NAHMA Submits Testimony on the USDA’s FY 2015 Budget Request
This week, NAHMA submitted testimony to the House Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on Agriculture and Rural Development on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s budget request for fiscal year 2015. The majority of the testimony focused on Rural Development’s requested funding and new legislative authorities for its Section 521 Rural Rental Assistance (RA) Program.
For FY 2015, USDA requested $1.089 billion for Section 521 Rural Rental Assistance. RD believes this request is sufficient to accommodate renewals based on assumptions that new legislative authorities will make this funding level sufficient. These newly requested legislative authorities include:
- Removing the requirement that RA contracts must be funded for a one-year period, and replace it with language to fund contracts “up to one year”;
- Eliminating the automatic renewal of rental assistance contracts that occur within the 12-month contract period; and
- Allow for rental assistance to be “renewed at the discretion of the Secretary.”
RD believes these changes will provide greater predictability in the RA budget, as well as the necessary flexibility to prioritize RA contract renewals during times of funding uncertainty (such as continuing resolutions or under sequestration). NAHMA stated that any new legislative authority must not absolve the agency of its financial obligations to owners for payment of RA during the term of the contract, nor should it be used as a budget gimmick. The testimony instead urged the committee that appropriations for RA must be sufficient to provide 12 months of funding for all contracts in FY 2015. Additionally, NAHMA suggested that an advanced appropriation would offer a more straightforward mechanism to ensure RD has the necessary funding for contract renewals during times of funding uncertainty.
Our testimony did support RD’s requested authority to access the same interagency databases used for income verification by HUD which could reduce improper payments in the RA program. If Congress provides such authority, NAHMA recommended that USDA-RD implement it by seeking access to HUD’s Enterprise Income Verification (EIV) System for RHS staff, as well as for authorized property owners and managers. EIV could be more efficient for RD to use for income verification rather than their own entirely new system.
For other RD programs such as Section 515 Direct Rural Rental Housing Loans, NAHMA’s testimony supported funding at a level of at least RD’s requested amount of $28.432 million. Similarly, we supported the Section 538 Multifamily Loan Guarantee program at RD’s request of $150 million. However, we expressed concern about the proposed reduction in voucher funding. The Rural Housing Voucher Program is funded through the Multifamily Housing Revitalization Program. Of the $28 million requested for the revitalization program, only $8 million would be directed to the rural voucher program, a substantial decrease from the nearly $12.58 million provided in the FY 2014 Omnibus Appropriations Act. We urged the committee to carefully consider whether $8 million will be sufficient to meet the demand for Rural Housing Vouchers in FY 2015.
The USDA’s budget for FY 2015 will be the subject of additional hearings in the House and Senate as lawmakers begin to compile the Congressional budget for the upcoming fiscal year. Likewise, HUD’s budget will be scrutinized before members of the Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development. NAHMA will continue to follow the budget process and alert members when additional testimony is submitted.
