[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 88 (Wednesday, May 7, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24968-24969]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-11812]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT


[Docket No. FR4221-D-01]

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, HUD.

ACTION: Delegation of authority.

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SUMMARY: In this notice, the Secretary of the Department of Housing and 
Urban Development delegates all power and authority to administer the 
Portfolio Reengineering Demonstration Programs to the Assistant 
Secretary for Housing-Federal Housing Commissioner.

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 1-800-877-8399 (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

[[Page 24969]]

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 
all power and authority to administer these demonstration programs.
    Accordingly, the Secretary delegates authority as follows:

Section A. Authority Delegated

    The Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development 
delegates to the Assistant Secretary for Housing-Federal Housing 
Commissioner all power and authority to administer the Portfolio 
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 
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).

Section B. Authority Excepted

    The authority delegated under Section A 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.
Andrew Cuomo,
Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
[FR Doc. 97-11812 Filed 5-6-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210-32-M