Despite U.S. House and Senate appropriations leaders failing to reach an agreement on topline funding levels for a fiscal year (FY) 2023 spending package, the House Appropriations Subcommittees have started drafting and reviewing funding bills for the coming fiscal year. The Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies (THUD), which is responsible for providing yearly funding for HUD’s vital affordable housing and homelessness programs, is expected to release its FY23 proposal this week.
House appropriators announced last week they would adopt a deeming resolution, allowing them to set a discretionary spending cap aligned with President Biden’s roughly $1.6 trillion budget request (see Memo, 6/13). The THUD Subcommittee is expected to review and vote on its appropriations bill on June 23, with a full committee vote on all 12 draft spending bills expected June 30. The Senate Appropriations Committee has yet to release its anticipated schedule for votes on the FY23 spending package.
Movement on the appropriations process is welcome news, but because appropriations leaders have not yet reached a topline funding agreement – and because both Republican and Democratic votes are needed to enact an appropriations bill – it is very likely that a final FY23 appropriations package will be significantly smaller than the legislation drafted in the House and Senate. In order to ensure HUD’s vital housing and homelessness programs receive significant funding increases in the coming fiscal year, advocates should continue contacting their members of Congress and urging them to support significant funding for NLIHC’s top priorities:
- $32.13 billion for the Tenant-Based Rental Assistance (TBRA) program to renew all existing contracts and expand housing vouchers to an additional 200,000 households.
- $5.125 billion for the Public Housing Capital Fund to preserve public housing, and $5.06 billion for the Public Housing Operating Fund.
- $3.6 billion for HUD’s Homeless Assistance Grants program to address the needs of people experiencing homelessness.
- $100 million for legal assistance to prevent evictions.
- $300 million for the competitive tribal housing program, targeted to tribes with the greatest needs.
NLIHC and our partners in the Campaign for Housing and Community Development Funding (CHCDF) are also leading our annual 302(b) letter to demand that Congress provide the highest possible level of funding for affordable housing, homelessness, and community development resources in FY23.
Thank you for your advocacy!