Declaration of policy and public housing agency organization

to assist States and political subdivisions of States to remedy the unsafe housing conditions and the acute shortage of decent and safe dwellings for low-income families; to assist States and political subdivisions of States to address the shortage of housing affordable to low-income families; and consistent with the objectives of this subchapter, to vest in public housing agencies that perform well, the maximum amount of responsibility and flexibility in program administration, with appropriate accountability to public housing residents, localities, and the general public; that the Federal Government cannot through its direct action alone provide for the housing of every American citizen, or even a majority of its citizens, but it is the responsibility of the Government to promote and protect the independent and collective actions of private citizens to develop housing and strengthen their own neighborhoods; that the Federal Government should act where there is a serious need that private citizens or groups cannot or are not addressing responsibly; and that our Nation should promote the goal of providing decent and affordable housing for all citizens through the efforts and encouragement of Federal, State, and local governments, and by the independent and collective actions of private citizens, organizations, and the private sector. who is directly assisted by the public housing agency; and who may, if provided for in the public housing agency plan, be elected by the residents directly assisted by the public housing agency. that is located in a State that requires the members of the board of directors or similar governing body of a public housing agency to be salaried and to serve on a full-time basis; or the agency has provided reasonable notice to the resident advisory board of the opportunity of not less than 1 resident described in paragraph (1) to serve on the board of directors or similar governing body of the public housing agency pursuant to such paragraph; and within a reasonable time after receipt by the resident advisory board established by the agency pursuant to section 1437c–1(e) of this title of notice under clause (i), the public housing agency has not been notified of the intention of any resident to participate on the board of directors. A covered agency (as such term is defined in subparagraph (C) of this paragraph) shall not be required to include on the board of directors or a similar governing board of such agency a member described in paragraph (1). Each covered agency that administers Federal housing assistance under section 1437f of this title that chooses not to include a member described in paragraph (1) on the board of directors or a similar governing board of the agency shall establish an advisory board of not less than 6 residents of public housing or recipients of assistance under section 1437f of this title to provide advice and comment to the agency or other administering entity on issues related to public housing and section 1437f of this title. Such advisory board shall meet not less than quarterly. 11 So in original. Probably should be “(i)”. the Housing Authority of the county of Los Angeles, California; or any of the States of Alaska, Iowa, and Mississippi. No person shall be prohibited from serving on the board of directors or similar governing body of a public housing agency because of the residence of that person in a public housing project or status as assisted under section 1437f of this title. as otherwise specifically provided in this title; or as otherwise specifically provided in any amendment made by this title. Notwithstanding any amendment under this title that is made (in accordance with subsection (a)) on the date of the enactment of this Act [Oct. 21, 1998] but applies beginning on October 1, 1999, the provisions of law amended by such amendment, as such provisions were in effect immediately before the making of such amendment, shall continue to apply during the period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act and ending upon October 1, 1999, unless otherwise specifically provided by this title. Not later than 9 months after the date of the enactment of this Act [Oct. 21, 1998], the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Banking and Financial Services [now Committee on Financial Services] of the House of Representatives, recommended technical and conforming legislative changes necessary to carry out this title and the amendments made by this title. Not later than October 1, 1999, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development shall cause to be published in the Federal Register a list of all rules, regulations, and orders (including all handbooks, notices, and related requirements) pertaining to public housing or section 8 [42 U.S.C. 1437f] tenant-based programs issued or promulgated under the United States Housing Act of 1937 [42 U.S.C. 1437 et seq.] before the date of the enactment of this Act [Oct. 21, 1998] that are or will be obsolete because of the enactment of this Act or are otherwise obsolete. No provision of this title may be construed to repeal the regulations of the Secretary regarding tenant participation and tenant opportunities in public housing (24 C.F.R. 964). This section shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act [Oct. 21, 1998].” In accordance with section 