House Subcommittee advances Fiscal Year 2018 appropriations bill for HUD
In a brief
hearing at the Subcommittee level, House appropriators this week provided preliminary approval for HUD’s fiscal year 2018 budget. Hampered by stringent overall spending caps, the Subcommittee’s proposed HUD budget falls short of full funding, but rejects the deep cuts called for in the President’s budget request earlier this year. In addition, the bill also rejects the President’s proposed rent reforms, such as raising the minimum monthly rent and the tenant contribution, eliminating utility allowances, and freezing rent adjustment increases.
The bill, which will undergo stronger debate before the full House Appropriations Committee next week, calls for a slight funding increase for both Housing Choice Voucher renewals and Project-based Rental Assistance, with HUD’s 202 Senior Housing program seeing the biggest increase over FY17 levels. Meanwhile, the Public Housing Capital Fund and the HOME and CDBG programs would each see significant reductions.
| House Appropriations Committee, Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development:
|
| Fiscal Year 2018 proposed appropriations ($ in millions) |
| HUD Affordable Housing Programs |
FY18 House Bill (pending) |
FY18 President’s Request |
FY17 Enacted |
| Tenant-Based Rental Assistance |
20,487 |
19,443 |
20,292 |
| Contract Renewals |
[18,710] |
[17,584] |
[18,355] |
| Project-Based Rental Assistance |
11,082 |
10,751 |
10,622 |
| Housing for the Elderly (Section 202) |
573 |
510 |
502 |
| Supportive Housing for Persons with Disabilities (Section 811) |
147 |
121 |
146 |
| Community Development Fund |
2,900 |
0 |
3,000 |
| HOME |
850 |
0 |
950 |
“We have targeted funding in this bill to essential investments in safe infrastructure and housing assistance for our most vulnerable populations; this includes the elderly, the disabled, and obviously, our veterans,” said Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development Subcommittee Chairman Diaz-Balart (R-FL). “The bill includes significant increases to keep pace with inflation and to maintain housing for those who are currently served by HUD rental assistance programs.”
Committee Ranking Member Price (D-NR) countered the Chairman’s assurances: “We are not investing enough in our housing and transportation infrastructure to even maintain it, let alone expand it.”
During the full Committee
debate next week, an amendment is expected to be offered that would expand the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) to preserve certain HUD Section 202 Senior Housing communities. A Senate version of the bill has yet to be released and is expected to propose higher funding levels, as well as funding for performance-based contract administrators (PBCAs).
House appropriators continue funding debates for USDA’s Rural Development programs
The full House Appropriations Committee this week continued to
debate appropriations legislation for USDA’s Fiscal Year 2018 budget after advancing the legislation last week at the Subcommittee level. A number of amendments were offered to the legislation, with Members of Congress sparring over the proposed 5% cut on average to the department and deregulation policy provisions included in the bill language. The bill also financially supports USDA’s recent reorganization efforts, which would eliminate the Undersecretary position for Rural Development.
“These programs help grow the economy by developing critical rural infrastructure and providing business loans to help small businesses thrive in rural markets,” said House Appropriations Committee Chairman Frelinghuysen (R-NJ), speaking broadly about USDA’s Rural Development initiatives. Subcommittee Chairman Aderholt (R-AL) assured colleagues that the bill would include sufficient funding to renew all rental assistance.
Urging the Committee to reconsider the policy provisions and the funding cuts, Ranking Member Nita Lowey (D-NY) said, “Until a bipartisan process commences to raise caps on defense and non-defense spending, it’s all for naught. Appropriations laws will not be enacted until we reach an agreement on increasing spending caps to more acceptable levels that enable us to adequately support our economy, protect the American people, and invest in a promising future for hardworking families.”
Following the debate, the bill was advanced through the Committee and is headed for the full House floor; if passed, it would need to be reconciled with a Senate version of Agriculture appropriations legislation that is expected to be released in the coming weeks.
