[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 2 (Thursday, January 3, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 317-318]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-31626]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR-5672-D-01]


Redelegation of Authority to the Deputy Assistant Secretary for 
Housing Counseling

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

ACTION: Notice of redelegation of uthority.

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SUMMARY: The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act 
of 2010 (Dodd-Frank Act), amends section 106 of the Housing and Urban 
Development Act of 1968 and authorizes the establishment of an Office 
of Housing Counseling in the Department of Housing and Urban 
Development. This Notice describes specific organizational steps that 
HUD has taken to establish an Office of Housing Counseling and 
redelegates authority to the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Housing 
Counseling, a new position established to have primary responsibility 
within HUD for all activities and matters relating to homeownership and 
rental housing counseling consistent with section 1442 of the Dodd-
Frank Act.

DATES: Effective Date: December 28, 2012.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Office of the Deputy Assistant 
Secretary for Housing Counseling, 451 7th Street SW., Room 9224, 
Washington, DC, 20410, Telephone: 202-708-0317. (This is not a toll-
free number). Persons with hearing or speech impairments may access 
this number by calling HUD's toll-free Federal Relay Service number at 
800-877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In general, HUD's major program for housing 
counseling is authorized by section 106 of the Housing and Urban 
Development Act of 1968 (12 U.S.C. 1701x et seq.)(1968 Act). Other 
statutory authority also requires HUD to provide, or cause to be 
provided, counseling assistance, including sections 255(f) and (l) of 
the National Housing Act (relating to Home Equity Conversion Mortgages) 
(12 U.S.C. 1715z-20) and section 2128 of the Housing and Economic 
Recovery Act of 2008 (relating to a pre-homeownership counseling 
demonstration project) (12 U.S.C. 1701x note). Other authority for 
HUD's housing counseling program is referenced in section 1442 of the 
Dodd-Frank Act (Pub. L. 111-203, approved July 21, 2010). As the 
primary authority for HUD's housing counseling program, section 106 is 
funded annually through appropriations action under a specific 
appropriations account for housing counseling. Activities under section 
106 include pre-purchase and post-purchase homeownership counseling, 
default and foreclosure prevention counseling, counseling for renter 
households, counseling in connection with reverse mortgages and 
counseling to protect consumers from mortgage fraud. Counseling is 
provided through HUD-approved housing counseling agencies which receive 
grants from HUD to provide these services.
    Subtitle D of Title XIV of the Dodd-Frank Act, which consists of 
sections 1440 through 1452, makes several amendments to strengthen 
HUD's housing counseling program. Section 1442 amends section 4 of the 
Department of Housing and Urban Development Act (42 U.S.C. 3533) 
(Department of HUD Act) to establish an Office of Housing Counseling 
within HUD specifically devoted to administration and oversight of 
housing counseling agencies, individual counselors and the counseling 
services offered under the program. Sections 1443, 1444, 1445 and 1448 
of the Dodd-Frank Act amend section 106 of the 1968 Act to improve the 
effectiveness of HUD's housing counseling program by, among other 
things, defining certain commonly used terms in the program; ensuring 
that HUD-approved counselors provide counseling covering the entire 
process of homeownership from the purchase of a home to its 
disposition, ensuring that rental or homeownership counseling required 
under certain HUD programs is administered in accordance with 
procedures established by HUD, and requiring that all HUD-related 
homeownership counseling and rental housing counseling is provided by 
HUD-certified housing counseling agencies through HUD-certified housing 
counselors.

[[Page 318]]

