Senate Appropriations Committee endorses higher FY2018 funding levels for HUD
Following a brief hearing at the Subcommittee level, the Senate Appropriations Committee this week
advanced their version of HUD’s fiscal year 2018 budget. Raising proposed funding levels for transportation and housing by a combined $2.4 billion, Senate appropriators rejected various funding cuts proposed by both the President and the House Appropriations Committee.
The Senate bill, which was passed
unanimously by the Committee, calls for a funding increase for both tenant-based and project-based rental assistance, with HUD’s 202 Senior Housing program seeing a notable increase over FY17 levels. The bill also includes funding to expand the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) to preserve elderly properties (RAD for PRAC). The President’s proposed rent reforms, which included raising the tenant contribution and freezing rent increases, were not included in either the House or Senate bill.
Diverging from the tighter budget approved by the House Appropriations Committee last week, the Senate Committee’s numbers give Public Housing a slight increase, while maintaining the HOME and CDBG programs at FY17 levels and including funding for Performance Based Contract Administrators (PBCAs). Funding for lead abatement and homelessness assistance programs – including for homeless veterans and youth – was also emphasized by the bipartisan appropriations leadership.
| Housing and Urban Development
|
| Fiscal Year 2018 proposed appropriations ($ in millions) |
| HUD Affordable Housing and Community Development Programs |
FY18 Enacted |
FY18 Senate Bill (pending) |
FY18 House Bill (pending) |
FY18 President’s Request |
FY17 Enacted |
| Tenant-Based Rental Assistance |
|
21,365 |
20,487 |
19,443 |
20,292 |
| Contract Renewals |
|
[19,370] |
[18,710] |
[17,584] |
[18,355] |
| Project-Based Rental Assistance |
|
11,507 |
11,082 |
10,751 |
10,622 |
| Housing for the Elderly (Section 202) |
|
573 |
573 |
510 |
502 |
| Supportive Housing for Persons with Disabilities (Section 811) |
|
147 |
147 |
121 |
146 |
| Community Development Fund |
|
3,000 |
2,900 |
0 |
3,000 |
| HOME |
|
950 |
850 |
0 |
950 |
“This bipartisan bill is the product of considerable negotiation and compromise, and makes the necessary investments in our nation’s infrastructure, helps to meet the housing needs of the most vulnerable among us, and provides funding for economic development projects that create jobs in our communities,” said
U.S. Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine), Chairwoman of the Senate Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Subcommittee. “Our bill strikes the right balance between thoughtful investment and fiscal restraint, thereby setting the stage for future economic growth.”
Now that the House and Senate versions of the Fiscal Year 2018 Transportation-HUD Appropriations Acts have advanced through their respective Appropriations Committees, each will need to be approved by a full floor vote before being reconciled into a single bill. With the August Recess fast approaching and only 12 working days scheduled in September before the current fiscal year ends on September 30, 2017, the appropriations bills face an uphill battle under time pressure. NAHMA will continue to advocate for higher funding levels, such as those approved by the Senate Committee.
Senate Finance Committee schedules hearing on affordable housing challenges and solutions
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Hatch (R-UT) this week announced a
hearing on increasing access to affordable housing. The hearing, titled “America’s Affordable Housing Crisis: Challenges and Solutions,” is scheduled for 10 am EST on August 1
st and can be viewed
here.
The following witnesses have been invited to testify during the hearing:
Mr. Daniel Garcia-Diaz, Director, Financial Markets and Community Investment, United States Government Accountability Office;
Mr. Grant S. Whitaker, President, National Council of State Housing Agencies;
the Honorable Katherine M. O’Regan, PhD, Professor of Public Policy and Planning; Faculty Director, Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy, Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, New York University;
Mr. Kirk McClure, PhD, Professor, Urban Planning Program, School of Public Policy and Administration, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Kansas; and
Mr. Granger MacDonald, Chairman of the Board of Directors, National Association of Home Builders.
“By bringing in experts in urban policy and housing, this hearing is an opportunity to learn more about what can be done to increase access to affordable housing,”
Hatch said. “It will highlight challenges, as well as ways to encourage investment in our communities to give individuals and families with limited means the chance to find affordable housing.”
The hearing comes on the heels of a
joint statement released by congressional leaders and White House officials on the priorities and the time frame for tax reform. The Finance Committee is likely to focus the affordable housing hearing on the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC); Committee Chairman Hatch is a lead co-sponsor on the bipartisan Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act (S. 548), which would expand and strengthen the housing credit. The House and Senate versions of the legislation have gained traction with both parties, and NAHMA continues to advocate for its passage as part of tax reform. NAHMA will be submitting testimony for the hearing’s record in support of LIHTC.
NAHMA rallies for affordable housing funds and attends a seminar on healthcare and housing
NAHMA staff this week joined coalition partners for a Capitol Hill rally calling for more funding for affordable housing. The rally, which was organized as part of the National Housing Week of Action, featured an array of speakers, including distinguished Members of Congress and residents of HUD’s Elderly Housing and Permanent Supportive Housing programs.
Please visit NAHMA’s social media
pages to see more photos.
Separately, NAHMA staff this week joined the National League of Cities for a discussion on health and housing with thought leaders from across the country. The seminar, which featured experts in both housing and health fields, explored intersections between housing and health and the economic impact on cities, as well as city-level approaches to innovations in data, partnerships, and equity.
More information on the seminar’s highlighted models to advance healthy housing is available
here.
Key HUD nominees advance through Committee
This week, the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
voted in favor of the Administration’s nominees to three key HUD positions. The nominees –
J. Paul Compton to be general counsel, and
Anna Maria Farias and
Neal Rackleff to be Assistant Secretaries of HUD – faced opposition from committee members concerned with the nominees’ support of both the President’s budget request and Administration’s proposed reinterpretation of fair housing rules.
Before assuming their positions, the three nominees will join
Pamela Patenaude, the President’s pick for Deputy Secretary of HUD, for a forthcoming confirmation vote on the Senate floor.
