2010 Build Louder Legislative Talking Points

Transcription

1 2010 Build Luder Legislative Talking Pints Neighbrhd Revitalizatin Initiative: Investing in Resilient Cmmunities Habitat fr Humanity affiliates are serving mre families than ever befre with the supprt f Habitat s Neighbrhd Revitalizatin Initiative (NRI). Thrugh innvative repair, rehabilitatin, and energy efficiency prgrams, paired with Habitat s traditinal cnstructin mdel, the NRI is helping t rebuild and imprve cmmunities hard hit by the ecnmic recessin. Several federal prgrams prvide critical resurces supprting the NRI. Fiscal Year 2011 Natinal Service Apprpriatins: $1.42 billin Histry Natinal service prgrams help t build the fabric f cmmunities while strengthening the cmmunity-based nnprfit infrastructure. HFHI was ne f the first nnprfits cntacted when AmeriCrps was being frmed in Over the last 16 years, Habitat s natinal service prgram has grwn frm 122 members t well ver 500 members per year. AmeriCrps AmeriCrps members prvide direct services t cmmunities, serving in cnstructin, family services, yuth prgrams, cmmunity and faith relatins, resurce develpment and vlunteer services. VISTA VISTAs fcus n building the capacity f Habitat affiliates and ther nnprfits t eliminate pverty thrugh cmmunity awareness and engagement. Impact In the prgram year, apprximately 600 Habitat AmeriCrps members will recruit, train and manage ver 200,000 cmmunity vlunteers prviding an estimated 1,600,000 vlunteer hurs. The members, themselves, will cntribute nearly 1 millin hurs f service. Habitat is well psitined t benefit frm full funding f the Serve America Act, which will prvide new pprtunities fr HFH t expand its natinal service prgrams in supprt f the NRI. Budget cntext FY 2011 Administratin budget request: $1.42 billin FY 2010 apprpriatin: $1.15 billin

2 FY 2009 apprpriatin: $890 millin Status/Next steps Bth the Huse and Senate drafts f FY 2011 Labr-HHS apprpriatins legislatin include significant increases (11% in the huse, 15% in the Senate) in funding fr CNCS. Final actin n the bill is nt expected until after the electin. HFHI will cntinue advcating in supprt f increased CNCS apprpriatins thrugh Direct lbbying Online grassrts engagement Affiliate advcacy liaisn engagement Lcal advcates can assist by Individually cntacting their US representative and senatrs and requesting adptin f the Senate s CNCS apprpriatins level fr FY 2011 ($1.365 billin) Signing up as an HFHI nline advcate Self-Help Hmewnership Opprtunity Prgram (SHOP): $30 millin Histry HUD s SHOP prgram, authrized by Cngress in 1996, supprts nnprfit rganizatins emplying self-help/sweat equity mdels fr lw-incme hmewnership. HFHI grants SHOP funding t affiliates fr purchasing land and imprving infrastructure, allwing them t serve mre partner families. Budget cntext FY 2011 Administratin budget request: $0; President Obama has prpsed eliminating the SHOP prgram. Althugh the President ntes that self-help prjects can be funded at the state level thrugh the SHOP prgram, he als requests a $175 millin cut t HOME. State-level grants als create cmplicatins and inefficiencies as cmpared t natinal grants fr which HFHI can apply and mnitr n behalf f affiliates. FY 2010 apprpriatin: $27 millin Recent HFHI allcatins FY 2008: $13.2 millin FY 2007: $8.4 millin FY 2006: $8.6 millin Impact HFHI has been awarded mre than $148 millin in SHOP funding since the prgram s inceptin in Thrugh 2008, Habitat affiliates in all 50 states and the District f Clumbia have used SHOP funds t cmplete ver 12,000 hmes.

3 Nearly 50,000 peple, including nearly 30,000 children have benefited frm HFHI s SHOP prgram. Status/Next steps Bth the Huse and Senate drafts f FY 2011 HUD apprpriatins legislatin (HR 5850 and S 3644) maintain the current structure f and funding fr SHOP. Final actin n the legislatin is nt expected until after the electin. HFHI will cntinue advcating in supprt f SHOP thrugh Direct lbbying Online grassrts engagement Affiliate advcacy liaisn engagement Lcal advcates can assist by Individually cntacting their US representative and senatrs and requesting supprt fr SHOP Signing up as an HFHI nline advcate Sectin 4 Capacity Building: $60 millin Histry HUD s Sectin 4 prgram, authrized by Cngress in 1993, prvides capacity building grants and lans t nnprfit develpment rganizatins and cmmunity develpment crpratins (CDCs). HFHI uses its Sectin 4 funding t prvide training, technical assistance, and rganizatinal develpment grants t affiliates t assist in building the staffing, skills, and systems required t maximize impact n lcal cmmunities. Sectin 4 has als prvided seed funding fr natinal initiatives, such as the Cars fr Hmes prgram. Budget cntext FY 2011 Administratin budget request: $60 billin, but President Obama has prpsed pening the prgram t use by all natinal cmmunity develpment intermediaries and state and lcal gvernments; currently nly 3 nnprfits Habitat, LISC, and Enterprise Cmmunity Partners receive Sectin 4 grants. Habitat is requesting a $60 millin apprpriatin with n majr changes t the prgram. FY 2010 apprpriatin: $50 millin Recent HFHI allcatins FY 2009: $4.3 millin FY 2008: $6.4 millin FY 2007: $0 FY 2006: $3.5 millin Impact

