The Federal government in the United States has been involved in housing policy for over 80 years. The involvement has grown from a handful of programmes to a vast array of programmes dealing with numerous aspects of housing. This paper provides an historical examination of how Presidents, from Herbert Hoover to Ronald Reagan, have viewed housing, their role in initiating Federal housing policies and programmes, and the role of the Federal government in resolving the country's housing problems. Essentially, we have experienced three periods of Federal housing policy - a period where Presidents set the Federal housing policy agenda, a period where Congress became the centre of action, and a period where Presidents and Congress shared the initiative in developing and setting the Federal housing policy agenda. This paper examines Federal housing policy through these three periods.
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