Memo to Members, Vol. 13, No. 10

National Low Income Housing Coalition

March 7, 2008

NATIONAL HOUSING TRUST FUND CAMPAIGN

*** Senator Specter Calls for Hearing on the National
Housing Trust Fund

***Senator Menendez Co-sponsors S. 2523

***National Housing Trust Fund included in Both House
and Senate Budget Resolutions

*** NHTF featured in GSE Hearing in Senate Committee

CAPITOL HILL

*** House, Senate Budget Committees Pass FY09
Resolutions

*** Senate SEVRA Bill Introduced

***Letter to HUD on Resident Participation

***Letter Urging Funding Increase for McKinney-Vento
Programs Circulating on the Hill

***Section 202 Improvement Bill Introduced in Senate

***House to Hold St. Louis Field Hearing

***House, Senate Hearings on HUD Appropriations

***Rural Housing Briefing

*** New Legislation

HUD

*** HUD to Research Rents and Rent Flexibility

HURRICANE RECOVERY

***Hearing Scheduled on Toxic Trailers

***House Financial Services Hearing to Examine MS
Disaster Recovery

FROM THE FIELD

*** NYC Advocates Convince City Pension Fund To Stop
Investing in Predatory Purchases

RESOURCES

*** Studies: Perhaps Half of Non-elderly Households
with Worst Case Needs Disabled

***Advocates’ Guide on Housing and Community
Development Policy 2008 Now Available

***NCH Survey on Foreclosures and Homelessness

FACT OF THE WEEK

*** Disabled Renters Highly Dependent on Income
Supports

NLIHC NEWS

***Job Openings at NLIHC





NATIONAL HOUSING TRUST FUND CAMPAIGN



*** Senator Specter Calls for Hearing on the National
Housing Trust Fund



In a letter dated March 4, Senator Arlen Specter
(R-PA) asked Senators Christopher Dodd (D-CT) and
Richard Shelby (R-AL), Chair and Ranking Member,
respectively, of the Senate Committee on Banking,
Housing and Urban Affairs, to hold a hearing on S.
2523, the National Affordable Housing Trust Fund Act
of 2007 (NAHFT).



S. 2523 was introduced late last year by Senators John
Kerry (D-MA) and Olympia Snowe (R-ME) on December 19,
2007 (see Memo, 12/21/07). In his letter, Senator
Specter noted that his office had been contacted by a
significant number of constituents representing 164
Pennsylvania organizations asking him to support S.
2523. Senator Specter referenced his constituents’
concerns about the lack of housing affordable to those
at or below 30% of area median income and the NAHFT’s
ability to address this need through the production
and rehabilitation of affordable housing.



Senator Specter also expressed concern about the
budgetary impact of using Federal Housing
Administration (FHA) funds for the NAHFT, and he asked
the committee to hold a hearing on S. 2523 to give the
Senate an opportunity for further evaluation of the
proposal. House Committee on Financial Services Chair
Barney Frank (D-MA) has announced he agreed to drop
the provision H.R. 1852, the bill to modernize the
FHA, that reserves, in 2008, any increased FHA
revenues as a dedicated source of funding for the
NAHTF (see Memo, 2/29). This announcement may make it
easier to gain support for this legislation as it
moves through the Senate by addressing the concern
raised by Senator Specter.



A copy of Senator Specter’s letter can be found at
http://www.nlihc.org/ doc/Spector- NHTF-Letter. pdf



***Senator Menendez Co-sponsors S. 2523

Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) has become the 11th
co-sponsor of S. 2523, the National Affordable Housing
Trust Fund Act of 2007.



***National Housing Trust Fund included in Both House
and Senate Budget Resolutions

The House and Senate Budget Committees passed budget
resolutions on March 5 and 6, respectively, (see
article on the budget resolution below) that allow
deficit-neutral affordable housing funds to be created
within the confines set forth in the bills.



