II

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1333

To expand homeownership in the United States.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JULY 1, 1999

Mr. WYDEN (for himself and Mr. BENNETT) introduced the following bill;

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs

A BILL

To expand homeownership in the United States.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE AND TABLE OF CONTENTS.

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the

5 ‘‘Promoting Housing Affordability for Working Families

6 Act of 1999’’.

7 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for

8 this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents.

Sec. 2. Findings and purposes.

TITLE I—REMOVING BARRIERS TO HOUSING AFFORDABILITY

Sec. 101. Housing impact analysis.

Sec. 102. Grants for regulatory barrier removal strategies.
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Sec. 103. Eligibility for community development block grants.

Sec. 104. Regulatory barriers clearinghouse.

TITLE II—REMOVING BARRIERS TO USE OF FHA SINGLE FAMILY

HOUSING MORTGAGE INSURANCE PROGRAM

Sec. 201. Definition of area.

Sec. 202. Extension of loan term for manufactured home lots.

TITLE III—HOME INVESTMENT PARTNERSHIPS PROGRAM

Sec. 301. Homeownership for municipal employees.

TITLE IV—COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANTS

Sec. 401. Homeownership for municipal employees.

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

2 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that—

3 (1) the priorities of our Nation should include

4 expanding homeownership opportunities by providing

5 access to affordable housing that is safe, clean, and

6 healthy;

7 (2) homeownership has become a challenge for

8 Americans of moderate and low income levels;

9 (3) decent housing has become unaffordable for

10 many working families, and according to the Depart11 ment of Housing and Urban Development, the me12 dian family income nationwide is $43,500 and the

13 median price of a single family home is $124,000,

14 leading to an ‘‘affordability gap’’ that makes it vir15 tually impossible for many people, especially young

16 families, to obtain all the benefits of home owner17 ship;
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1 (4) housing comprises 12 percent of the econ2 omy of the United States;

3 (5) housing construction and remodeling employ

4 approximately 2,000,000 people each year;

5 (6) new housing construction accounts for a

6 third of the growth of the Nation’s economy during

7 recovery periods;

8 (7) homeowners have more than

9 $4,500,000,000,000 in equity in their homes, and

10 this equity is the single largest source of savings and

11 wealth for most families;

12 (8) the lack of a broad, effective, local dialog

13 among interested parties about the possible tradeoffs

14 between housing costs and other valued priorities

15 and policies can be a significant factor in raising

16 housing costs;

17 (9) in fact, an increase of $1,000 in the pur18 chase price of a median-priced home can force more

19 than 21,000 potential buyers out of the market; and

20 (10) removing barriers to affordable housing is

21 an important public policy goal.

22 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are—

23 (1) to encourage and facilitate homeownership

24 by families in the United States who are not other25 wise able to afford homeownership; and
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1 (2) to expand homeownership through policies

2 that—

3 (A) promote the ability of the private sec4 tor to produce affordable housing without exces5 sive government regulation;

6 (B) encourage tax incentives, such as the

7 mortgage interest deduction, at all levels of gov8 ernment; and

9 (C) facilitate the availability of flexible

10 capital for homeownership opportunities.

11 TITLE I—REMOVING BARRIERS

12 TO HOUSING AFFORDABILITY

13 SEC. 101. HOUSING IMPACT ANALYSIS.

14 (a) APPLICABILITY.—

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—The requirements of this

16 section shall apply with respect to—

17 (A) any proposed rule, unless the agency

18 promulgating the rule—

19 (i) has certified that the proposed rule

20 will not, if given force or effect as a final

21 rule, have a significant deleterious impact

22 on housing affordability; and

23 (ii) has caused such certification to be

24 published in the Federal Register at the

25 time of publication of general notice of
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1 proposed rulemaking for the rule, together

2 with a statement providing the factual

3 basis for the certification; and

4 (B) any final rule, unless the agency pro5 mulgating the rule—

6 (i) has certified that the rule will not,

7 if given force or effect, have a significant

8 deleterious impact on housing affordability;

9 and

10 (ii) has caused such certification to be

11 published in the Federal Register at the

12 time of publication of the final rule, to13 gether with a statement providing the fac14 tual basis for the certification.

