NRHC proposal to ensure that rural communities are eligible for housing assistance from the Department of Agriculture
A bill
To amend section 520 of the Housing Act of 1949 to revise the requirements for areas to be considered as rural areas for purposes of such Act.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the `Rural Housing Preservation Act of 2011′.
SEC. 2. DEFINITION OF RURAL AREA.
(a) The second sentence of section 520 of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1490) is amended by striking: `1990 or 2000 decennial census shall continue to be so classified until the receipt of data from the decennial census in the year 2010′ and inserting `1990, 2000, or 2010 decennial census shall continue to be so classified until the receipt of data from the decennial census in the year 2020′; and
(b) The third sentence of such section is amended by striking ’but not in excess of 25,000’.
Explanation:
The proposed amendment would maintain eligibility for communities that are currently classified as rural for purposes of federal rural housing programs. Communities deemed eligible in the 1990, 2000 and 2010 Census would maintain their eligibility until the 2020 Census provided that it is rural in character and lacks mortgage credit for low and moderate income households. This amendment will not add any new communities and only continue those currently eligible for assistance from the Rural Housing Service of the Department of Agriculture.
Under current law , section 520 of the Housing Act, rural communities eligible for rural housing assistance prior to the 1990 Census and with a population under 25,000 and rural in character were classified as rural for through the 2000 census.
This so-called grandfathering provision will lapse and a much narrower rural definition takes effect when USDA implements the 2010 Census, now scheduled for October 1, 2012. At that time a lower population limit takes effect and rural communities with populations of 10-20,000 in metro areas, even if they are rural in nature, will be excluded.
According to the USDA Economic Research Service over 50 % of all rural residents live in metro counties, so without this amendment a significant number of rural communities – and their residents– will no longer be able to access USDA housing assistance. According to research by the Housing Assistance Council some 500 rural communities currently eligible for rural housing assistance will be deemed ineligible.
Current Law
SEC. 520. ø42 U.S.C. 1490¿ As used in this title, the terms ‘‘rural’’ and ‘‘rural area’’ mean any open country, or any place, town, village, or city which is not (except in the cases of Pajaro, in the State of California, and Guadalupe, in the State of Arizona) part of or associated with an urban area and which (1) has a population not in excess of 2,500 inhabitants, or (2) has a population in excess of 2,500 but not in excess of 10,000 if it is rural in character,
or (3) has a population in excess of 10,000 but not in excess of 20,000, and (A) is not contained within a standard metropolitan statistical area, and (B) has a serious lack of mortgage credit for lower and moderate-income families, as determined by the Secretary
and the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. For purposes of this title, any area classified as ‘‘rural’’ or a ‘‘rural area’ ’prior to October 1, 1990, and determined not to be ‘‘rural’’ or a ‘‘rural area’’ as a result of data received from or after the 1990 or
2000 decennial census shall continue to be so classified until the receipt of data from the decennial census in the year 2010, if such area has a population in excess of 10,000 but not in excess of 25,000, is rural in character, and has a serious lack of mortgage credit for lower and moderate-income families. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the city of Plainview, Texas, shall be considered a rural area for purposes of this title, and the
city of Altus, Oklahoma, shall be considered a rural area for purposes of this title until the receipt of data from the decennial census in the year 2000.
