Anna Childs
Research Mentor: Devin Judge-Lord
Mentor Department: Not Available, Public Policy
Author(s): Anna Childs
Session: Session 1 (9:00 AM – 9:50 AM)
Presentation Type: Poster 123
Abstract
Federal policy goes through many stages before its final implementation, including the public comment period, which holds great influence over the outcome of the final policy. This study examines the effect of coalition-level lobbying on affordable housing policy, and how these organizations are able to drive change. Through evaluating public comments on various affordable housing-related rules, we group organizations into coalitions and enumerate their specific policy requests. To assess the impact of this lobbying, the proposed rule was compared to the final rule and analyzed for changes from its inception. I found that coalitions were most concerned about procedural burdens on local agencies due to increased regulations, but many were appreciative of efforts made by the federal government to increase accessibility and equity in the housing market. There was much debate over the importance of investing in existing housing prior to creating more, as well as whether areas of ethnic or racial concentrations were due to lingering effects of segregation or purposeful communities. This analysis revealed the importance of proper allocation of resources and funding to housing agencies as well as the impact of federal regulation on local administrative burden. Collaboration between federal agencies and local organizations is crucial to ensuring efficient functioning of these institutions that can provide essential services to those who could not otherwise afford it. Without the input of these organizations on the proposed rules, those creating them at the federal level would fail to recognize the impact of specific language that greatly alters administrative burden, litigation risks, paperwork costs, and the general obligations of the relevant local agencies.