15 (2) NOTICE TO SECRETARY.—Any agency mak16 ing a certification under this subsection shall provide

17 a copy of such certification and the statement pro18 viding the factual basis for the certification to the

19 Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.

20 (b) STATEMENT OF PROPOSED RULEMAKING.—

21 Whenever an agency publishes general notice of proposed

22 rulemaking for any proposed rule, unless the agency has

23 made a certification under subsection (a), the agency

24 shall—

25 (1) in the notice of proposed rulemaking—
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1 (A) state with particularity the text of the

2 proposed rule; and

3 (B) request any interested persons to sub4 mit to the agency any written analyses, data,

5 views, and arguments, and any specific alter6 natives to the proposed rule that—

7 (i) accomplish the stated objectives of

8 the applicable statutes, in a manner com9 parable to the proposed rule;

10 (ii) result in costs to the Federal Gov11 ernment equal to or less than the costs re12 sulting from the proposed rule; and

13 (iii) result in housing affordability

14 greater than the housing affordability re15 sulting from the proposed rule;

16 (2) provide an opportunity for interested per17 sons to take the actions specified under paragraph

18 (1)(B) before promulgation of the final rule; and

19 (3) prepare and make available for public com20 ment an initial housing impact analysis in accord21 ance with the requirements of subsection (c).

22 (c) INITIAL HOUSING IMPACT ANALYSIS.—

23 (1) REQUIREMENTS.—Each initial housing im24 pact analysis shall describe the impact of the pro25 posed rule on housing affordability. The initial hous-
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1 ing impact analysis, or a summary, shall be pub2 lished in the Federal Register at the same time as,

3 and together with, the publication of general notice

4 of proposed rulemaking for the rule. The agency

5 shall transmit a copy of the initial housing impact

6 analysis to the Secretary of Housing and Urban De7 velopment.

8 (2) MONTHLY HUD LISTING.—On a monthly

9 basis, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Develop10 ment shall cause to be published in the Federal Reg11 ister, and shall make available through a World

12 Wide Web site of the Department, a listing of all

13 proposed rules for which an initial housing impact

14 analysis was prepared during the preceding month.

15 (3) CONTENTS.—Each initial housing impact

16 analysis required under this subsection shall

17 contain—

18 (A) a description of the reasons why action

19 by the agency is being considered;

20 (B) a succinct statement of the objectives

21 of, and legal basis for, the proposed rule;

22 (C) a description of and, where feasible, an

23 estimate of the extent to which the proposed

24 rule would increase the cost or reduce the sup-
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1 ply of housing or land for residential develop2 ment; and

3 (D) an identification, to the extent prac4 ticable, of all relevant Federal rules which may

5 duplicate, overlap, or conflict with the proposed

6 rule.

7 (d) PROPOSAL OF LESS DELETERIOUS ALTERNATIVE

8 RULE.—

9 (1) ANALYSIS.—The agency publishing a gen10 eral notice of proposed rulemaking, as described in

11 this section, shall review any specific analyses and

12 alternatives to the proposed rule which have been

13 submitted to the agency pursuant to subsection

14 (b)(2) to determine whether any alternative to the

15 proposed rule—

16 (A) accomplishes the stated objectives of

17 the applicable statutes, in a manner comparable

18 to the proposed rule;

19 (B) results in costs to the Federal Govern20 ment equal to or less than the costs resulting

21 from the proposed rule; and

22 (C) results in housing affordability greater

23 than the housing affordability resulting from

24 the proposed rule.
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1 (2) NEW NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULE2 MAKING.—If the agency determines that an alter3 native to the proposed rule meets the requirements

4 under paragraph (1), unless the agency provides an

5 explanation on the record for the proposed rule as

6 to why the alternative should not be implemented,

7 the agency shall incorporate the alternative into the

8 final rule or, at the agency’s discretion, issue a new

9 proposed rule that incorporates the alternative.

10 (e) FINAL HOUSING IMPACT ANALYSIS.—

11 (1) REQUIREMENT.—Whenever an agency pro12 mulgates a final rule after publication of a general

13 notice of proposed rulemaking, unless the agency has

14 made the certification under subsection (a), the

15 agency shall prepare a final housing impact analysis.

