[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] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT [Docket No. FR4221-D-01] AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, HUD. ACTION: Delegation of authority. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 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