    Under delegations of authority published in the Federal Register on 
June 20, 2012 (77 FR 37252), the authority for carrying out section 106 
of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968 and other counseling 
provisions established in National Housing Act programs was delegated 
from the Secretary of HUD to the Assistant Secretary for Housing-
Federal Housing Commissioner and the General Deputy Assistant Secretary 
for Housing-Deputy Federal Housing Commissioner. In turn, this 
authority was redelegated to the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Single 
Family Programs and the Associate Deputy Assistant Secretary and 
through them to certain managers within that organization.
    To implement the Dodd-Frank Act and consolidate responsibility for 
homeownership and rental housing counseling within HUD, the Department 
assessed its existing organizational framework for providing housing 
counseling services and, with the approval of the Congress, determined 
to establish a new Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Housing 
Counseling located within the Office of Housing. The Office of Housing 
Counseling would continue and expand upon the major homeownership and 
rental counseling services already performed by the Office of Housing. 
The functions of the new office are described in Section A., below.
    Today's notice also redelegates authority from the Assistant 
Secretary for Housing to the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Housing 
Counseling to carry out the major homeownership and rental housing 
counseling programs, including section 106 activities. To the extent 
that today's notice redelegates authority to administer HUD's housing 
counseling program, this notice supersedes the redelegation of 
authority to the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Single Family Housing 
published on June 20, 2012, with respect to homeownership and rental 
housing counseling.

Section A. Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Housing 
Counseling

    The Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Housing 
Counseling, directed by a Deputy Assistant Secretary for Housing 
Counseling and an Associate Deputy Assistant Secretary for Housing 
Counseling, provides overall program and grant management, policy 
direction, and strategy (including outreach activities) for 
homeownership and rental housing counseling (including certification) 
and also provides direction and coordination of internal and external 
relationships. Three offices report to the Office of the Deputy 
Assistant Secretary for Housing Counseling:
     The Office of Policy and Grant Administration. This office 
carries out research and evaluation activities, grant making and 
administration functions, development of program policies, procedures 
and regulations, and coordination with other offices within and without 
HUD which operate housing counseling programs. The office is headed by 
an Office Director and a Deputy Office Director.
     The Office of Outreach and Capacity Building. This office 
conducts outreach, education, training and consultation services for 
program participants, including housing counseling agencies and state 
and local governments. The office develops marketing and educational 
campaigns and provides training, technical assistance, and program 
materials to program participants. The office provides a central point 
of contact for program participants. The office ensures that evaluation 
results are integrated into its outreach activities. The office is 
headed by a Director and Deputy Director.
     The Office of Oversight and Accountability. Functions of 
the office include review of applications for approval of agencies and 
counselors, monitoring and evaluation of agencies and grantees to 
ensure compliance with counseling program requirements, tracking and 
oversight of grant funds, and initiating actions to remove or sanction 
non-compliant program participants. The office assists with program 
evaluation, grant making, and certification functions. The office is 
headed by a Director and Deputy Director.

Section B. Authority Delegated

    The Assistant Secretary for Housing--Federal Housing Commissioner 
hereby redelegates to the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Housing 
Counseling and the Associate Deputy Assistant Secretary for Housing 
Counseling the authority to sign documents, establish procedures for, 
and carry out all enumerated functions in connection with homeownership 
counseling and rental housing counseling, including but not limited to 
making grants, conducting demonstration and outreach projects, 
evaluating program performance, imposing sanctions on program 
participants, developing certification requirements and providing 
training and technical assistance.

Section C. Authority Excepted

    The authority redelegated in Section B does not include the 
authority to sue or be sued or to appoint members of any advisory 
committee established to advise the Office of the Deputy Assistant 
Secretary for Housing Counseling. The authority redelegated in Section 
B does not include authority to issue or waive any statutory or 
regulatory requirement for the program.

Section D. Authority to Redelegate

    The authority redelegated in Section B may be redelegated to the 
Office Directors and Deputy Directors commensurate with the respective 
functions of their office and may be further redelegated as 
appropriate.

Section E. Authority Superseded

    This redelegation supersedes all previous redelegations of 
authority with respect to homeownership and rental housing counseling 
including the redelegation of authority published on June 20, 2012 (77 
FR 37252).

    Authority: Section 7(d) of the Department of Housing and Urban 
Development Act (42 U.S.C. 3535(d)); Section 4(g) of the Department 
of Housing and Urban Development Act (42 U.S.C. 3533(g)), as amended 
by Section 1442 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer 
Protection Act of 2010.

    Dated: December 28, 2012.
Carol J. Galante,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Housing--Federal Housing Commissioner.
[FR Doc. 2012-31626 Filed 1-2-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210-67-P