16 (2) CONTENTS.—Each final housing impact

17 analysis shall contain—

18 (A) a succinct statement of the need for,

19 and objectives of, the rule;

20 (B) a summary of the significant issues

21 raised during the public comment period in re22 sponse to the initial housing impact analysis, a

23 summary of the assessment of the agency of

24 such issues, and a statement of any changes
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1 made in the proposed rule as a result of such

2 comments; and

3 (C) a description of and an estimate of the

4 extent to which the rule will impact housing af5 fordability or an explanation of why no such es6 timate is available.

7 (3) AVAILABILITY.—The agency shall make

8 copies of the final housing impact analysis available

9 to members of the public and shall publish in the

10 Federal Register such analysis or a summary there11 of.

12 (f) AVOIDANCE OF DUPLICATIVE OR UNNECESSARY

13 ANALYSES.—

14 (1) DUPLICATION.—Any Federal agency may

15 perform the analyses required by subsections (c) and

16 (e) in conjunction with or as a part of any other

17 agenda or analysis required by any other law, execu18 tive order, directive, or rule, if such other analysis

19 satisfies the provisions of those subsections.

20 (2) JOINDER.—In order to avoid duplicative ac21 tion, an agency may consider a series of closely re22 lated rules as one rule for the purposes of sub23 sections (c) and (e).

24 (g) PREPARATION OF ANALYSES.—In complying with

25 the provisions of subsections (c) and (e), an agency may
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1 provide either a quantifiable or numerical description of

2 the effects of a proposed rule or alternatives to the pro3 posed rule, or more general descriptive statements if quan4 tification is not practicable or reliable.

5 (h) EFFECT ON OTHER LAW.—The requirements of

6 subsections (c) and (e) do not alter in any manner stand7 ards otherwise applicable by law to agency action.

8 (i) PROCEDURE FOR WAIVER OR DELAY OF COMPLE9 TION.—

10 (1) INITIAL HOUSING IMPACT ANALYSIS.—An

11 agency head may waive or delay the completion of

12 some or all of the requirements of subsection (c) by

13 publishing in the Federal Register, not later than

14 the date of publication of the final rule, a written

15 finding, with reasons therefor, that the final rule is

16 being promulgated in response to an emergency that

17 makes compliance or timely compliance with the pro18 visions of subsection (a) impracticable.

19 (2) FINAL HOUSING IMPACT ANALYSIS.—An

20 agency head may not waive the requirements of sub21 section (e). An agency head may delay the comple22 tion of the requirements of subsection (e) for a pe23 riod of not more than 180 days beyond the date of

24 publication in the Federal Register of a final rule by

25 publishing in the Federal Register, not later than
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1 such date of publication, a written finding, with rea2 sons therefor, that the final rule is being promul3 gated in response to an emergency that makes time4 ly compliance with the provisions of subsection (e)

5 impracticable. If the agency has not prepared a final

6 housing impact analysis pursuant to subsection (e)

7 within 180 days from the date of publication of the

8 final rule, such rule shall lapse and have no force or

9 effect. Such rule shall not be repromulgated until a

10 final housing impact analysis has been completed by

11 the agency.

12 (j) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section, the

13 following definitions shall apply:

14 (1) HOUSING AFFORDABILITY.—The term

15 ‘‘housing affordability’’ means the quantity of hous16 ing that is affordable to families having incomes that

17 do not exceed 150 percent of the median income of

18 families in the area in which the housing is located,

19 with adjustments for smaller and larger families.

20 For purposes of this paragraph, area, median family

21 income for an area, and adjustments for family size

22 shall be determined in the same manner as such fac23 tors are determined for purposes of section 3(b)(2)

24 of the United States Housing Act of 1937.
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1 (2) AGENCY.—The term ‘‘agency’’ means each

2 authority of the Government of the United States,

3 whether or not it is within or subject to review by

4 another agency, but does not include—

5 (A) the Congress;

6 (B) the courts of the United States;

7 (C) the governments of the territories or

8 possessions of the United States;

9 (D) the government of the District of Co10 lumbia;

11 (E) agencies composed of representatives

12 of the parties or of representatives of organiza13 tions of the parties to the disputes determined

14 by them;

15 (F) courts-martial and military commis16 sions;

17 (G) military authority exercised in the field

18 in time of war or in occupied territory; or

19 (H) functions conferred by—

20 (i) sections 603, 604, 608, and 609 of

21 the National Housing Act;

