42 U.S.C. § 12721 : US Code - Section 12721: Findings

Search 42 U.S.C. § 12721 : US Code - Section 12721: Findings

The Congress finds that -
(1) the Nation has not made adequate progress toward the goal
of national housing policy, as set out in the Housing Act of 1949
[42 U.S.C. 1441 et seq.] and reaffirmed in the Housing and Urban
Development Act of 1968, which would provide decent, safe,
sanitary, and affordable living environments for all Americans;
(2) the supply of affordable rental housing is diminishing;
(3) the Tax Reform Act of 1986 removed major tax incentives for
the production of affordable rental housing;
(4) the living environments of an increasing number of
Americans have deteriorated over the past several years as a
result of reductions in Federal assistance to low-income and
moderate-income families;
(5) many Americans face the possibility of homelessness unless
Federal, State, and local governments work together with the
private sector to develop and rehabilitate the housing stock of
the Nation to provide decent, safe, sanitary, and affordable
housing for very low-income and low-income families;
(6) reliable Federal leadership is needed to achieve an
adequate supply of affordable housing for all Americans;
(7) to achieve the goal of national housing policy, there is a
need to strengthen nationwide a cost-effective community-based
housing partnership designed to -
(A) expand the supply of rental housing that is affordable to
very low-income and low-income families,
(B) improve homeownership opportunities for low-income
families,
(C) carry out comprehensive housing strategies tailored to
local housing market conditions, and
(D) protect the Federal, State, and local investment in low-
income housing to ensure affordability of the housing for the
remaining useful life of the property;
(8) direct assistance to expand the supply of affordable rental
housing should be provided in a way that is more cost-effective
and targeted than tax incentives;
(9) much of the Nation's housing system works very well and
provides a strong base on which national housing policy should
build;
(10) an increasing number of States and local governments have
been successful in producing cost-effective low-income and
moderate-income housing by working in partnership with the
private sector, including nonprofit community development
corporations, community action agencies, neighborhood housing
services corporations, trade unions, groups sponsored by
religious organizations, limited equity cooperatives, and other
tenant organizations;
(11) during the 1980's, nonprofit community housing development
organizations, despite severe obstacles caused by inadequate
funding, have played an increasingly important role in the
production and rehabilitation of affordable housing in
communities across the Nation;
(12) additional financial resources and technical skills must
be made available in local communities if the Nation is to
mobilize the capacity of the private sector, including nonprofit
community housing development organizations, to provide a more
adequate supply of decent, safe, and sanitary housing that is
affordable to very low-income, low-income, and moderate-income
families and meets the need for large family units and other
additional units that are available to very low-income families
receiving rental assistance payments from Federal, State, and
local governments; and
(13) the long-term success of efforts to provide more
affordable housing depends upon tenants and homeowners being
fiscally responsible and able managers.