[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 88 (Wednesday, May 7, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24969-24970]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-11811]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. 4221-D-02]


Redelegation of Authority

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Housing-Federal Housing 
Commissioner, HUD.

ACTION: Redelegation of authority.

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SUMMARY: In a notice published elsewhere in today's Federal Register, 
the Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development 
delegated all authority with respect to the Portfolio Reengineering 
Demonstration Programs to the Assistant Secretary for Housing-Federal 
Housing Commissioner. In this notice, the Assistant Secretary for 
Housing-Federal Housing Commissioner redelegates the authority to 
execute restructuring commitment letters and closing documents with 
respect to the Portfolio Reengineering Demonstration Programs to the 
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Multifamily Housing Programs, who 
further redelegates this authority, as specified herein, to various 
field office Directors, Office of Housing; Directors, Housing Division; 
and Directors, Office of Multifamily Housing.

EFFECTIVE DATE: March 28, 1997.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
George C. Dipman, Demonstration Program Coordinator, Office of 
Multifamily Housing, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 
Seventh Street, SW., Room 6106, Washington, DC 20410-4000; Telephone 
(202) 708-3321. (This is not a toll-free number). Hearing or speech-
impaired individuals may call 1-800-877-8339 (Federal Information Relay 
Service TTY).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Over 800,000 housing units in approximately 
8,500 projects are currently financed with FHA-insured loans and 
supported by project-based Section 8 housing assistance payment 
(``HAP'') contracts. In many cases, these HAP contracts currently 
provide for rents which substantially exceed the rents received by 
comparable unassisted units in the local market. Starting in Fiscal 
Year (``FY'') 1996, those Section 8 contracts began to expire, and 
Congress and the Administration provided one-year extensions of 
expiring contracts at a cost of over $200 million. While annual HAP 
contract extensions for these projects maintain an important housing 
resource, they come at great expense. Every year more contracts expire, 
compounding the cost of annual extensions. In ten years, the annual 
cost of renewing Section 8 contracts is projected to rise to 
approximately $7 billion, about one-third of HUD's current budget. If, 
however, the Section 8 assistance is reduced or eliminated, there is an 
increased likelihood that these projects will be unable to continue to 
meet their financial obligations including operating expenses, debt 
service payments, and current and future capital needs.
    In seeking a solution to this serious problem, Congress enacted 
Section 210 of Departments of Veteran Affairs and Housing and Urban 
Development, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 1996 (110 
Stat. 1321) (``HUD's FY 1996 Appropriations Act''), authorizing HUD to 
conduct a demonstration program designed to explore various approaches 
for restructuring the financing of projects that have FHA-insured 
mortgages and that receive Section 8 rental assistance, and taking 
other related action in order to reduce the risk to the FHA insurance 
fund and lower subsidy costs while preserving housing affordability and 
availability.
    Sections 211 and 212 of the Departments of Veterans Affairs and 
Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies Appropriations 
Act, 1997 (Pub. L. No. 104-204, 110 Stat. 2874, approved September 26, 
1996) (``HUD's FY 1997 Appropriations Act'') respectively, grant 
Section 8 Contract Renewal Authority, repeal the Portfolio 
Reengineering Demonstration Program authorized by Section 210 of HUD's 
FY 1996 Appropriations Act, and authorize the conduct of a new 
Portfolio Reengineering Demonstration Program, modelled in large part 
after the FY 1996 Portfolio Reengineering Demonstration Program.
    Although Section 212 of HUD's FY 1997 Appropriations Act repealed 
the Portfolio Reengineering Demonstration Program authorized under 
Section 210 of HUD's 1996 Appropriations Act, funds made available 
under Section 210 remain available through FY 1997, and the FY 1997 
Portfolio Reengineering Demonstration Program does not nullify any 
agreements or proposals that have been submitted under the FY 1996 
Portfolio Reengineering Demonstration Program. Proposals submitted 
under the FY 1996 Portfolio Reengineering Demonstration Program which 
were received by the Department prior to September 25, 1996 will 
continue to be processed by HUD, pursuant to the FY 1996 legislation.
    The Portfolio Reengineering Demonstration Program, authorized by 
the FY 1996 Appropriations Act, as implemented by a notice published at 
61 FR 34664, July 2, 1996, and the Portfolio Reengineering 
Demonstration Program, authorized by the FY 1997 Appropriations Act, as 
implemented by a notice published at 62 FR 3566, January 23, 1997, 
grant the Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development 
(``Secretary'') all power and authority to administer these 
demonstration programs, including the authority to execute 
restructuring commitment letters and closing documents. A restructuring 
commitment letter is a document sent to the participating project owner