22 (ii) the Contract Settlement Act of

23 1944; or

24 (iii) subchapter II of chapter 471 of

25 title 49, United States Code.
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1 (3) FAMILIES.—The term ‘‘families’’ has the

2 meaning given such term in section 3 of the United

3 States Housing Act of 1937.

4 (4) RULE.—The term ‘‘rule’’—

5 (A) means any rule for which the agency

6 publishes a general notice of proposed rule7 making pursuant to section 553(b) of title 5,

8 United States Code, or any other law, including

9 any rule of general applicability governing

10 grants by an agency to State and local govern11 ments for which the agency provides an oppor12 tunity for notice and public comment; and

13 (B) does not include a rule of particular

14 applicability relating to rates, wages, corporate

15 or financial structures or reorganizations there16 of, prices, facilities, appliances, services, or al17 lowances therefor or to valuations, costs or ac18 counting, or practices relating to such rates,

19 wages, structures, prices, appliances, services,

20 or allowances.

21 (5) SIGNIFICANT.—The term ‘‘significant’’

22 means increasing consumers’ cost of housing by

23 more than $100,000,000 per year.

24 (k) DEVELOPMENT.—Not later than 1 year after the

25 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Housing
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1 and Urban Development shall develop model initial and

2 final housing impact analyses under this section, and shall

3 cause such model analyses to be published in the Federal

4 Register. The model analyses shall define the primary ele5 ments of a housing impact analysis to instruct other agen6 cies on how to carry out and develop the analyses required

7 under subsections (c) and (e).

8 (l) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—

9 (1) DETERMINATION BY AGENCY.—Except as

10 provided in paragraph (2), any determination by an

11 agency concerning the applicability of any of the

12 provisions of this title to any action of the agency

13 shall not be subject to judicial review.

14 (2) OTHER ACTIONS BY AGENCY.—Any housing

15 impact analysis prepared under subsection (c) or (e)

16 and the compliance or noncompliance of the agency

17 with the provisions of this title shall not be subject

18 to judicial review. When an action for judicial review

19 of a rule is instituted, any housing impact analysis

20 for such rule shall constitute part of the whole

21 record of agency action in connection with the re22 view.

23 (3) EXCEPTION.—Nothing in this subsection

24 bars judicial review of any other impact statement or

25 similar analysis required by any other law if judicial
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1 review of such statement or analysis is otherwise

2 provided by law.

3 SEC. 102. GRANTS FOR REGULATORY BARRIER REMOVAL

4 STRATEGIES.

5 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section

6 1204(a) of the Housing and Community Development Act

7 of 1992 (42 U.S.C. 12705c(a)) is amended to read as fol8 lows:

9 ‘‘(a) FUNDING.—There is authorized to be appro10 priated for grants under subsections (b) and (c)

11 $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2000 and each fiscal year

12 thereafter through fiscal year 2004.’’.

13 (b) CONSOLIDATION OF STATE AND LOCAL

14 GRANTS.—Section 1204(b) of the Housing and Commu15 nity Development Act of 1992 (42 U.S.C. 12705c(b)) is

16 amended—

17 (1) in the subsection heading, by striking

18 ‘‘STATE GRANTS’’ and inserting ‘‘GRANT AUTHOR19 ITY’’;

20 (2) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by

21 inserting after ‘‘States’’ the following: ‘‘and units of

22 general local government (including consortia of

23 such governments)’’;
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1 (3) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘a State pro2 gram to reduce State and local’’ and inserting

3 ‘‘State, local, or regional programs to reduce’’;

4 (4) in paragraph (4), by inserting ‘‘or local’’

5 after ‘‘State’’; and

6 (5) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘State’’.

7 (c) BARRIERS TO HOMEOWNERSHIP AND HOUSING

8 AFFORDABILITY COUNCILS; REPEAL OF LOCAL GRANTS

9 PROVISION.—Section 1204(c) of the Housing and Com10 munity Development Act of 1992 (42 U.S.C. 12705c(c))

11 is amended to read as follows:

12 ‘‘(c) BARRIERS TO HOMEOWNERSHIP AND HOUSING

13 AFFORDABILITY COUNCILS.—

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other

15 provision of this section, a State or unit of local gov16 ernment may use amounts received from a grant

17 awarded under this section to establish a Barriers to

18 Homeownership and Housing Affordability Council

19 (referred to in this section as a ‘Council’) in accord20 ance with this subsection.

