ELECTION RESULTS: DEMOCRATS GAIN FIVE SEATS IN THE HOUSE 
The recent elections saw the Democrats gain five seats in the House and continue to hold steady at 55-45 in the Senate. The House margin is now the closest it has been since the Republicans gained controlled of Congress in 1994. The Republicans won leadership of the House in 1994, which gave them a 235-197 edge. With the recent elections, that margin has narrowed to 223-211. The Republicans still are the majority party and will set the agenda for the next two years, however, the Democrats will have a larger voice. With their increase in numbers, House Democrats want the committee ratios to be altered to reflect their increases in the House over the past four years. Rep. Gephardt (D-MO) met with Rep. Livingston (the next Speaker of the House) to push this idea. House Republicans are expected to complete their committee assignments this week. House Democrats will complete their committee assignments in December. The Senate committee assignments are expected to be completed by mid-December. 

Although no formal committee assignments have been made, speculation has that it that Rep. Lazio will remain as chairperson of the House Subcommittee on Housing and Community Development. With the defeat of Alfonse D'Amato, the Senate Banking and Financial Services Committee will now be chaired by Senator Phil Gramm (R-TX). It is unknown at this point if Senator Connie Mack (R-FL) will remain chairperson of the Senate Subcommittee on Housing Opportunity and Community Development. With public housing reform enacted, remaining housing issues to be focused upon in the 106^th Congress will be McKinney consolidation, the American Homeownership Act -- a bill which contains a myriad of housing reforms, and financial services modernization legislation. 

WHAT WILL BE THE FOCUS OF THE 106^th CONGRESS? 
According to the pundits in Washington, the 106^th Congress will be an interesting animal. Due to the elections, with the Democrats gaining five seats in the House of Representatives, party politics will be more prevalent than ever. More and more compromises will be made to get legislation passed, or nothing will get done. Because 1999 is not an election year, and with Congress being more evenly divided, this could be the year that wasn't. Many in Washington believe that if anything gets done it will be, at minimum, a plan for shoring-up social security. Others feel that a tax-cut is also very likely. 

In terms of specific issues, we will see attention given to social security, the national home-ownership act, the financial modernization bill, McKinney and homeless program consolidation efforts, and an outside chance for CDBG, HOME and perhaps other housing program reauthorization. 

The most urgent issue facing NCDA members will be the Financial Modernization bill, HR 10. Most, if not all community development advocates are strongly opposed to HR 10 for the following reasons: 

• Financial Modernization will cause asset shifting from CRA-covered affiliates to non-covered affiliates;
• Financial Modernization will decrease regulatory review of mergers;
• Financial Modernization imperils the safety and soundness of the banking system; and
• Financial Modernization will accelerate the tend for low-and moderate-income consumers to find their banking services outside of depository institutions 

HUD's FINAL BUDGET FIGURES 
Outlined below is a chart that compares HUD's FY 1998 funding level with those of FY 1999. NCDA is diligently working on providing members with each community's CPD allocations. As soon as we receive them, we will put them on our website, as well as mail them in hard copy. The hold up is determining how the Congressional release notices will be handled. HUD is committed to doing a better job this year of informing and releasing allocations to grantees.

The following exceptions within the table should be noted.  

* $80 Million in Lead-based Paint funds are a separate program outside of CDBG, which is what the administration requested. This program should not be counted as a set-aside within the CDBG program.  

^ Brownfields is a separate program  

& Office of Rural Housing and Economic Development is a new office at HUD designed to specifically target the housing and economic development of rural areas, particularly in the form of capacity building for rural non-profits.  

HUD NOTICES 

HUD Issues Fair Housing Performance Standards for Acceptance of Consolidated Plan Certifications and Compliance with Community Development Block Grant Performance Review Criteria; Proposed Rule.  
As promised, on October 28, 1998, HUD issued a proposed rule on fair housing performance standards criteria. This proposed rule seeks comment from practitioners and interested parties on what standards HUD should use in its review of the required certifications that grantees submit in their consolidated/action plans as they relate to the community's attempt to affirmatively further fair housing. These comments are due to HUD on December 28, 1998. NCDA will compile and summarize our member comments to HUD. We ask that if you will be commenting to please forward a copy of your comments to Vicki Watson at NCDA. 

HUD Announces Brownfields Awards. 
On November 16, HUD awarded $152 million in funding to 21 jurisdictions across the nation to clean-up polluted and abandoned commercial and industrial sites. A total of $22 million in Brownfields Economic Development Initiative Grants and $130 million in Economic Development Loan Guarantees was combined to provided the funding for the redevelopment of the brownfield sites. The following communities received funding:
 

HUD Offers Training.
HUD's Office of CPD will continue its training on CDBG, HOME, economic development, and relocation. The training sessions are free and will be conducted by ICF Kaiser. The following provides you with the schedule for the training through next spring. Space is limited, so register early. Contact your local HUD Field Office for further information or ICF Kaiser at 703-934-3392.

