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President Biden’s Budget Plan Includes Major Expansion in Funding for Housing Programs

by | Apr 14, 2021 | Econometrica Blog

President Biden recently previewed his request for fiscal year (FY) 2022 discretionary funding, including substantial investments in affordable housing and increases to housing assistance programs.

The FY 2022 blueprint includes $68.7 billion for HUD, a $9 billion, or 15 percent, increase from FY 2021. The budget request aims to significantly expand rental assistance programs, modernize housing stock to improve energy efficiency, reduce health hazards such as lead-based paint, address the critical shortage of affordable housing, and invest in programs to strengthen communities facing underinvestment and prevent and redress housing-related discrimination. The request also aims to further support access to homeownership for underserved borrowers through the Federal Housing Administration’s mortgage insurance programs.

Some aspects of the budget request include:

  • $30.4 billion to expand the Housing Choice Voucher program to 200,000 additional households and improve mobility-related services to low-income families.
  • $800 million for the rehabilitation and modernization of public and HUD-assisted housing to further climate resilience and energy efficiency.
  • $3.2 billion in public housing modernization grants.
  • $3.8 billion for the Community Development Block Grant Program.
  • $1.9 billion in the HOME Investment Partnership Program to build and rehabilitate affordable rental homes and support other housing-related needs, as well a $1800 million targeting new affordable housing for the elderly and persons with disabilities.
  • $85 million in grants to support state and local fair housing enforcement organizations and to further education, outreach, and training on rights and responsibilities under federal fair housing laws.
  • $400 million for HUD’s Lead Hazard and Healthy Homes grants, enabling state and local governments and nonprofits to reduce lead-based paint and other health hazards in the homes of low-income families with young children.
  • $3.5 billion to support those who are homeless and at risk of homelessness.
  • $900 million to fund efforts among Tribal communities to expand affordable housing and improve housing infrastructure.

The full budget blueprint can be found at:

Econometrica has provided technical assistance and training, policy and program analysis, statistical surveys and research, market and feasibility analysis, and knowledge management to HUD, housing authorities, and other organizations nationwide over the years. Since 2011, Econometrica has provided technical assistance through HUD’s OneCPD/Community Compass initiative, which has convened a community of technical assistance providers to serve the Office of Public and Indian Housing, Office of Community Planning and Development (CPD), and other HUD programs and customers. Through OneCPD/Community Compass, Econometrica has provided a variety of services, with a focus on housing, community development, economic development, and neighborhood stabilization.

Econometrica also has evaluated the Rental Assistance Demonstration program, examining the new opportunities RAD creates for public housing authorities to improve public housing physical conditions, how RAD helps PHAs preserve those units over the long term, and the impact of these changes on tenants.

Our staff and business associates comprise a diverse mix of personnel, including former government employees with decades of experience in housing and community development programs, academic researchers from distinguished universities, and highly skilled housing professionals with hands-on experience in housing management, finance, grants monitoring, and other types of support. We are dedicated to supporting our clients in their diverse missions to expand and improve affordable housing, promote homeownership opportunities, stimulate community transformation, assist with disaster recovery, comply with reporting requirements, and enhance their performance.

ECONOMETRICA BLOG

Econometrica also has evaluated the Rental Assistance Demonstration program, examining the new opportunities RAD creates for public housing authorities to improve public housing physical conditions, how RAD helps PHAs preserve those units over the long term, and the impact of these changes on tenants.

Econometrica Explores ESRD Treatments From the Patient Perspective

Econometrica Explores ESRD Treatments From the Patient Perspective

by | Apr 8, 2021 | Press Release

Econometrica released a new issue brief exploring treatment options for end-stage renal disease (ESRD) and their problems from the patient perspective. In partnership with LMI and the American Association of Kidney Patients, the ESRD Brief: Patient Perspectives discusses dialysis treatments and kidney transplantation and highlights the implications for patients of the ESRD Treatment Choices (ETC) Model. The ETC Model, rolled out by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, aims to encourage greater use of home dialysis and kidney transplants for Medicare beneficiaries with ESRD.

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Remembering the Section 504 Sit-In

by | Apr 6, 2021 | Econometrica Blog

Sections 504 and 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 are key to protecting the rights of people with disabilities. Combined, they aim to ensure people with disabilities can access any program or activity receiving Federal funds and to eliminate barriers in IT and encourage the development of technology to achieve these goals.

