Housing Issues: The Housing and Community Development Act of 1994

GAO discussed the various impacts of H.R. 3838, the Housing and Community Development Act. GAO noted that: (1) the act could improve monitoring, foster community economic development, and decrease loan defaults by increasing the number of grants available; (2) the act would increase homelessness assistance funding and promote program consolidation; (3) although the act would further promote the merger of the Section 8 certificate and voucher programs, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) needs to resolve administrative differences to minimize potential transition problems and ensure that HUD has the organizational capacity to carry out the merger; (4) the act advocates the reamortization and refinancing of Farmers Home Administration (FmHA) rural housing loans, which would reduce HUD interest payment collections, private-sector loan promotion, household dependence on FmHA loans, the number of FmHA interest credit subsidies, and paperwork costs; and (5) although the act would provide a framework so that HUD can address the problems of multifamily property disposition, HUD needs to protect the government's financial interests, ensure that low-income housing remains affordable and preserve and revitalize residential neighborhoods.