Trump’s budget proposes cuts to NMI housing programs

U.S President Donald Trump’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2020 recommends a 6-percent cut to the CNMI’s housing programs, amounting to about $2 million.

Trump’s budget plan, called “A Budget for a Better America,” proposes more than $10 billion in cuts for the Department of Housing and Urban Development, from which the Northern Marianas Housing Corp. get its money to carry out projects such as the Section 8 voucher program, the Community Development Block Grant program, and others.

According to Jake Lanza, Affordable Housing Online resources manager, the CNMI is at risk of losing 6 percent of its vouchers through the Housing Choice voucher program and the total shutdown of its HOME and Community Development Block Grant programs.

“If the budget cut is implemented it is going to impact the entire nation. The best way to prepare is to reach out to someone in [the U.S.] Congress…and have them reject the [Trump] budget or [for the federal government] to make up for the loss [in] funding,” he said in a statement on the Affordable Housing Online website.

Saipan Tribune tried to obtain comments from NMHC about the issue but, according to NMHC office manager Jacob Muña, NMHC has not heard about any drastic budget cuts yet.

Lanza said the proposed budget, if passed by U.S. Congress, would result in the complete elimination in HUD’s Community Development Block Grant, Public Housing Capital Fund, and the HOME Investment Partnerships Program nationwide.

In addition to eliminating multiple housing programs, the Affordable Housing Online website calculates that the White House fiscal year 2020 budget represent a 22.26-percent reduction in funding for critical housing programs

“Some high-impact programs, like the Project-Based Rental Assistance program, do not see direct cuts but are only funded to sustain existing assistance without creating new housing opportunities. Additional policy recommendations include restructuring minimum rents and implementing work requirements that would disproportionately impact the most vulnerable tenants,” the website stated.

Trump’s budget explains that the cuts would ultimately promote tenant work and self-sufficiency and would eliminate programs that have failed to demonstrate effectiveness, among other things.

“To reduce the significant costs of these programs, the budget re-proposes MAHWA (Making Affordable Housing Work Act) and rent reforms that would require work able individuals shoulder more of their housing cost while providing an incentive to increase their earnings,” it stated.

“The budget would eliminate CDBG, a program that has expended more than $150 billion since its inception in 1974 but has not demonstrated sufficient impact. CDBG’s allocation formula…and many aspects of the program have become outdated. The budget devolves responsibility to state and local governments, which are better positioned to assess local community needs and address unique market challenges,” the budget further stated.