FY 99 Budget
III. Homeownership and Housing
Continuing Growth
Affordable Housing
Housing needs in America remain substantial. More
than five million very low income families pay more than half
their limited incomes for rent. Staggering numbers of families
and individuals have no homes at all: the best estimates suggest
there are 600,000 homeless on any given night. While the nation
has achieved record homeownership rates, homeownership for minorities,
for female-headed households, and for residents of central cities
remains 20 to 30 points below the national rate.
Since 1995 Congress has provided no new incremental
rental assistance. In 1996, the New York Times had a memorable
cover on their magazine. They called it "The Year Housing
Died."
The President's FY 1999 budget reverses this course.
The President's 1999 budget gets HUD back into the housing business
- not by creating new programs, but by reinventing existing ones.
To expand homeownership opportunities, HUD proposes
higher FHA loan limits, new Homeowership Zones, new Empowerment
Homeownership Vouchers and increased funding for housing counseling.
To expand affordable rental housing opportunities,
HUD proposes 100,000 new vouchers to help welfare recipients,
homeless individuals and families and other targeted groups find
affordable housing. A new HOME Bank will combine increased funding
for the HOME program with a new loan guarantee feature to help
communities finance large-scale multifamily and homeownership
developments. HUD is also maintaining our investment in HOPE
VI and other public housing programs and renewing all expiring
Section 8 contracts. HUD continues to implement the successful
Continuum of Care strategy and the 1999 budget includes a record
level of funding to help end the tragedy of homelessness. In
addition, the Clinton Administration proposes to expand the Low
Income Housing Tax Credit to build 180,000 new affordable units
over five years and to finance a $30 million pilot homeownership
program through the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation.
Content Archived: January 20, 2009
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