,,ii  #aaith ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #bdbc  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,july #bc1     
#bjbe ,mr4 ,moran 7for himself1 ,mrs4   
,shaheen1 ,mr4 ,ricketts1 and ,mr4      
,gallego7 introduced the following bill2
 which was read twice and referred to   
the ,committee on ,banking1 ,housing1   
and ,urban ,affairs  ,a ,,bill  ,to     
require the ,secretary of ,housing and  
,urban ,development and the ,secretary  
of ,agriculture to enter into a         
memorandum of understanding relating to 
housing projects1 and for other         
purposes4  #a4  ,short title  ,this ,act
 may be cited as the ,streamlining      
,rural ,housing ,act of #bjbe4  #b4     
,memorandum of understanding  7a7  ,in  
general  ,not later than #ahj days after
 the date of enactment of this ,act1 the
 ,secretary of ,housing and ,urban      
,development and the ,secretary of      
,agriculture shall enter into a         
memorandum of understanding to--  7#a7  
evaluate categorical exclusions 7as     

defined in section #aaa of the ,national
 ,environmental ,policy ,act of #aifi   
7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #dccf;e77 for housing    
projects funded by amounts from the     
,department of the ,housing and ,urban  
,development and the ,department of     
,agriculture2  7#b7 develop a process to
 designate a lead agency among the      
,department of ,housing and ,urban      
,development and the ,department of     
,agriculture and streamline the adoption
 of environmental impact statements and 
environmental assessments approved by   
the other agency to construct housing   
projects funded by amounts from both    
agencies2  7#c7 maintain compliance with
 environmental regulations under part   
#eh of title #bd1 ,code of ,federal     
,regulations1 as in effect on ,january  
#a1 #bjbe2 and  7#d7 evaluate the       
feasibility of a joint physical         
inspection process for housing projects 
funded by amounts from the ,department  
of the ,housing and ,urban ,development 
and the ,department of ,agriculture4    

7b7  ,advisory working group  7#a7  ,in 
general  ,not later than #ahj days after
 the date of enactment of this ,act1 the
 ,secretary of ,housing and ,urban      
,development and the ,secretary of      
,agriculture shall establish an advisory
 working group for the purpose of       
consulting on the implementation of the 
memorandum of understanding entered into
 under subsection 7a74  7#b7  ,members  
,the advisory working group established 
under paragraph 7#a7 shall consist of   
rural and non-rural stakeholders1       
including--  7,a7 affordable housing    
nonprofit organizations2  7,b7 ,state   
housing and housing finance agencies2   
7,c7 nonprofit and for-profit home      
builders and housing developers2  7,d7  
property management companies2  7,e7    
owners of multifamily properties1       
including nonprofit and for-profit      
owners and operators2  7,f7 public      
housing agencies2  7,g7 residents in    
housing assisted by the ,department of  
,housing and ,urban ,development or the 

,department of ,agriculture and         
representatives of those residents2 and 
7,h7 housing contract administrators4   
7c7 ,report ,not later than #a year     
after the date of enactment of this     
,act1 the ,secretary of ,housing and    
,urban ,development and the ,secretary  
of ,agriculture shall submit to the     
,committee on ,banking1 ,housing1 and   
,urban ,affairs of the ,senate and the  
,committee on ,financial ,services of   
the ,house of ,representatives a report 
that includes recommendations for       
legislative1 regulatory1 or             
administrative actions--  7#a7 to       
improve the efficiency and effectiveness
 of housing projects funded by amounts  
from the ,department of the ,housing and
 ,urban ,development and the ,department
 of ,agriculture2 and  7#b7 that do not 
materially1 with respect to residents of
 housing projects described in paragraph
 7#a7--  7,a7 reduce the safety of those
 residents2  7,b7 shift long-term costs 
onto those residents2 or  7,c7 undermine

 the environmental standards of those   
residents4