A National Policy and Budgetary Framework for Housing and Community Development*

Abstract

Recent legislation has determined that federal budget allocations and tax expenditures for housing should be tied to specific housing goals or “missions.” The major issues of national housing policy can be organized within six problem areas—three relating to production and three to consumption. Current federal housing programs can be classified into four broad budget categories (involving mortgage credit and thrift institutions, housing assistance, community development, and tax expenditures) and a fifth off‐budget category of credit market activities. By examining a matrix that relates these five areas of federal involvement to the six broad problem areas, this article attempts to provide an analytical foundation for a national policy and budgetary framework for housing, housing finance, and community development.