Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2018

Floor Speech

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Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of my amendment to increase funding by $35 million for the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation, better known as NeighborWorks America.

For the past 40 years, NeighborWorks America, a congressionally chartered nonprofit, has provided financial support, technical assistance, and training for community-based development right here in the USA.

NeighborWorks partners with more than 240 organizations focused on providing access to homeownership and to safe and affordable rental housing. These organizations are public-private partnerships providing maximum transparency and accountability in their stewardship of scarce Federal dollars.

In fiscal year 2016, NeighborWorks America developed nearly 13,000 affordable homes, repaired over 55,000 houses, created more than 21,000 new homeowners, and assisted over 360,000 families with affordable housing.

NeighborWorks has demonstrated the ability to attract private sector investments to its affordable housing projects, leveraging 91 private dollars for every $1 of funding appropriated.

Our country is finally on the pathway to recovering from a crippling housing crisis. My home State of Nevada was hit the hardest when the housing bubble burst and we experienced one of the highest rates of foreclosure. My district, which includes Las Vegas, has some of the lowest availability of affordable rental homes to households with low- income levels. In fact, there are only 15 affordable and available rental homes for every 100 rental households.

NeighborWorks has played a critical role in helping develop and preserve affordable housing, revitalize and sustain neighborhoods, and create jobs. Last year, Nevada affordable housing organizations like Neighborhood Housing Services of Southern Nevada, and Nevada HAND, received over $600,000 in grants, providing homeownership counseling and education to over 6,500 households, creating over 600 new homeowners, and preserving homeownership for over 250 individuals.

Congress needs to continue to strengthen programs that allow low-income families to keep a roof over their heads.

In addition to financial support and technical assistance, NeighborWorks offers home buyer and foreclosure counseling, and previously administered the National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling program. Created in 2007 to address the nationwide housing foreclosure crisis, this program has counseled more than 2 million homeowners facing foreclosure in response to the housing crisis.

You may hear from my friends across the aisle that there is no longer a need for foreclosure mitigation counseling because foreclosure rates are decreasing nationwide. And I am glad to see the rates decrease, but the reality is that foreclosures continue to plague many parts of this country, including my district.

Statistics from the Department of Housing and Urban Development show that a foreclosed home depresses home values, reducing appraisal values by nearly 9 percent. Clearly, preventing even one foreclosure helps every household in a neighborhood.

Foreclosure mitigation counseling plays a crucial role in reducing chances that a homeowner will not fall back into foreclosure. These programs enable counselors to work with homeowners on their budget and find the best option for their situation.

According to an Urban Institute study, counseled homeowners were nearly twice as likely to receive a cure for their serious delinquency or foreclosure as homeowners not counseled through the NeighborWorks program.

Additionally, NeighborWorks also offers disaster preparedness and recovery for communities, including training, resources, and assistance. In fact, organizations in and around the impact zone of Hurricane Harvey in Houston are ready to offer disaster recovery right where it is needed most, and we know Irma is on its way to Florida.

On the heels of one the worst natural disasters of our lifetime, and in the face of additional severe weather events, now is not the time to roll back our investment in NeighborWorks and the organization it supports.

Despite the continued need for affordable housing and NeighborWorks' success at revitalizing communities, the underlying bill would cripple NeighborWorks by slashing its funding. We cannot afford to reverse our progress made on affordable housing. Instead, we should continue critical investments in programs like NeighborWorks that have proven to be successful.

Mr. Chairman, I urge my colleagues to join me in voting ``yes'' for this amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

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