The House Financial Services Committee (FSC) released its portions of the COVID-19 relief legislation Friday. The legislation is expected to be considered under budget  reconciliation rules and will be considered Wednesday. This $75 billion  Financial Services Committee bill is expected to be approved by the end  of the week and will ultimately be added to the much larger $1.9  trillion COVID-19 relief legislation, similar to what is called for in  President Biden’s COVID relief plan, the American Rescue Plan.

The Financial Services Committee legislation contains $50 billion to  support additional housing and community assistance related to the  pandemic, including:

  • $25 billion in additional Emergency Rental Assistance$19.05 billion emergency rental and utility assistance, administered by Treasury, in addition to the $25 billion approved in December 2020 COVID-19 relief

  • $5 billion emergency Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers,

  • $750 million for Indian Housing Block Grant and Indian Community Development Block Grant programs,

  • $100 million for U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)-subsidized rental housing, and

  • $100 million for NeighborWorks America for housing counseling funding for renters and homeowners;

  • $5 billion for homelessness funding administered by HUD through the HOME program  formula to finance supportive services, affordable housing and  acquisition of non-congregate shelter, such as hotels;

  • $10 billion Homeowner Assistance Funding$9.961 billion in grants to states, territories and tribes administered by Treasury to  provide mortgage assistance and funding, covering property taxes,  property insurance, utilities and other housing-related costs, and
    $39 million for USDA single-family Section 502 direct mortgage and Section 504 very low-income home repair loans;

  • $10 billion for State Small Business Credit Initiative, a 2010 Obama-era initiative  administered by Treasury to assist small businesses, including$2.5 billion supporting small businesses owned by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals,

  • $500 million for tribal government programs,

  • $500 million for technical assistance to small businesses that need legal, financial  and other kinds of advice in applying for small business support  programs, and
    Requires detailed plan from states on Community  Development Financial Institution (CDFI)/Minority Depository Institution  (MDI) participation.

The House Ways and Means Committee released Monday its portions of the COVID-19 reconciliation bill covering the $940 billion in$ pandemic relief provisions within its  jurisdiction, and like the Financial Services Committee, is expected to  approve the legislation by the end of the week. As expected, no  provisions directly affecting community development tax incentives were  included, but economic relief targeted low-income households is expected  to help such households afford their housing. Much of the legislation  extends provisions of the December 2020 COVID-19 relief law and the  March 2020 CARES Act. Highlights of the provisions include: