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.”

Mississippi official asks Congress to waive environmental regulations for Katrina relief

At a Committee on Financial Services subcommittee hearing on implementation of Hurricane Katrina relief funds, Director of the Mississippi State Governor’s Office of Recovery and Renewal Jack Norris asks Congress to “streamline or waive” the “cumbersome” environmental regulations that he says are the “number one impediment” to providing affordable housing for victims. (0:42)

Congress criticizes Mississippi use of Katrina relief funds

The House Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity of the Committee on Financial Services held a hearing to assess the implementation of Community Development Block Grant funds for post-Hurricane Katrina reconstruction among the states impacted along the Gulf Coast.


A main concern of Chairwoman Maxine Waters (D-CA) and Rep. Al Green (D-TX) was that Mississippi has allegedly used an unapproved portion of CDBG funds on construction of their main port as opposed to directly funding housing relief for low-income hurricane victims. It is unacceptable, Green said, to “put the port above the people” when there are so many victims still in need.

Jack Norris, Director of the Mississippi Governor’s Office of Recovery and Renewal, asked Congress to “streamline or waive” environmental regulations that he said have been the “number one impediment” to building affordable housing, which Waters said he was “exaggerating.” When criticized by Waters and Green for spending $600 million on port reconstruction as opposed to housing relief, he said that the port was essential to economic and job recovery and that Congress initially allocated the funds for holistic recovery. Norris said the state has spent over 70 percent of its $5.4 billion in funds directly on housing, with only $1.4 billion on “job recovery.” Green proceeded to ask representatives from other states, including Florida, Texas, and Louisiana, if they were spending CDBG funds on ports, and all replied they were not.

Derrick Johnson, President of the Mississippi State National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said that “discriminatory policies” towards hurricane victims are preventing a full recovery. He said that states should be required to track CDBG fund spending by zip code to determine how they are being allocated according to income and demographic.

Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO) said the public believes there was “intentionality” in how information about hurricane victims was gathered when considering relief appropriation and that since it was gathered online it targeted low-income people who did not have access to a computer. He also said relief was “badly skewed” towards the wealthy or better-off.

Witnesses Bill Johnson, Director of the Alabama Dept. of Economic and Community Affairs, and Deputy Executive Director of the Texas Dept. of Housing and Community Affairs, mentioned faith-based organizations that have provided substantial relief for victims, with Johnson requesting Congressional funding to these groups so they can deploy more aid.