CDBG	HOME	Economic Development	Relocation
December 1-3, 1998  Westin Country Plaza Hotel and Tower  2025 Avenue of the Stars  Los Angeles, CA	December 8-10, 1998  Hilton New Orleans  New Orleans, LA	December 1-3, 1998  Radisson Hotel  1725 E. Algonquin Road  Schaumburg, IL	December 8-10, 1999  Swissotel Boston  One Avenue de Lafayette  Boston, MA
December 9-11, 1998  Fawcett Center Hotel  2400 Olentangy River Road  Columbus, OH	January 12-14, 1999  Adam's Mark Hotel  1550 Court Place  Denver, CO	January 26-28, 1999  Sea Turtle Inn  One Ocean Blvd.  Atlantic Beach, FL	January 12-14, 1999  Doubletree Inn  4 West University Pkwy.  Baltimore, MD
January 12-14, 1998  Doubletree Hotel  310 S.W. Lincoln  Portland, OR	February 2-4, 1999  Fawcett Center Hotel  2400 Olentangy River Road  Columbus, OH 43210	February 23-25, 1999  Crowne Plaza Seattle  Downtown at Freeway Park  1113-6th Avenue  Seattle, WA	January 20-22, 1999  Days Inn Lake Shore Drive Hotel  644 North Lake Shore Drive  Chicago, IL
February 9-11, 1999  Doubletree Inn  4 West University Pkwy.  Baltimore, MD	February 3-5, 1999  The Warwick Hotel  65 West 54th Street  New York, NY		January 26-28, 1999  Crowne Plaza Seattle  Downtown at Freeway Park  1113-6th Avenue  Seattle, WA
February 16-18, 1999  Radisson Suite Hotel  700 Avenue H East  Arlington, TX	February 16-18, 1999  The Westin Long Beach  333 East Ocean Blvd.  Long Beach, CA		February 9-11, 1999  Atlanta Marriott Marquis  265 Peachtree Center Avenue  Atlanta, GA
March 16-18, 1999  Providence Baltimore  Kennedy Plaza  Providence, RI	March 2-4, 1999  Best Western Inn  162 East Ohio Street  Chicago, IL		March 2-4, 1999  The Warwick Hotel  65 West 54th Street  New York, NY
	March 9-11, 1999  Swissotel Boston  One Avenue de Lafayette  Boston, MA		March 8-10, 1999  Adam's Mark Hotel  1550 Court Place  Denver, CO

NCDA NOTES 
Audrey Nelson Awards Reminder 
The deadline for submission of applications for the Audrey Nelson Awards is November 23, 1998. We will not accept any submissions postmarked after that date. Your submissions should be addressed to the attention of Michael Lightfield.  

NCDA Membership Update 
As reported in previous mailings, NCDA is compiling a membership directory. We have also provided members with a form to update names, addresses and telephone/fax numbers. The deadline for returning updates to NCDA staff is November 30, 1998. The member directory will be updated annually and we hope it will be a handy resource. As we have over 550 members, this is a monumental undertaking. Please assist us by getting your updates into Carla Sauls as soon as possible. We want to present the new directory at the Winter Meeting in January, as well as distribute it to the entire membership shortly there after. 

NCDA Membership Satisfaction Survey 
The deadline for returning your membership satisfaction survey is December 15, 1998. For NCDA staff to maximize our advocacy efforts on members' behalf, we need to know what issue area and services are priorities. Please help us determine these by completing and returning the survey by December 15. If you have any questions, please contact Vicki Watson or Chandra Western. 

NCDA Regional Conferences 

Region 9 Fall Meeting 
December 3-4, 1998 
San Francisco, CA 

Contact:  
Steve Young 
209-577-5247 
Modesto, CA 

NCDA Winter Meeting 
The NCDA Winter Meeting will be held on January 27-30, 1999 at the J.W. Mariott Hotel in Washington, DC. At the request of members, we will not schedule the program committees (CD, ED, and Housing) concurrently. We have included one-half day for committee meetings beginning at 12:00 p.m. and ending the Board of Directors meeting on Wednesday, January 27, 1999. Please see the attached Draft Agenda . 

NCDA TECHNOLOGY NEWS 
 

November 16, 1998. Notice of Funding Availability for the Section 515 Rural Rental Housing Program. This NOFA announces the time frame to submit applications for Section 515 Rural Rental Housing loan funds and Section 521 Rental Assistance for new construction. 

November 16, 1998. Announcement of Funding Awards for the Historically Black Colleges and Universities Program for Fiscal Year 1998. This announcement notifies the public of funding decisions made by the Department in a competition for funding under the Notice of Funding Availability for the Historically Black Colleges and Universities Program. The following colleges and universities received awards: Gadsden State Community College, Gadsden, AL; Philander Smith College, Little Rock, AR; University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, Pine Bluff, AR; Howard University, Washington, D.C.; Albany State University, Albany, GA; Interdenominational Theological Center, Atlanta, GA; Savannah State University, Savannah, GA; Xavier University of New Orleans, New Orleans, LA; Coahoma Community College, Clarksdale, MS; Jackson State University, Jackson, MS; Bennett College, Greensboro, NC; Elizabeth City State University, Elizabeth City, NC; Fayetteville State University, Fayetteville, NC; North Carolina A&T State University, Greensboro, NC; Benedict College, Columbia, SC; Huston-Tilotson College, Austin, TX; Paul Quinn College, Dallas, TX; Texas Southern University, Houston, TX; and Virginia State University, Petersburg, VA. 

November 9, 1998. Project Impact: Building Disaster Resistant Communities. This notice announces the availability of $30 million through the Federal Emergency Management Agency to Project Impact communities and States with Project Impact communities. Funds will be used to assist communities in developing strategies that result in the long-term reductions in property damage. For further information contact Carol Transou, FEMA, at 202-646-3701. 

Job Opportunities 

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