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House Approves Pryce Bill to Washington, DC– Last night, the House approved H.R. 6115, the Mark-to-Market Extension Act of 2006, legislation authored by Congresswoman Deborah Pryce (R-Columbus), extending a proven Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) program that helps sustain affordable housing stock. The bill agreed upon also included a Pryce-authored amendment, adopted in the Financial Services Committee, significantly improving the Mark-to-Market program. Pryce’s amendment increases the window of opportunity for non-profits to purchase Mark-to-Market properties; raises the limit on high-cost restructuring of Mark-to-Market deals; and expands the eligibility of properties damaged by Hurricane Katrina and other natural disasters. “This is a win-win,” Pryce said. “Mark-to-Market in our community has saved taxpayer dollars and continues to revitalize affordable housing upon which many of our most vulnerable citizens depend. Extending this program and strengthening it with my amendment is a common-sense solution to our affordable housing needs. Today, we are extending a program that saves taxpayers money, reduces rents on tenants, and ensures the long-term viability of affordable housing properties.” According to Bill Faith, the Executive Director of the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio (COHHIO), “HR 6115 will be extremely helpful in preserving and improving thousands of units of affordable housing in Ohio for our senior citizens, working families and people with disabilities. It will help non-profit housing organizations to be better able to purchase affordable HUD properties and to improve the quality of these properties. COHHIO congratulates and thanks the sponsors of H.R. 6115 – including Representatives Pryce and Pat Tiberi ( R-Genoa Township) -- who worked in a bipartisan fashion to get this legislation passed by the House of Representatives.” “This amendment is critical to national efforts to preserve and recapitalize existing affordable housing,” said Hal Keller, President of the Ohio Capital Corporation for Housing. “Special provisions for non-profit organizations will create new opportunities for local socially motivated organizations to obtain control of these valuable community assets. There are dozens of properties in Central Ohio that will benefit from this change in the law championed by Representatives Pryce and Tiberi.” "I am very pleased that the House of Representatives has passed Representative Pryce's language regarding the extension of HUD's Mark-to-Market program," said Allan B. Pintner, President of Midwest Affordable Housing Management Association (MAHMA). "The members of the Midwest Affordable Housing Management Association believe this legislation to be extremely important in the preservation of affordable housing. The continuation of the Mark-to-Market program will provide for the restructuring of properties that were not eligible prior to the sunset of the original legislation. This legislation will enable properties to continue to be maintained at proper levels to ensure that existing affordable housing continues to be available." The Pryce amendment supports the continuation of Mark-to-Market deals involving non-profits and promotes restructuring of public housing in rural and high-density urban areas. Central Ohio has been the beneficiary of many of these projects, including the Ohio Capital Corporation for Housing’s purchase of 1,300 HUD-insured units in urban Columbus, a Church-based housing group’s acquisition of Barnett Plaza, and the development of a home for disabled individuals near The Ohio State University for Creative Living. The Mark-to-Market program was enacted by Congress in 1997 to reduce the cost to the federal government of renewing Section 8 contracts. By restructuring mortgages and lowering rents, the Mark-to-Market program preserves and improves affordable housing and reduces the cost to taxpayers. Without reauthorization, the program would sunset at the end of Fiscal Year 2006.
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