Date: 1981-07-31
Speaker: ST GERMAIN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. the Committee on Banking. Finance and Urban Affairs. as everyone knows. had the largest cut in budget authority of all of the committees of the House under the reconciliation process. I must say that I stand lit. c unable to express any Joy or Jubilation. If anything. my feeling Is one of pv in and suffering. However. we have indeed carried out our responsibilities with respect to the cuts in as fair and equitable a manner as possible. We were required to adjust existing authorization legislation in a number of vital areas. housing. commnunity development. National Consumers Cooperative Bank. as well as many other areas. We performed our task. and I think we performed it as well as possible under the circumstances. I would like to take this opportunity to commend the conferees onl thle House side who worked with mie. both majority and minority. I want to express my deep appreciation to our ranking minority member. the gentleman from Ohio . As a result of his cooperation. his assistance. we were able to handle this conference In an orderly mnannler. We fortunately did not get hung up on any one or two major issues. a% many thought would occur. This came about as a result of a bipartisan effort in conjunction with the Senate conferees. I want also to pay special tribute to the staff. both majority and minority. on the House side. who worked together In a spirit of cooperation and who Indeed represented well thle House position throughout the deliberations In the difficult technical sessions that were held. Mr. Speaker. the bulk of the BankIng Committees title of the omnibus reconviliation bill dealt with the budg:et issues and substantive legislative matters with regard to the housIng and community development programs. Adoption of the Latta substitute restricted the Banking Committee In Its efforts to negotiate and legislate wisely on the major programnmatic changes with regard to the community development block grant program and a large number of assisted housing related changes. It Is not often that the House conferees can. 6n the housing and community development legislation. say that the Senate legislated in a wiser fashion. but with regard to thle community development program we must give credit where credit Is due. The Senate simply had a better version of 115785 community development block grant year to 10 percent. The conference revisions and the House conferees report deletes the illadvised Senate adopted In most every instance the provision barring assisted housing better version that was before the con- funds to those communities which ferees. I am happy .to report that the have rent control or rent stabilization urban development action grant pro- laws. gram remains a separate Identifiable The most difficult Issue that was program entity with an authorization before the conference was the Senate level of $500 million each for the next provision to reduce the eligibility for 2 fiscal years. Numerous changes have assisted housing from the current 80 been adopted with regard to the com- percent of area median inccme to 50 munity development block grant pro- percent of area median income. While gram. The application and reviewv the conference report retains the 80 process Is revised thoroughly making percent eligibility level that is In existit more In the nature of a revenue- ing law. It provides that not more than sharing program with the eligible com- 10 percent of assisted housing units munities basically certifying that they under contract as of the end of the are making use of Federal funds to current fiscal year and not more than principally benefit low- and moderate- 5 percent of addition units available income people. for occupancy on or after beginning of With regard to nonentitlement fiscal year 1982 will be available for cities. those under 50.000 population. persons with incomes between 50 to 80 the conference report provides that percent of area median Income. As I the States who administer grants to have Indicated this was the most diffithese units of local government. but cult Issue that we faced and the with an opting In process that de- Senate was adamant. as were we. but I mands that the States are engaging. or believe that the compromise that was will engage. in community develop- struck here was a realistic one. ment type programs and planning. will With regard to assisted housing. the provide the technical assistance to conference report further provides these nonentitlement communities that newvly constructed housing under and that States will provide their own the section 8 program will be modest funds for community development ac- in design. limits increases In rental tivities of at least 10 percent of the subsidy payments to operating cost incommunity development funds that It creases and provides a preference to is receiving. The conference report section 8 projects located on land procontains the section 312 rehabilitation vided by local and State governments. loan program at approximately $85 Singleroom occupancy units are made million for fiscal year 1982. through eligible In certain instances under the the use of loan repayments. This pro- section 8 program. The report also will gram was terminated in the Latta sub- extend the section 235 homeownership stitute. program through the end of fiscal With regard to our assisted housing year 1982. but prohibits HUD from enprograms. the Senate version of the tering into any new contracts after reconciliation bill left much to be de- September 30. 1983. sired. Their version had lower authori- The House conferees convinced the zation amounts and a series of severely Senate to extend all of the Insuring restrictive provisions that would have authorities under the National Housmade our assisted housing programs in ing Act through fiscal year 1982 and many areas of the country totally uin- provided increased mortgage purchase wvorkable. The conferees split the dif- authority for ONMA at an aggregate ference on the authorization level pro- amount of $2 billion with no assertion viding budget authority of $18.08 bil- nor assumption that the ONMA lion that will provide only 153.000 new tandem program will no longer be units beginning in fiscal year 1982. available beyond fiscal year 1982. It Is Fiftyfive percent of these units will the House conferees position that the be for existing housing and 45 percent tandem program will remain available will be for new construction. Our con- and will continue to be used to provide ference report provides a setaside for permanent financing for assisted State housing finance agencies. the rental housing projects after fiscal Indian public housing program. the year 1982. Our conference report also Farmers Home Administration and clarifies the situation for mortgages those section 8 units that are used by eligible for purchase by GNMA that the section 202 elderly housing pro- have FHA firm commitments and gram. The conference report also pro- FHA is to continue processing applicavides that the preferences of local gov- tions for these mortgages through the ernments regarding the manner in end of this year. which these funds are utilized must be I would like to clarify one matter reaccommodated by the HUD Secretary. garding the FHA singlefamily mortRents will be increased for all people gage loan limit that was increased In living in assisted housing from the cur- the House reconciliation version. but rent 25 percent of their adjusted was dropped In conference. In the Income to 30 percent. It permits the Statement of Managers. the conferees HUD Secretary to determine which direct HUD to adjust the manner In amounts are to be deducted from the which the HUD Secretary determines tenknits Incomes. but limits any in- that an area is a highcost housing cneses in rents not related to in- area based on data of Involving the c.tzesin enp n t income. during any 1 sales of singlefamily hontes in a housIng market area. Because of a substantially higher proportion of sales of existing housing units. as opposed to newly constructed homes. the median sales price of a singlefamily homes is so low that FHA mortgage limits are unrealistically low and most new homes in these areas cannot be financed with FHA insured mortgages. In this sutiation. the conferees also intended for the HUD Secretary to give greater weight to the sales price of new homes in determining the median sales price. The conference report extends for 1 year flood. crime and riot reinsurance programs. It would bar. beginning in October of 1983. any new flood Insurance for socalled undeveloped Barrier Islands. The conference report extends the rural housing program of the Farmers Home Administration and provides for a new uniform nonjudicial multifamily mortgage foreclosure procedure. With regard to our energyrelated matters that the Banking Committee has jurisdiction over. the conference report provides for a $50 million authorization for Solar Bank for fiscal years 1982. 1983. and 1984. The $336 million has been authorized for fiscal year 1982 for State and local conservation programs In the Department of Energy. and it is the strong expectation of the conferees that $175 million of that amount will be available for the lowincome weatherization grant program. While the conference report did not directly authorize this level. the statement of managers contains explicit language regarding the continuation r !the weatherization program at the $1715 million level. The building energy performance standards have been amended so that these energy stai. lards developed by DOE will be voluntarily have all new residential and commercial buildings.