The Trump Administration has
announced its proposed 2018 budget for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), which includes up to $400 billion in new loan guarantee authority and making changes to strengthen Federal Housing Adminsitration’s (FHA) Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) and $500 billion in new guarantee authority for Ginnie Mae.
The budget also seeks $65.3 million to support HUD’s fair housing mission, which the department noted was the same funding level provided in the last three years, and it provides $2.25 billion to help local communities meet the housing needs of homeless individuals and families. However, the administration has proposed eliminating Community Development Block Grant Program, claiming that it “has not demonstrated a measurable impact on communities.”
Also facing the chopping block are HUD’s Choice Neighborhoods Initiative, HOME Investment Partnerships Program, and the Self-Help Homeownership Opportunity Program—the administration argued that state and local governments are “better-positioned to serve their communities’ needs.”
The budget sets aside $1.32 billion for HUD’s internal operations, which includes $250 million for the department’s Information Technology Fund, including $10 million for cybersecurity and modernization investments to help local public housing authorities and managing risks in the FHA mortgage insurance programs. Another $30 million is targeted at an administrative fee to support the modernization of FHA’s aging systems—including those based on the now-outdated COBOL programming language.
“This Budget reflects this administration’s commitment to fiscal responsibility while continuing HUD’s core support of our most vulnerable households,” said HUD Secretary Ben Carson. “We will work very closely with Congress to support the critical work of our agency as we vigorously pursue new approaches to help work-eligible households achieve self-sufficiency.”
