[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5373 Introduced in House (IH)]








109th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5373

  To promote the development of affordable, quality rental housing in 
                 rural areas for low-income households.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 11, 2006

  Mr. Hinojosa (for himself and Mr. Rahall) introduced the following 
    bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To promote the development of affordable, quality rental housing in 
                 rural areas for low-income households.

    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 Rental Housing Act of 2006''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) There is a pressing and increasing need for housing in 
        the United States for families and senior citizens in rural 
        areas, as evidenced by the fact that--
                    (A) 28 percent, or 10,400,000, of rural households 
                in the United States live with some kind of serious 
                housing problem; and
                    (B) an estimated 2,600,000 rural households live in 
                substandard housing with severe structural damage or 
                without indoor plumbing, heat, or electricity.
            (2) There is an acute shortage of affordable rental housing 
        exists in the rural United States, as evidenced by the fact 
        that--
                    (A) two-thirds of extremely low-income and very 
                low-income rural households do not have access to 
                affordable rental housing units;
                    (B) 36 percent of all rural renters pay more than 
                30 percent of their income for housing, and 20 percent 
                pay more than 50 percent of their income for housing; 
                and
                    (C) 92 percent of all renters with significant 
                housing problems pay more than 50 percent of their 
                income for housing costs, and 60 percent pay more than 
                70 percent of their income for housing.
            (3) Many rural renters live with serious housing problems, 
        including a lack of basic water and wastewater services, 
        structural insufficiencies, and overcrowding, as evidenced by 
        the fact that--
                    (A) more than 900,000 rural rental households (10.4 
                percent of all such households) live in either 
                moderately or severely inadequate housing; and
                    (B) approximately 1,000,000 rural renters have 
                multiple housing problems.
            (4) Rural economies are often less diverse, and therefore, 
        jobs and economic opportunity are limited because--
                    (A) factors that exist in rural environments, such 
                as remoteness and low population density, lead to 
                limited access to many forces driving the economy, such 
                as technology, lending, and investment; and
                    (B) local expertise is often limited in rural areas 
                where the economies are focused on farming or natural 
                resource-based industries.
            (5) Rural areas have less access to credit than 
        metropolitan areas, because--
                    (A) banks and other investors that look for larger 
                projects with lower risk seek metropolitan areas for 
                loans and investment;
                    (B) credit that is available is often insufficient, 
                leading to the need for interim or bridge financing; 
                and
                    (C) credit in rural areas is often more expensive 
                and available at less favorable terms than in 
                metropolitan areas.
            (6) The Federal Government investment in rural rental 
        housing has dropped during the last 10 years, as evidenced by 
        the fact that--
                    (A) Federal spending for rural rental housing has 
                been cut by 77 percent since 1994; and
                    (B) rural rental housing unit production financed 
                by the Federal Government has been reduced by 88 
                percent since 1990.
            (7) To address the scarcity of rural rental housing, the 
        Federal Government must work in partnership with State and 
        local governments, private financial institutions, private 
        philanthropic institutions, and the private sector, including 
        nonprofit organizations.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    For purposes of this Act, the following definitions shall apply:
            (1) Eligible project.--The term ``eligible project'' means 
        a project for the acquisition, rehabilitation, or construction 
        of rental housing and related facilities in an eligible rural 
        area for occupancy by low-income families.
            (2) Eligible rural area.--The term ``eligible rural area'' 
        means a rural area that--
                    (A) has a population of not more than 25,000, as 
                determined by the most recent decennial census of the 
                United States; and
                    (B) is located outside an urbanized area.
            (3) Eligible sponsor.--The term ``eligible sponsor'' 
        means--
                    (A) a public agency;
                    (B) an Indian tribe;
                    (C) a for-profit corporation; or
                    (D) a private nonprofit corporation--
                            (i) a purpose of which is planning, 
                        developing, or managing housing or community 
                        development projects in rural areas;
                            (ii) that has a record of accomplishment in 
                        housing or community development; and
                            (iii) that meets other criteria established 
                        by the Secretary by regulation.
            (4) Low-income families.--The term ``low-income families'' 
        has the meaning given such term in section 3(b) of the United 
        States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437a(b)).
            (5) Qualified intermediary.--The term ``qualified 
        intermediary'' means a State, a State agency designated by the 
        Governor of the State, a public instrumentality of the State, a 
        private nonprofit community development corporation, a 
        nonprofit housing corporation, a community development loan 
        fund, or a community development credit union, that--
                    (A) has a record of providing technical and 
                financial assistance for housing and community 
                development activities in rural areas; and
                    (B) has a demonstrated technical and financial 
                capacity to administer assistance made available under 
                this Act.
            (6) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Agriculture.
            (7) State.--The term ``State'' means each of the several 
        States of the United States, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, 
        the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of the Northern 
        Mariana Islands, Guam, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and 
        any other possession of the United States.

