Fannie Mae-No Politics (FNMA)

[Robert from yahoo bd]

MO MONEY, MO MONEY, MO MONEY, from todays DC rag (WP): ""We're really excited," policy analyst Eliana Golding said, referring to the proposal to add a record-breaking $400 million over two years to the Housing Production Trust Fund. The fund helps finance construction and preservation of low- and middle-cost housing. More than $100 million in additional ARP money is going to other affordable housing programs.

"The federal funds have been a complete game-changer on this," Golding said.

Admittedly, some caution is required. The council must approve the budget, although it appears to support key elements of the housing plan. Golding said that even Bowser's robust proposal doesn't add enough money to end homelessness or sufficiently repair public housing.

It also doesn't match the scale of housing needs, which have soared in affluent metropolitan regions like ours.

For instance, Bowser said the extra money in the trust fund would help developers build an additional 2,700 subsidized housing units over the next two or three years. But the National Low Income Housing Coalition says the city needs an additional 23,370 affordable rental homes just for its lowest-income families, or those earning $38,940 or less for a four-member household.

"Every dollar helps in terms of trying to meet needs, [but] there's still a need for more," said David Bowers, vice president of Enterprise Community Partners, a nonprofit organization focused on affordable housing. "That message hasn't changed.""