The Senate committee's FY09 resolution would set up a
reserve fund for the Affordable Housing Fund within
the government sponsored enterprises (GSEs)
legislation. A reserve fund would allow the committee
chair to revise committee figures for deficit-neutral
legislation like the Affordable Housing Fund or a
National Affordable Housing Trust Fund. The Affordable
Housing Fund is deficit-neutral because its revenues
come from the GSEs, not from the Treasury. Senator
Russ Feingold (D-WI) offered an amendment at markup,
accepted by voice vote, ensuring that the use of the
fund would include rental assistance and that sources
other than the GSEs may be used to finance the fund.



The House committee’s resolution also includes a
reserve fund for affordable housing, authorizing the
budget committee to revise spending targets for an
affordable housing fund if it is deficit-neutral.



***NHTF featured in GSE Hearing in Senate Committee

On March 6, the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban
Affairs Committee held its final hearing on the reform
of the regulatory structure for the government
sponsored enterprises (GSEs), Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae
and the Federal Home Loan Banks. The witnesses were
William B. Shear, director, financial markets and
community investment team, Government Accountability
Office; Jerry M. Howard, executive vice president and
chief executive officer, National Association of Home
Builders; Kieran P. Quinn, chairman, Mortgage Bankers
Association (MBA); Nancy Andrews, president and chief
executive officer, Low Income Investment Fund (LIIF)
and NLIHC board member; and Vincent E. Malta, chair,
public policy coordinating committee, National
Association of Realtors.



While most of the testimony and discussion focused on
the need for a stronger regulatory structure and a
single regulator for the GSEs, there was significant
discussion of the need for an affordable housing
program funded by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. Mr.
Howard, the Homebuilder representative, and Mr. Quinn,
from the MBA, expressed support for such a fund, and
Ms Andrews, from the LIIF, testified in favor creating
such a fund using the model established in S. 2391,
the Government Sponsored Enterprise Mission
Improvement Act, introduced by Senator Jack Reed
(D-RI) (see Memo, 11/16/07). Ms. Andrews stressed the
need to deeply target any funds drawn from Freddie Mac
and Fannie Mae to meet the affordable housing needs of
the very low and extremely low income.



The witnesses urged the Committee to move forward with
GSE reform legislation. Senator Dodd said the
committee would mark-up such legislation soon and
stressed that he intended to include an affordable
housing fund in the legislation.



In other housing trust fund news, the House and Senate
budget committees passed budget resolutions on March 5
and 6, respectively, that allow deficit-neutral
affordable housing funds to be created within the
confines set forth in the bills (see article on the
budget resolution).



CAPITOL HILL

*** House, Senate Budget Committees Pass FY09
Resolutions

The House Committee on the Budget approved its fiscal
year FY09 Budget Resolution March 5, by a party-line
vote of 22-16. The House committee’s proposal provides
$22 billion more in discretionary spending than
President Bush’s budget request and also projects a
budget surplus in fiscal 2012 and 2013. The
resolution appears to include an advanced
appropriation of $1 billion for the project-based
Section 8 program.



“This budget charts a new direction for America ,”
said Committee Chairman John Spratt (D-SC). “In
returning to balance and funding critical priorities,
it strengthens our economy and makes America safer.”



On March 6, the Senate Committee on the Budget passed
its FY09 budget resolution by a party-line vote of
12-10. The measure is expected to be taken up by the
full Senate the week of March 10, after which it will
be reconciled with the House budget resolution,
creating the blueprint for the spending and revenue
plans for the fiscal year that begins on October 1,
2008.



The Senate committee’s budget would provide $436.2
billion for overall domestic discretionary funding in
FY09, $18 billion more than the President’s FY09
request. The budget would also provide the option for
an additional $35 billion to be used for various
economic stimulus proposals, giving “Congress the
opportunity to take additional action to help those
most in need. Possible temporary action could include
housing relief, extended Unemployment Insurance
benefits, Food Stamps and help with utility bills.”



The Senate resolution reserves $2.8 billion for an
advance appropriation for Section 8 project-based
assistance in FY10. It also would fund HUD community
development programs at $4 billion, an increase of $68
million above the FY08 inflation-adjusted level. The
Committee rejects the President’s proposal to cut HUD
community development funding, including the Community
Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, by $932
million. Committee documents state, “As communities
across the country experience the effects of the
economic slowdown, the President’s proposed cuts are
particularly shortsighted.”