201(b)(2) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 ([former] 42 U.S.C. 1437aa(b)(2)), the provisions of sections 572, 573, and 574 of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act [Pub. L. 101–625, amending this section and sections 1437a, 1437b to 1437d, 1437f, 1437g, 1437i, 1437j, 1437l, 1437n, 1437p, 1437r, 1437s, and 1437aa to 1437dd of this title, repealing section 1437o of this title, and enacting provisions set out as notes under section 1437a of this title] shall apply to public housing developed or operated pursuant to a contract between the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and an Indian Housing Authority. Paragraph (1) shall take effect as if such provision were enacted upon the date of the enactment of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act [Nov. 28, 1990].” there exists throughout the Nation a need for decent, safe, and affordable housing; the inventory of public housing units owned, assisted, or operated by public housing agencies, an asset in which the Federal Government has invested over $90,000,000,000, has traditionally provided rental housing that is affordable to low-income persons; despite serving this critical function, the public housing system is plagued by a series of problems, including the concentration of very poor people in very poor neighborhoods and disincentives for economic self-sufficiency; the Federal method of overseeing every aspect of public housing by detailed and complex statutes and regulations has aggravated the problem and has placed excessive administrative burdens on public housing agencies; and consolidates many public housing programs into programs for the operation and capital needs of public housing; streamlines program requirements; vests in public housing agencies that perform well the maximum feasible authority, discretion, and control with appropriate accountability to public housing residents, localities, and the general public; and rewards employment and economic self-sufficiency of public housing residents. deregulating and decontrolling public housing agencies, thereby enabling them to perform as property and asset managers; providing for more flexible use of Federal assistance to public housing agencies, allowing the authorities to leverage and combine assistance amounts with amounts obtained from other sources; facilitating mixed income communities and decreasing concentrations of poverty in public housing; increasing accountability and rewarding effective management of public housing agencies; creating incentives and economic opportunities for residents of dwelling units assisted by public housing agencies to work, become self-sufficient, and transition out of public housing and federally assisted dwelling units; consolidating the voucher and certificate programs for rental assistance under section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 [42 U.S.C. 1437f] into a single market-driven program that will assist in making tenant-based rental assistance under such section more successful at helping low-income families obtain affordable housing and will increase housing choice for low-income families; and remedying the problems of troubled public housing agencies and replacing or revitalizing severely distressed public housing projects.” develop an action plan and list of recommendations for the improvement of means of providing severe mental illness treatment to families and individuals receiving housing assistance under the United States Housing Act of 1937 [42 U.S.C. 1437 et seq.], including public housing residents, residents of multifamily housing assisted with project-based assistance under section 8 of such Act [42 U.S.C. 1437f], and recipients of tenant-based assistance under such section; and develop and disseminate a list of current practices among public housing agencies and owners of assisted housing that serve to benefit persons in need of mental health care.” the demographics of public housing residents and families receiving tenant-based assistance under the United States Housing Act of 1937 [42 U.S.C. 1437 et seq.]; and the economic viability of public housing agencies; and the effectiveness of the rent policies established by this Act and the amendments made by this Act on the employment status and earned income of public housing residents. This section shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act [Oct. 21, 1998].” It is the sense of the Congress that, to the greatest extent practicable, all equipment and products purchased with funds made available in this Act [Pub. L. 105–276, see Tables for classification] should be American made. In providing financial assistance to, or entering into any contract with, any entity using funds made available in this Act, the head of each Federal agency, to the greatest extent practicable, shall provide to such entity a notice describing the statement made in subsection (a) by the Congress. This section shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act [Oct. 21, 1998].” The Comptroller General of the United States shall conduct a study that provides an objective and independent accounting and analysis of the full cost to the Federal Government, public housing agencies, State and local governments, and other entities, per assisted household, of the Federal assisted housing programs, taking into account the qualitative differences among Federal assisted housing programs in accordance