The Senate Committee on Finance is scheduled to hold a confirmation hearing on January 19 for President-elect Joe Biden’s nominee for secretary of the Treasury, Janet Yellen. Secretary-designate Yellen previously served as the 15th chair of the Federal Reserve from 2014-2018 and as a distinguished fellow in residence with the Economic Studies Program at the Brookings Institution before taking leave after her nomination for Treasury secretary.
The Department of the Treasury administers several housing and community development programs including the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program, the Making Home Affordable program, the Hardest Hit Fund, and Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI). The Department has overseen funding for several recent disaster recovery efforts, including special allocations of LIHTCs, incentives to spur redevelopment, and Coronavirus Relief Funds during the pandemic. The Department of the Treasury also oversees Housing Bonds, which finance the development of rental and homeownership units. The Treasury offers backing to HUD’s FHA Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund and also played a key role in the nation’s housing crisis recovery efforts by purchasing mortgage-backed and debt securities issued by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The end-of-2020 pandemic relief package channels the $25 billion in emergency rental assistance through the Department of the Treasury.
NLIHC recently sent a letter to President-elect Joe Biden, Secretary of HUD-designate Marcia Fudge, and Janet Yellen, urging the incoming administration to provide state and local governments with the timely and clear guidance required to distribute critically needed emergency rental assistance to millions of households at risk of losing their homes during the pandemic (see Memo, 01/11).
The hearing will be held on January 19 at 10 am ET and will be streamed live on the Senate Committee on Finance’s website at: https://bit.ly/38DxE9j
Read the full text of the letter sent to President-Elect Joe Biden, U.S Secretary nominee Marcia Fudge of HUD, and U.S. Secretary of Treasury Janet L. Yellen at: https://bit.ly/3oBCOII
More information about the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) is on page 5-17 of NLIHC’s Advocates Guide.
More information about Community Development Financial Institutions Fund is on page 8-6 of NLIHC’s Advocates Guide.
More information about the Housing Bonds program is on page 5-9 of NLIHC’s Advocates Guide.
More information about FHA is on page 5-1 of NLIHC’s Advocates Guide.
More information about Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Housing Finance Reform is on page 3-15 of NLIHC’s Advocates Guide.