[[Page 24970]]

memorializing the final restructuring agreement between HUD and the 
participating project owner with respect to the specific project, and 
the closing documents must be executed for the project restructuring to 
become effective.
    Elsewhere in today's Federal Register, the Secretary has 
redelegated to the Assistant Secretary for Housing-Federal Housing 
Commissioner all power and authority with respect to the Portfolio 
Reengineering Demonstration Program. That delegation authorizes the 
Assistant Secretary to further redelegate such authority.
    Accordingly, the Assistant Secretary for Housing-Federal Housing 
Commissioner and the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Multifamily Housing 
redelegate authority as follows:

Section A. Authority Redelegate

    The Assistant Secretary for Housing-Federal Housing Commissioner 
redelegates to the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Multifamily Housing 
Programs the authority to execute restructuring commitment letters and 
closing documents related to the Portfolios Reengineering Demonstration 
Programs, as granted by Section 210 of the Departments of Veteran 
Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies 
Appropriations Act, 1996 (110 Stat. 1321), and Section 212 of the 
Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and 
Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 1997 (Pub. L. No. 104-204, 110 
Stat. 2874, approved September 26, 1996).

Section B. Authority Further Redelegated

    The Deputy Assistant Secretary for Multifamily Housing Programs 
redelegates authority under the Portfolio Reengineering Demonstration 
Programs authorized by HUD's FY 1996 and FY 1997 Appropriations Acts as 
follows:
    (1) The authority to execute restructuring commitment letters is 
redelegated to the:

(1) Director, Multifamily Housing Division, in the Pittsburgh Area 
Office;
(b) Director, Multifamily Housing Division, in the Buffalo Area Office;
(c) Director, Multifamily Housing Division, in the Cleveland Area 
Office;
(d) Director, Multifamily Housing Division, in the Kansas/Missouri 
State Office;
(e) Director, Multifamily Housing, and the Director, Multifamily 
Housing Division, in the Georgia State Office;
(f) Director, Office of Housing, and the Director, Multifamily Housing 
Division, in the Jacksonville Area Office;
(g) Director, Office of Housing, and the Director, Multifamily Housing 
Division, in the Colorado State Office;
(h) Director, Multifamily Housing Division, in the Houston Area Office;
(i) Director, Office of Housing, and the Director, Multifamily Housing 
Division, in the California State Office; and
(j) Director, Office of Housing, and the Director, Multifamily Housing 
Division, in the Washington State Office.

    (2) The authority to execute closing documents is redelegated 
individually to the Department of Housing and Urban Development field 
office Directors, Office of Housing; Directors, Housing Division; and 
the Directors, Multifamily Housing Division.

Section C. Authority Excepted

    The authority redelegated under Sections A and B does not include 
the power to sue or be sued.

    Authority: Section 7(d), Department of Housing and Urban 
Development Act, 42 U.S.C. 3535(d).

    Dated: March 28, 1997.
Nicolas P. Retsinas,
Assistant Secretary for Housing--Federal Housing Commissioner.

    Dated: March 28, 1997.
John H. (Chris) Greer,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Multifamily Housing Programs.
[FR Doc. 97-11811 Filed 5-6-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210-27-M