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T-HUD Appropriations Conference Report Shows Increase Over FY09 Levels; BillPasses House and Senate

After a period of no movement on appropriations work, this past week saw a flurry of activity on the FY10 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development and Related Agencies (T-HUD) bill, with House and Senate conferees agreeing to a bill and issuing a conference report on December 8. The House debated and passed its bill December 10, and the Senate passed the bill on Sunday, December 13.  The activity on H.R. 3288 comes as the expiration of the Continuing Resolution funding the government, which passed in lieu of FY10 appropriations bills, approaches on December 18.

The House passed the T-HUD bill in July, the Senate passed its bill in September, and the bill has been awaiting conference for three months (see Memo, 7/24 and 9/18). Other appropriations bills were in similar situations.

On December 8, lawmakers announced their intention to use the FY10 T-HUDappropriations bill as the vehicle for six of the seven unfinished appropriations bills. The Department of Defense bill will be the single remaining unfinished FY10 appropriations bill. Lawmakers say the defense bill was withheld from the omnibus to act as the vehicle for other unfinished bills before Congress recesses for the remainder of the year. 

The final HUD FY10 budget authority is $46.1 billion, a $4.5 billion increase over FY09 funding. Funding levels for HUD programs in the T-HUD conference report reflect compromises between the House’s funding levels and the generally lower levels in the Senate bill. The House had proposed a total budget authority of $47.1 billion, while the Senate proposed $45.8 billion. The majority of programs are funded above the President’s budget request.

The tenant-based rental assistance voucher program is funded at $18.184 billion, in between the House and Senate proposed levels. Contract renewals are funded at $16.3 billion, a level that will likely leave the program with a funding shortfall. Within the tenant-based rental assistance program, family unification program vouchers are funded at $15 million. These vouchers were funded at a higher level in the Senate, not funded in the House, and funded at $20 million in FY09. Tenant protection vouchers and family self-sufficiency coordinators were funded at the higher House levels of $120 and $60 million, respectively. For tenant protection vouchers, the bill represents a $30 million decrease in funding, while family self-sufficiency coordinators will receive an increase of $10 million over last year. Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (VASH) vouchers will continue to be funded at $75 million.

The project-based rental assistance program is funded at $8.5 billion, closer to the House request of $8.7 billion than the lower Senate level, and a significant boost of $1 billion more than FY09. Advanced appropriations were omitted in the Senate budget but are included in the final budget. A general provision will also allow recaptured project-based rental assistance funds from 1975-1987 to be added as budget authority to the program. 

The public housing operating fund receives $4.775 billion in the bill, an amount between the House and Senate requests, while the capital fund is provided $2.5 billion, $50 million more than in FY09. The capital fund has not received more than $2.5 billion dollars since FY05. Within the capital fund program, emergency disaster grants will continue to receive $20 million and the Resident Opportunity and Supported Services program will receive $50 million, an increase of $10 million over FY09. A provision from the Senate bill was included in the conference report that will allow HUD to increase by three the number of housing authorities that are Moving to Work agencies in FY10. 

Instead of either dedicating the House’s proposed increased funding for HOPE VI or moving HOPE VI funds entirely to the Senate’s proposed Choice Neighborhoods Initiative (CNI) line item, the final conference report splits funding between the two programs. While the Administration had hoped to convert the entire HOPE VI program in one fiscal year rather than administer both programs simultaneously, the final budget provides $200 million for HOPE VI ($80 million above the FY09 level), and $65 million for a Choice Neighborhoods Initiative demonstration. The House language on HOPE VI is kept intact, as is the Senate’s language on CNI. Additional conference report language specifies that CNI funds will not be considered public housing funds and that the affordability term of redeveloped properties will be extended by a minimum of 20 years. 

Community Development Block Grants will be funded at $4.45 billion, $600 million above FY09 but below the House-requested level. The HOME program is level-funded at $1.8 billion, consistent with the President’s request and the Senate bill. This is the highest funding level the program has received since FY04.

As requested by the President, the final bill also includes $150 million for a Sustainable Communities Initiative to “improve regional planning efforts that integrate housing and transportation decisions, and increase the capacity to improve land use and zoning.” See Memo, 5/8, for details on the initiative.

Homeless assistance grants receive an increase of $180 million over the FY09 level. The $1.865 million funding level is above the House level of $1.85 billion and below the Senate level of $1.875 billion. Additionally, the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies appropriations bill conference report includes $50 million to renovate vacant Veterans Affairs medical campus properties to be used as supported housing for homeless veterans. NLIHC signed onto a letter coordinated by the Corporation for Supportive Housing urging appropriators to retain this funding in the final bill, which was included in Senate but not the House bill (see Memo, 12/4). 

Other T-HUD programs providing housing for the elderly and housing for people with disabilities are both funded above FY09 levels. The Section 202 program will receive an increase of $60 million, and the Section 811 program will receive an increase of $50 million. The Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA) program will receive a $25 million increase, bringing total funding to $335 million.

The conference report incorporates an amendment added into the Senate bill that will require HUD to prepare a report studying costs associated with HUD-owned properties by region, and including data on urban areas and states with the highest rates of homelessness. The report also incorporates amendment language prohibiting funds from going to Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN). An amendment in the Senate bill requiring enforcement of community service requirements for public housing residents was not incorporated into the conference report. 

Link to the T-HUD Conference Report: http://appropriations.house.gov/pdf/Division_A_Conference_Report.pdf