The Congress hereby declares that the general welfare and security of the Nation and the health and living standards of our people require, as a matter of national purpose, sound development of the Nation’s communities and metropolitan areas in which the vast majority of its people live and work.

To carry out such purpose, and in recognition of the increasing importance of housing and urban development in our national life, the Congress finds that establishment of an executive department is desirable to achieve the best administration of the principal programs of the Federal Government which provide assistance for housing and for the development of the Nation’s communities; to assist the President in achieving maximum coordination of the various Federal activities which have a major effect upon urban community, suburban, or metropolitan development; to encourage the solution of problems of housing, urban development, and mass transportation through State, county, town, village, or other local and private action, including promotion of interstate, regional, and metropolitan cooperation; to encourage the maximum contributions that may be made by vigorous private homebuilding and mortgage lending industries to housing, urban development, and the national economy; and to provide for full and appropriate consideration, at the national level, of the needs and interests of the Nation’s communities and of the people who live and work in them.

There is hereby established in the United States Treasury, pursuant to section 3535(f) of this title, a working capital fund for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (referred to in this paragraph as the “Fund”): Provided, That amounts transferred to the Fund under this span shall be available for Federal shared services used by offices and agencies of the Department, and for such portion of any office or agency’s printing, records management, space renovation, furniture, or supply services as the Secretary determines shall be derived from centralized sources made available by the Department to all offices and agencies and funded through the Fund: Provided further, That of the amounts made available in this title 1

The Secretary shall, as soon as practicable after the end of each calendar year, make a report to the President for submission to the Congress on the activities of the Department during the preceding calendar year. The report required under this section shall include the reports required under paragraphs (2) and (6) of section 3608(e) of this title, the reports required under subsections (a) and (b) of section 4856 of this title, the report required under section 1701o of title 12, and the report required under section 3533(e)(2) of this title.

Notwithstanding any other evidence of the intent of Congress, it is hereby declared to be the intent of Congress that if any provision of this chapter, or the application thereof to any persons or circumstances, shall be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment shall not affect, impair, or invalidate the remainder of this chapter or its application to other persons and circumstances, but shall be confined in its operation to the provision of this chapter, or the application thereof to the persons and circumstances, directly involved in the controversy in which such judgment shall have been rendered.

The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development is authorized to refinance any note or other obligation which is held by him in connection with any loan made by the Department of Housing and Urban Development or its predecessor in interest, or which is included within the revolving fund for liquidating programs established by the Independent Offices Appropriation Act of 1955 [12 U.S.C. 1701g–5], where he finds such refinancing necessary because of the loss, destruction, or damage (as a result of a major disaster) to property or facilities securing such obligations. The Secretary may authorize a suspension in the payment of principal and interest charges on, and an additional extension in the maturity of, any such loan for a period not to exceed five years if he determines that such action is necessary to avoid severe financial hardship.

The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development is authorized to establish a fund and to transfer to such fund from appropriations or funds available to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, such amounts as may be necessary to provide disaster assistance for which the Secretary has been requested by the President to make resources available pursuant to the authority of the Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act [42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.].

There is hereby established in the Treasury of the United States a fund to be known as the “Department of Housing and Urban Development Nonrecurring Expenses Fund” (the Fund): Provided, That unobligated balances of expired discretionary funds appropriated for this or any succeeding fiscal year from the General Fund of the Treasury to the Department of Housing and Urban Development by this or any other Act may be transferred (not later than the end of the fifth fiscal year after the last fiscal year for which such funds are available for the purposes for which they were appropriated) into the Fund: Provided further, That amounts deposited in the Fund shall be available until expended, in addition to such other funds as may be available for such purposes, for capital needs of the Department, including facilities infrastructure and information technology infrastructure, subject to approval by the Office of Management and Budget: Provided further, That amounts in the Fund may be obligated only after the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations are notified at least 15 days in advance of the planned use of funds.

The Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development shall, for fiscal year 2014 and subsequent fiscal years, notify the public through the Federal Register and other means, as determined appropriate, of the issuance of a notice of the availability of assistance or notice of funding availability (NOFA) for any program or discretionary fund administered by the Secretary that is to be competitively awarded. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, for fiscal year 2014 and subsequent fiscal years, the Secretary may make the NOFA available only on the Internet at the appropriate Government Web site or through other electronic media, as determined by the Secretary.

The Secretary shall submit semi-annually to the Committees on Appropriations a list of all contracts and task orders issued under such contracts in excess of $250,000 which were entered into during the prior 6-month period by the Secretary, the Government National Mortgage Association, and the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (or by any officer of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Government National Mortgage Association, or the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight acting in his or her capacity to represent the Secretary or these entities). Each listing shall identify the parties to the contract, the term and amount of the contract, and the subject matter and responsibilities of the parties to the contract.

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, on and after February 20, 2003, the Chief Financial Officer of the Department of Housing and Urban Development shall, in consultation with the Budget Officer, have sole authority to investigate potential or actual violations under the Anti-Deficiency Act (31 U.S.C. 1341 et seq.) and all other statutes and regulations related to the obligation and expenditure of funds made available in this, or any other Act; shall determine whether violations exist; and shall submit final reports on violations to the Secretary, the President, the Office of Management and Budget and the Congress in accordance with applicable statutes and Office of Management and Budget circulars.

For this fiscal year and each fiscal year thereafter, subject to appropriations for that purpose, the Office of Inspector General shall procure and rely upon the services of an independent external auditor(s) to audit the financial statements of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, including the consolidated financial statement