21 ‘‘(2) MEMBERSHIP.—A Council shall be com22 prised of 10 members, of whom—

23 ‘‘(A) 1 member shall be an individual who

24 is actively engaged in the residential single fam25 ily homebuilding industry;
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1 ‘‘(B) 1 member shall be an individual who

2 is actively engaged in the residential multi3 family homebuilding industry;

4 ‘‘(C) 1 member shall be an individual who

5 is actively engaged in the lending industry;

6 ‘‘(D) 1 member shall be an individual who

7 is a representative of those areas of labor en8 gaged in homebuilding;

9 ‘‘(E) 2 members shall be individuals with

10 experience in housing issues who are designated

11 as advocates for underserved populations;

12 ‘‘(F) 1 member shall be an individual who

13 is a real estate professional; and

14 ‘‘(G) 3 members shall be appointed, as de15 termined by the local government.

16 ‘‘(3) FUNCTIONS OF COUNCIL.—A Council shall

17 analyze the local housing situation and make rec18 ommendations to the local government on incentives

19 for the production of affordable housing.’’.

20 (d) APPLICATION AND SELECTION.—The last sen21 tence of section 1204(e) of the Housing and Community

22 Development Act of 1992 (42 U.S.C. 12705c(e)) is

23 amended—
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1 (1) by striking ‘‘and for the selection of units

2 of general local government to receive grants under

3 subsection (f)(2)’’; and

4 (2) by inserting before the period at the end the

5 following: ‘‘, and such criteria shall require that

6 grant amounts be used in a manner consistent with

7 the strategy contained in the comprehensive housing

8 affordability strategy for the jurisdiction pursuant to

9 section 105(b)(4) of the Cranston-Gonzalez National

10 Affordable Housing Act’’.

11 (e) SELECTION OF GRANTEES.—Section 1204(f) of

12 the Housing and Community Development Act of 1992

13 (42 U.S.C. 12705c(f)) is amended to read as follows:

14 ‘‘(f) SELECTION OF GRANTEES.—To the extent that

15 amounts are made available to carry out this section, the

16 Secretary shall provide grants on a competitive basis to

17 eligible grantees based on the proposed uses of such

18 amounts, as provided in applications under subsection

19 (e).’’.

20 (f) TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.—Section 107(a)(1) of

21 the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974

22 (42 U.S.C. 5307(a)(1)) is amended—

23 (1) in subparagraph (G), by adding ‘‘and’’ at

24 the end;

25 (2) by striking subparagraph (H); and
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1 (3) by redesignating subparagraph (I) as sub2 paragraph (H).

3 SEC. 103. ELIGIBILITY FOR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

4 BLOCK GRANTS.

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 104(c)(1) of the Housing

6 and Community Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C.

7 5304(c)(1)) is amended by inserting before the comma the

8 following: ‘‘, which shall include making a good faith effort

9 to carry out the strategy established under section

10 105(b)(4) of that Act by the unit of general local govern11 ment to remove barriers to affordable housing’’.

12 (b) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—The amendment

13 made by subsection (a) may not be construed to create

14 any new private right of action.

15 SEC. 104. REGULATORY BARRIERS CLEARINGHOUSE.

16 Section 1205 of the Housing and Community Devel17 opment Act of 1992 (42 U.S.C. 12705d) is amended—

18 (1) in subsection (a)—

19 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1),

20 by striking ‘‘receive, collect, process, and assem21 ble’’ and inserting ‘‘serve as a national reposi22 tory to receive, collect, process, assemble, and

23 disseminate’’;

24 (B) in paragraph (1)—
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1 (i) by striking ‘‘, including’’ and in2 serting ‘‘(including’’; and

3 (ii) by inserting before the semicolon

4 at the end the following: ‘‘), and the preva5 lence and effects on affordable housing of

6 such laws, regulations, and policies’’;

7 (C) in paragraph (2), by inserting before

8 the semicolon the following: ‘‘, including par9 ticularly innovative or successful activities,