4 Affiliates receiving rganizatinal develpment grants have increased their husing prductin by apprximately 40 percent. Since the inceptin f HFHI s Capacity Building prgram, affiliates have cmpleted apprximately 5,000 hmes with Sectin 4 supprt. Match/leveraging: Sectin 4 requires beneficiaries t match every $1 f grant funding with $3 f additinal investment. In many years, HFH has far surpassed this requirement, leveraging mre than $15 in private funding fr every $1 f federal investment. Status/Next steps Bth the Huse and Senate drafts f FY 2011 HUD apprpriatins legislatin (HR 5850 and S 3644) maintain the current structure f and funding fr Sectin 4. Final actin n the legislatin is nt expected until after the electin. HFHI will cntinue advcating in supprt f Sectin 4 thrugh Direct lbbying Online grassrts engagement Affiliate advcacy liaisn engagement Lcal advcates can assist by Individually cntacting their US representative and senatrs and requesting supprt fr Sectin 4 Signing up as an HFHI nline advcate Mrtgage Regulatin: Clarifying the SAFE Act Summary Beginning August 1, 2009, all states must have a system f licensure and registratin in place fr any individual wh takes a residential mrtgage lan applicatin r ffers r negtiates terms f a residential mrtgage lan applicatin. This system, knwn as the SAFE Act, requires all Habitat affiliates t meet certain initial standards, and t cntinue t meet certain nging requirements in rder t riginate and service mrtgage lans. Initial licensing requirements include passing a backgrund check, taking apprved educatin curses, and maintaining their individual recrd in a natinal database amng ther requirements. Exemptins Because the SAFE Act was intended t apply nly t cmmercial lenders, sme states have exempted Habitat affiliates, either thrugh an exemptin within state law r thrugh a regulatry determinatin by state banking fficials. HUD has, hwever, indicated that it WILL NOT recgnize these exemptins r interpretatins. This is why a legislative slutin is required. The Nnprfit Mrtgage Clarificatin Act (HR 4400, S 3106) Cngressman Heath Shuler (D-NC) and Sen. Kay Hagan have intrduced legislatin (HR 4400) that wuld clarify the SAFE Act, ensuring that states have the authrity t exempt nnprfits

5 prviding belw-market rate mrtgages t lw-incme hmebuyers. Members f the Huse f Representatives can help t mve the bill frward by signing n as cspnsrs. Status/next steps Chairman Barney Frank and Ranking Member Spencer Bachus f the Huse Financial Services Cmmittee, which has jurisdictin ver mrtgage regulatin, sent a letter t HUD urging that the final SAFE Act regulatins allw states the necessary flexibility t exempt nnprfit lan riginatrs prviding lw risk lans frm the SAFE Act. Further HFHI advcacy arund the SAFE Act is suspended until HUD releases the final SAFE Act rule. Lcal advcates may assist by cntacting their US representative and senatrs and requesting that they cspnsr the Nnprfit Mrtgage Clarificatin Act (HR 4400 and S 3106). Internatinal Request: The need fr Shelter/Husing in Haiti Backgrund n HFH and HFH Haiti Habitat fr Humanity has wrked in Haiti fr 26 years. Habitat fr Humanity s Disaster Respnse has been in existence fr mre than 10 years helping mre than 60,000 lw-incme cmmunities rebuild frm disasters arund the wrld (Hurricane Mitch, Asian Tsunami, and Katrina are the mst well knwn examples) Habitat fr Humanity s gal in Haiti is t serve 50,000 lw-incme Haitian families r abut a quarter f a millin peple ver the next five years, fcusing n transitinal shelter and permanent rebuilding. T reach this gal will require funds appraching $150 millin. A key strategy in ur implementatin will be thrugh Habitat Resurce Centers. Cntextualized t lcal needs, Habitat Resurce Centers may fcus n such services as prducing cnstructin materials (e.g., cncrete blcks), ffering skills training and laning ut tls r heavy equipment all in ways that develp and supprt lcal livelihds. The Earthquake s impact n Husing One f the greatest impacts f the earthquake fr mst Haitians has been the lss f adequate shelter. Habitat fr Humanity estimates that 200,000 huses were severely damaged r destryed and that nearly 1.2 millin peple face displacement r hmelessness due t the Haitian earthquake. Shelter is critical t health, stable emplyment, educatin, etc. Withut adequate shelter, ther humanitarian investments will suffer diminishing returns, and lng-term recvery will be cmplicated and delayed. Shelter requires particular attentin frm the Cngress, since USAID des nt currently have a strng shelter plicy r prgram in place With hurricane seasn nly 4-5 mnths away, cnstructing even the mst rudimentary f strm-safe structures fr a significant prtin f the ppulatin f Prt-au-Prince is urgently needed. Tent cities will nt suffice, even in a relatively mild trpical strm.

6 Status/next steps HFHI is currently advcating fr the passage f legislatin prviding relief funding fr Haiti. Jnathan Reckfrd is testifying befre the Huse Freign Affairs Cmmittee re: Haiti n July 29. Lcal advcates can assist by Individually cntacting their US representative and senatrs and requesting supprt fr Haiti relief funding Signing up as an HFHI nline advcate