The Washington Independent

Posts Tagged hud

Senate women ‘draw the line’ on budget talks

By | 04.08.11 | 5:40 pm | More from The Iowa Independent

Female members of the U.S. Senate made clear Friday that they have no intention of “throwing women under the bus” by giving in to Republican demands to approve several policy riders attached to a budget bill designed to keep the federal government operational.

“Since they (Republicans) don’t know how to More…

AARP sues U.S. housing department over reverse-mortgage policy

By | 03.09.11 | 10:25 am

AARP, the largest advocacy group in the U.S. for retired persons, sued on Tuesday the Department of Housing and Urban Development for promoting policy changes that led to the foreclosure of seniors’ homes.

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of three surviving spouses of reverse-mortgage borrowers, who allege that More…

U.S. House subcommittee turns attention to terminating foreclosure mitigation services

Leadership in the U.S. House Financial Services Committee will hold a subcommittee hearing this week in advance of four bills aimed at terminating federal programs designed to keep Americans in their homes.

HUD policy: Discrimination on basis of sexual orientation, gender identity prohibited

The federal department of Housing and Urban Development has announced a new policy initiative to prohibit discrimination in housing programs on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.

“This is a fundamental issue of fairness,” said HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan. “We have a responsibility to make certain More…

Flooded school_thumb

A Flood of Money Slow to Fix New Orleans Schools

By | 08.30.10 | 3:40 pm

This week, The Washington Independent is featuring a series of investigative stories on the rebuilding of New Orleans, five years after Hurricane Katrina. Find all of them here.

After Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, the federal government began the most expensive long-term rebuilding project in American history. The More…

A Revival of the Homebuyer Tax Credits?

By | 08.30.10 | 10:02 am

This weekend, Shaun Donovan, the secretary of Housing and Urban Development, said that “it was too soon to say” whether the Obama administration might revive its $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers or $6,500 credit for other home buyers.

FHA to Tighten Lending Standards as Defaults Rise

By | 12.02.09 | 9:27 am

On the heels of our report detailing short-sale flipping and other kinds of mortgage fraud that are on the rise, the Federal Housing Administration plans to announce it will tighten lending standards to try to stem rising defaults.

The Washington Post reports Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun More…

Fears Grow for a Bailout of the FHA

By | 09.04.09 | 8:57 am

This should sound familiar: Growing losses on Federal Housing Administration-backed mortgage loans are prompting fears the agency will be next in line for taxpayer help, The Wall Street Journal says.

The Federal Housing Administration, hit by increasing mortgage-related losses, is in danger of seeing its reserves fall below the

More…

Housing Market Madness? A New Push for a Bigger Homebuyer Tax Credit

By | 06.11.09 | 9:06 am

Are we really going to go through this again? Immediately after the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development finished putting the final touches on a controversial plan to allow first-time homebuyers to use an $8,000 tax credit as a downpayment on a new home, some in the  Senate More…

First Time Home Buyer Program Ripe for Abuse

By | 05.21.09 | 1:00 pm

foreclosure-new-house
When U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan announced last week that first-time homebuyers soon will be permitted to turn their $8,000 tax credit for purchasing a property into downpayment money, he called the development “exciting” and “a real win for everyone.”

But his enthusiasm isn’t More…