Housing and Urban Development (Hud)

Running head: The Department of Housing 1 The Department of Housing and Urban Development Bethany L Schultz Central Michigan University The History and Mission of the Department of Housing and Urban Development The Housing Act of 1937, also known as the Wagner-Seagull Act. The Act provides subsidies paid from the U. S.

government to local public housing agencies. The purpose is to improve living conditions for low income families (The Housing Act of 1937, 2011). According to writes D. Bradford Hunt, historians miss-understood the intent of the Housing Act of 1937.

The Act was known to be the housing program comprised by amendments originating from real estate and conservative interests. Rather the 1937 Housing Act should be considered as a Progressive bill that maintained quite well in the legislative process (Hunt, 2005). The Housing Act of 1937 was developed out of the National Housing Act of 1934, which created the Federal Housing Administration. The primary lead in the developments was Catherine Bauer; she drafted most of the legislation, also served as Director in the U. S.Housing Authority.

The purpose of the Housing Authority was to aid the control of payment subsidies (Wurster, 1934). Catherine Bauer, a well-known member of group of idealists, known as “housers”. Their commitment was to improve housing for the low income families. She significantly influenced the concept of social housing in the US and inspired others to pursue the need of public housing (Wurster, 1934). Legislators, Henry B.

Steagall, Democrat of Alabama and Senator Robert F. Wagener, Democrat from New York introduced the legislation.The year of 1965 the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) was established in an effort to re-organize the Public Housing Administration (US Housing Authority) and the House and Home Financing Agency. The Department of HUD is found in Public Law 89-174. HUD is a cabinet level department in the Executive branch of the US federal government, founded under President Lyndon Johnson. The purpose was to develop and execute policies on housing and metropolises (US Government, 2011).

The mission of HUD is to create a strong, sustainability, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes for all.HUD implements their mission by working to strengthen the housing market to bolster the economy and protect consumers. Meet the need for affordable rental homes. Utilize housing as a way to improve quality of life, build inclusive and sustainable communities free from discrimination. History Highlights and Key Statues 1934National Housing ActPL 73-479 1937US Housing ActPL75-412 1965HUD as cabinet level agencyPL-89-117 1966First HUD secretary, Robert Weaver 1968Civil Rights Act of 1968/gave HUD enforcement responsibilityPL90-284 1974HCD Act consolidated into CDBG, Section 8 more optionsPL93-383 1979Inflation hits-19% 987Stewart B.

McKinney Act-help for the homelessPL 100-77,100-688 1988Housing Vouchers Permanent ProgramPL 100-242 1998HUD opens Enforcement Center to take action against 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 familiesPL 105-276 (Title V) 2000 America's homeownership new record-high of 67. 7, 71. million American families own their homes - more than at any time in American history 2009Shaun Donovan was sworn in as the 15th Secretary of the U. S.

Department of Housing and Urban Development HUD’s rulemaking and adjudication are controlled by the enabling statue or the federal or state administrative procedures act. Laws are enacted by Congress, regulations created by HUD to achieve the result of the prescribed laws and Policy Memoranda addresses specific instances and questions. Notices are available for guidance.HUD is the principal Federal agency responsible for programs concern with the Nation’s Housing needs, fair housing opportunities and improving and developments of the Nations Communities (US Government, 2011). Public housing is provided by the federal or state government and offers housing assistance to qualified low-income families.

Public housing is funded and regulated by the federal government. State governments have housing authorities that administer and regulate public housing. The housing authorities often have long waiting lists (US Government, 2011). Examples of one or more programs administered by HUDHUD offers many programs.

The primary service areas are as follows: 1. Community Planning and Development Act 2. Federal Housing Administration (FHA) 3. Risk Management and Regulatory Affairs 4.

Multifamily Housing Programs 5. Public and Indian Housing 6. Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity 7. Policy Development Research Initiatives 8. Government National Mortgage Associations and Office of Sustainable Communities Within each service area there is a host of many options available. Specifically, under the Public and Indian Housing is the Housing Choice Voucher Program, commonly referred to as Section 8 Housing.

