House Appropriations Committee Approves the Fiscal Year 2016 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (T-HUD) Bill
On May 13, The House Appropriations Committee approved the fiscal year 2016 T-HUD funding bill. The legislation includes funding for the Department of Transportation, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and other related agencies. It will now go to the House floor for consideration.
In total, the bill reflects an allocation of $55.3 billion in discretionary spending – an increase of $1.5 billion above fiscal year 2015 and $9.7 billion below the President’s budget request. However, given reduced offsets – primarily caused by a $1.1 billion decline in Federal Housing Administration receipts – the bill actually represents an increase of only $25 million above the current level.
With the exception of a few amendments unrelated to housing programs, the bill is unchanged from the version the THUD Subcommittee reported on April 28. Several housing-related amendments were introduced, but failed. A few notable amendments include: an amendment increasing HOME funding to the Administration-proposed level of $1.06 billion and removing the language transferring funds from the Housing Trust Fund (HTF) to HOME; an amendment to fund 12 capital programs, including HOME, the Public Housing Capital Fund, Choice Neighborhoods, Lead Hazard Control, Section 811 Housing for the Disabled, and Section 202 Housing for the Elderly at the Administration’s FY 2016 Budget Request levels; an amendment to restore funding to the Office of Healthy Housing and Lead Hazard Control to its FY 2015 level; an amendment to increase the overall allocation for THUD; and an amendment to add 100,000 new Section 8 vouchers with set-asides for veterans and domestic violence victims.
The bill was approved by the Committee on a party-line vote of 30-21. The final step is a vote by the full House; however House leadership has not scheduled floor consideration of the bill. The House floor consideration will likely take place around the House’s late May recess.
NAHMA remains concerned with the funding levels in the bill, particularly for Project-based Section 8. The House Appropriations Committee has targeted $10.27 billion for the entire 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 specifically for PBS8 contract renewals, and is also far below HUD’s previous estimates to renewal all contracts up-front for a full 12-months.
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. NAHMA is concerned that $10.27 billion will be insufficient to renew all PBS8 up-front on January 1, and that the resulting funding shortfall could lead to major issues in the program such as mortgage defaults and residents losing their homes.
NAHMA recently issued a grassroots advisory on the bill; see https://www.nahma.org/grassroots-advocacy/urgent-issues/ for more details.
For a summary of the FY16 THUD bill, please visit: https://appropriations.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=394177
For the text of the FY16 THUD bill, please visit: https://appropriations.house.gov/uploadedfiles/bills-114hr-fc-ap-fy2016-ap00-thud.pdf
For the text of the FY16 THUD committee report, please visit: https://appropriations.house.gov/uploadedfiles/hrpt-114-hr-fy2016-thud.pdf
Senator Shelby Introduces Comprehensive Financial Regulatory Reform Bill
On Tuesday, May 12, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Richard Shelby (R-AL) released a discussion draft of The Financial Regulatory Improvement Act of 2015, which would amend the federal financial system, including placing new restrictions on the Government-Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs), Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. NAHMA will continue to analyze the draft legislation to determine how it might impact affordable housing programs and keep members updated on the bill’s status.
To view the section-by-section summary, click here.
To view the discussion draft, click here.