Committee approves House version of HUD budget; Senate to hold hearings next week
The House Appropriations Committee this week gave
approval to its version of HUD’s Fiscal Year 2018 budget, which was advanced through the House Subcommittee last week with bipartisan support. Rejecting President Trump’s Budget Request from earlier this year, the full Committee’s appropriations legislation leaves out rent reform provisions and preserves programs like HOME and Community Development Block Grants (CDBG), although at reduced levels.
The bill provides slight increases to both tenant-based and project-based rental assistance – with the biggest proposed increase going to HUD’s 202 Senior Housing Program. An amendment approved during this week’s hearing also adopted an expansion of the Rental Assistance Demonstration to help preserve elderly properties (RAD for PRAC).
“The bill that you and your Subcommittee have crafted is a solid bill that will help improve our transportation infrastructure and ensure that housing is available for those in greatest need. The United States has the largest economy in the world, and we must have safe, reliable, and efficient infrastructure to support and sustain this,” said Committee Chairman Frelinghuysen (R-NJ). “Within the Department of Housing and Urban Development, funding is maintained to serve our most vulnerable citizens – the elderly, the disabled, and veterans – and to encourage homeownership and the pursuit of the American dream.”
However, the bill does not include funding for Performance-Based Contract Administrators (PBCAs), as the committee is sending a strong message that HUD needs to finish the PBCA procurement. The
bill report states, “HUD…has not been responsive to the Committee’s direction to conduct the solicitation and award of performance-based contracts to PBCAs a) under full and open competition, b) without regard to geographic limitations, c) in accordance with the Competition and Contracts Act and Federal Acquisition Regulation, and d) with comprehensive oversight—allowing a single PBCA to be responsible for each of the tasks associated with a particular property receiving project-based rental assistance, including all tasks currently assigned to PBCA contractors as well as any others which HUD may be authorized to use. Until the Committee gets assurances that HUD will respond appropriately, the Committee directs HUD to perform these functions in-house and provides adequate funding under the Management and Administration account.”
While an improvement over the President’s requested levels, the House bill’s proposed funding levels for HUD are far from ideal, with concerns voiced by housing professionals and advocates regarding decreased funding for public housing, community development, and Section 811, Housing for Persons with Disabilities. Committee Ranking Member Nita Lowey (D-NY) denounced the overall spending limits under which lawmakers are operating, and called the Committee’s proposed funding levels for housing, infrastructure, and community development “irresponsible.” While the Senate this week approved Fiscal Year 2018 spending caps that preserve parity between defense and domestic programs – including a spending limit for HUD that falls $2.4 billion above fiscal year 2017 enacted levels – the House this week instead endorsed a Budget Resolution that calls for drastic cuts to entitlement programs over ten years.
A Senate version of the HUD appropriations bill is expected to be released early next week, with Senate hearings scheduled for
Tuesday in the Subcommittee and
Thursday for the full Senate Appropriations Committee. Although the funding legislation is moving through Congress quickly, lawmakers this week shifted away from efforts to enact comprehensive funding bills ahead of the August recess. If approved in both congressional chambers, both versions of the appropriations legislation would then need to be reconciled before Fiscal Year 2017 funding runs out at the end of September, 2017.
Senate Finance Committee takes up tax reform debate with high-level panel
The Senate this week joined the tax reform debate with a
hearing on “Comprehensive Tax Reform: Prospects and Challenges.” The panel of distinguished witnesses included the Treasury Department’s Assistant Secretaries for Tax Policy dating back to the year 2000.
In his opening statement, Chairman Hatch (R-UT) invoked Ronald Raegan’s 1984 tax reform goals of “fairness, efficiency, and simplicity,” and adding “American competitiveness” to his own list of priorities. “There is no longer any question as to whether we SHOULD reform the tax code. The only questions remaining are: HOW and WHEN,” said the Chairman, who emphasized comprehensive reform over targeted rate reductions for individuals and businesses.
Ranking Member Wyden (D-OR) agreed on the importance of tax reform, but emphasized the need for a progressive tax code. “Anybody can write a bill that slashes tax rates for the fortunate few and the biggest corporations, and it might even get enough support to become law. It’s not a great way to provide certainty and predictability needed to create good-paying jobs and expand economic opportunity, but it is a great way to create tax windfalls for the wealthy,” said the Ranking Member.
The Committee’s hearing comes on the heels of the Chairman’s effort to collect public input on the use of tax reform to strengthen business and provide relief to the middle class; the Affordable Rental Housing ACTION campaign, of which NAHMA is a member, submitted comments on the importance of preserving and strengthening the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC).
Following the release of House Speaker Paul Ryan’s (R-WI) tax reform blueprint in mid-2016 and the Trump Administration’s tax reform overview released this April, lawmakers will be watching the Senate Finance Committee closely for next steps on reform. The Trump Administration has promised a unified tax plan in early September, but proposals have so far earned little public support from either party.
Senate Committee considers nominees to key HUD positions
The Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee this week
considered a full panel of political nominees, including three key HUD positions:
Mr. J. Paul Compton, Jr., of Alabama, to be HUD’s General Counsel;
Ms. Anna M. Farias, of Texas, to be HUD’s Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity; and
Mr. Neal J. Rackleff, of Texas, to be HUD’s Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development.
Under the leadership of Chairman Crapo (R-ID) and Ranking Member Brown (D-OH), the Committee questioned the nominees on a range of topics, including fair housing, the budget, Native American housing, and tax reform. Mr. Rackleff reaffirmed his commitment to the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) and to HUD’s ‘housing first’ policy for persons with substance abuse; he also said he supports a fiscally-responsible budget approach that prioritizes public-private partnerships, such as the LIHTC, but will defer to Congressional appropriators.
In her testimony, Ms. Farias reflected on her own experiences living in HUD-subsidized housing and stood by her commitment to anti-discrimination policies. Mr. Compton similarly stressed his emphasis on “making a difference,” and when pressed on renter’s rights, Mr. Compton assured the committee that he is able to see both sides of a financial scenario that affects banks as well as consumers.
Following the hearing, the nominees will have the opportunity to answer further questions in writing in advance of a Committee vote
scheduled for Tuesday. If advanced to the full Senate, the three nominees will join Ms. Pamela Patenaude, the nominee for Deputy Secretary of HUD, who was approved by the Committee in June but has yet to see a floor vote.
Senate FY2018 agriculture appropriations bill gains committee approval
On July 20, the Senate Committee on Appropriations approved the
FY2018 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill. Funding levels for rural development programs include: $35 million for Section 515; $1,345 billion for Section 521 to renew all rental assistance agreements; and $41 million for Multi-family Housing Revitalization Program(MPR)/Section 542, including $19 million for vouchers and $22 million for the demonstration.
The Senate Agriculture funding bill also overrides USDA Secretary Perdue’s recent elimination of the Undersecretary for Rural Development and directs the administration to fill the position. “I look forward to the President putting up a nominee, and I hope he does,” said Senator Jon Tester (D-MT), sponsor of the language to reinstate the Undersecretary’s position.