SEC. 4. RURAL RENTAL HOUSING ASSISTANCE.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary may, directly or through one or more 
qualified intermediaries in accordance with section 5, make assistance 
available under this Act to eligible sponsors in the form of loans, 
grants, interest subsidies, annuities, and other forms of financing 
assistance, to finance the eligible projects.
    (b) Applications.--
            (1) In general.--To be eligible to receive assistance under 
        this section, an eligible sponsor shall submit to the 
        Secretary, or a qualified intermediary, an application in such 
        form and containing such information as the Secretary shall, by 
        regulation, require.
            (2) Affordability restriction.--Each application under this 
        subsection shall include a certification by the applicant that 
        the housing to be acquired, rehabilitated, or constructed with 
        assistance under this section will remain affordable for low-
        income families for not less than 30 years.
    (c) Priority for Assistance.--In selecting among applicants for 
assistance under this section, the Secretary, or a qualified 
intermediary, shall give priority to providing assistance to eligible 
projects--
            (1) for very low-income families (as such term is defined 
        in section 3(b) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 
        U.S.C. 1437a(b));
            (2) in low-income communities or in communities with a 
        severe lack of affordable rental housing, in eligible rural 
        areas, as determined by the Secretary; or
            (3) if the applications are submitted by public agencies, 
        Indian tribes, private nonprofit corporations or limited 
        dividend corporations in which the general partner is a non-
        profit entity whose principal purposes include planning, 
        developing and managing low-income housing and community 
        development projects.
    (d) Allocation of Assistance.--
            (1) In general.--In carrying out this section, the 
        Secretary shall allocate assistance among the States taking 
        into consideration the incidence of rural substandard housing 
        and rural poverty in each State and the share of that State of 
        the national total of such incidence.
            (2) Small state minimum.--To the extent sufficient amounts 
        are made available for assistance under this Act, in making 
        allocations under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall provide 
        each State an amount not less than $2,000,000.
    (e) Limitations on Amount of Assistance.--
            (1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), 
        assistance made available under this Act for an eligible 
        project may not exceed 50 percent of the total cost of such 
        project.
            (2) Exception.--In the case of any eligible project for the 
        acquisition, rehabilitation, or construction of not more than 
        20 rental housing units for use by very low-income families, 
        assistance made available under this Act may not exceed 75 
        percent of the total cost of such project.

SEC. 5. DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary may delegate authority for 
distribution, in a State, of assistance under this Act--
            (1) to one or more qualified intermediaries in the State; 
        and
            (2) for a period of not more than 3 years, upon the 
        expiration of which such delegation of authority shall be 
        subject to renewal, in the discretion of the Secretary, for one 
        or more additional periods of not more than 3 years.
    (b) Solicitation.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary may, in the discretion of 
        the Secretary, solicit applications from qualified 
        intermediaries for a delegation of authority under this 
        section.
            (2) Contents of application.--Each application under this 
        subsection shall include--
                    (A) a certification that the applicant will--
                            (i) provide matching funds from sources 
                        other than this Act in an amount that is not 
                        less than the amount of assistance provided to 
                        the applicant under this section; and
                            (ii) distribute assistance to eligible 
                        sponsors in the State in accordance with 
                        section 4; and
                    (B) a description of--
                            (i) the State or the area within a State to 
                        be served;
                            (ii) the incidence of poverty and 
                        substandard housing in the State or area to be 
                        served;
                            (iii) the technical and financial 
                        qualifications of the applicant; and
                            (iv) the assistance sought and a proposed 
                        plan for the distribution of such assistance in 
                        accordance with section 4.
            (3) Multistate applications.--The Secretary may, in the 
        discretion of the Secretary, seek application by qualified 
        intermediaries for more than one State.

SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act 
$250,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2007 through 2011.
                                 <all>