*** Senate SEVRA Bill Introduced

On March 3, Senator Christopher Dodd (D-CT) introduced
the Section 8 Voucher Reform Act of 2008, S. 2684.
Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Robert Menendez (D-NJ),
Jack Reed (D-RI) and Charles Schumer (D-NY)
cosponsored the bill.



The bill is similar to the House-passed Section 8
Voucher Reform Act (SEVRA) legislation, H.R. 1851.
Both bills would fix the voucher funding distribution
system, which HUD changed in 2004. HUD’s changes
brought havoc to the voucher program, resulting in a
loss of more than 150,000 vouchers between 2004 and
2007. In the FY07 and FY08 spending bills, Congress
passed one-year fixes to voucher funding distribution
problems. Both the House and Senate SEVRA bills would
implement a new voucher funding system, which would be
in place from FY09 to FY13.



Both bills would also make changes to how and when
voucher units are inspected, simplify rent-setting and
income reviews, improve rules for the project-basing
of vouchers, establish fair market rents for smaller
geographic areas, and study tenant rent burdens, among
other goals.



While the House bill includes a significant expansion
of the public housing demonstration program Moving to
Work, the Senate bills does not at this time. A more
modest MTW expansion is expected to be included as the
bill moves forward. The Senate’s expansion is expected
to cap not just the number of public housing agencies
that participate, as the House bill does, but the
overall number of units that could be included in MTW.
And, the Senate bill is expected to rely much more on
evaluation of MTW sites before additional PHAs are
included in the MTW program.



The bills also differ somewhat on rent changes. The
Senate bill raises the standard deduction for elderly
and disabled families from $400 to $700 a year, and
indexes that amount and the current $480 dependent
standard deduction for inflation in subsequent years.
The House bill indexes both but increases the elderly
and disabled standard deduction to $725 a year. Both
the House and Senate bills raise the threshold for
calculating medical and handicapped assistance expense
deductions from counting such expenses over 3%, as is
the current practice, to over 10% of income. And, the
House bill would remove child care deductions while
the Senate bill would allow unreimbursed child care
expenses above 5% of annual income.



The House and Senate bills, to incentivize work and
earnings, use a family’s prior year income to
calculate rent obligations. In addition, in the Senate
bill, the first 10% of the first $9,000 of earned
income is excluded from the income calculation. The
House bill excludes 10% of earnings up to $1,000 a
year.



The bill was referred to the Senate Committee on
Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs. No action has been
scheduled at this point.



***Letter to HUD on Resident Participation

On March 6, Representatives Barney Frank (D-MA), Albio
Sires (D-NJ) and Maxine Waters (D-CA) sent a letter to
HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson. “We write to ask that
you reconsider streamlining the regulations … which
recognize the importance of resident involvement in
public housing,” the letter says.



The letter stems from a January 28, 2008, letter that
HUD sent to members of a resident participation group
of its 2007 Administrative Reform Initiative. HUD had
convened residents specifically to ask their input on
improving HUD’s 964 tenant participation regulations.
Residents met several times, exchanged numerous emails
about their proposals for improvement of 964 and held
conference calls to iron out their proposals. That
process concluded in the fall of 2007. Then, on
January 28, members of that 964 group were informed
that HUD had been simultaneously and separately
developing its own revisions to 964, which will be
released as a proposed rule, during the time the
residents were meeting to recommend their own
improvements, per HUD’s request to do so. Now,
residents will merely have an opportunity to comment
on proposed rule once it is issued.



“We also understand that you dismissed input from the
Public Housing Reform Initiative focus group on
resident involvement and self-sufficiency … This group
maintained that the regulations of 24 CFR 964 should
be maintained and even strengthened,” the letter says.



The letter says, “We therefore urge you not to move
forward with regulations that would in any manner
limit residents’ existing opportunities to be involved
in the decision-making process in public housing. In
fact, we urge you to work towards greater
tenant-involvement in the administration of public
housing.”



