May 2009 Bulletins

Donovan announces Recovery Act's homebuyer tax credit can immediately help thousands of first-time homebuyers to buy a home

Released 5/29/09 by HUD

WASHINGTON - Speaking to the National Association of Home Builders Spring Board of Directors Meeting, U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan today announced that the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) will allow homebuyers to apply the Obama Administration's new $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit toward the purchase costs of a FHA-insured home. Donovan said that today's action will help stabilize the nation's housing market by stimulating home sales across the country. Full release

HUD Approves $12.7 Million Deal to Renovate 25-Bed Hospital in Washington, Georgia

Released 5/29/09 by HUD

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development today announced a commitment to insure a mortgage loan to Wills Memorial Hospital in Washington, Georgia to renovate its 25-bed facility. The $12.7 million loan is made possible through the Federal Housing Administration's Section 242 Hospital Mortgage Insurance Program. Full release

HUD Secretary announces disaster assistance for Florida storm victims

Released 5/28/09 by HUD

WASHINGTON - U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan today announced HUD will speed federal disaster assistance to storm-ravaged Volusia County in Florida and provide support to homeowners and low-income renters forced from their homes following severe storms, flooding, straight-line winds, and tornadoes last week. Full release

HUD Secretary Donovan announces $252 million in Recovery Act funds to improve housing, spur economic development in Indian Country

Released 5/27/09 by HUD

BILLINGS, MT - U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan announced today that HUD is offering more than $252 million to Indian tribes and Alaskan native communities to improve housing and stimulate community development. Provided through The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, signed into law by President Obama on February 17, 2009, these grants are intended to promote greater energy efficiency, mold remediation, and energy conservation retrofit investments. Full release

Middle Class Task Force announces agency partnerships to build a strong middle class through a green economy

Released 5/26/09 by HUD

DENVER, CO - As part of their commitment to developing new policies, proposals and ideas to help America's middle class, Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Shaun Donovan, Secretary of Energy Steven Chu and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced new agency partnerships to foster job growth for a new green economy at today's meeting of the Middle Class Task Force in Denver. Full release

Treasury and HUD announce $419 million in Recovery Act funds to create jobs, provide affordable housing

Released 5/26/09 by HUD

WASHINGTON - As part of the Obama Administration's effort to create jobs and ease pressures on the housing market, the U.S. Department of the Treasury today announced more than $330 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act) funding to spur the development of affordable housing units in Kansas, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, and Puerto Rico. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) also announced $83 million for housing development in Ohio. The announcements come just three months after the Recovery Act was signed into law on February 17. Full release

Time running out for families to get Disaster Housing Assistance

Released 5/22/09 by HUD

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is launching a regional print and radio advertising campaign to encourage families who were displaced by Hurricanes Ike and Gustav in 2008 to register for disaster housing assistance. Full release

Defense Chief Praises the 'Pink Boxer' Soldier

Released 5/22/09 by Military.Com

"Any soldier who goes into battle against the Taliban in pink boxers and flip-flops has a special kind of courage," Robert Gates said yesterday, adding that Specialist Zachary Boyd may have hit on a new kind of psychological warfare. "I can only wonder about the impact on the Taliban." Full release

HUD announces sanctions against more than 120 FHA-approved lenders

Released 5/21/09 by HUD

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Mortgagee Review Board today announced actions against more than 120 lenders for violating FHA requirements. Violations range from failure to conduct sufficient quality control, to failure to continue to meet FHA recertification requirements, to falsifying loan documents. Full release

Erika Poethig appointed Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and Research

Released 5/21/09 by HUD

WASHINGTON - U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan announced today that President Barack Obama has appointed Erika Poethig as Deputy Assistant Secretary for HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research (PDandR). Full release

HUD Secretary Donovan statement on the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act of 2009

Released 5/20/09 by HUD

WASHINGTON - Today, President Obama signed into law the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act of 2009. The law expands the reach of the Administration's Making Home Affordable Programs, improves the Federal Housing Administration's Hope for Homeowners program and streamlines how HUD supports thousands of homeless support programs across America. Full release

US Predicts 50 Percent Spike in IEDs

Released 5/16/09 by Military.Com

Strategically buried in the middle of dirt roads, packed in culverts and attached to trip wires, a heightened hidden danger awaits the thousands of U.S. troops. The U.S. military expects a 50 percent spike this year in roadside and suicide bombings, which surpassed the number of similar strikes in Iraq during the spring. Full release

GOP Backs CIA in Dispute With Pelosi

Released 5/15/09 by Military.Com

Republicans are rushing to defend the CIA after Speaker Nancy Pelosi accused the spy agency of misleading her about its use of waterboarding during the Bush administration. Pelosi has vehemently disputed Republican charges that she was complicit in the use of waterboarding. Full release