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54 | TH E M R EP O RT O R I G I NAT I O N S E R V I C I N G DATA G O V E R N M E N T S E C O N DA R Y M A R K E T THE LATEST GOVERNMENT Nine Housing Takeaways From Biden Budget Proposal The American Rescue Plan was a first step to nationwide economic repair, as President Biden's budget plans include approximately $70 billion earmarked for expanding housing opportunities. P resident Joe Biden has issued his request for fis- cal year 2022 discretion- ary funding in advance of his full budget proposal to Congress due later in the spring. Biden's American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 was a step toward the nation's recovery, as it provided urgently needed resources to help build a bridge toward economic repair. For the housing market and its impact on the overall economy, President Biden outlined a number of housing-related issues discretionary funding request to address expanding housing opportunities and reducing the racial wealth gap. The President's discretionary request includes $68.7 billion for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), a $9 billion or a 15% in- crease from the 2021 enacted level. • Expanding housing choice vouchers to 200,000 additional families: The Housing Choice Voucher program currently provides 2.3 million low-income families with rental assistance to obtain housing in the private market. The discretionary re- quest proposes $30.4 billion, an increase of $5.4 billion over the 2021 enacted level. • Investments to end homeless- ness: The 2022 discretionary request provides $3.5 billion, an increase of $500 million over the 2021 enacted level, for Homeless Assistance Grants to support more than 100,000 additional households, including survivors of domestic violence and homeless youth. • Modernizing and improving energy efficiency, resilience, and safety in HUD-assisted hous- ing: HUD-supported rental properties collectively provide 2.3 million affordable homes to low-income families. The dis- cretionary request not only fully funds the operating costs across this portfolio, but also provides $800 million in new invest- ments across HUD programs for modernization and rehabilita- tion aimed at energy efficiency and climate change. The request includes $3.2 billion for public housing modernization grants, an increase of $435 million above the 2021 enacted level. • Increasing the supply of afford- able housing: To address the shortage of affordable hous- ing, the discretionary request provides a $500 million increase to the HOME Investment Partnerships Program, for a total of $1.9 billion to construct and rehabilitate affordable rental housing and to support other housing-related needs. • Investments in affordable housing in tribal communities: The discretionary request helps address poor housing condi- tions in tribal areas by provid- ing $900 million to fund tribal efforts to expand affordable housing, improve housing con- ditions, and infrastructure, and increase economic opportunities for low-income families. • Spurring infrastructure mod- ernization and rehabilitation in marginalized communities: The discretionary request provides $3.8 billion for the Community Development Block Grant program, which includes a tar- geted increase of $295 million to incentivize communities to direct funds toward the modernization and rehabilitation of public infra- structure and facilities communi- ties facing persistent poverty. • Reducing lead and other home hazards: The discretionary re- quest provides $400 million, an increase of $40 million, for state and local governments, and nonprofits to reduce lead-based paint and other health hazards in the homes of low-income families with young children. • Supporting access to home- ownership and pandemic relief: The discretionary request will support access to homeowner- ship for underserved borrowers through the Federal Housing Administration's (FHA) mort- gage insurance programs. FHA financing accounted for 83% of first-time homebuyers and 37% of minority homebuyers of FHA home purchase loans in 2020. • Promoting efforts to prevent housing discrimination: The discretionary request provides $85 million in grants to support State and local fair housing enforcement organizations and to further education, outreach, and training on rights and re- sponsibilities under federal fair housing laws. "Addressing our nation's urgent housing challenges and building a more affordable, equitable, and resilient housing system demands strong federal leadership backed by robust federal funding," HUD Secretary Marcia L. Fudge said. "President Biden's FY22 discretion- ary funding request turns the page on years of inadequate and harmful spending requests and instead empowers HUD to meet the housing needs of families and communities across the country. I am particularly pleased that the request proposes more than $30 billion to expand housing vouch- ers to an additional 200,000 low- income families. I look forward to working with the President to advance HUD's critical priorities."