Find the letter at
http://www.nlihc.org/ doc/964-letter- Sec-HUD.pdf



***Letter Urging Funding Increase for McKinney-Vento
Programs Circulating on the Hill

Representatives Gwen Moore (D-WI) and Geoff Davis
(R-KY) are requesting that their House colleagues sign
a letter to Representatives John Olver (D-MA) and Joe
Knollenberg (R-MI), Chair and Ranking Member of the
House Transportation, Housing and Urban Development
(T-HUD) Appropriations Subcommittee, respectively,
requesting $2 billion for HUD's McKinney-Vento
Homeless Assistance Grants in FY09.



The President’s FY09 request for McKinney-Vento
Homeless Assistance Grants is $1.636 billion, a $50
million increase over the FY08 level. Noting that,
according to HUD, $1.5 billion is needed for the
renewal of existing contracts, Representatives Moore
and Davis state, “Little of the President’s request
would be available for new projects, depriving the
thousands of homeless Americans who currently do not
have access to a Homeless Assistance Grant-funded
project the opportunity to receive life-sustaining
shelter or services. In addition, Congress and the
Administration have slipped from the timetable for
meeting the national goal of establishing 150,000 new
permanent housing units by 2012. Significant
additional funding is required in FY09 to get this
goal back on track.”



Advocates should urge their Representative to sign the
letter. The deadline for sign-ons is March 12.



The letter can be found at
http://www.nlihc.org/ doc/FY09_ McKinney_ Request_to_ House_Approps. pdf



***Section 202 Improvement Bill Introduced in Senate

The Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly Act
was introduced on March 7. The bill would reform how
the Section 202 program works in order to increase the
construction and preservation of Section 202 housing
and to make it easier to convert Section 202 units to
affordable assisted living.



The bill was introduced by Senator Herb Kohl (D-WI),
Chair, Senate Special Committee on Aging, and Senator
Charles Schumer (D-NY), Chair of the Senate Banking
Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation and Community
Development.



Neither a bill number nor text was available as Memo
went to press but the bill is expected to be very
similar to House-passed Section 202 legislation, H.R.
2930 (see Memo, 12/7/07). Senator Kohl and Senator
Schumer’s press release on the bill’s introduction
says, “This version builds upon H.R. 2930 and offers
some stronger provisions.”



***House to Hold St. Louis Field Hearing

The House Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing
and Community Opportunity will hold a field hearing in
St. Louis , MO , on March 8, to examine federal
housing and economic development funding.



The hearing will focus on the operation of housing and
economic development programs administered HUD,
primarily the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG)
and HOME Investment Partnerships (HOME) programs. The
hearing will also explore current and future economic
revitalization initiatives in St. Louis .



In a press release announcing the hearing,
Subcommittee Chair Maxine Waters (D-CA) said, “As a
native of St. Louis , I look forward to this hearing
to examine the history of the City’s strategies for
distribution of federal housing and economic
development resources, as well as the lessons those
strategies and cutting-edge initiatives in other
cities hold for St. Louis today.”



The hearing will begin at noon at the St. Louis City
Hall , 1200 Market Street .



***House, Senate Hearings on HUD Appropriations

The House Committee on Financial Services will hold a
hearing on March 11 to review the FY09 HUD budget
request but is also expected to include a wide range
of policy-related questions, including those related
to HUD’s oversight of emergency spending (see hearing
notice article under Hurricane Recovery). The
hearing’s only witness will be HUD Secretary Alphonso
Jackson. The hearing will begin at 10am in room 2128
of the Rayburn House office building.



The Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban
Affairs will hold its rescheduled hearing on the FY09
HUD appropriations on March 12, at 10 am, in room 538
of the Senate Dirksen office building. Witnesses are
HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson; Michael Kelly of the
DC Housing Authority; Barbara Sard of the Center on
Budget and Policy Priorities and NLIHC board member;
Diane Randall of the Partnership for Strong
Communities in Hartford , CT , and NLIHC board
member; and Edgar Olsen of the University of Virginia
.



The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on
Transportation, Housing and Urban Development and
Related Agencies will hold a hearing on March 13 to
review the FY09 HUD budget request. The hearing’s only
witness will be HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson. The
hearing will begin at 10am in room 138 of the Senate
Dirksen office building.



***Rural Housing Briefing

A briefing on rural housing issues will be held on
March 12. The briefing, sponsored by the National
Rural Housing Coalition and the Congressional Rural
Caucus, will be from 8:30 am to 9:30 am in room B-369
of the Rayburn House office building.



