HUD Secretary Testifies on Budget; Announces Partnerships with Other Agencies

Shaun Donovan, Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) told the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development and Related Agencies the department’s FY 2010 budget proposal is a “forward thinking budget with new ideas for driving energy efficient housing, sustainable, inclusive growth, and revitalization of neighborhoods of extreme poverty.”

Donovan said the budget achieves five objectives:

First, it addresses the housing and economic crisis by combining resources with tools to prevent foreclosures and making credit available to those in need. Second, it “returns the federal government to its leadership role as a catalyst for expanding the availability of decent and affordable rental housing.” He said the budget does this by providing funding for the Housing trust Fund, fully funding public housing, providing funding for tenant-based assistance and funding for homeless programs.

He said the third objective of the budget is to invest in urban and rural communities through funding for the community development block grant (CDBG) program and the Choice Neighborhood program. The Choice Neighborhood program replaces the HOPE VI program. Donovan said the new program builds on the successes of HOPE VI but is expanded to include improved access to jobs, schools and increase public transportation opportunities. A fourth objective is to create more efficient housing and sustainable growth. Donovan would like to see housing which requires less transportation and more energy efficient homes.

The final objective is to transform the way HUD functions, according to Donovan. To accomplish this, Donovan said the department is seeking to set aside one percent of its funds to allow HUD to increase it research and development, improve its technology and increase the technical assistance it offers.

Donovan is scheduled to testify before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Department of Housing and Urban Development June 19 at 10 a.m. The testimony will be carried live via web cast. The subcommittee received its overall allocation of funds for next year. Each appropriations subcommittee received an allocation which determines how much it has available for the departments and programs in its jurisdiction. The FY 2010 allocation for this subcommittee is $68.8 billion which is $13.8 billion more than the FY 09 allocation of $55 billion.

HUD Partners with Other Agencies

An interagency Partnership for Sustainable Communities was recently announced by U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood, U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Shaun Donovan, and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa P. Jackson which is designed to improve access to affordable housing, more transportation options, and lower transportation costs while protecting the environment in communities nationwide.

The agreement establishes six principles to guide interagency coordination:

1. Provide more transportation choices.

2. Promote equitable, affordable housing.

3. Enhance economic competitiveness.

4. Support existing communities.

5. Coordinate policies and leverage investment.

6. Value communities and neighborhoods.

HUD Deputy Secretary Ron Sims and Acting Surgeon General Steven K. Galson issued a national 'call to action' to confront the prevalence of home-related preventable diseases such as lead poisoning and asthma. Sims and Galson unveiled HUD’s Healthy Homes Strategic Plan and the Surgeon General's Call to Action to Promote Healthy Homes as a coordinated effort with other public and private partners to stimulate a national dialogue about creating healthier homes.

HUD's Strategic Plan focuses on four key goals:

1. Building a National Framework: Foster partnerships for implementing a healthy homes agenda.
2. Creating Healthy Housing through Key Research: Support strategic, focused research on links between housing and health and cost-effective methods to address hazards.
3. Mainstreaming the Healthy Homes Approach: Promote the incorporation of healthy homes principles into ongoing practices and programs.
4. Enabling Communities to Create and Sustain Healthy Homes: Build sustainable local healthy homes programs.

The Call to Action also offers a consumer-friendly punch list of things every family can do to make their home healthier and safer including:

1. Check gas appliances, fireplaces, chimneys, and furnaces yearly and change furnace and air conditioning filters regularly.
2. Keep children safe from drowning, lead poisoning, suffocation and strangulation, and other hazards.
3. Improve air quality in their homes by installing radon and carbon monoxide detectors, eliminating smoking and exposure to secondhand smoke, and controlling allergens that contribute to asthma and mold growth.
4. Improve water quality by learning to protect and maintain private water wells.

Up Coming Conferences

The National Housing Conference will hold its Solutions for Working Families:
2009 Learning Conference on State and Local Housing Policy June 28-30 in Chicago.

The National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO) will hold its summer conference in Portland, Oregon July 16-18.

The National Alliance to End Homelessness will hold is annual conference July 29-31.

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