Bills
| 3.23.22

Reauthorizing Affordable Housing Funding For Native American Familes (H.R. 360)

Do you support or oppose this bill?

What is H.R. 360?

(Updated November 7, 2017)

In 1996, several independent services that offered housing assistance to Native Americans were replaced with a block grant program called the Native American Housing Assistance and Self Determination Act. This program was designed to guarantee loans for affordable housing and was last amended in 2000. 


This bill would re-authorize this program, and an additional $12.2 million annually to guarantee loans to Native American families for building houses on their land. A section of this bill would also authorize a program to create home rental programs for Native American veterans who are homeless or at risk for homelessness.

Argument in favor

This program is the main source of housing stability for many low-income Native Americans, and has put housing decisions back in the hands of tribal governments.

Argument opposed

While the re-authorization is important, this bill is projected to cost tribes $81 million in housing project funding this year alone by cutting carry-over funds.

Impact

Native Americans in the U.S., especially those who could benefit from housing assistance, the Indian Health Service of the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.

Cost of H.R. 360

This bill authorizes $650,000,000 for every year from 2015 through 2019. A CBO cost estimate conducted in 2014 for a previous version of this bill found that it would cost about $2 billion between 2015 and 2019.

Additional Info

In Depth: 

This reauthorization has strong support from organizations like the National American Indian Council (NAIC) who note: 
"NAHASDA is the most significant source of federal housing assistance for low-income American Indian families and has succeeded in providing quality, affordable housing throughout Indian Country. Passage of NAHASDA in 1996 signaled a shift away from federal control of housing decisions and recognized that tribal governments are best able to design, develop and manage housing in their own communities." 

However, this version of the reauthorization has caused alarm in the Native American community. As Indian Country Today Media Network describes in an article about the proposed bill: 

"Pearce’s bill for the most part is very good and the Navajo Nation supports it, said Carolyn Drouin, attorney for the Navajo Nation Office of the President and Vice President. But she says there is one section that is “troublesome for the Nation:” Section 302, which seeks to rein in funds carried over year to year when they’re not spent. The current version of H.R. 360 specifies that carry-over funds for each tribe will be limited to three times that tribe’s yearly funding allocation. Under the provision, the Navajo Housing Authority would lose $81 million in housing funds this year alone, which would then be redistributed to other tribes, said the Navajo Housing Authority’s CEO, Aneva Yazzie."


Media: 


Indian Country Today Media Network

CBO Cost Estimate (Previous Bill Version)



(Photo Credit: Flickr user gregorywass)