Exactly what GAO Found
Convergence within the houses advice apps-such as the ones from the fresh Institution out-of Agriculture’s (USDA) Rural Homes Solution (RHS) and the Company away from Casing and Urban Advancement (HUD)-highlight potential to possess enhanced cooperation and you may combination. GAO’s statement discover convergence about things given and you can populations (money groups) and you may geographical portion made by RHS and you can HUD single-family relations financial make sure apps. GAO and additionally receive selected multifamily construction applications offered equivalent objectives. The fresh new declaration generated three information to RHS. RHS essentially assented towards the advice and you can implemented one from the formalizing collaborative work with other federal businesses to your single-members of the family homes apps. Yet not, RHS or any other government homes enterprises have not yet , drawn other necessary steps to build towards interagency services-such as, of the contrasting specific possibilities getting combining equivalent homes applications, as well as people who would require statutory alter.
RHS fundamentally arranged that have and it has addressed several of GAO’s earlier recommendations for the new rental guidance and you will farm work housing programs, however, someone else want next attention. Particularly, RHS followed three of the 7 recommendations GAO made in in order to increase the agency’s efforts to determine and reduce improper rental direction costs. More measures are necessary to apply the remaining recommendations, and that address flaws in how RHS prices and you will account on poor repayments. RHS and additionally treated three of one’s seven information GAO made in . Then measures must implement one other five, and therefore address weaknesses from inside the RHS controls for making certain occupant eligibility, among other problems.
Constant GAO performs suggests that regions of RHS’s exposure government getting the latest solitary-relatives financial ensure system generally line-up which have government conditions, while others commonly fully in line with criteria and best methods. Particularly, RHS has guidelines and functions for many exposure- administration functions handled during the Place of work of Management and you can Budget advice (such as for instance choosing debtor creditworthiness and you can supervising loan providers). But not, GAO’s constant performs shows that, in comparison to government inner manage standards, RHS doesn’t always have written procedures and functions getting a panel accountable for contrasting borrowing top quality circumstances and you may addressing all of them owing to policy change. Also, certain criteria RHS spends to help measure the overall performance of the protected collection features limitations that diminish their worth having determining chance consequently they are maybe not totally consistent with top means having profitable abilities actions. This type of shortcomings will get reduce functionality out-of RHS’s chance-management perform.
As to the reasons GAO Performed This study
RHS, a company contained in this USDA, administers lots of head mortgage, loan make certain, and you can give applications that support sensible property and you can society creativity to possess rural customers. Considering USDA economic and you can budget research, RHS manages a portfolio away from nearly $120 mil inside the construction funds and you will loan pledges and you can administers a whole lot more than simply $1 mil in local rental direction payments every year. GAO provided around three profile given that s (pick GAO-11-329, GAO-12-554, and you can GAO-12-624) possesses constant work with this area personal loans online Maryland.
Which testimony is founded on those three account and ongoing GAO works. They talks about (1) earlier GAO results for the the amount to which the housing software of RHS and you can HUD convergence and you may relevant effects to have program venture and you will consolidation; (2) the brand new status away from GAO ideas on the fresh rental housing recommendations program and farm work homes financing and you can grant program; and you will (3) first findings about ongoing writeup on risk-management methods towards solitary-family unit members loan guarantee program. In order to change this new status regarding information, GAO assessed RHS procedures, steps, and you can account. For the ongoing performs, GAO examined government standards and you may top strategies to own exposure management and compared them with RHS regulations, procedures, and you may methods. GAO as well as interviewed RHS authorities.
GAO makes zero this new guidance in this testimony, but can believe while making a lot more information shortly after the ongoing efforts are over.