***New Legislation

Current information on legislation being tracked by
NLIHC is available through NLIHC’s legislative action
center, at http://www.capwiz.com/ nlihc/issues/ bills/



HUD



*** HUD to Research Rents and Rent Flexibility

HUD announced on February 27 that it has entered into
a research contract to look at rents and rent
flexibility. The notice solicits comments on the
approach, scope and substance of the research, which
are due by April 28.



The research, to be conducted by Abt Associates and
Applied Real Estate Analysis Inc., will look into
alternative rent structures to the current
income-based system used in the public housing and
voucher programs. The notice says, “They are programs
that have steadily increased in complexity and costs.
Because these programs shape who is assisted (and who
is not), what they pay, what they earn, and how long
they stay, it is important to understand three
important elements of program administration.”



Thus, the research will look into 1) eligibility
preferences based on extremely low income standards;
2) tenant rent contributions based primarily on 30% of
“adjusted reported incomes”; and 3) the payment
standard in the voucher program that caps the gross
rent and helps determine how much of the gross rent is
the tenant’s responsibility and how much is the public
housing agency’s.



According to the notice, the study will review
possible reforms and alternative rent structures to
the current income-based approach for calculating
rental subsidies in these two programs.



The House’s Section 8 Voucher Reform Act, H.R. 1851,
includes language allowing public housing agencies to
practice “alternative rent” structures that do not
result in residents paying more than 30% of their
adjusted gross income toward rent.



Find the HUD notice at
http://www.nlihc.org/ doc/Notice- of-Rent-Reform- Study.pdf



HURRICANE RECOVERY

***Study of New Orleans Public Housing Residents
Released by HUD; Half of the Residents Are Missing

HUD and the Housing Authority of New Orleans (HANO)
released the results of the long awaited research of
residents of New Orleans public housing displaced by
Hurricane Katrina. HANO, currently held in
receivership, commissioned the School of Urban and
Public Affairs of the University of Texas at
Arlington . The purpose of the research was to
determine which residents wanted to return to New
Orleans to re-occupy the public housing units from
which they were evacuated and which residents were
interested in other options. The contract called for
the researchers to contact each of the 5,146
households who lived in HANO public housing as of
August 28, 2005, the day before Hurricane Katrina hit
New Orleans .


The intentions of the displaced residents has been a
matter of considerable controversy, as HUD proceeds
with plans for demolition and redevelopment of four of
the largest public housing complexes without providing
for one-for-one replacement and the right to return
for all tenants who chose to do so.



The research team reports that despite extraordinary
outreach efforts, they were only able to find people
in 2,553 of the 5,146 households (49.6%) and were able
to interview 2,109 residents (40 %) who agreed to
participate in the study.



Of the 2,109 people interviewed, half (50.5%) were
residing in New Orleans , with most of the others in
Texas and other parts of Louisiana , although
respondents were located in 36 states. Nineteen
percent of the total were back in the public housing
units they occupied prior to the storm.



Another 31% want to return to New Orleans , for a
total of 71.5% whose preference is to return home. Of
these households, 28% either were back in their units
or wanted to return to their precise units. Another
20% want to live in New Orleans public housing, but
would live in any available public housing unit. Over
half (52%) wanted to live in New Orleans , and receive
Section 8 housing vouchers.



Of 28.5% of respondents who did not indicate that they
wanted to move back to New Orleans , 10% want to live
in public housing elsewhere and 66% want a Section 8
housing voucher. Finally, 24% of the remaining
respondents, or 7% of all respondents, did not report
a particular preference for housing location or form.



HUD’s press release on the report used the results to
justify their plans for demolition and redevelopment
of much of the public housing in New Orleans . As
quoted in the release, C. Donald Babers, the
HUD-appointed HANO board chairman, said “This survey
illustrates what HANO and HUD have been saying for the
past two years. The vast majority of HANO’s families
want better housing in safer communities. We are
creating a vibrant, safe environment where children
and families can thrive. These residents deserve
something better than what they had and our plan will
give it to them.”



