Archives

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced today that USDA is soliciting applications for grants to establish broadband in unserved rural communities through its Community Connect program. Community Connect is administered by USDA's Rural Utilities Service and helps to fund broadband deployment into rural communities where it is not economically viable for private sector providers to provide service

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced today it is charging landlords in Beloit, Kansas with violating the Fair Housing Act after allegedly discriminating against a female tenant with disabilities by not renewing her lease, sending her a notice containing discriminatory statements about her disability, and retaliating against her for filing a previous fair housing complaint.

Freedom Mortgage Corporation has agreed to pay the United States $113 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by knowingly originating and underwriting single family mortgage loans insured by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Federal Housing Administration (FHA) that did not meet applicable requirements for the FHA insurance program, the Justice Department announced today.  Freedom Mortgage Corporation is headquartered in Mt. Laurel, New Jersey.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, in coordination with the State of Michigan Department of Environmental Quality and the City of Flint, is recommending Flint residents run the water in their homes and businesses to aid in the recovery of the Flint drinking water system. There will be no associated cost to residents related to this flushing program. Residents will be compensated for the cost associated with flushing in addition to receiving water credits already awarded by the state.

Thirty-nine local public housing agencies across the country will continue to enjoy significantly greater flexibility to operate their federally funded housing programs following an announcement today by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).  Existing agreements under HUD’s Moving to Work (MTW) Demonstration Program for 39 public housing authorities (PHAs) will now continue in effect until 2028 (see list below).

Cox Communications today announced a major investment in its efforts to narrow the digital divide through its support of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) ConnectHome initiative. Cox Communications is extending its Connect2Compete low-cost Internet offering to any HUD-assisted household with school-age children within Cox’s 18-state service area. Cox operates 6 clustered cable systems in 18 states: Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Virginia.

Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) gave the following statement following the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s principal reduction announcement: As Yogi Berra once famously said, “It's déjà vu all over again.” Memories are clearly short among Washington’s ruling elite because they continue repeating the same mistakes that caused the 2008 financial crisis in the first place.

At its Spring Business Meeting last week in Austin, Texas, the National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI) elected its new officers for 2016-2017. Immediate past president Judy Mozen, CR, GCP, of Handcrafted Homes, Inc., Roswell, Ga., was elevated to Chairman of the Board and H. Dale Contant, MCR, CRPM, UDCP, of Atlanta Design & Build, Marietta, Ga., was named president for the coming year. Tom Miller, CR, CKBR, of Tom Miller Remodeling, Inc., Portland, Ore., takes office as president-elect

The Federal Trade Commission will hold a workshop in Washington, DC, on June 21, 2016, to examine competition and consumer protection issues raised by consumers’ growing use of rooftop solar panels to generate their own electric power.

Ranking Member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) highlighted advanced manufacturing work in the state of Washington, demonstrating how the nation can lead worldwide in advanced manufacturing

The Justice Department, along with federal and state partners, announced today a $5.06 billion settlement with Goldman Sachs related to Goldman’s conduct in the packaging, securitization, marketing, sale and issuance of residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) between 2005 and 2007. The resolution announced today requires Goldman to pay $2.385 billion in a civil penalty under the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act (FIRREA) and also requires the bank to provide $1.8 billion in other relief, including relief to underwater homeowners, distressed borrowers and affected communities, in the form of loan forgiveness and financing for affordable housing.

U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Julián Castro today named Donna Batch to serve as HUD’s Northwest Regional Administrator for a four-state region that includes Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington.  Batch currently serves as HUD’s Acting Regional Administrator in that region.

United States Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and Congressman Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, released a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report that documents the dramatic growth of nonbank mortgage servicers and details the need for stronger regulatory oversight of the industry. GAO produced the report in response to a request from Cummings and Warren

In an effort to recognize foundations that work to improve neighborhoods and the lives of the people who live in them, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and the Council on Foundations announced the 2016 winners of the HUD Secretary's Award for Public-Philanthropic Partnerships.

Wells Fargo Bank Admits That It Certified that Loans Were Eligible for FHA Mortgage Insurance When They Were Not, and That It Did Not Disclose Thousands of Faulty Mortgage Loans to HUD

Defendants Allegedly Participated in and Ordered the Illegal Discharge of Bilge Wastes Over the Course of Several Years. The owner and captain of the commercial F/V Native Sun, were indicted Thursday for conspiracy, as well as violations of the Clean Water Act (CWA) and Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (APPS).

The office Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today released the most recent statistics, February 2016, on the number of District of Columbia residents employed and D.C. small businesses contracted at federal construction projects in the city resulting from Norton’s legislative work, which show some improvement.  In addition, as part of her oversight efforts to ensure her congressional economic development bills and committee work yield opportunities for D.C. residents and small businesses, Norton will host a roundtable on federal construction projects on Tuesday, May 3, 2016, at 6:00 p.m., in 2253 Rayburn House Office Building.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the National Environmental Health Association (NEHA) today announced they are co-hosting an annual educational conference from June 13-16, 2016 in San Antonio to address today's pressing environmental health issues.The State of Big Ideas: Moving Environmental Health Outside the Box will include sessions on emerging issues such as Zika virus, preserving affordable housing through healthy home repairs, marijuana, climate change, the Flint, Michigan water crisis and more.

Ranking Member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) called for strengthening programs at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) critical to informing decisions, ensuring public safety and monitoring natural hazards such as volcanoes, landslides and earthquakes that cause tsunamis. The state of Washington is especially prone to many of these natural disasters.

The Federal Trade Commission is mailing 474 checks totaling more than $33,000 to consumers who lost money to a scheme that charged homeowners an up-front fee for mortgage relief services they promised but never provided.