10 strategies, and plans’’; and

11 (D) in paragraph (3), by inserting before

12 the period at the end the following: ‘‘, including

13 particularly innovative or successful strategies,

14 activities, and plans’’;

15 (2) in subsection (b)—

16 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘and’’ at

17 the end;

18 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking the pe19 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

20 (C) by adding at the end the following:

21 ‘‘(3) through a World Wide Web site of the De22 partment or by electronic mail, provide to each hous23 ing agency of a unit of general local government

24 that serves an area having a population greater than

25 100,000, an index of all State and local strategies
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1 and plans submitted under subsection (a) to the

2 clearinghouse, which—

3 ‘‘(A) shall describe the types of barriers to

4 affordable housing that the strategy or plan

5 was designed to ameliorate or remove; and

6 ‘‘(B) shall, not later than 30 days after

7 submission to the clearinghouse of any new

8 strategy or plan, be updated to include the new

9 strategy or plan submitted.’’; and

10 (3) by adding at the end the following:

11 ‘‘(c) ORGANIZATION.—The clearinghouse under this

12 section shall be established within the Office of Policy De13 velopment of the Department of Housing and Urban De14 velopment and shall be under the direction of the Assist15 ant Secretary for Policy Development and Research.

16 ‘‘(d) TIMING.—The clearinghouse under this section

17 (as amended by section 104 of the Promoting Housing Af18 fordability for Working Families Act of 1999) shall be es19 tablished and commence carrying out the functions of the

20 clearinghouse under this section not later than 1 year

21 after the date of enactment of that Act. The Secretary

22 of Housing and Urban Development may comply with the

23 requirements under this section by reestablishing the

24 clearinghouse that was originally established to comply

25 with this section and updating and improving such clear-
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1 inghouse to the extent necessary to comply with the re2 quirements of this section as in effect pursuant to the en3 actment of that Act.’’.

4 TITLE II—REMOVING BARRIERS

5 TO USE OF FHA SINGLE FAM6 ILY HOUSING MORTGAGE IN7 SURANCE PROGRAM

8 SEC. 201. DEFINITION OF AREA.

9 (a) DISCRETION TO ENLARGE AREAS AND MEDIAN

10 PRICE IN MSA’S.—Section 203(b)(2) of the National

11 Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 1709(b)(2)) is amended, in the

12 first sentence after subparagraph (B), by inserting before

13 the period the following: ‘‘; except that the Secretary may

14 provide that any county or statistical area, together with

15 any counties contiguous or proximate to such county or

16 statistical area, be treated as a single area for purposes

17 of the preceding sentence; and except that the median 1-

18 family housing price for any metropolitan statistical area

19 shall be equal to the median 1-family housing price of the

20 county within the area that has the highest such median

21 price’’.

22 (b) MEDIAN PRICE IN EXPANDED MSA’S.—The first

23 sentence after subparagraph (B) of section 203(b)(2) of

24 the National Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 1709(b)(2)), as

25 amended by subsection (a) of this section, is further
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1 amended by inserting before the period at the end the fol2 lowing: ‘‘; and except that for fiscal year 2000, the median

3 1-family housing price for any area (for purposes of the

4 preceding sentence) that consists of a metropolitan statis5 tical area together with the counties contiguous or proxi6 mate to such metropolitan statistical area shall be equal

7 to the median 1-family housing price of the county within

8 such area (for purposes of the preceding sentence) that

9 has the highest such median price’’.

10 SEC. 202. EXTENSION OF LOAN TERM FOR MANUFACTURED

11 HOME LOTS.

12 Section 2(b)(3)(E) of the National Housing Act (12

13 U.S.C. 1703(b)(3)(E)) is amended by striking ‘‘fifteen’’

14 and inserting ‘‘twenty’’.

