Tag: Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act

Tester urges for quick reauthorization as Native American Housing grant initiative advances through the U.S. House of Representatives

Press Release, U.S. Senator for Montana Jon Tester

 
(U.S. SENATE)—Senator Jon Tester released the following statement after the U.S. House of Representatives voted to reauthorize the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act (NAHASDA), an initiative that awards block grants for tribes and tribal housing authorities in order to make investments in housing in Native American communities.
 
“Today we are a step closer to addressing the lack of housing in Indian Country, and it’s critical the Senate now reauthorize these initiatives as quickly as possible,” Tester said.  “There is nothing that impacts Native American communities more than the absence of housing.  I look forward to working with my colleagues in the Senate on this reauthorization which helps address the acute housing needs in Indian Country.”
 
Last week Tester, Vice Chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, pushed to increase the resources for Native American housing during a Senate Indian Affairs Committee hearing.
 
Through NAHASDA, the Department of Housing and Urban Development grants funds to tribes and tribal housing authorities to construct, acquire, or modernize housing for low income families. These funds represent the main source of housing assistance in Indian Country.

Cantwell, Barrasso Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Reauthorize Key Tribal Housing Bill

The Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act is Set to Expire in Two Months

From the Chair of Maria Cantwell

 

WASHINGTON D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and John Barrasso (R-WY) introduced S.1352, to reauthorize the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act (NAHASDA), which is scheduled to expire on September 30, 2013.  They were joined by Senators Tim Johnson (D-SD), Jon Tester (D-MT), Tom Udall (D-NM), Mark Begich (D-AK), Al Franken (D-MN), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Mazie Hirono (D-HI) and Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND).

 

In 1996, Congress first passed NAHASDA to help ensure that Tribes and their members are provided safe and affordable housing, and that housing programs meet the needs of Tribal members well into the future.   NAHASDA helps address a critical need for housing assistance in Indian Country, where more than 28% of reservation households lack adequate plumbing and kitchen facilities, while nationally only 5.4% of households lack such infrastructure.

 

“Housing conditions in Native American communities remain some of the most challenging in the nation.  This Act is designed to assist those communities, where substandard housing is rampant and poverty is a serious issue,” Cantwell said.   “The reauthorization of this Act is critically important to help ensure that Tribes continue to have access to the tools necessary to provide for the basic housing needs of their members.  While more must be done, I am pleased to note that this is one of the most successfully implemented programs in Indian Country to date.”

 

“Our bill responds to a fundamental need on our nation’s Indian reservations: safe, adequate housing for low income Indian people.   Without adequate housing, families can’t thrive and parents can’t provide a healthy environment for their children so they can do well in school and life.  This problem takes a toll on entire reservation communities and we have to address it,” Barrasso said.  “I look forward to working with the Chairwoman and other members of the Committee to move this bill forward in the Senate as soon as possible.”

 

This bill improves the current law by:

 

  • Increasing usage of Low-Income Housing Tax Credits by developers and investors that target projects serving Indian communities.

 

  • Elimination of duplicative requirements when multiple agencies are involved in a housing-related project by identifying the majority federal partner and using that agency’s standards.

 

  • Allowing Tribes access to the HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing Program (HUD-VASH).

 

  • Promoting clean energy and sustainable projects by raising the total development cost ceilings cited as barriers to building energy-efficient housing.

 

An estimated 200,000 housing units are needed immediately in Indian Country and approximately 90,000 Native families are homeless or under-housed.     A 2009 Annual Homeless Assessment Report found that Native Americans make up 8% of the country’s homeless population, while they comprise less than 1% of the general population.  Nearly 46% of Native households are overcrowded, a rate almost three times that of the rest of the country, according to a 2010 report from the General Accounting Office.

 

In 2002, NAHASDA was reauthorized for five years, and was again reauthorized in 2008 for a five-year period which expires in September 2013. NAHASDA replaced funding under the 1937 Housing Act with Indian Housing Block Grants and provided Tribes with the choice of administering the block grant themselves or through their existing Indian Housing Authorities or their Tribally-designated housing entities.

 

First Indian Affairs hearing of 113th Congress Focuses on Need to Reauthorize Tribal Housing Bill

Chairwoman Cantwell Calls for Reauthorization of NAHASDA, Which Expires in September

Source: U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs
WASHINGTON D.C. – On Wednesday, Chairwoman Maria Cantwell (D-WA) held a U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs oversight hearing to address housing and infrastructure needs in Tribal communities and to discuss the reauthorization of the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act (NAHASDA). Wednesday’s hearing – entitled “Identifying Barriers to Indian Housing Development and Finding Solutions” – marked the first oversight hearing by the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs during the 113th Congress.
 
During the hearing, Cantwell called for reauthorization of NAHASDA, the critical Tribal housing bill that is scheduled to expire in September 2013. NAHASDA was last reauthorized in 2008 for five years.
 
“Since the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act was implemented in 1998, 31,000 Indian families now live in newly constructed housing units, and another 64,500 Indian families have been able to rehabilitate their homes through the Indian Housing Block Grant program,” Cantwell said. “This hearing begins the reauthorization process, as the Committee works to address housing challenges to ensure that all Tribal members have access to safe and affordable housing and that housing programs are meeting the needs of tribal members, now and into the future.”
 
The Committee heard testimony from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the National American Indian Housing Council, and three Tribal housing Directors. 
 
Witnesses at the hearing echoed the need to streamline housing programs under the federal structure, during NAHASDA reauthorization. They described the challenges posed by the fact that multiple agencies are often involved in the development of a single housing unit in Indian Country.  Multi-agency requirements can be redundant, leading to delays in housing delivery to Indian communities. In addition, cumbersome regulations do not allow for technological advancements in energy-efficient housing and other innovative approaches. 
 
The Committee also heard testimony from Annette Bryan, Executive Director of the Puyallup Nation Housing Authority in Washington state. “NAHASDA represents great progress toward the goal of self-determination and has provided tribes and tribal housing authorities with important tools for meeting the vast housing needs in Indian Country,” Bryan said. “Tribes need the flexibility to identify and target our local needs, including advancement in green housing, and we look forward to working with the Committee on the best ways to address these issues.”
 
In addition to Ms. Bryan, the Committee heard from Russell Sossamon, Executive Director of the Choctaw Nation Housing Authority in Oklahoma: “The reauthorization should maintain the government-to-government relationship between tribes and the federal government,” Sossamon said.  The timely reauthorization of NAHASDA should be one of Congress’ top priorities before the end of this fiscal year.”
 
In 1996, Congress first passed NAHASDA to better meet the needs of Tribal governments and to acknowledge that Tribes, through self-determination, are best suited to determine and meet the needs of their members. NAHASDA replaced funding under the 1937 Housing Act with Indian Housing Block Grants and provided tribes with the choice of administering the block grant themselves or through their existing Indian Housing Authorities or their tribally-designated housing entities. In 2002, NAHASDA was reauthorized for five years, and was again reauthorized in 2008 for a five-year period which expires in September 2013.