Hearings, Reports and Prints of the Senate Select Committee on Indian Affairs

STATEMENT OF WILLIAM HALLETT, COMMISSIONER, BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR; ACCOMPANIED BY G. RONALD PEAKE, CHIEF, DIVISION OF HOUSING ASSISTANCE, BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS

Mr. HALLETT. Mr. Chairman, I am delighted to see the committee's concern and interest in the Indian housing program. I am honored to be invited to share my understanding and experiences of several years' involvement with the Indian housing program, both at the tribal and Federal level.

I am also cognizant of your concern. We have a prepared statement, Mr. Chairman, that we would like to briefly summarize.

Senator MELCHER. Your entire statement will be made part of the record at the end of your testimony.

Mr. HALLETT. The BIA's main housing effort is the home improvement program. The home improvement program is divided into repair and new house building efforts. The repair category provides for ren ovation, repairs, and additions to existing structurally sound homes. The new housing and building categories provide grants toward the purchase of new homes as well as the construction of new housing for certain segments of the Indian population who simply cannot be served by other Federal agencies.

More specifically, the two types of repair categories in use are: Category 1, repairs to housing that will remain substandard but need repairs for the health and/or safety of the occupants; category 2, repairs to bring housing to a standard condition.

The two types of new house building categories in use are: Those commonly known as the down payments, which provide prospective homeowners with down payment and closing cost money in order to make them eligible for financial assistance from sources other than the Bureau of Indian Affairs, category 3; and category 4, the construction of new houses for individuals whose income, living conditions, and family situation are such that they are not eligible for other housing

program.

One other element of the home improvement program is the resident training and counseling program, commonly known as RTCP. The Bureau has provided an extensive amount of training and assistance to Indian housing authorities across the United States in the area of counseling of homeowners.

That, Mr. Chairman, is as brief a summary as I can provide for our statement this morning. If there is any question regarding the home improvement program or my experience or understanding of the public housing program, I would be more than happy to answer questions.

Senator MELCHER. Why is it that RTCP has been so well accepted! I am going through your testimony here. I would like to have a little more information on that.

Mr. HALLETT. Mr. Chairman, I have with me this morning Mr. Ron Peake, our director of housing programs with the Bureau.

Mr. PEAKE. Senator Melcher, the program has been accepted, I think. due to a couple of factors. One, it was developed with the housing authorities pretty much with their direct involvement. Two, its formula

for training and its application is one that has a wide acceptance because it provides a freedom of choice by the individuals involved in the type of effort they want to pursue, and it uses local people.

I think the two-key policy elements that make it very attractive from our point of view, as well as the recipient's point of view, is that the housing authority has to do the RTCP themselves and, as I mentioned, they have to use the local people for the program. In other words, they cannot contract the program out. They direct their own people to train their own people.

The last item I would add, in answer to your question, is this. In addition to the actual training itself, there is a preparatory course that we have developed to train the trainers. This course, developed with the full working partnership of most of the housing authorities involved, involves the training of the trainers in a manner that has been very satisfactory and, also, makes use of the local people that have already been trained or have some knowledge of the course.

Senator MELCHER. How much is in this year's budget, the fiscal year 1981 budget?

Mr. HALLETT. For the resident training counseling program I believe there is about $600,000.

Senator MELCHER. That is a cut from $900,000 down to $600,000, is it not?

Mr. HALLETT. Yes, sir.

Senator MELCHER. What is the reason for that?

Mr. HALLETT. In the prior administrations of the Bureau, I do not believe there was as much understanding of the importance of the resident training counseling program as I think Mr. Peake shares, and I share, in this particular area.

Senator MELCHER. Well, if it is a good program, why is it cut a third?

Mr. PEAKE. In the internal priority setting of the Bureau and Interior, it was decided that this was a lower priority program than others.

Senator MELCHER. What is the budget request for repairs and number of new homes?

Mr. PEAKE. The budget request for repairs is $19 million and change for 1981.

Senator MELCHER. $19 million?

Mr. PEAKE. Yes. I will give you the exact figure. It is $19,624,000. Senator MELCHER. Is that for repairs and new homes both?

Mr. PEAKE. That is for the entire housing program, which would include the $616,000 for RTCP, for resident training, counseling, administrative services, and the housing improvement program. Senator MELCHER. What was it for 1980?

Mr. PEAKE. It was $24 million-there was an addon; wait, 1980 remains approximately the same, $19,178,000.

Senator MELCHER. The same figure?

Mr. PEAKE. Yes.

Senator MELCHER. What same figure, $24 million?

Mr. PEAKE. No, sir, $19,178,000.

Senator MELCHER. Was there an addon?

Mr. PEAKE. There was not, sir. There was no addon in this year, for the first time.

Senator MELCHER. Despite rising housing costs, from fiscal year 1979, when it was $24.5 million, in fiscal 1980 it went down to $19 million, and for fiscal 1981 the budget request is $19 million, in round figures.

Mr. PEAKE. In round figures, Senator, in 1979 there was a $5 million addon to the budget estimate of $19,540,000, giving us $24,474,000. Senator MELCHER. Yes.

Mr. PEAKE. In 1980 there was no addon, and the request was $19,178,000. The request for 1981 will be $19,624,000.