The fact that the researchers were unable to find over
half of the displaced residents indicates that HUD’s
assertions that most displaced HANO public housing
households were being assisted through the Disaster
Voucher Program or other programs is less than
accurate. The researchers report that of the resident
data provided to them by HUD, 75% of the data were
“incorrect or useless.”



To read the report, go to http://www.nlihc.org/ .



***Hearing Scheduled on Toxic Trailers

On April 1, the House Committee on Science and
Technology will hold a hearing entitled, “Toxic
Trailers: Have the Centers for Disease Control (CDC)
Failed to Protect Public Health?” The hearing will
examine the CDC’s recent disclosure that many of the
trailers given to households displaced by Hurricane
Katrina have unsafe levels of formaldehyde (see Memo,
2/15). Heidi Sinclair, medical director of the Baton
Rouge Children’s Health Program; Becky Gillette,
Director of the Sierra Club’s Gulf Coast Environmental
Restoration Task Force Formaldehyde Campaign;
Christopher De Rosa, former director of Toxicology and
Environment Medicine at the Agency for Toxic
Substances and Disease Registry; and Tom Sinks,
National Center for Environmental Health will testify.



The hearing will be held at 10 am in room 2318 of the
Rayburn House office building.



***House Financial Services Hearing to Examine MS
Disaster Recovery

On March 11, the House Committee on Financial Services
will hold a hearing on the Administration’ s FY09 HUD
budget request. HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson will be
the only witness. Members of the Committee are
expected to spend some of the hearing examining
disaster recovery in Mississippi , including
Secretary Jackson’s recent approval for Mississippi to
divert $600 million of its recovery funds from housing
to expanding the port of Gulfport .



The hearing will be held at 10 am in room 2128 of the
Rayburn House office building.



FROM THE FIELD



*** NYC Advocates Convince City Pension Fund to Stop
Investing in Predatory Purchases

New York Tenants & Neighbors Coalition, an NLIHC state
partner, along with other New York City advocates and
residents, recently held a news conference with NYC
Comptroller William Thompson to announce a unanimous
agreement with the New York City Pension Funds to end
investment in affordable housing purchases that put
lower income residents at risk. Ironically, the
pension fund contributions of current and retired city
and state government workers living in affordable
housing were paying for their own displacement.



As a result of advocates’ efforts, the New York City
Pension Funds adopted real estate investment
principles that include:

· Creating an “investment opt-out” that enables
the pension funds to avoid investing in projects which
might adversely affect lower income tenants;

· Encouraging new affordable housing
opportunities; and,

· Engaging building management to ensure fair
treatment of tenants.



“Comptroller Thompson is sending a hugely important
message to the speculative real estate investment
community by refusing to invest in deals that are
poorly underwritten and which rely on the displacement
of low income families in order to succeed,” said Dina
Levy of the Urban Homesteading Assistance Board, one
of the advocacy groups. “We hope other institutional
investors will follow his lead.”



Private equity firms raise money from various sources,
including pension funds, by promising a high rate of
return (ranging from 10% to 25%) within a short period
of time (between three and five years). The money
raised is used with much larger sums obtained through
conventional borrowing (generally amounting to 80% of
the cost) to purchase an apartment building occupied
by low and moderate income households – with the
intention of quickly selling it in a few years at a
substantial profit (a practice known as “flipping”).
Affordable buildings targeted by “predatory equity”
firms cannot be sold at a great profit if the only
occupants are the original lower income households.
Therefore, building maintenance is often dramatically
curtailed in order to pressure residents to leave, or,
if legally possible, units are either sold as condos
or rents are raised far beyond the financial means of
long-time occupants.



Tenants & Neighbors has identified 24 state-subsidized
buildings alone (containing 10,000 units) that have
already been purchased and removed from the state
subsidy program by just three firms. Because most of
these 24 buildings were still subject to state, local,
and/or, in the case of project-based Section 8
buildings, federal oversight responsibility, advocates
are also working to get these government agencies to
enforce existing laws and regulations designed to
protect the publics’ investment and preserve
affordable housing.



