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As part of her effort to raise awareness of the need for increased affordable housing resources, and in particular an expansion of Housing Credit authority, Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) is collecting personal stories of individuals and families who have struggled to find affordable housing and/or experienced homelessness. Senator Cantwell intends to use these stories to help promote legislation she soon will introduce to increase the Housing Credit cap by 50 percent and make other policy changes to strengthen the program.

Health Care and Housing – Creating a Floor for Optimum Health, the first in a series of three webinars is brought to you by The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Office of Regional Operations (ORO), Region 10 (AK, ID, WA, OR). The webinar will take place on May 18, 2016, from 11:00 am – 12:15 pm PST (2:00 pm – 1:15 EST). This will be an open community of sharing with subject matter experts from Federal, State, and local agencies and community partners who provide care and service to homeless persons.

For the second year, the International Code Council (ICC) renews its commitment as the Conference Sponsor for Building Innovation 2017: The National Institute of Building Sciences Fifth Annual Conference and Expo. As a membership association of building safety professionals dedicated to protecting the property, health and safety of people worldwide, ICC’s sponsorship of the Conference helps to support the Institute’s mission to bring together representatives from the entire building community to collaborate on industry issues. Building Innovation 2017, to be held January 9-12, 2017, at the Mandarin Oriental in Washington, D.C., will focus on Collaborating for a High-Performing Future.

The Urban Land Institute (ULI), a global research and education institute dedicated to responsible land use and creating thriving communities, has appointed Adam J. Smolyar as its chief marketing and membership officer. Smolyar has extensive experience in branding, strategic communications, marketing, membership recruitment and retention, and information technology.

The District of Columbia Housing Finance Agency (DCHFA) closes the month by financing the construction of a second new development in April. On April 28th , the Agency completed the transaction to provide $5.34 million in total bond financing, structured as short term ($1.52 million) and long term ($3.82 million) DCHFA tax exempt bonds for the acquisition of the one-fifth acre properties at 2613-2615 Bladensburg Road NE, to construct Langdon Apartments. Proceeds from the syndication of $3.21 million in low income housing tax credits raised by Stratford Capital Group and underwritten by the Agency will finance a portion of the $11.16 million project.

Pete Mills, Senior Vice President of Residential Policy and Member Services, issued the following statement regarding CFPB's letter on the Know Before You Owe rule, including a plan to issue a formal Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to address many of the industry's outstanding questions and concerns

On the eve of Earth Day 2016, a partnership of water sector organizations—the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA), the Water Environment Federation (WEF), the Water Environment Research Foundation (WERF) and WateReuse—with support from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) —proudly announce a new Utility of the Future (UOTF) Today Recognition Program. The program will celebrate the progress and exceptional performance of our nation’s wastewater utilities while supporting the widespread adoption of the innovative UOTF business model

Steady job growth, affordable home prices, attractive mortgage interest rates and pent-up demand will help the housing market continue on a gradual upward trajectory in the year ahead, according to economists who participated in yesterday’s National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Spring Construction Forecast Webinar. However, supply side headwinds led by a shortage of construction lots and labor, along with tight access to acquisition, construction and development (AD&C) loans, continue to hamper a more robust recovery

First quarter 2016 commercial and multifamily mortgage loan originations overall were essentially flat compared to the same period last year and first quarter originations were thirty-eight percent lower than the fourth quarter of 2015 in line with the seasonality of market, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Quarterly Survey of Commercial/Multifamily Mortgage Bankers Originations

Kim Coble, Vice President, Environmental Protection and Restoration, Chesapeake Bay Foundation, issued this statement following today's bipartisan approval by 19-1 of The Water Resources Development Act of 2016 by the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee

Chairman Goodlatte: Eighteen months ago, this Committee commenced a “pattern or practice” investigation into the Justice Department’s mortgage lending settlements. We found that DOJ is systematically subverting Congress’s spending power by requiring settling parties to donate money to activist groups.

Women volunteers will gather this evening in 10 cities across the U.S. for a different kind of Girls’ Night Out. With the help of Lowe’s Heroes employee volunteers, they will be wielding hammers, saws and nails under the stars to frame houses as part of Habitat for Humanity’s National Women Build Week. The largest partnership initiative between Habitat and Lowe’s, the event is dedicated to empowering women while helping families build or improve a place they can call home

The National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA) applauds Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Rep. Richard Hanna (R-NY), and John Duncan (R-TN) for introducing the bipartisan Water Infrastructure Trust Fund Act of 2016. This bill builds on previous legislative efforts to create a dedicated source of funding for our nation's water infrastructure — the importance and timeliness of which is only elevated by the recent crisis in Flint, Michigan

Property owners who opt to purchase flood insurance in the private market rather than through the National Flood Insurance Program may do so under current rules, but they risk paying higher rates if they return to the NFIP. H.R. 2901, the "Flood Insurance Market Parity and Modernization Act," passed the U.S. House of Representatives today by a vote of 419-0 and seeks to alleviate that concern

The National Coalition for Homeless Veterans (NCHV) is hosting the webinar, “Talking to Congress; Advocating for Homeless Veterans”, on Thursday, May 5, 2016 at 3:00 pm EDT. Communicating with your elected representatives in Congress can be a daunting task if you have never attempted it before, but it need not be. As constituents, and as providers of housing, employment, and other services to homeless veterans, you would be welcomed in the offices of your Senators and Representatives. Furthermore, the work you can do in these meetings can bear fruit for helping programs and veterans across the country.

The founder of the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty will be the recipient of the 2016 Katharine and George Alexander Law Prize from Santa Clara University School of Law. The award honors top legal advocates who have used their careers to help alleviate injustice and inequity.

The National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) applauds Representative Maxine Waters (D-CA) for introducing the Fair Chance at Housing Act of 2016, legislation that would take a significant step towards ensuring people with criminal records have meaningful access to housing

Pending home sales increased slightly in March for the second consecutive month and reached their highest level in almost a year, according to the National Association of Realtors®. Only the West region saw a decline in contract activity last month

$400,000 donation will support nonprofit’s neighborhood revitalization efforts. In celebration of its 150 years of community engagement, Huntington Bank announced today it will donate $250,000 to Habitat for Humanity International and $150,000 to Habitat for Humanity-MidOhio to support neighborhood revitalization efforts.

The National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) released a white paper describing the importance of Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) exam performance context analysis, reviewing current implementation of the analysis, and prescribing improvements. The paper, “CRA Performance Context: Why it is Importance for Community Development and How to Improve it,” shows that current performance context analyses do an unsatisfactory job determining the housing and economic conditions of a community, and often do not adequately solicit the community’s residents about their financial services needs