U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) was established 1965 to coordinate and administer programs that provide assistance for housing and community development. The department assists in finding solutions to the problems of housing and urban development through state, local, or private action. It makes direct loans, insures mortgages, and provides housing subsidies, and it promotes and enforces equal housing opportunity.
== History ==
*1937: U.S. Housing Act of 1937
*1965: Department of Housing and Urban Development Act of 1965 creates HUD as Cabinet-level agency.
*1966: Robert C. Weaver becomes the first HUD Secretary, January 18.
*1968: Riots in major cities follow assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Civil Rights Act of 1968 (also known as the Fair Housing Act) outlaws most housing discrimination, gives HUD enforcement responsibility. Housing Act of 1968 establishes Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae) to expand availability of mortgage funds for moderate income families using government guaranteed mortgage-backed securities.
*1969: Robert C. Wood receives recess appointment as HUD Secretary, January 7. George C. Romney is appointed HUD Secretary by President Richard M. Nixon, January 22.
*1970: Housing and Urban Development Act of 1970 introduces Federal Experimental Housing Allowance Program and Community Development Corporation.
*1972: Pruitt-Igoe public housing buildings in St. Louis are demolished.
*1973: President Nixon declares moratorium on housing and community development assistance. James T. Lynn becomes HUD Secretary, February 2.
*1974: Housing and Community Development Act consolidates programs into Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program. Section 8 tenant-based certificates increase low-income tenants' choice of housing. Gerald R. Ford becomes president following Nixon's resignation.
*1975: Carla A. Hills is appointed HUD Secretary, March 10.
*1977: Patricia R. Harris is appointed HUD Secretary by President James E. Carter, January 23. Urban Development Action Grants (UDAG) give distressed communities funds for residential or nonresidential use.
*1979: Moon Landrieu becomes HUD Secretary, September 24. Inflation hits 19 percent, seriously impacting homebuying and home mortgage loans.
*1980: Depository Institutions' Deregulation and Monetary Control Act of 1980 changes rules governing thrift institutions, expands alternative mortgages.
*1981: Samuel R. Pierce Jr. is appointed HUD Secretary by President Ronald W. Reagan, January 23. Interest rates for FHA-insured mortgages peak at 15.17 percent (up from 7 percent in 1972).
*1983: Housing and Urban-Rural Recovery Act of 1983 begins Housing Development Action Grant and Rental Rehabilitation programs.
*1987: Stewart B. McKinney Act sets up programs to help communities deal with homelessness.
*1988: Indian Housing Act gives HUD new responsibilities for housing needs of Native Americans and Alaskan Indians. Housing and Community Development Act allows sale of public housing to resident management corporations. Fair Housing Amendments Act makes it easier for victims of discrimination to sue, stiffens penalties for offenders.
*1989: Jack F. Kemp is appointed HUD Secretary by President George H. W. Bush, February 13. Financial Institutions' Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act bails out failing thrift institutions.
*1990: Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act emphasizes home ownership and tenant-based assistance, launches HOME housing block grant. Low-Income Housing Preservation and Residential Home ownership Act of 1990 fortifies Federal commitment to preservation of -assisted low-income, multifamily housing.
*1992: Federal Housing Enterprises' Financial Safety and Soundness Act of 1992 creates HUD Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight to provide public oversight of FNMA and Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac).
*1993: Henry G. Cisneros is named Secretary of HUD by President William J. Clinton, January 22. Empowerment Zone and Enterprise Community program becomes law as part of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993.
*1995: "Blueprint for Reinvention of HUD" proposes sweeping changes in public housing reform and FHA, consolidation of other programs into three block grants.
*1996: Home ownership totals 66.3 million American households, the largest number ever.
*1997: Andrew M. Cuomo is named by President Clinton to be Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, the first appointment ever from within the Department.
*1998: HUD opens Enforcement Center to take action against HUD-assisted multifamily property owners and other HUD fund recipients who violate laws and regulations. Congress approves Public Housing reforms to reduce segregation by race and income, encourage and reward work, bring more working families into public housing, and increase the availability of subsidized housing for very poor families.
*2000: America's home ownership rate reaches a new record-high of 67.7 percent in the third quarter of 2000. A total of 71.6 million American families own their homes - more than at any time in American history.
*2001: Mel Martinez, named by President George W. Bush to be Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, is unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate on January 23, 2001.
*2004': Alphonso Jackson, named by President George W. Bush to be Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, is unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate on March 31, 2004. Mr. Jackson is the first Deputy Secretary to subsequently be named Secretary.
*2008: Steve Preston was sworn in as the 14th HUD Secretary on June 5, 2008. He was nominated by President George W. Bush and unanimously confirmed by the Senate.
*2009: Shaun Donovan was sworn in as the 15th Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development on January 26, 2009. President Obama named Donovan to lead the Department and the U.S. Senate confirmed his nomination to confront the challenges facing today’s housing market.
== Products and Services ==
== Key People ==
*Secretary, Shaun Donovan
*Deputy Secretary, Ron Sims
== References ==
Category:U.S. Government Departments