President Appoints Haar To Housing Task Force

President Carter last week appointed Charles M. Haar, Brandeis Professor of Law, to his Task Force on Housing.

The newly formed task force will review the adequacy of present housing programs and advise people having trouble finding housing. It will also focus on financing housing and reducing housing costs. The committee will study alternative mortgage structures, such as variable and graduated rates and renegotiable payments.

The task force is made up of contractors, mortgage bankers, members of city and state agencies, trade unions, and members of other groups affected by the housing industry. Haar is the only active professor on the committee, which will have about 50 members.

Tabula Rasa

"Housing is in a difficult position. Existing programs are just too expensive," Haar said yesterday. He added that one goal is "horizontal equity"--distributing money among all lower-income people seeking housing. "Among low income house seekers, getting money has almost become a lottery," he added. Young middle-income buyers are also having difficulty getting monthly mortgage payments they can afford.

The Great Society

Haar, who teaches property, government finance, and land use planning, was an adviser on urban affairs to former Presidents John F. Kennedy '40 and Lyndon B. Johnson. He has maintained close ties to the Democratic Party, and has publicly supported President Carter in the upcoming election.

He was assistant secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development for three years when it was established in 1966. He has also been a member of the Presidential Crime and Model Cities Task Force as well as the chairman of Johnson's Commission on National Beauty.