The Senate Appropriations Committee approved its Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies (THUD) fiscal year 2024 spending bill last week, advancing its proposal to provide funding for major housing and community development programs. Due to the bipartisan debt limit legislation, congressional appropriators are operating under strict budget caps, which affects the amount they can provide for non-defense discretionary programs.

The Senate Appropriations Committee approval comes after the House Appropriations Committee approved its FY 24 spending bill last week. Both chambers are expected to bring their respective bills to a floor vote and begin negotiations after August recess. Congress must come to an agreement on all 12 spending bills or a spending package before October 1, extend government funding through a continuing resolution, or risk a government shutdown. 
 
The Senate proposed an FY 24 budget of $70.6 billion for HUD, $1.8 billion (3%) above the House proposal and $9.8 billion (16%) above the FY 23 enacted budget. Senate Appropriators included over $10 billion in emergency spending to help navigate the strict caps and to provide needed additional funding due to lower revenue from mortgages and higher renewal costs for rental assistance programs. 

Enterprise is pleased that the Senate provided a bipartisan proposal that makes minimal cuts and level funding or increases for many of Enterprise's Policy Priorities. Specifically, we are happy to see that the HOME Investment Partnerships Program was spared from the significant cuts proposed in the House and received level funding compared to FY 23. Other important programs such as the Community Development Block Grant and the Section 4 Capacity Building Program also received level funding. A number of key programs also received increases, including the Native American Housing Block Grant, which received a 6% increase and the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program which received a 5% increase. 

The Senate bill also proposes language to streamline federal housing programs such as the HCV program, including:

  • Reducing the number of duplicative property inspections that occur when a project is funded by multiple federal housing programs;
  • Authorizing a new pilot to allow up to eight Public Housing Agencies (PHAs) to use housing assistance payments (HAP) for leasing-related expenses, like security and utility deposits; and
  • Improving the speed and effectiveness of vouchers serving youth aging out of foster care by streamlining the award process and authorizing the HUD Secretary to waive certain requirements. 

Here’s where the HUD numbers stand compared to last year’s budget and the House proposal: 

  • $31.7 billion for Tenant-Based Rental Assistance including $5 billion in emergency spending for renewals. This is a $1.4 billion (5%) increase over FY 23 enacted and $600 million (2%) above the House proposal. It is expected this amount will cover the cost of all contract renewals, resulting in no cuts for current voucher holders.  This amount will also provide 4,000 new incremental vouchers for youth aging out of foster care and veterans at risk of or experiencing homelessness. 
  • $15.8 billion for Project-Based Rental Assistance including $5 billion in emergency spending for renewals, which is $883 million (6%) above FY 23 and $370 million (2%) above the House proposal. It is expected this amount will cover the cost of all contract renewals.
  • $8.9 billion for Public Housing, a $361 million (4%) increase from FY 23 and $512 million above (6%) the House numbers. This total includes $5.5 billion for the operating fund, a $421 million (8.2%) increase from FY 23 and $427 million (8.4%) above the House proposal. The capital fund received $3.2 billion, level with FY 23 and a $20 million (1%) increase from proposal. 
  • $4.5 billion for the Community Development Fund (CDF), $1.06 billion (24%) below the House. Of this, $3.3 billion is allocated for the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, equal to FY 23 and the House proposal. The additional $1.06 billion in CDF is for earmarks and congressionally directed spending items, which is a decrease of $1.16 billion (52%) compared to the House proposal. Also, $100 million was proposed for the Yes in My Backyard Grant (YIMBY) grant program, which is $15 million (18%) above FY 23 and a significant increase of $80 million (400%) above the House proposal. 
  • $3.9 billion for Homeless Assistance Grants, $275 million (8%) above FY 23 and $179 million (5%) above the House.
  • $1.5 billion for HOME, level with FY 23 and avoids the cuts proposed in the House by providing $1 billion (200%) more than their proposal.  
  • $1.1 billion for Native American Programs, a $61 million increase (6%) above FY 23 enacted but $261 million (20%) lower than the House. This includes $848 million for the Native American Housing Block Grant (formula), a $61 million (8%) increase above FY 23 enacted but $261 million (24%) below the House.  
  • $1.075 billion for Section 202 Housing for the Elderly, level with FY 23 and $162 million (18%) above the House. 
  • $360 million for Section 811 Housing for People with Disabilities, level with FY 23 and prevent the cuts proposed in the House by providing $152 million (18%) more than their proposal. 
  • $140.5 million for Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS), $15.5 million (12%) increase compared to the FY 23 bill and the House proposal.
  • $42 million for the Section 4 Capacity Building program, level with FY 23 and the House proposal. The Senate proposal includes a $1 million set-aside for native populations, which was also included in the FY 23 omnibus. 
  • No funding was allocated for the Preservation and Reinvestment Initiative for Community Enhancement (PRICE) Program, a competitive grant program for housing residents and communities to preserve and revitalize manufactured housing and eligible manufactured housing communities. FY 23 enacted, which was the first time the program was funded, included $225 million for the program and the House proposed $20 million. 

Prior to the THUD bill release, the Senate Appropriations Committee also approve spending proposals for Treasury and the Rural Housing Service under USDA. 

An overview of the spending proposals are as follows: 

Treasury 

The Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) subcommittee, which provides funding for the Treasury, released its proposal on July 1 and provided $41.2 billion for the agencies under its jurisdiction. This includes:

  • $334 million for the CDFI Fund, $10 million (3%) above FY 23 enacted levels and $56 million (20%) above the House proposal.  
USDA 

The Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration (Agriculture-FDA) subcommittee, which funds rural housing programs, released its proposal on June 22 and provided $25.9 billion for agencies under its jurisdiction. This includes: 

  • $1.608 billion for Section 521 Rental Assistance, $120 million (8%) above FY 23 enacted and a slight bump up of $1 million (.1%) compared to the House numbers. The amount provided in the proposal is estimated to fully fund the program. 
  • $850 million for the Section 502 Single Family Housing Guaranteed Loan Program, a cut of $400 million (32%) from FY 23 and $50 million (6%) below the House proposal. This amount includes $7.5 million for the 502 Direct Tribal Relending Pilot. 
  • $400 million for the USDA Section 538 guaranteed loans to preserve and rehabilitate USDA rental housing, level with FY 23 and the House proposal. 
  • $60 million for the Section 515 Rural Rental Housing program, $10 million (14%) below FY 23 and level with the House proposal. 
  • $35 million for the Multi-family Housing Preservation and Revitalization Program, $1 million (3%) below FY 23 and $1 million (3%) above the House proposal.
  • The Senate proposal includes language to provide USDA authority to allow mortgage decoupling, beginning with a pilot for 15,000 units. This is a priority for Enterprise and a wide coalition of housing owners and advocates.

We will continue to advocate for the highest possible funding levels for these programs as the appropriators begin negotiating a final spending bill or package. A full breakdown of the affordable housing and community development spending levels can be found in our Fiscal Year 2024 Budget Request and Appropriations Chart.

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