``The online Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance gives you access to a database of all Federal programs available to State and local governments (including the District of Columbia); federally -recognized Indian tribal governments; Territories (and possessions) of the United States; domestic public, quasi-public, and private profit and nonprofit organizations and institutions; specialized groups; and individuals...''
http://12.46.245.173/pls/portal30/CATALOG.FIND_ASSISTANCE_PROGRAM_DYN.show
When you search under `housing' you get a list of abstracts that look like this:
``Abstract: 14.871 Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers FEDERAL AGENCY: PUBLIC AND INDIAN HOUSING, DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT AUTHORIZATION: Housing Act of 1937, Section 8(o), as amended, 42 U.S.C. 1437(o); Department of Housing and Urban Development Act, Section 7(d), 42 U.S.C. 3535(d); Housing and Urban-Rural Recovery Act of 1983, Public Law 98-181; Housing and Community Development Act of 1987, Part 3, Public Law 100-242; National Affordable Housing Act of 1990, Public Law 101-625; Housing and Community Development Act of 1992, Public Law 102-550; Housing Opportunity Program Extension Act of 1996, Public Law 104-120; Departments of Veterans Affairs, Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act of 1998, Public Law 105-65; Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act of 1998, Public Law 105-276; Preserving Affordable Housing for Senior Citizens and Families into the 21st Century Act of 1999, Public Law 106-74; Departments of Veterans Affairs, Housing and Urban Development; Independent Agencies Appropriations Act of 2000, and Violence Against Women and Justice Department Reauthorization Act of 2005, Public Law 109-162.
14.135 - Mortgage Insurance_Rental and Cooperative Housing for Moderate Income Families and Elderly, Market Interest Rate Abstract: 14.135 Mortgage Insurance_Rental and Cooperative Housing for Moderate Income Families and Elderly, Market Interest Rate (221(d)(3) and (4) Multifamily - Market Rate Housing) FEDERAL AGENCY: HOUSING, DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT AUTHORIZATION: National Housing Act, as amended, Section 221, Public Law 86-372, 12 U.S.C. 1715(1).
14.199 - Multifamily Property Disposition Abstract: 14.199 Multifamily Property Disposition FEDERAL AGENCY: OFFICE OF HOUSING, OFFICE OF MULTIFAMILY HOUSING, DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT AUTHORIZATION: National Housing Act, Section 207(k) and (l); Housing and Community Development Amendments of 1978, Section 203; Departments of Veterans Affairs, Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act of 1997, Public Law 104-204; Departments of Veterans Affairs, Housing and Urban Development, Section 213, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act of 1998, Public Law 105-65; Departments of Veterans Affairs, Housing and Urban Development, Section 206, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act of 1999, Public Law 105-276; Departments of Veterans Affairs, Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act of 2000, Public Law 106-74....''
By going over these abstracts you can see that 14.871 started out as part of Roosevelt's housing program from 1937. If you look carefully at the dates of the amendments and sections, you will notice these correspond to provisions that modified FDR's original system---the ones made in the 1990s Clinton era and then after 2000 the Bush era. These probably correspond to the concept of privatizing federal programs and agencies originally put in place to serve low income housing needs.
Look at this part:
``Preserving Affordable Housing for Senior Citizens and Families into the 21st Century Act of 1999, Public Law 106-74; Departments of Veterans Affairs, Housing and Urban Development; Independent Agencies Appropriations Act of 2000, and Violence Against Women and Justice Department Reauthorization Act of 2005, Public Law 109-162.''
Very likely the above was one of Clinton's plans that Bush extended to design `more affordable loans' to minorities and low income folks---(i.e exploit the poor for the benefit of the banks), and the proximal cause of the current junk mortages. Me or somebody else would have to track these laws down and read them. You do that by going here:
http://www.gpoaccess.gov/legislative.html
You look up or track the law numbers through the above legislative register system. This gives you the detail bills as passed, plus their amendments. There should also be the oversight duties, detailed regulations that apply and a list of the implimenting appropriations.
You can also seach through the Congressional Record for transcipts and read the arguments.
These databases are the system the government agencies and branches themselves use. They are also what research flunkies in all the lobbies and think tanks use to hone their influence skills to get special language inserted to their benefit.
Okay, tracking Public Law 106-74 (1999) here is the section on HUD:
``For activities and assistance to prevent the involuntary displacement of low-income families, the elderly and the disabled because of the loss of affordable housing stock, expiration of subsidy contracts (other than contracts for which amounts are provided under another heading in this Act) or expiration of use restrictions, or other changes in housing assistance arrangements, and for other purposes, $11,376,695,000 and amounts that are recaptured in this account, and recaptured under the appropriation for `Annual contributions for assisted housing', to remain available until expended: Provided, That of the total amount provided under this heading, $10,990,135,000, of which $6,790,135,000 shall be available on October 1, 1999 and $4,200,000,000 shall be available on October 1, 2000, shall be for assistance under the United States Housing Act of 1937 (`the Act' herein) (42 U.S.C. 1437) for use in connection with expiring or terminating section 8 subsidy contracts, for amendments to section 8 subsidy contracts, for enhanced vouchers (including amendments and renewals) under any provision of law authorizing such assistance under section 8(t) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (47 U.S.C. 1437f(t)), as added by section 538 of title V of this Act, and contracts entered into pursuant to section 441 of the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act: Provided further, That amounts available under the first proviso under this heading may be available for section 8 rental assistance under the United States Housing Act of 1937: (1) to relocate residents of properties: (A) that are owned by the Secretary and being disposed of; or (B) that are discontinuing section 8 projectbased assistance; (2) for relocation and replacement housing for units that are demolished or disposed of: (A) from the public housing inventory (in addition to amounts that may be available for such purposes under this and other headings); or (B) pursuant to section 24 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 or to other authority for the revitalization of severely distressed public housing, as set forth in the Appropriations Acts for the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies for fiscal years 1993, 1994, 1995, and 1997, and in the Omnibus Consolidated Rescissions and Appropriations Act of 1996; (3) for the conversion of section 23 projects to assistance under section 8; (4) for funds to carry out the family unification program...''
This is a rough idea of where to start looking for existing programs for low income housing. You have to go over the whole bill which is quite long and study its 1937 onward history, than research further into how it works on the ground and what changes were made during the 90s under Clinton and of course after 2000 under Bush administration.
See? This is how the lobbists do it. So, there is no reason we can't do the same. With Doug, Max, Seth, both Michael P's and other econ wonks we could probably come up with all kinds of great ways to spend 700 billion to `save the economy' from the bottom up.
CG