Policy

House acts on HUD funding

On April 28 the House Appropriations Committee released its draft FY16 appropriations bill for the Departments of Transportation and HUD. The T-HUD Subcommittee passed (“mark up”) the bill on April 29 without changes.

The bill would reduce appropriations for HOME from $900 million in 2015 to $767 million in 2016. To make up the difference, it would channel receipts from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to HOME rather than to the National Housing Trust Fund, where current law requires them to go.

The bill has level funding for CDBG, Native American housing, public housing operating funds, fair housing, and housing counseling. Some other reductions and increases would also occur, as the table below indicates.

After the subcommittee acts, the full House committee mark-up is the next step in the process and will probably occur soon. The Senate committee has not yet scheduled its action on a T-HUD bill. Also not yet clear is when a final appropriations act will pass and what the impact of a required budget sequester could be.

HUD Program
(dollars in millions)

FY13
Approp.a

FY14
Approp.

FY15
Approp.

FY16 Admin. Budget
Proposal

FY16
House SubcommitteeBill

Cmty. Devel. Fund
CDBG

3,308
2,948

3,100
3,030

3,066
3,000

2,880
2,800

3,060
3,000

HOME
SHOP setaside

1,000
b

1,000
b

900
b

1,060
10

767

Self-Help Homeownshp. (SHOP)

13.5

10

10

b

10

Tenant-Based Rental Assistance
VASH setaside

18,939.4
75

19,177.2
75

19,304
75

21,123
c

19,919

Project-Based Rental Asstnce.

9,339.7

9,516.6

9,330

10,360

10,254

Public Hsg. Capital Fund

1,886

1,875

1,875

1,970

1,681

Public Hsg. Operating Fund

4,262

4,400

4,440

4,600

4,440

Choice Neighbrhd. Initiative

120

90

80

250

20

Native Amer. Hsg. Block Grant

650

650

650

660

650

Homeless Assistance Grantsd

2,033

2,105

2,135

2,480

2,185

Hsg. Opps. for Persons w/ AIDS

334

330

330

332

332

202 Hsg. for Elderly

377

385.3

436

455

414

811 Hsg. for Disabled

165

126

135

177

152

Fair Housing

70.8

66

65.3

71

65.3

Healthy Homes & Lead Haz. Cntl.

120

110

110

120

75

Housing Counseling

45

45

47

60

47

Local Housing Policy Grants

300

a.Figures shown do not include 5% sequester.
b. Recent Obama budgets have proposed making the SHOP program a setaside in HOME. Congress has rejected that proposal.
c. VASH vouchers for homeless veterans are not funded. The President’s budget proposed making VASH part of a new account of incremental rental vouchers for families, veterans, and tribal families experiencing homelessness and for victims of domestic violence.
d. Includes the Rural Housing Stability Program, which is not yet operational.