Draft of HUD’s FY18 Budget Request Show Significant Cuts to Affordable Housing Programs
Next week, President Trump will deliver full details on his FY18 budget. NAHMA, through industry colleagues and
media outlets, obtained a
leaked draft of HUD’s budget showing very deep cuts in affordable housing and community development programs (p
lease note that this is a draft and information has not been verified with HUD). The funding levels included in the leaked draft align with cuts recommended in the “skinny budget” that the Administration released back in March.
Here are some details in the leaked draft of HUD’s FY18 budget:
| Program |
FY18 Request |
FY17 Enacted |
| Project-based Section 8 |
$10.8 Billion |
$10.8 Billion |
| Housing Choice Vouchers |
$19.3 Billion |
$20.3 Billion |
| Section 202 |
$510 Million |
$502 Million |
| Section 811 |
$121 Million |
$146 Million |
| Housing Trust Fund |
$0 |
$219 Million |
| CDBG |
$0 |
$3 Billion |
| HOME |
$0 |
$950 Million |
NAHMA, in a prior
NAHMAnalysis, highlighted some of these cuts in the skinny budget. If approved by Congress, the cuts to HCV, HTF, and Section 811, and flat-funding for PBRA, would be problematic. These funding levels are insufficient to renew all existing rental assistance.
NAHMA did not receive any figures for USDA rural housing programs. We anticipate the final details of the FY18 budget will be released next Tuesday. NAHMA will provide a complete analysis to members at that time.
Financial Services Committee Chair releases draft flood insurance reform bill
Today, the House Financial Services Committee released draft legislation to extend and reform the National Flood Insurance Program’s (NFIP), which is set to expire at end of this fiscal year. Last authorized in 2012, the NFIP provides federally backed insurance plans in areas considered at high risk for flooding; its flood mapping process, however, has been criticized as outdated.
The discussion draft, titled “21
st Century Flood Reform,” reauthorizes the NFIP for five years. Other changes aim to “place the NFIP on sound financial footing and institute new programmatic reforms that address consumer cost and affordability; provide greater private market access, competition, and consumer choice; encourage flood mapping reforms and fairness; enhance mitigation efforts for properties that flood frequently; strengthen taxpayer protections; and incorporate NFIP claims processing and Superstorm Sandy Reforms.”
Financial Services Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) called reforming the program one of his top priorities this year, promising to pass reform “that begins the transition to a competitive, innovative, and sustainable flood insurance market where consumers have real choices.” His Committee held a series of hearings in recent months seeking to explore program inefficiencies and debt management in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and Superstorm Sandy. The House passed similar legislation unanimously in 2016, but the measure was not voted on in the Senate.
Senate Committee on Aging discusses affordable housing challenges for senior living
The Senate Special Committee on Aging this week continued a series of discussions on aging with and without community. Led by Chairwoman Collins (R-ME) and Ranking Member Casey (D-PA), the Committee discussed challenges accompanying the impending senior population boom and explored cross-sector solutions, such as increased funding for HUD’s 202 Senior Housing Program; improved coordination between age-friendly transportation options and affordable housing; and expanded access to telehealth and other technological advances.
In her opening statement, the Chairwoman said, “Isolation and loneliness can have serious, even deadly, consequences for the health and well-being of our nation’s seniors…When the Senate Aging Committee was first established in 1961, nine percent of Americans were over age 65. Today, those older than 65 represent 15 percent of our population. By the year 2060, nearly one out of four Americans will surpass their 65th birthday. The fastest growing age group is what’s called the “oldest old” – those 85 years old and older. Today, we will explore ideas to connect seniors with communities to make home not only a better place to grow up, but also a better place to grow old.”
The hearing, titled “Aging With Community: Building Connections that Last a Lifetime,” discussed local solutions from across the country with the following witnesses: Lindsey Goldman, Director of Healthy Aging at the New York Academy of Medicine; Meg Callaway, Project Director at the Piscataquis Thriving in Place Collaborative; Cathy Bollinger, Managing Director of Embracing Aging and the York County Community Foundation; and Anamarie Garces, Founding Member of the Miami-Dade Age Friendly Initiative.
In questioning the witnesses, Committee Member Senator Warren (D-MA) emphasized affordable housing shortages, housing cost burdens, and the lack of new funding for HUD’s 202 program since 2011. In response, Chairwoman Collins – who also chairs the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development, which appropriates HUD’s budget annually – said, “[HUD 202] is a program that is near and dear to my heart. While it is true that there are unacceptable waiting lists, not only in the Section 202 program, but Section 8 and virtually every federally-assisted housing program that we have…the fact is that in the omnibus bill for FY2017 that we just passed we gave the biggest increase to the 202 program for our seniors, and that was 16.1%.” To view the hearing, please click
here.
Congress holds hearings on social capital, the cycle of poverty, tax reform, housing finance, and infrastructure
The House and Senate this week held a number of hearings exploring
perpetual poverty and a lack of
social “capital” in middle- and low-income communities, as well as on
tax policy and
housing finance. In particular, the importance of early child hood education programs and other community institutions was emphasized in a controversial Joint Economic Committee hearing that examined the “opportunity gap” for children in rich vs. poor neighborhoods.
In a separate hearing with the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin discussed options for the privatization of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Building on last week’s hearing with Federal Housing Finance Administration (FHFA) Director Mel Watt on the future of housing finance, the Treasury Secretary said, “the status quo is not sustainable,” referring to the government-sponsored enterprises’ conservatorship status. When pressed about Community Development Financial Institutions and the availability of 30-year fixed mortgages, Mnuchin said he supported both.
Lastly, in a
hearing with the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, Chairman Crapo (R-ID) emphasized housing as a critical component of infrastructure investment, but failed to go into more detail.
