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Lawmakers in both the House and Senate denounced a new rule proposed by the Trump Administration that would lead to thousands of “mixed-status” immigrant families that have members who are undocumented or otherwise ineligible for public and other subsidized housing to split up or be evicted, putting them at high risk of homelessness. It’s estimated that the controversial proposal could displace 55,000 American children from public housing.

By a party-line vote of 30-22, the House Appropriations Committee recently approved spending limits for its fiscal year (FY) 2020 spending bills. For FY20, the committee would provide the Transportation-HUD spending bill $75.8 billion, an increase of $4.7 billion or 6.6 percent over its FY19 funding level.

HUD recently issued a Request for Information (RFI) seeking public input on how it can use its existing authorities to maximize the beneficial impact of Opportunity Zones for residents and their communities. President Trump signed the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, creating Opportunity Zones to stimulate long-term investments in low-income communities. The program offers capital gains tax relief to those who invest in these distressed areas. This program is anticipated to ...

Senator Kamala D. Harris (D-CA) recently reintroduced the Rent Relief Act. The legislation creates a new, refundable tax credit for households whose housing costs exceed 30 percent of their income, including rent and utilities. Unlike existing tax credits, Americans who qualify would receive the benefits every month. Harris was joined by Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) in reintroducing the legislation.

Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) recently reintroduced the “HUD Inspection Process and Enforcement Reform Act of 2019.” The legislation was first introduced by him in 2015 and it aims to improve federal housing inspections and to hold landlords accountable for misusing taxpayer dollars or endangering tenant health and safety.

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and colleagues recently reintroduced the American Housing and Economic Mobility Act to confront the affordable housing shortage.

Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA) recently introduced the Safe Housing for Families Act to provide carbon monoxide (CO) detectors in HUD housing units. The bill follows recent reports of CO poisoning among residents of HUD housing, which has led to at least 11 deaths since 2003. Companion legislation also was introduced in the House of Representatives by Reps. Chuy García (D-IL) and Joe Cunningham (D-SC).

The National Low Income Housing Coalition recently released its annual report, The Gap: A Shortage of Affordable Homes. Their analysis found that there are only 37 affordable and available rental homes exist for every 100 extremely low-income renter households nationwide. These renter households also are more likely to be severely housing cost-burdened, spending more than half of their incomes on rent and utilities.

HUD recently announced it is dramatically reducing the advance notice it provides to public housing authorities (PHAs) and private owners of HUD-subsidized apartment developments before their housing is inspected to ensure it is decent, safe, and healthy. HUD's new standard provides PHAs and private owners of HUD-assisted housing 14 calendar days' notice before an inspection.

On Feb. 15, President Trump signed into law H.J. Res. 31. This legislation will fund the remainder of the government, including HUD, through Sept. 30, 2019, the end of Fiscal Year (FY) 2019. With the signing of the resolution into law, there will be no more shutdowns impacting FY 2019 funding.