15 TITLE III—HOME INVESTMENT

16 PARTNERSHIPS PROGRAM

17 SEC. 301. HOMEOWNERSHIP FOR MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES.

18 (a) ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES.—Section 215(b)(2) of the

19 Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act (42

20 U.S.C. 12745(b)(2)) is amended to read as follows:

21 ‘‘(2) is the principal residence of an owner

22 who—

23 ‘‘(A) is a member of a family that qualifies

24 as a low-income family—
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1 ‘‘(i) in the case of a contract to pur2 chase existing housing, at the time of pur3 chase;

4 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a lease-purchase

5 agreement for existing housing or for hous6 ing to be constructed, at the time the

7 agreement is signed; or

8 ‘‘(iii) in the case of a contract to pur9 chase housing to be constructed, at the

10 time the contract is signed; or

11 ‘‘(B)(i) is a uniformed employee (which

12 shall include policemen, firemen, and sanitation

13 and other maintenance workers) or a teacher

14 who is an employee of the participating jurisdic15 tion (or an agency or school district serving

16 such jurisdiction) that is investing funds made

17 available under this subtitle to support home18 ownership of the residence; and

19 ‘‘(ii) is a member of a family whose in20 come, at the time referred to in clause (i), (ii),

21 or (iii) of subparagraph (A), as appropriate,

22 and as determined by the Secretary with ad23 justments for smaller and larger families, does

24 not exceed 115 percent of the median income of

25 the area;’’.
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1 (b) INCOME TARGETING.—Section 214(2) of the

2 Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act (42

3 U.S.C. 12744(2)) is amended by inserting before the semi4 colon the following: ‘‘or families described in section

5 215(b)(2)(B)’’.

6 (c) ELIGIBLE INVESTMENTS.—Section 212(b) of the

7 Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act (42

8 U.S.C. 12742(b)) is amended by adding at the end the

9 following: ‘‘Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, in the

10 case of homeownership assistance for residences of owners

11 described in section 215(b)(2)(B), funds made available

12 under this subtitle may only be invested (A) to provide

13 amounts for downpayments on mortgages, (B) to pay rea14 sonable closing costs normally associated with the pur15 chase of a residence, (C) to obtain pre- or post-purchase

16 counseling relating to the financial and other obligations

17 of homeownership, or (D) to subsidize mortgage interest

18 rates.’’.

19 TITLE IV—COMMUNITY

20 DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANTS

21 SEC. 401. HOMEOWNERSHIP FOR MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES.

22 (a) ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES.—Section 105(a) of the

23 Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 (42

24 U.S.C. 5305(a)), is amended—
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1 (1) in paragraph (22)(C), by striking ‘‘and’’ at

2 the end;

3 (2) in paragraph (23), by striking the period at

4 the end and inserting a semicolon;

5 (3) in paragraph (24), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the

6 end;

7 (4) in paragraph (25), by striking the period at

8 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

9 (5) by adding at the end the following:

10 ‘‘(26) provision of direct assistance to facilitate

11 and expand homeownership among uniformed em12 ployees (including policemen, firemen, and sanitation

13 and other maintenance workers) of, and teachers

14 who are employees of, the metropolitan city or urban

15 county (or an agency or school district serving such

16 city or county) receiving grant amounts under this

17 title pursuant to section 106(b), or the unit of gen18 eral local government (or an agency or school dis19 trict serving such unit) receiving such grant

20 amounts pursuant to section 106(d), except that,

21 notwithstanding section 102(a)(20)(B) or any other

22 provision of this title, such assistance may be pro23 vided on behalf of such employees whose family in24 comes do not exceed 115 percent of the median in25 come of the area involved, as determined by the Sec-
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1 retary with adjustments for smaller and larger fami2 lies, and except that such assistance shall be used

3 only for acquiring principal residences for such em4 ployees by—

5 ‘‘(A) providing amounts for downpayments

6 on mortgages;

7 ‘‘(B) paying reasonable closing costs nor8 mally associated with the purchase of a resi9 dence;

10 ‘‘(C) obtaining pre- or post-purchase coun11 seling relating to the financial and other obliga12 tions of homeownership; or

13 ‘‘(D) subsidizing mortgage interest rates.’’.

14 (b) PRIMARY OBJECTIVES.—Section 105(c) of the

15 Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 (42

16 U.S.C. 5305(c)) is amended by adding at the end the fol17 lowing:

18 ‘‘(5) HOMEOWNERSHIP ASSISTANCE FOR MU19 NICIPAL EMPLOYEES.—Notwithstanding any other

20 provision of this title, any assisted activity described

21 in subsection (a)(26) shall be considered, for pur22 poses of this title, to benefit persons of low and

23 moderate income and shall be directed toward the

24 objective under section 101(c)(3).’’.

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