Rural Housing in the Budget

A bit out of date given the recent events in Washington DC, but here's a look at the proposed budgets for USDA Rural Housing. 

The most significant change seems to be the elimination of housing preservation programs, although it is expected that an increase in the budget for Section 515 loans would also cover preservation efforts.  That seems in line with the Obama administration's ongoing efforts to consolidate similar or redundant programs to make them more effective and easier to manage.

The administration's budget also eliminates funding for Section 523, which is the self-help program in which families invest sweat equity by helping build their homes.

Advocates and professionals in rural housing are unhappy with the budget, viewing it as one of the "worst requests ever" for rural housing.