Opinion: Federal Government Must Continue Supporting Rural Housing Program

In a piece for The Daily Yonder, Emily Nosse-Leirer explains why reforming the United States Department of Agriculture’s Rural Housing Service (USDA RHS) could be one cause that politicians from across the spectrum can get behind.

As Nosse-Leirer writes, “RHS is a lender, a mortgage guarantor, and a rental assistance provider for millions of American renters, homeowners, and housing developers, serving low- and moderate-income earners.” It is often the only form of housing assistance available to rural communities.

A proposed version of the Rural Housing Service Reform Act would address the impending crisis faced by USDA-funded rental housing, which will lose assistance when its mortgages expire. “The bill will allow the rental assistance to continue in properties that choose to enter a long-term contract with RHS after their mortgages are paid off.”

Nosse-Leirer also suggests that the incoming 119th Congress should also continue funding the program to ensure the low-income people who rely on it are able to stay in their homes. “Continued lending authority for multifamily loans would allow private, nonprofit, and governmental developers to build and preserve desperately needed housing across rural America.” The program is also a key source of mortgage loans for rural households.