PART XII-ORGANIZATION AND ADMINISTRATION OF DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT АСТ

[Public Law 89-174; 79 Stat. 667; 42 U.S.C. 3531 et seq.]

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That this Act may be cited as the "Department of Housing and Urban Development Act". [42 U.S.C. 3531 note]

DECLARATION OF PURPOSE

SEC. 2. [42 U.S.C. 3531] The Congress hereby declares that the general welfare and security of the Nation and the health and living standards of our people require, as a matter of national purpose, sound development of the Nation's communities and metropolitan areas in which the vast majority of its people live and work.

To carry out such purpose, and in recognition of the increasing importance of housing and urban development in our national life, the Congress finds that establishment of an executive department is desirable to achieve the best administration of the principal programs of the Federal Government which provide assistance for housing and for the development of the Nation's communities; to assist the President in achieving maximum coordination of the various Federal activities which have a major effect upon urban community, suburban, or metropolitan development; to encourage the solution of problems of housing, urban development, and mass transportation through State, county, town, village, or other local and private action, including promotion of interstate, regional, and metropolitan cooperation; to encourage the maximum contributions that may be made by vigorous private homebuilding and mortgage lending industries to housing, urban development, and the national economy; and to provide for full and appropriate consideration, at the national level, of the needs and interests of the Nation's communities and of the people who live and work in them.

ESTABLISHMENT OF DEPARTMENT

SEC. 3. [42 U.S.C. 3532] (a) There is hereby established at the seat of government an executive department to be known as the Department of Housing and Urban Development (hereinafter referred to as the "Department"). There shall be at the head of the Department a Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (hereinafter referred to as the "Secretary"), who shall be appointed by the President by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.

The Department shall be administered under the supervision and direction of the Secretary.

(b) The Secretary shall, among his responsibilities advise the President with respect to Federal programs and activities relating to housing and urban development; develop and recommend to the President policies for fostering the orderly growth and development of the Nation's urban areas; exercise leadership at the direction of the President in coordinating Federal activities affecting housing and urban development; provide technical assistance and information, including a clearinghouse service to aid State, county, town, village, or other local governments in developing solutions to community and metropolitan development problems; consult and cooperate with State Governors and State agencies, including, when appropriate, holding informal public hearings, with respect to Federal and State programs for assisting communities in developing solutions to community and metropolitan development problems and for encouraging effective regional cooperation in the planning and conduct of community and metropolitan development programs and projects; encourage comprehensive planning by the State and local governments with a view to coordinating Federal, State, and local urban and community development activities; encourage private enterprise to serve as large a part of the Nation's total housing and urban development needs as it can and develop the fullest cooperation with private enterprise in achieving the objectives of the Department; and conduct continuing comprehensive studies, and make available findings, with respect to the problems of housing and urban development.

(c) Nothing in this Act shall be construed to deny or limit the benefits of any program, function, or activity assigned to the Department by this or any other Act to any community on the basis of its population or corporate status, except as may be expressly provided by law.

(d) The Secretary shall

(1) promote the coordination of all programs under the jurisdiction of the Secretary that are carried on within an enterprise zone designated pursuant to section 701 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1987;

(2) expedite, to the greatest extent possible, the consideration of applications for programs referred to in paragraph (1) through the consolidation of forms or otherwise; and

(3) provide, whenever possible, for the consolidation of periodic reports required under programs referred to in paragraph (1) into one summary report submitted at such intervals as may be designated by the Secretary.

UNDER SECRETARY AND OTHER OFFICERS AND OFFICES

SEC. 4. [42 U.S.C. 3533] (a) There shall be in the Department a Deputy Secretary,1 eight Assistant Secretaries2, and a general counsel, who shall be appointed by the President by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, and who shall perform such functions, powers, and duties as the Secretary shall prescribe from time to time.

(b) There shall be in the Department a Federal Housing Commissioner, who shall be one of the Assistant Secretaries, who shall head a Federal Housing Administration within the Department, who shall have such duties and powers as may be prescribed by the Secretary, and who shall administer, under the supervision and direction of the Secretary, departmental programs relating to the private mortgage market. The Secretary shall ensure, to the extent practicable, that managers of Federal Housing Administration programs, at each level of the Department, shall be accountable for program operation, risk management, management of cash and other Federal assets, and program financing related to activities over which such managers have responsibility.

(c) There shall be in the Department a Director of Urban Program Coordination, who shall be designated by the Secretary. He shall assist the Secretary in carrying out his responsibilities to the President with respect to achieving maximum coordination of the programs of the various departments and agencies of the Government which have a major impact on community development. In providing such assistance, the Director shall make such studies of urban and community problems as the Secretary shall request, and shall develop recommendations relating to the administration of Federal programs affecting such problems, particularly with respect to achieving effective cooperation among the Federal, State, and local agencies concerned. Subject to the direction of the Secretary, the Director shall, in carrying out his responsibilities, (1) establish and maintain close liaison with the Federal departments and agencies concerned, and (2) consult with State, local, and regional officials, and consider their recommendations with respect to such programs.

(d) There shall be in the Department an Assistant to the Secretary, designated by the Secretary, who shall be responsible for providing information and advice to nonprofit organizations desiring to sponsor housing projects assisted under programs administered by the Department.

Section 112(a)(4) of the Federal Employees Pay Comparability Act of 1990, which consists of section 529 of Pub. L. 101-509, approved November 5, 1990, replaced "Under Secretary" with "Deputy Secretary". Subsection (b) of such section deemed any reference to the "Under Secretary of Housing and Urban Development" in any statute, reorganization plan, regulation, executive order, or any document issued pursuant thereto in force on the date of enactment of such Act to be a reference to the "Deputy Secretary of Housing and Urban Development".

2Section 215 of the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies Act, 1996 (as contained in section 101(e) of the Omnibus Consolidated Rescissions and Appropriations Act of 1996, Pub. L. 104-134) provides as follows:

"EMPLOYMENT LIMITATIONS

"SEC. 215. (a) By the end of fiscal year 1996 the Department of Housing and Urban DevelopTent shall employ no more than eight Assistant Secretaries, notwithstanding section 4(a) of the Department of Housing and Urban Development Act.

b) By the end of fiscal year 1996 the Department of Housing and Urban Development shall employ no more than 77 schedule C and 20 non-career senior executive service employees.".

(e)(1)(A) There shall be in the Department a Special Assistant for Indian and Alaska Native Programs, who shall be located in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing. The Special Assistant for Indian and Alaska Native Programs shall be designated by the Secretary not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this subsection.

(B) The Special Assistant for Indian and Alaska Native Programs shall be appointed based solely on merit and shall be cov ered under the provisions of title 5, United States Code, governing appointments in the competitive service.

(C) The Special Assistant for Indian and Alaska Native Programs shall be responsible for

(i) administering, in coordination with the relevant office in the Department, the provision of housing assistance to Indian tribes or Indian housing authorities under each program of the Department that provides for such assistance;

(ii) administering the community development block grant program for Indian tribes under title I of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 and the provision of assistance to Indian tribes under such Act;

(iii) directing, coordinating, and assisting in managing any regional offices of the Department that administer Indian programs to the extent of such programs; and

(iv) coordinating all programs of the Department relating to Indian and Alaska Native housing and community development.

(D) The Secretary shall include in the annual report under section 8 a description of the extent of the housing needs for Indian families and community development needs of Indian tribes in the United States and the activities of the Department, and extent of such activities, in meeting such needs.

(2) The Secretary shall, not later than December 1 of each year, submit to Congress an annual report which shall include

(A) a description of his actions during the current year and a projection of his activities during the succeeding years;

(B) estimate of the cost of the projected activities for succeeding fiscal years;

(C) a statistical report on the conditions of Indian and Alaska Native housing; and

(D) recommendations for such legislative, administrative, and other actions, as he deems appropriate.

(f) There shall be in the Department a Federal Housing Administration Comptroller, designated by the Secretary, who shall be responsible for overseeing the financial operations of the Federal Housing Administration. 1

1The Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 1992, Pub. L. 102-139, 105 Stat. 753, provides as follows: "That there shall be established, in the Office of the Secretary, an Office of Lead Based Paint Abatement and Poisoning Prevention to be headed by a career Senior Executive Service em ployee who shall be responsible for all lead-based paint abatement and poisoning prevention activities (including, but not limited to, research, abatement, training regulations and policy development)".

The Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 1993, Pub. L. 102-389, 106 Stat. 1593, provides as follows: "Notwithstanding any other provision of this or any other Act with respect to any fiscal year, the Office of Lead-Based Paint Abatement and Poisoning Prevention shall be contained within