Section 8 is the federal government's major program for access to very low-income families, the elderly, and the disabled to afford suitable, safe, and sanitary housing in the private market. Housing choice vouchers are administered by the local public housing agencies (PHAs). The PHAs receive federal funds from the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to administer the voucher program (US Government, 2011).

Public housing is funded and regulated by the federal government. Each state has public housing programs that are funded by the federal government.Some states may also provide a separately-run state public housing programs. The application process, eligibility and housing may differ between these programs. Housing authorities often have long waiting lists of qualified applicants for public housing provisions (US Government, 2011).

Example of current issues before HUD Two current regulations the Floodplain Management and Protection of Wetlands and Implementation of the Fair Housing Act's Discriminatory Effects Standard proposed rules are on the Federal Register for consideration. The Floodplain management proposed rule would update and modify HUD's egulations governing the protection of wetlands and floodplains. In regards to wetlands, the proposed rule would categorize existing procedures for Executive Order 11990 (E. O.

11990), Protection of Wetlands (Federal Register, 2011). HUD's current policy is to require the use of E. O. 11990's 8 Step Process for floodplains for actions performed by the Department or actions performed with HUD financial assistance. This rule will reduce the steps, thus streamlining the wetlands decision-making processes.

Additionally, with respect to floodplains, the proposed rule would prohibit HUD funding (e. g. Community Development Block Grants, HOME Investment Partnerships Program, Choice Neighborhoods, etc. ) or Federal Housing Administration (FHA) mortgage insurance for the construction of new structures in Coastal High Hazard Areas (Federal Register, 2011).

This change is anticipated to have minimal effect, since HUD receives few requests to fund or insure mortgages for new construction in these areas. The proposed rule also suggests several other changes to HUD's floodplain and wetland regulations; the intent is to streamline floodplain and wetland environmental procedures and avoid unwarranted delays in processing.The proposal of this rule would apply to HUD and to state, tribal, and local governments when they are responsible for environmental reviews under HUD programs (Federal Register, 2011). Comments are welcomed until February 10, 2012.

The Civil Rights Act of 1968 (Title VIII), as amended (Fair Housing Act or Act), prohibits discrimination in the sale, rental, or financing of dwellings and in other housing-related activities on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status, or national origin (Federal Register, 2011).Congress gave the authority and responsibility for administering the Fair Housing Act and the power to make rules implementing the Act to HUD (Federal Register, 2011). HUD has long interpreted the Act to prohibit housing practices with a discriminatory effect, even where there has been no intent to discriminate (Federal Register, 2011). There has been some variation in the application of the discriminatory effects standard; neither HUD nor any Federal court has ever determined that liability under the Act requires a finding of discriminatory intent (Federal Register, 2011).Thus the purpose of this proposed rule is to establish uniform standards to determine when discriminatory housing practice violates the Fair Housing Act (Federal Register, 2011).

Comments will be accepted until January 17, 2012. The Housing and Urban Development (HUD) can be located on the web at http://portal. hud. gov/hudportal/HUD.

Bibliography Federal Register. (2011, Decemeber 12). Retrieved December 12, 2011, from Housing and Urban Development Department, Agency: http://www. federalregister. ov/agencies/housing-and-urban-development-department The Housing Act of 1937.

(2011, December 1). Retrieved December 1, 2011, from Wikipedia Foundation, Inc: http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Housing_Act_of_1937 US Government. (2011, December 5).

Retrieved December 5, 2011, from U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development: http://portal. hud. gov/hudportal/HUD Hunt, D. B.

(2005). Was the 1937 U. S. Housing Act a Pyrrhic Victory? Journal of Planning History, 195-221.

Wurster, C. B. (1934). Modern Housing.

New York: Houghton Mifflin Company.