue. HUD just announced a 11.75% reduction in homelessness since 2005. This is the first time we’ve ever seen a reduction in homelessness, Johnston said. HUD had partnered with the VA and others to target the chronically homeless. HUD provided permanent housing, and this have provided a permanent solutions to thousands.

Peter H. Dougherty, Director, Office of Homeless Veterans Programs, United States Department of Veterans Affairs, said their goal is to help veterans not only with benefits, but to help them find gainful employment and permanent housing. Benefits are very important, and they have expedited homeless veteran’s claims. We believe that it is important, he said, that veterans receive health care benefits which may or may not be contributing to their homelessness. There has been a significant reduction in homelessness, but funding is needed to ensure that the program continues and chronic homelessness be addressed.

Cheryl Beversdorf, President and CEO of the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, said veterans receive employment assistance, transitional housing, and counseling. Affordable housing is the number one unmet need amongst veterans, particularly those with chronic health problems. She requested Congress to provide supportive services to veterans, and help with funds made available so that there would be an increase in available housing made to low income veterans. When asked why so many veterans are homeless, she said PTSD is a significant issue, along with employment problems, health problems, and that so many things veterans have learned in the military are not transferable to civilian life.

House Financial Services Committee hearing on HUD

At the House Financial Services Committee Full committee hearing on the Housing and Urban Development Department's (HUD) FY2009 Budget, Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA) said the proposed Budget is seriously inadequate, and the cutbacks are "distressing." At the city level, there is the sub-prime crisis and foreclosures. Frank said the funding of the war in Iraq has caused substantial deductions and cuts in other areas, which results in a under funding of Urban initiatives. He said he expresses "deep unhappiness: in the cutting of money to the cities. He said it is an uncompassionate example of public policy.

Congressman Spencer Bachus (R-AL) said in recent years the house market has fueled the economy, and that nearly 70% of adults own their own homes. A sharp rise in foreclosures have made lenders reevaluate the lending process, Bachus said, and many Americans struggle to make payments. It doesn't seem fair, Bachus said, to shift the responsibility from home owners to everyday taxpayers, just because the house values are going down.

HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson said Congress should allow the FHA some flexibility in setting premiums, so they can offer "safe" refinance options. He said he believes that FHA Secure has proven already that it is extremely valuable, and setting FHA home loan limits would provide availability to help more people. Last year, 96% who completed HUD's program avoided foreclosure.

A large part of the Budget, Jackson said, is for low-income rental housing. They have been making strives to help the chronic homeless, and the proposed Budget seeks to increase the homeless program. Also, nine hundred and eighty vouchers would be able to be used with the Veteran's Administration to help homeless vets.