17 Ways Real Estate Benefit From the Ominbus Spending Bill
Hello everyone! I hope you all had an amazing Christmas. Today we will begin with the recently passed ominbus bill. On it's way to President Biden's desk for his signature. The 4,155 page, $1.65 trillion omnibus spending bill that cleared Congress on Friday. Passing with 225 to 201 votes, here are a few real estate highlights in the spending package:
Anti-money laundering: The bill provides funding for developing a beneficial ownership database, which includes information on real estate ownership to support anti-money laundering efforts.
Broadband: $364 million is appropriated to the USDA’s Rural Development Broadband ReConnect Program to fulfill its mission of providing loans and grants to fund construction, improvement or acquisition of facilities and equipment to provide broadband service in eligible rural areas.
Community development funding: The bill allocates nearly $6.4 billion to the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program and other local economic development projects to benefit low- and moderate-income neighborhoods and people.
COVID-19 assistance programs: There is increased funding in the bill for various programs under the pandemic-era CARES Act and American Rescue Plan, including housing and rental assistance.
Disaster assistance: $27 billion is appropriated for emergency funding to help communities recover from recent natural disasters, rebuild infrastructure and prepare for future events.
Elderly housing assistance: $1.4 billion is appropriated for the Housing for the Elderly and Housing for Persons with Disabilities.
Emergency disaster assistance: $38 billion is appropriated for emergency funding to help Americans impacted by recent disasters in the West and Southeast, including tornadoes, hurricanes, flooding and wildfires.
Energy assistance: $5 billion is appropriated for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, which helps low-income families pay their energy costs, including home energy bills, weatherization and certain energy-related home repairs.
Federal Housing Administration: The bill sets a limit of up to $400 billion in FHA commitments to guarantee single-family loans and provides $150 million for administrative costs, available through Sept. 30, 2024.
Flood insurance: The bill extends the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) through the end of 2023. The bill also increases flood map funding from $275 million to $313 million.
HOME Investment Partnerships Program: $1.5 billion is provided for HUD’s HOME Investments Partnerships Program, which provides grants to states and localities to fund housing-related activities, including building, buying and rehabilitating affordable housing units for rent or purchase, as well as rental assistance.
Homelessness assistance: $3.6 billion for homeless assistance grants, enough to provide funding to assist more than 1 million people experiencing homelessness.
Housing vouchers: The bill provides $130 million in new incremental funding for new Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers, enough to support an additional 11,700 low-income households.
Manufactured housing: $225 million is provided for the preservation and revitalization of manufactured housing units and communities.
Native community housing: Over $1 billion is appropriated for Native communities to purchase, construct or rehabilitate housing and related infrastructure.
Rural housing: $2 billion is appropriated for the USDA’s Rural Housing Service.
Veteran housing: $2.7 billion is included for critical services and housing assistance for veterans.
Helping you to make powerful and informed decisions. Thank you so much for stopping by. Until next time...Diana
