Veterans Affairs Homeless Programs: Implementation of the
Transitional Housing Loan Guarantee Program (16-MAR-05,
GAO-05-311R).
In 1998, Congress passed the Veterans Programs Enhancement Act,
which authorized the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to
establish a new loan guarantee program for the construction or
rehabilitation of multifamily transitional housing projects
specifically designed to provide housing for homeless veterans.
The program is intended to increase the amount of housing
available, as well as provide other services to encourage
addiction recovery and reestablish work and social relationships.
GAO was asked to examine why no multifamily housing projects are
operational, given that the VA's loan guarantee program was
authorized 6 years ago. Specifically, GAO was asked to provide
information on (1) actions VA has taken to implement the
Transitional Housing Loan Guarantee Program and (2) issues that
have affected program implementation.
-------------------------Indexing Terms-------------------------
REPORTNUM: GAO-05-311R
ACCNO: A19616
TITLE: Veterans Affairs Homeless Programs: Implementation of the
Transitional Housing Loan Guarantee Program
DATE: 03/16/2005
SUBJECT: Government guaranteed loans
Housing construction
Housing programs
Housing repairs
Program evaluation
Program management
Urban development programs
Veterans
Veterans benefits
Federal aid for housing
Federal aid programs
Schedule slippages
VA Transitional Housing Loan Guarantee
Program
******************************************************************
** This file contains an ASCII representation of the text of a **
** GAO Product. **
** **
** No attempt has been made to display graphic images, although **
** figure captions are reproduced. Tables are included, but **
** may not resemble those in the printed version. **
** **
** Please see the PDF (Portable Document Format) file, when **
** available, for a complete electronic file of the printed **
** document's contents. **
** **
******************************************************************
GAO-05-311R
United States Government Accountability Office Washington, DC 20548
March 16, 2005
The Honorable Christopher H. Smith House of Representatives
Subject: Veterans Affairs Homeless Programs: Implementation of the
Transitional Housing Loan Guarantee Program
In 1998, Congress passed the Veterans Programs Enhancement Act, which
authorized the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to establish a new loan
guarantee program for the construction or rehabilitation of multifamily
transitional housing projects specifically designed to provide housing for
homeless veterans. The program is intended to increase the amount of
housing available, as well as provide other services to encourage
addiction recovery and reestablish work and social relationships. You
asked us to examine why no multifamily housing projects are operational,
given that the loan guarantee program was authorized over 6 years ago.
Specifically, you asked us to provide information on (1) actions VA has
taken to implement the Transitional Housing Loan Guarantee Program and (2)
issues that have affected program implementation.
To provide this information, we reviewed documentation for the
Transitional Housing Loan Guarantee Program; the Federal Credit Reform Act
of 1990 and other applicable criteria, such as Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) circulars and a Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board
technical release; OMB's role in federal credit programs; and our past
reports on housing for homeless veterans and other federal credit
programs. We also interviewed the program development contractor and VA
and OMB officials to obtain their views on program development and any
issues that may have impacted implementation. Our work was performed from
September 2004 through March 2005 in accordance with generally accepted
government auditing standards.
In summary, we found that since enactment of the legislation authorizing
the loan program in 1998, VA has drafted regulations; designed the
program, including working with program contractors to develop the loan
terms and supporting infrastructure for processing and administering the
loans; and consulted with OMB and sponsors (potential loan recipients) to
conceive the initial housing projects. Program implementation has been
affected by the challenges associated with creating VA's first
transitional housing loan guarantee program for homeless veterans,
deciding on program financing and structure including whether VA or the
Department of Housing and Urban Development should manage the program,
replacing the initial program development contractor, and addressing
delays
associated with project-specific, local issues such as historical
preservation and obtaining land parcels. Enclosure I contains briefing
slides on our findings.
We provided a draft of this report to VA for comment. In its written
comments, VA concurred with the report's findings. VA also provided
technical comments, which we incorporated. (See encl. II for a copy of
VA's comments.)
We are sending copies of this report to the Chairman and Ranking Minority
Member,
House Committee on Veterans' Affairs; the Chairman and Ranking Minority
Member,
Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs; and the Secretary of Veterans
Affairs. We will
also make copies available to others upon request. In addition, the report
will be
available at no charge on GAO's Web site at http://www.gao.gov. If you or
your staff
have any questions about this report, please contact me at (202) 512-7101
or Michael
T. Blair, Jr., Assistant Director, at (404) 679-1944. Aditi Shah Archer
and Michael
Tropauer made key contributions to this report.
Sincerely yours,
Cynthia A. Bascetta
Director, Health Care-Veterans'
Health and Benefits Issues
Enclosures - 2
(290417)
This is a work of the U.S. government and is not subject to copyright
protection in the United States. It may be reproduced and distributed in
its entirety without further permission from GAO. However, because this
work may contain copyrighted images or other material, permission from the
copyright holder may be necessary if you wish to reproduce this material
separately.
GAO's Mission
Obtaining Copies of GAO Reports and Testimony
The Government Accountability Office, the audit, evaluation and
investigative arm of Congress, exists to support Congress in meeting its
constitutional responsibilities and to help improve the performance and
accountability of the federal government for the American people. GAO
examines the use of public funds; evaluates federal programs and policies;
and provides analyses, recommendations, and other assistance to help
Congress make informed oversight, policy, and funding decisions. GAO's
commitment to good government is reflected in its core values of
accountability, integrity, and reliability.
The fastest and easiest way to obtain copies of GAO documents at no cost
is through GAO's Web site (www.gao.gov). Each weekday, GAO posts newly
released reports, testimony, and correspondence on its Web site. To have
GAO e-mail you a list of newly posted products every afternoon, go to
www.gao.gov and select "Subscribe to Updates."
Order by Mail or Phone The first copy of each printed report is free.
Additional copies are $2 each. A check or money order should be made out
to the Superintendent of Documents. GAO also accepts VISA and Mastercard.
Orders for 100 or more copies mailed to a single address are discounted 25
percent. Orders should be sent to:
U.S. Government Accountability Office 441 G Street NW, Room LM Washington,
D.C. 20548
To order by Phone: Voice: (202) 512-6000 TDD: (202) 512-2537 Fax: (202)
512-6061
To Report Fraud, Contact:
Waste, and Abuse in Web site: www.gao.gov/fraudnet/fraudnet.htm
E-mail: fraudnet@gao.govFederal Programs Automated answering system: (800)
424-5454 or (202) 512-7470
Gloria Jarmon, Managing Director, JarmonG@gao.gov (202)
512-4400Congressional U.S. Government Accountability Office, 441 G Street
NW, Room 7125 Relations Washington, D.C. 20548
Public Affairs Paul Anderson, Managing Director, AndersonP1@gao.gov (202)
512-4800 U.S. Government Accountability Office, 441 G Street NW, Room 7149
Washington, D.C. 20548
PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER
*** End of document. ***