Senator MELCHER. So, in spite of rising housing costs, between the fiscal year 1979 and the fiscal year 1981 request, there has been about a 23-percent drop.

Mr. PEAKE. Yes, sir.

Senator MELCHER. It will not get the job done then?

Mr. PEAKE. No, sir.

Senator MELCHER. At those figures, housing needs will not be met. Mr. PEAKE. From the Bureau, that is right, sir. Our results will be decreasing.

Senator MELCHER. We will see what we can do about changing it here in Congress.

Thank you both very much.

Mr. HALLETT. Thank you.

[The prepared statement follows:]

STATEMENT OF WILLIAM HALLETT, COMMISSIONER, BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIES, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, I am pleased to testify today on the past and present involvement of the Bureau of Indian Affairs in the improvement of the housing conditions of American Indian people.

The BIA's main housing effort is the Housing Improvement Program (commonly known as HIP). The Housing Improvement Program started as an outgrowth of a disaster relief effort resulting from flooding in Montana and California. The initial request for funds for a new house building effort of "core" homes of panelized construction and including some repair work, appears in the BIA's fiscal year budget justifications. The program started with the understanding there would be a high degree of self-help where possible. Active participation in the construction process as well as use of the families' assets such as land and materials was encouraged. The program was also combined with other services of the bureau and the water and sanitation facilities program of the Indian Health Service (IHS).

Also during that time, the Bureau's housing effort was directly supporting the Public Housing Administration (PHA) financed Indian housing effort, and in order that the two programs not overlap, it was decided that the Bureau housing program would serve the very poor. Consequently, the early appropriation requests for housing improvement appear as a sub-activity within the welfare services request. The initial requests were for $500,000 in fiscal year 1964 and $500,000 in fiscal year 1965.

As the HUD Program grew, the Bureau changed its construction effort more toward a housing improvement program. By fiscal year 1967 the main thrust of the HIP was the repair and renovation of existing structures. The repair and renovation effort followed the policy of making needed repairs for the health and/or safety of occupants until they could obtain standard housing and of preserving what structurally sound houses were available by bringing such homes to standard condition.

From the inception, the repair effort became closely associated with the IHS effort under Public Law 86-121 and concentrated on providing bathroom additions to existing structures. Although the IHS and BIA programs are still closely

associated, the repair and renovation efforts are now more broadly based and are not confined to the addition of bathrooms. Nevertheless, much of the new house building effort was and is still supported by the IHS's water and sanitation facilities construction.

The new house building effort evolved into three main areas of assistance. (1) A transitional housing effort of non-standard low cost housing usually of minimum square footage and designed to be expanded. (2) A down payment and closing cost category for families that could obtain financial assistance from other sources but could not afford "Up Front" costs. (3) A new construction program for families which because of poverty, isolation, family structure, or unusual factors, could not obtain decent housing from any other source but the Housing Improvement Program.

A description of the Present Housing Improvement Program may be useful at this point. The present HIP is divided into repair and new house building efforts. The Repair categories provide for renovation, repairs, or additions to existing structurally sound homes. The new house building categories provide grants toward the purchase of new houses as well as the construction of some new housing for certain segments of the Indian population who simply cannot be served by other Federal programs.

More specifically the two types of repair categories in use are: Category (1) repairs to housing that will remain substandard but need repairs for the health and/or safety of the occupants; and category (2) repairs to bring housing to a standard condition. The two types of new house building categories in use are: Category (3), commonly known as down payments, provides prospective homeowners with down payment and closing cost money in order to make them eligible for financial assistance from sources other than the Bureau of Indian Affairs; and Category (4), the construction of new houses for individuals whose income, living condition, and family situation, are such that they are not eligible for other housing programs.

The HIP is one of the most popular programs for Indian people. It is particularly adaptable and is kept that way in order to get down to the person for whom it is intended with a minimum of administration and a maximum of impact. Nevertheless, an important element of the HIP is that the effort be of a quality and sufficiency that the recipient can take pride in the finished product. HIP housing includes not only the basic necessities of water and utilities but provides for modern conveniences including living space and storage space that are so necessary for family living.

Wherever possible, the HIP is carried out in combination with other programs. This has enabled the BIA to use the HIP funds mainly for building materials and skilled labor. The result of this policy has been to achieve a higher level of production than would otherwise have been expected. For example, for the last 3 fiscal years the appropriation and production figures are as follows:

Another component of the BIA's housing effort is the Resident Training and Counseling Program (commonly known as RTCP). The Indian housing authorities and the Bureau of Indian Affairs have long recognized the need to provide training and counseling to families participating in various federally. assisted housing programs. Since the inception of the Indian housing program in the early 1960's, several homeownership training programs have been undertaken in Indian communities. None of these prior efforts proved successful because Indian people were not receptive to the types of programs and the methods of instruction used.

In 1973, the BIA conceived and developed a training program which was implemented on a 2-year trial period as a demonstration project in the Dakota Area with 14 Indian housing authorities participating. The program proved successful mainly because it was developed and implemented at the local level utilizing local people. Subsequently, the program was initiated at the request of the housing authorities in Montana, Wyoming, and Oklahoma.