with applicable standards of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. analyze the full cost to the Federal Government, public housing agencies, State and local governments, and other parties, per assisted household, of the Federal assisted housing programs, in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and shall conduct the analysis on a nationwide and regional basis and in a manner such that accurate per unit cost comparisons may be made between Federal assisted housing programs, including grants, direct subsidies, tax concessions, Federal mortgage insurance liability, periodic renovation and rehabilitation, and modernization costs, demolition costs, and other ancillary costs such as security; and measure and evaluate qualitative differences among Federal assisted housing programs in accordance with applicable standards of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. In conducting the study under this section and reporting under subsection (e), the Comptroller General may not make any recommendations regarding Federal housing policy. the public housing program under the United States Housing Act of 1937 [42 U.S.C. 1437 et seq.], except that the study under this section shall differentiate between and compare the development and construction of new public housing and the assistance of existing public housing structures; the certificate program for rental assistance under section 8(b)(1) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 [42 U.S.C. 1437f(b)(1)]; the voucher program for rental assistance under section 8(o) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 [42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)]; the programs for project-based assistance under section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 [42 U.S.C. 1437f]; the rental assistance payments program under section 521(a)(2)(A) of the Housing Act of 1949 [42 U.S.C. 1490a(a)(2)(A)]; the program for housing for the elderly under section 202 of the Housing Act of 1959 [12 U.S.C. 1701q]; the program for housing for persons with disabilities under section 811 of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act [42 U.S.C. 8013]; the program for financing housing by a loan or mortgage insured under section 221(d)(3) of the National Housing Act [12 U.S.C. 1715l(d)(3)] that bears interest at a rate determined under the proviso of section 221(d)(5) of such Act [12 U.S.C. 1715l(d)(5)]; the program under section 236 of the National Housing Act [12 U.S.C. 1715z–1]; the program for construction or substantial rehabilitation under section 8(b)(2) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 [42 U.S.C. 1437f(b)(2)], as in effect before October 1, 1983; and any other program for housing assistance administered by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development or the Secretary of Agriculture, under which occupancy in the housing assisted or housing assistance provided is based on income, as the Comptroller General may determine. Not later than 12 months after the date of the enactment of this Act [Oct. 21, 1998], the Comptroller General shall submit to the Congress a final report which shall contain the results of the study under this section, including the analysis and estimates required under subsection (b). This section shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act [Oct. 21, 1998].” It is the policy of the United States— to promote the general welfare of the Nation by employing the funds and credit of the Nation, as provided in this chapter— Except as provided in paragraphs (2) and (3), the membership of the board of directors or similar governing body of each public housing agency shall contain not less than 1 member— Paragraph (1) shall not apply to any public housing agency— with less than 300 public housing units, if— For purposes of this paragraph, the term “covered agency” means a public housing agency or such other entity that administers Federal housing assistance for— The amendments under this title [see Tables for classification] are made on the date of the enactment of this Act [Oct. 21, 1998], but this title shall take effect, and the amendments made by this title shall apply beginning upon, October 1, 1999, except— Congress finds that— the interests of low-income persons, and the public interest, will best be served by a reformed public housing program that— The purpose of this title [see Tables for classification] is to promote homes that are affordable to low-income families in safe and healthy environments, and thereby contribute to the supply of affordable housing, by— Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act [Oct. 21, 1998], and annually thereafter, the Secretary shall submit a report to the Congress on— the impact of the amendments made by this Act [Pub. L. 105–276, see Tables for classification] on— The study under this section shall— For purposes of this section, the term ‘Federal assisted housing programs’ means— (Source: (Sept. 1, 1937, ch. 896, title I, § 2, as added Pub. L. 93–383, title II, § 201(a), Aug. 22, 1974, 88 Stat. 653; amended Pub. L. 97–35, title III, § 322(c), Aug. 13, 1981, 95 Stat. 402; renumbered title I, Pub. L. 100–358, § 5, June 29, 1988, 102 Stat. 681; Pub. L. 101–625, title V, § 572(2), Nov. 28, 1990, 104 Stat. 4236; Pub. L. 105–276, title V, § 505, Oct. 21, 1998, 112 Stat. 2522; Pub. L. 114–201, title I, § 114, July 29, 2016, 130 Stat. 804.))