“In recent years, we’ve seen development after
development of affordable housing sold for prices that
we couldn’t even have imagined a few years ago,” said
Maggie Russell-Ciardi, Executive Director of the New
York Tenants & Neighbors Coalition. “We don’t like the
speculative nature of these deals, and we really don’t
like what it means for low and moderate income
tenants. We are very happy to see Comptroller Thompson
and the Pension Funds doing their part to move away
from this trend.”



For more information, see Tenants & Neighbors’
“Current Campaigns” webpage
http://www.tandn.org/ home_rule. html#, as well as its Winter
2008 Newsletter.



Contact: Amy Chan, Organizer, New York Tenants &
Neighbors Coalition, amy [at] tandn.org.



RESOURCES



*** Studies: Perhaps Half of Non-elderly Households
with Worst Case Needs Disabled

In a supplemental report released the week of February
25, HUD reports that the number of disabled
non-elderly renter households with worst case housing
needs in 2005 was 1.1 million, more than double its
original estimate in its Affordable Housing Needs 2005
report. The higher number is the product of a
methodological improvement motivated by research
conducted for the Consortium for Citizens with
Disabilities’ Housing Task Force (CCD-HTF) and
supported by NLIHC. In its study, CCD-HTF argues for
an additional adjustment not included in HUD’s report
that could increase the number of disabled renter
households with worst case needs to 2.4 million.



In 2007, HUD released its report to Congress, in which
it estimated that in 2005, 5.99 million very low
income unassisted renters either spent more than half
of their income on rent or lived in substandard
housing and thus had “worst case needs.” Of these, HUD
reported that .5 million non-elderly households
included at least one disabled individual. Because the
American Housing Survey (AHS), on which this biennial
report is based, does not include questions explicitly
related to disability status, beginning with the 2003
report HUD has generated its rough estimate of the
disabled population based on households reporting
income from Social Security, Supplemental Security
Income (SSI), or public assistance.



Research conducted for CCD-HTF and based on American
Community Survey data (ACS) indicates that a fourth
source of income – from retirement, survivor, or
disability pensions – is also a good proxy for
disability status among the non-elderly population and
would allow HUD to analyze worst case needs among
families with children and disabled adults for the
first time. Using a similar question on receipt of
disability payments added to the AHS questionnaire in
2005, HUD reports that this fourth proxy does not
affect the total number of non-elderly renter
households with worst case needs (4.7 million) but
does increase the proportion with a disabled adult
from 12% (0.5 million) to 23% (1.1 million).



Because only 65% of all self identified disabled
households in the ACS receive income from one of these
four sources, and because other surveys also
explicitly ask questions about disabling conditions
(e.g., Survey of Income and Program Participation,
National Health Interview Survey), CCD-HTF also argues
that HUD should adjust its AHS-based estimates of
worst case needs among disabled households to control
totals from other data sources, something it has
actually done in past reports. Such an adjustment
would indicate that roughly half of the 4.7 million
non-elderly very low income renter households with
worst case needs had at least one disabled adult.
HUD’s supplement does not incorporate this
recommendation.



HUD’s Housing Needs of Persons with Disabilities is
available at
http://www.huduser. org/publications /affhsg/affhsgne edsdis.html.



The Hidden Housing Crisis: Worst Case Housing Needs
Among Adults with Disabilities, conducted by Kathryn
Nelson for CCD-HTF, can be found at http://www.tacinc.org.



***Advocates’ Guide on Housing and Community
Development Policy 2008 Now Available

NLIHC has published the 2008 edition of the Advocates’
Guide on Housing and Community Development Policy.
This compendium of all federal housing and community
development programs and related issues includes over
60 chapters from “Analysis of Impediments to Fair
Housing Choice” to “Section 811 Supportive Housing for
Persons with Disabilities,” enhanced by numerous
appendices with key information.



Copies can be purchased for $25 for NLIHC members and
$40 for nonmembers by emailing publications@ nlihc.org.
It will also be available on line on March 12 at
http://www.nlihc.org.



The 2008 Advocates’ Guide was made possible by a grant
from PNC Bank.



