On the Road Again

With all the trillions in bailout money being thrown around these days, it's tempting to think about how a relatively small amount of money by those standards, say $25 or $30 billion, could solve one of the nation's most troubling housing needs. Still, it remains smarter to work by taking small steps first.Having scored a coup by getting the only major American Indian legislation through Congress last year, Indian housing officials are pressing full speed ahead for more money and the elimination of a major roadblock to Native homeownership.The National American Indian Housing Council will ask Congress for $854 million in fiscal 2010 to fund Indian housing block grants through the Native American Housing Assistance and Self Determination Act. Indian housing activists last year got a bill re-authorizing NAHASDA through Congress last year.That amount would be a substantial boost from the $630 million appropriated in the last fiscal year. Fiscal 2009 money, still pending in Congress, has been proposed at $650 million in the Senate and $645 million in the House of Representatives. Tribal housing has also been boosted by a one-time $510 million provision in the president's stimulus plan.NAIHC revealed at its annual legislative conference in Washington, DC that it will also ask for $50 million to fund the Bureau of Indian Affairs' Housing Improvement Program. This program had been zeroed out in President Bush's fiscal 2009 budget. However, $40 million to help fund HIP has been included in the President's stimulus package.The group also plans to lobby to reform BIA's Title Status Report program "to encourage homeownership and business development." Difficulty in obtaining TSRs in a timely fashion has hurt the effort to extend mortgage lending to tribal homelands.NAIHC, which recently expanded into advocacy for Native Hawaiians, wants Congress "to swiftly enact the Hawaiian Homeownership and Opportunity Act of 2009 to reauthorize and amend Title VIII of NAHASDA (Housing Assistance for Native Hawaiians)."The group also seeks federal catastrophic protection for AMERIND Risk Management Corp. in the event of claims exceeding $35 million from fire, wind or flooding. And it would like to see AMERIND's scope expanded beyond the Department of Housing and Urban Development to other federal agencies.NAIHC is also seeking an appropriation of $4.8 million to fund its training and technical assistance effort. This program was zeroed out in President Bush's budget for fiscal 2009. It was funded at $2 million in fiscal 2008. The groups also wants to "maximize federal resources for the elimination of drugs and drug-related activities in Native communities."