Category: Housing News
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Supreme Court Declines to Hear Appeal on Public Sleeping Bans
The Supreme Court recently rejected a request by the City of Boise to appeal a lower court ruling that decriminalizes being homeless. This past April, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against the city in Martin v. Boise. The Appeals Court said that the city cannot ticket and arrest people for sleeping on the…
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Congress Nears FY20 Spending Deal to Avoid Government Shutdown
The U.S. House of Representatives passed $1.4 trillion in spending bills on Tuesday to fund the federal government through Fiscal Year (FY) 2020. The legislation now moves to the Senate, which must approve it quickly to avoid a government shutdown. Once approved, HUD will receive funding increases that are a rejection of the massive cuts…
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HUD withholds billions in disaster aid for Puerto Rico again
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has again left Puerto Rico without critical disaster aid approved by Congress. HUD has delayed $8 billion in disaster mitigation funds from reaching the territory. This follows a delay three months ago on another $10 billion in aid funding. To date, Puerto Rico has only received…
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Public housing rehab bill proposed by Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez
The Green New Deal for Public Housing Act was recently introduced by Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY). The legislation proposes $180 billion over 10 years to rehabilitate the nation’s aging public housing, improve energy efficiency and provide good paying job opportunities for public housing residents. The bill links critical health and…
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Congress Passes Temporary Measure to Keep Government Open
The House and Senate voted to extend government funding through December 20. Called a continuing resolution, the measure avoided a government shutdown. President Trump signed the extension on November 21, the day that government funds were set to run out. The House passed the measure with a mostly party line vote of 231-192 on November…
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Affordable Housing Addressed at Democratic Presidential Debate
The subject of the affordable housing crisis finally made the stage last night at the fifth 2020 Democratic presidential debate in Atlanta. Many housing industry professionals agree that this may be the first time a presidential debate moderator has asked candidates about their plans to address homelessness and the lack of affordable housing. NBC News…
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First California City Sued Under Recent State Housing Law
The first lawsuit has been filed under California’s latest amendment to its Housing Accountability Act, alleging City of Huntington Beach illegally denied a housing development proposal, even though it complied with the zoning. The Housing Accountability Act, passed in 1982, was amended in 2017 to greatly strengthen its enforcement standards and promote the building of…
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3 million people would lose SNAP benefits under rule proposal
The Trump administration has proposed a rule change that would lead to about 3 million people losing Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. Under the proposal by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service, automatic qualification for SNAP benefits — formerly known as Food Stamps — would become more restrictive. The proposed…
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Affordable Housing Roundtable: Homelessness in America
In the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) 2018 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress1, researchers estimate more than 553,000 people were experiencing homelessness on any given night. Thirty-five percent of which were living unsheltered or in places unfit for safe human habitation. The report cites a decline in homelessness from 2007 to…
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HUD Officials Admit Holding Back Disaster Aid for Puerto Rico
Two HUD officials recently admitted to a House subcommittee that the agency knowingly withheld a funding notice for Puerto Rico disaster aid. HUD was scheduled to publish funding notices for 18 areas affected by natural disasters in recent years, but Puerto Rico’s was the only funding notice that did not get published. The HUD officials…