***NCH Survey on Foreclosures and Homelessness

The National Coalition for the Homeless is conducting
a national survey of homeless service providers,
advocates and coalitions related to the current
credit/foreclosure crisis. The purpose of the survey
is to better understand and document the
interdependence between the crisis and the changing
face of homelessness in our nation. The survey can be
found here:

http://www.surveymonkey. com/s.aspx? sm=F1su0zeL6wF_ 2bBYthx_2fUlDg_ 3d_3d



FACT OF THE WEEK



*** Disabled Renters Highly Dependent on Income
Supports




Total % Disabled

Non-Elderly Very Low Income

Renter Households without
Children
6,139,018 36%



Receiving Income from:

Supplemental Security
Income
799,633 98%

Social Security or Railroad
Retirement 766,596 86%

Retirement, Survivor, or Disability
Pensions 272,873 77%

Public Assistance or
Welfare
293,422 69%



Source: Based on NLIHC tabulations of 2005 American
Community Survey PUMS data, as reported in Table 1 of
Nelson, K. P. (2008). The hidden housing crisis: Worst
case housing needs among adults with disabilities.
Washington , DC : The Consortium for Citizens with
Disabilities. Available at http://www.tacinc.org.



NLIHC NEWS



***Job Openings at NLIHC

NLIHC is seeking applicants for the following two
positions:



Senior Housing Policy Analyst. Tracks, analyzes, and
advocates on federal legislative and regulatory issues
related to NLIHC’s mission of ending America ’s
affordable housing crisis. Responsible for educating
Congressional offices on low income housing policy
issues and informing NLIHC members and partners of
opportunities to influence policy decisions. Reports
to Deputy Director.

Qualifications include highly developed communication
and policy analysis skills, knowledge of federal
housing policy, direct experience with the legislative
process, and commitment to housing justice. Master’s
degree preferred.

Communications Director. Coordinates public education
activities that increase and improve public awareness
of low income housing issues in a manner that furthers
NLIHC’s mission of ending America ’s affordable
housing crisis. Manages all media relationships and
directs production of all publications and management
of websites. Reports to President.

Qualifications include highly developed writing and
editing skills, experience in media relations,
knowledge of web-based and other electronic media,
knowledge of federal housing policy, and commitment to
housing justice. Bachelor’s degree required.

Both positions are based in Washington , DC . NLIHC
offers competitive salary and benefit package. NLIHC
is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer.


Send resume and cover letter to Linda Couch , Deputy
Director, National Low Income Housing Coalition, 727
15th Street NW 6th Floor, Washington, DC 20005 or fax
to: 202-393-1973.



NLIHC STAFF

Leo Barrera, Outreach/Policy Intern, x241

Angela Chen, Administrative Assistant, x224

Linda Couch, Deputy Director, x228

Sheila Crowley, President, x224

Megan DeCrappeo, Research Intern x249

Danna Fischer, Legislative Director / Counsel, x243

Ed Gramlich, Outreach Director, x314

Elisha Harig-Blaine, Outreach Associate, x316

Jake Kirsch, Outreach Associate, x 244

Erika Lewis, Website and Publications Manager, x222

Taylor Materio, Communications Assistant, x227

Danilo Pelletiere, Research Director, x237

Christian Pulley, Outreach Associate, x247

Kim Schaffer, Special Advisor to the President

La’Teashia Sykes, Legislative Intern, x252

Michelle Goodwin Thompson, Director of Finance &
Information Technology, x234

Keith Wardrip, Research Analyst, x245

Diane Yentel, Housing Policy Analyst, x230



TELL YOUR FRIENDS!

NLIHC membership is the best way to stay informed
about affordable housing issues, keep in touch with
advocates around the country, and support NLIHC’s
work.



NLIHC membership information is available on our
website, at http://www.nlihc.org, or by fax, mail, or e-mail.
Just e-mail us at membership@nlihc. org or call
202-662-1530 to request membership materials to
distribute at meetings and conferences.



The National Low Income Housing Coalition is dedicated
solely to ending America ’s affordable housing crisis.
Established in 1974 by Cushing N. Dolbeare, NLIHC
educates, organizes, and advocates to ensure decent,
affordable housing within healthy neighborhoods for
everyone. NLIHC provides up-to-date information,
formulates policy, and educates the public on housing
needs and the strategies for solutions.





National Low Income Housing Coalition

Memo to Members

March 7, 2008

Vol. 13, No. 10