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T-HUD Bill Reported Out of Senate

After six days of work, the Senate completed its consideration of the FY10 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies (T-HUD) Appropriations Act, H.R. 3288, on Thursday, September 17. The Senate considered several amendments relating to eligibility for HUD programs, data on subsidized housing, and funding that would have mixed impacts for extremely low income households accessing HUD programs.

In welcome news to voucher holders and advocates, the Senate approved an amendment offered by Senator Murray to provide $200 million in advance appropriations funds to maintain vouchers currently in use, thereby fixing the voucher funding shortfalls being experience by some public housing agencies (PHAs). Those funding shortfalls to the tenant-based housing voucher programs in FY09 come as a result of declining tenant incomes, lower voucher turnover rates, and HUD’s late announcement of FY09 funding levels. Access to those funds could alleviate immediate concerns about households being terminated from the voucher program.

A Center for Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) paper released this week describes both the causes for the voucher funding shortfalls and possible effects were it not fixed, including PHAs increasing tenant rent levels, not reissuing vouchers when they could be available for households on waiting lists, reducing amounts paid to owners, and terminating vouchers. The CBPP paper called for Congress to address this shortfall through the FY10 appropriations bill. Senator Murray’s amendment specifically addresses the use of these advance appropriations funds to “prevent termination” of voucher holders. The amendment was adopted by unanimous consent as part of the manager’s amendment. 

In less welcome news, Senator David Vitter (R-LA) offered two amendments that could critically impact subsidized housing tenants, one of which was adopted and one of which was rejected. Senator Vitter offered an amendment to prevent restrictions on enforcing or implementing community service requirements for households living in public housing. Under current law, adults residing in public housing are required to perform eight hours of community service per month with exceptions for elderly, persons with disabilities, persons receiving state income assistance, persons who are working, or persons who are otherwise exempt. However, this requirement is not uniformly enforced by housing agencies, and advocates are opposed to it. During deliberation on H.R. 3288 in the House, an amendment was adopted that would remove the current requirement (see Memo, 7/24).

Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), chair of the T-HUD Appropriations Subcommittee, spoke in opposition to Senator Vitter’s amendment, saying it would additionally burden households that are already economically stressed and would duplicate the current law. Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA) also spoke against the amendment, saying that it unfairly targets poor and minority people for receiving a benefit that is small in comparison to many other government benefits received by middle class and wealthy people. She demanded that her colleagues not “pick on the poor because they can’t fight back and they don’t have lobbyists.” Senator Vitter declined a voice vote on the amendment, and instead requested a role call vote to record individual senators’ support. The amendment was approved 73-25.

The other amendment offered by Senator Vitter received similarly charged criticism. The amendment, focused on New Orleans only, would have restricted the Housing Authority of New Orleans’s ability to set its own admissions eligibility requirements by prohibiting a household from accessing subsidized housing funded by the FY10 appropriations act if any member of the household had ever been convicted of a domestic violence or drug distribution charge or was a member of a street gang. Both Senators Murray and Landrieu objected to making housing policy on a city-by-city basis, and to extending the burden of a family member’s criminal activity to the entire household. The two Senators also cited the lack of time limitations on the amendment as unfair and problematic for households that include a family member that had at some time in the past committed a crime. Senator Murray also pointed out that PHAs already have the authority to evict tenants who are convicted of certain crimes, making further legislation unnecessary. The amendment did not pass.

An amendment offered by Senator Mike Johanns (R-NE) would prohibit funds made available under the Act from being distributed directly or indirectly to the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN). The amendment passed 83-7. 

An amendment offered by Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK), agreed upon by unanimous consent, could highlight where further alignment between HUD resources and persons experiencing homelessness is needed. The amendment would require a report on HUD-owned housing and costs associated with “acquiring, maintaining and selling” said property. The report would include data on the financial impact of owning and disposing of property as well as data on the urban areas and states with the highest rates of homeless and the areas where HUD owns the most housing.

Also of note to advocates was an amendment offered by Senator John McCain (R-AZ) to eliminate funding for the Brownfields program. This program was eliminated in the President’s budget, not funded in the Senate’s bill, but funded at 250% of the FY09 level in the House bill. Senator McCain cited the President’s reasons for program elimination, primarily that the program is a small funding stream relative to need and that larger programs at the state and local level are better equipped and funded.  The amendment failed 37-60. 

The final bill passed by a vote of 73-25. The House bill passed its appropriations bill on July 23 (see Memo, 7/24). Given that the end of the fiscal year, September 30, 2009, is nearing, the House and Senate are expected to meet soon to resolve the differences in their bills in conference. The chambers will have to complete their work quickly to avoid the need for a continuing resolution to fund HUD programs as FY10 begins.

Link to the CBPP paper on the FY09 voucher funding shortfall at: http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=2916

Link to NLIHC’s Budget Chart at http://www.nlihc.org/doc/FY10-chart-8-24.pdf