April 5 marked the 44th anniversary of the Section 504 sit-ins. The 1977 sit-ins resulted from years of frustration at the slow pace of regulations and marked a turning point in the Nation’s push for regulations protecting the rights of people with disabilities.

Section 504 passed into law as part of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, one of the first U.S. federal civil rights laws offering protection for people with disabilities. It set up the groundwork for all future legislation protecting people with disabilities, such as the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Though the law said “no otherwise qualified handicapped individual in the United States shall solely on the basis of his handicap, be excluded from the participation, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance,” the Government was slow to create and enforce regulations enforcing the law. The law would prohibit any entity receiving Federal funding, such as airports, post offices, universities, and Government facilities, from discriminating against anyone because of a disability.

No regulations were issued from 1973 to 1977, despite attorneys in the Office for Civil Rights drafting regulations and sending them to the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW) to publish for public comment. Guidelines from HEW would become guidelines for other Federal agencies, so this was important step. Disability rights organizations advocated for the regulations and staged protests and grassroots campaigns to see their passage. However, concerns about costs and enforcement, and pushback from covered entities such as hospitals and post offices, slowed passage.

But by 1977, frustration erupted. HEW Secretary Joseph Califano was tasked with studying the Section 504 regulations but established a task force that did not include anyone with a disability. National protests were organized.

The 504 Sit-In began April 5, 1977. Disability activists demonstrated at HEW offices nationwide, demanding the Section 504 regulations be signed. Sit-ins lasted at several of the offices, most notably in San Francisco. While many of the protests dispersed after a few hours, the peaceful protest in San Francisco lasted 25 days.

Persistence paid off, however, as Califano signed the regulations on April 28, 1977. The grassroots campaigns and ongoing protests showed that people with disabilities were not to be ignored, and forged partnerships that would later draft Federal laws, such as ADA, that provided for nondiscrimination on the basis of disability.

Kitty Cone was one of the organizers of the San Francisco protest. You can find a good inside account of the events here:

ECONOMETRICA BLOG

Section 504 passed into law as part of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, one of the first U.S. federal civil rights laws offering protection for people with disabilities. It set up the groundwork for all future legislation protecting people with disabilities, such as the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Econometrica Will Continue Regulatory Work for BSEE

by | Apr 2, 2021 | Econometrica Blog

The U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) recently awarded Econometrica a multiple-year contract to provide expert assistance and technical support for the economic analyses associated with BSEE regulatory, research, inspection, and enforcement activities.

The results of any work performed will help BSEE, part of the U.S. Department of the Interior, evaluate the economic impact of its regulations for Federal actions designed to increase environmental and safety protection on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS).

This new award continues economic analysis work Econometrica began under a previous contract with BSEE. Under that contract, Econometrica provided BSEE with regulatory impact analyses and regulatory flexibility analyses for Notices of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRMs) and Final Rulemakings. BSEE rulemakings supported by Econometrica include:

  • Oil and Gas Production Safety System (RIN: 1014-AA37)
  • Blowout Preventer (BOP) and Well Control (RIN: 1014-AA39)
  • Exploratory Drilling on the Arctic OCS (RIN: 1082-AA01)

ECONOMETRICA BLOG

Econometrica provided BSEE with regulatory impact analyses and regulatory flexibility analyses for Notices of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRMs) and Final Rulemakings. BSEE rulemakings supported by Econometrica

Census Releases Brief About Childhood Disability in the United States

by | Apr 1, 2021 | Econometrica Blog

The U.S. Census Bureau recently released a brief exploring childhood disability in the United States.

The brief, Childhood Disability in the United States: 2019, uses data from the 2008 and 2019 American Community Surveys to identify the prevalence of disability among children as well as breaks down disability rates by demographic and socioeconomic characteristics.

“The concept of childhood disability encompasses children with various physical, mental and/or emotional conditions that pose limitations to certain activities or tasks,” the Census Bureau said in a statement.

According to the brief, 4.3 percent of children had a disability in the United States in 2019, up from 3.9 percent in 2008, and the most common type of disability was cognitive difficulty. The data also showed regional differences in disability prevalence, with the highest rates in the South and Northeast and the lowest rates in the West.

More information can be found at:

ECONOMETRICA BLOG

According to the brief, 4.3 percent of children had a disability in the United States in 2019, up from 3.9 percent in 2008, and the most common type of disability was cognitive difficulty.