Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 204 / Friday, October 22, 2004 / Notices 62071

Secretary for Housing-Federal Housing 

Commissioner that were previously 

administered by the Director of HUD’s 

Office of Multifamily Housing 

Assistance Restructuring (OMHAR).

EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 2004.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Eliot 

C. Horowitz, Senior Advisor to the 

Assistant Secretary for Housing—

Federal Housing Commissioner, Office 

of Housing, Department of Housing and 

Urban Development, Room 9110, 

Washington, DC 20410–8000, telephone 

(202) 708–0614. (This is not a toll-free 

number.) Persons with hearing or 

speech impairment may call HUD’s tollfree Federal Information Relay Service 

at (800) 877–8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Discussion of Delegation of Authority 

OMHAR was established under the 

Multifamily Assisted Housing Reform 

and Affordability Act (Title V of Public 

Law 105–65, approved October 27, 

1997), 42 U.S.C. 1437 (MAHRA). On 

January 10, 2002, the President signed 

the Mark-to-Market Extension Act of 

2001 (Title VI of Public Law 107–116), 

amending various programmatic and 

administrative provisions of MAHRA. 

MAHRA provides the Department with 

tools enabling it to restructure the 

mortgage financing of eligible Secretaryheld or HUD-insured projects that 

receive project-based assistance where 

necessary to extend their long-term 

viability. The restructuring program is 

referred to as the Mark-to-Market 

program as it is designed to make the 

rents charged by an insured, assisted 

project commensurate with prevailing 

rents in the locality. Recognizing that 

some projects with above market rents 

might be unable to maintain economic 

viability if their rents were brought 

down to market, the legislation allows 

HUD to restructure a project’s mortgage 

financing, if necessary. This enables 

HUD to preserve low-income housing, 

while the federal government saves 

money by reducing rent subsidies. 

Section 579 of MAHRA states that 

OMHAR and the position of the Director 

of OMHAR terminate on September 30, 

2004. However, section 579 provides 

further that on and after October 1, 

2004, (1) the Department will continue 

to engage in restructuring activities 

previously administered by OMHAR 

through September 30, 2006, and 

thereafter, with respect to projects and 

programs for which binding 

commitments have been entered into 

prior to October 1, 2006, and (2) 

OMHAR’s pertinent authority and 

responsibilities are transferred to the 

Secretary. 

Specifically, section 579 states that 

subtitle A of MAHRA (titled FHA 

Insured Multifamily Housing Mortgage 

and Housing Assistance Restructuring), 

except for section 524 (titled Renewal of 

Expiring Project-Based Section 8 

Contracts) is repealed effective October 

1, 2006. An exception to this repeal 

allows HUD to continue to apply the 

provisions of subtitle A ‘‘with respect to 

projects and programs for which 

binding commitments have been 

entered into under this Act before 

October 1, 2006.’’ Accordingly, although 

MAHRA terminates OMHAR at the end 

of September 30, 2004, HUD’s 

authorization to restructure mortgages 

will continue for a period of at least two 

years beyond that date. 

Effective October 1, 2004, the 

Secretary is delegating this authority 

and attendant responsibilities to the 

Assistant Secretary for Housing-Federal 

Housing Commissioner. The Assistant 

Secretary for Housing-Federal Housing 

Commissioner has been overseeing the 

operations of OMHAR since January of 

2002, when a new section 578 (titled 

Oversight by Federal Housing 

Commissioner) was included among the 

amendments to MAHRA. This oversight 

authority terminates on September 30, 

2004, the same date upon which 

OMHAR is terminated. Upon the 

termination of OMHAR, responsibility 

for the actual conduct of the mark-tomarket program will rest with the 

Assistant Secretary for Housing-Federal 

Housing, who is authorized to 

redelegate this authority. 

II. Authority Delegated 

The Assistant Secretary for HousingFederal Housing Commissioner is 

delegated the power and authority of the 

Secretary of HUD to carry out the 

provisions of MAHRA, 42 U.S.C. 1437f 

note, and to redelegate such authority. 

This delegation supersedes and 

revokes all authority previously 

delegated to the Director of OMHAR.

Authority: Section 7(d) of the Department 

of Housing and Urban Development Act (42 

U.S.C. 3535(d)).

Dated: October 7, 2004. 

Alphonso Jackson, 

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 04–23697 Filed 10–21–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4210–32–P

DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND 

URBAN DEVELOPMENT 

[Docket No. FR–4901–N–43] 

Federal Property Suitable as Facilities 

To Assist the Homeless

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant 

Secretary for Community Planning and 

Development, HUD.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: This notice identifies 

unutilized, underutilized, excess, and 

surplus Federal property reviewed by 

HUD for suitability for possible use to 

assist the homeless.

EFFECTIVE DATE: October 22, 2004.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Kathy Burruss, Department of Housing 

and Urban Development, Room 7262, 

451 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, 

DC 20410; telephone (202) 708–1234; 

TTY number for the hearing- and 

speech-impaired (202) 708–2565, (these 

telephone numbers are not toll-free), or 

call the toll-free Title V information line 

at 1–800–927–7588.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In 

accordance with the December 12, 1988, 

court order in National Coalition for the 

Homeless v. Veterans Administration,

No. 88–2503–OG (D.D.C.), HUD 

publishes a notice, on a weekly basis, 

identifying unutilized, underutilized, 

excess and surplus Federal buildings 

and real property that HUD has 

reviewed for suitability for use to assist 

the homeless. Today’s notice is for the 

purpose of announcing that no 

additional properties have been 

determined suitable or unsuitable this 

week.

Dated: October 14, 2004. 

Mark R. Johnston, 

Director, Office of Special Needs Assistance 

Programs.

[FR Doc. 04–23404 Filed 10–21–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4210–29–M

DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND 

URBAN DEVELOPMENT 

[Docket No. FR–4837–D–55] 

Revocation and Redelegation of 

Authority: Office of Affordable Housing 

Preservation

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant 

Secretary for Housing—Federal Housing 

Commissioner, HUD.

ACTION: Notice of revocation and 

redelegation of authority. 

SUMMARY: Published elsewhere in 

today’s Federal Register, the Secretary 

of HUD issued a delegation of authority