House Releases T-HUD Appropriations Bill for FY 2016
On Tuesday, April 28, the House Appropriations Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (T-HUD) Subcommittee released its draft funding bill for fiscal year 2016. Nearly all of the proposed funding levels for HUD’s affordable housing programs in the House bill were below the Obama Administration’s budget request.
The most concerning proposed funding level was for the Project-Based Section 8 program (PBS8) and for the HOME Investment Partnerships program. Below is a chart comparing the funding levels in this newly released bill with the FY 2016 budget request from the Obama Administration and the enacted levels for FY 2015.
|
PBS8 |
Housing Choice Vouchers |
HOME |
Section 202 |
Section 811 |
Community Development Block Grant |
| FY 16 House Bill |
$10.254 billion[1] |
$19.92 billion[2] |
$767 million |
$414 million[3] |
$152 million |
$3 billion |
| Obama Budget Request |
$10.54 billion[4] |
$21.12 billion[5] |
$1.06 billion |
$455 million[6] |
$177 million |
$2.80 billion |
| FY 2015 Enacted |
$9.73 billion |
$19.3 billion |
$900 million |
$420 million |
$135 million |
$3 billion |
[1] includes $400 million in advanced appropriations (for FY 2017)
[2] Includes $18.151 billion for contract renewals
[3] Includes $77 million for Service Coordinators
[4] Included $400 million in advanced appropriations (for FY 2017)
[5] Includes $18.33 billion for contract renewals
[6] Includes $77 million for Service Coordinators
The House Appropriations T-HUD Subcommittee has targeted $10.254 billion (plus an additional $400 million in advanced appropriations) for the entire PBS8 program in FY 2016, and it is unclear how much of this topline figure would be used towards PBS8 contract renewals. This proposed funding level is below the Obama Administration’s request of $10.54 billion for PBS8 contract renewals, and is also far below HUD’s previous estimates to renewal all contracts up-front for a full 12-months. In April, 2014, then HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan had stated before the Senate Appropriations T-HUD Subcommittee that $10.8 billion would be necessary for contract renewals in FY 2016.
Due to the transition of all PBS8 contracts to a calendar year funding model, wherein all contracts would be funded on January 1 rather than their individual renewal date, HUD must fully fund each PBS8 contract on the same day for their full 12-month term. As opposed to previous appropriations cycles when HUD would short-fund PBS8 contracts until the next fiscal year, NAHMA is deeply concerned that $10.27 billion will be insufficient to renew all PBS8 up-front on January 1. The resulting funding shortfall could lead to major issues in the program.
On Thursday, April 30, NAHMA sent a grassroots action alert to members requesting that they contact their House Representatives in opposition to the funding level proposed for PBS8 in this bill. We ask that members urge lawmakers that under no circumstance may the funding for PBS8 contract renewals fall below $10.8 billion in FY 2016 under the calendar year model. NAHMA remains opposed to the calendar year model due to the risk it introduces into the PBS8 program at a time of shrinking funding. We believe that the true cost of the program is $12.4 billion dollars
under the former funding model when contracts were funded on their anniversary date – this figure includes an accruing shortfall that increases each fiscal year when HUD receives insufficient funding for PBS8 and must short-fund contracts.
NAHMA is also concerned about the proposed funding levels for other critical programs. The HOME Investment Partnerships program would receive a drastic cut from the FY 2015 should the House T-HUD bill be enacted. The proposed funding level of $767 million is far below the FY 2015 level, but it is expected that funds intended for the Housing Trust Fund (HTF) will be redirected to HOME. The HTF was created under the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 in order to supply funding for affordable, multifamily housing development. The HTF is funded by the government sponsored enterprises (GSEs) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. At this time, NAHMA has not seen specific language about how or when this transaction would occur, and we currently have only estimates for how much would be provided to HOME through the HTF (approximately $120 million). We will monitor this account and follow up with members when specific details are released.
The Housing Choice Voucher program, or Tenant-Based Section 8, would receive a slight increase above the FY 2015 funding level, but even this increase will accomplish little in replacing the vouchers which were lost in FY 2013 due to sequestration. The Administration’s budget requested a significant increase in order to replace the vouchers lost in 2013, but the House bill would only provide a small increase in voucher supply above the FY 2015 levels.
Overall, the outlook for affordable housing looks bleak in the proposed House T-HUD appropriations bill. On April 29, the House T-HUD Appropriations Subcommittee held a markup for their bill, but no amendments were introduced. The next step is a full markup hearing for the bill by the entire House Appropriations Committee; this markup will feature amendment introductions from other committee members and there will be more in depth discussion of the proposed funding figures. NAHMA will continue to monitor the progress of the House T-HUD Appropriations bill and will alert members of any relevant amendments when they are introduced.
The Senate Appropriations Subcommittees have not yet received their 302(b) allocations for FY 2016. The 302(b) allocations provide the top spending figure that the Subcommittees cannot exceed when drafting their appropriations bills. We expect these to be released sometime in late May.
To view the House Appropriations T-HUD Subcommittee bill, please
click here
Concurrent Budget Resolution Passed
This week the Senate Budget Committee Chairman Mike Enzi (R-WY) and House Budget Committee Chairman Tom Price (R-GA) announced that the FY 2016 Budget Conference reached an agreement on a joint Congressional budget resolution.
As mentioned in previous updates, this final budget passed by the conference committee will not become law – instead it will serve as a guide for federal spending for the members of the Appropriations Committees to use as they draft their funding bills for FY 2016. This year with the Republicans in control of the House and Senate, the final budget focuses on their principals and objectives. The budget proposes to balance the federal deficit in 10 years by cutting spending and avoiding tax increases.
To view a summary of this budget resolution, please
click here
Legislation to Overhaul Public Housing Spending
On May 1, 2015, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, introduced the Public Housing Tenant Protection and Reinvestment Act to combat the “chronic underfunding of the public housing program in the United States to ensure access to housing that is safe, decent and affordable for the 1.2 million vulnerable families who rely on it.”
As stated in the summary, the Public Housing Tenant Protection and Reinvestment Act key objectives:
- Transform neighborhoods of extreme poverty by revitalizing severely distressed public housing, while simultaneously improving access to economic opportunities, supportive services, education programs, public assets, public transportation, and jobs;
- Require the one-for-one replacement of public and assisted housing dwelling units that are demolished or disposed of;
- Provide for increased tenant protections through the revitalization process;
- Ensure that current residents benefit from transformation by preserving affordable housing in the neighborhood and, to the maximum extent possible, providing residents the choice to stay in their communities or move to affordable housing in another neighborhood of opportunity;
- Protect public housing as a critical public asset;
- To restore robust funding for the public housing program; and
- Support public housing residents through job training to provide for increased earnings and positive life outcomes.
This legislation would have implications for the Rental Assistance Demonstration Program (RAD). NAHMA will review this bill more in-depth and will provide a more thorough analysis when all the details have been researched.
To view a summary document of this bill, please
click here
