On Jan. 17, Congress passed the F14 Omnibus spending package including appropriations for the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies (THUD) and the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies. And this week, after two years of negotiations, Congress is closing in on approval of a farm bill. What do these significant decisions mean for those who need affordable housing and for those who help provide that housing?
The FY14 Omnibus spending package attempts to restore HUD programs to FY13 pre-sequester funding levels, though this was not achieved for many programs. Below are the programs listed by the direction their funding went in this spending package compared to the FY13 Final budget, which included sequestration cuts. See the National Low Income Housing Coalition FY14 Budget Chart for details on pre-sequestration levels. Also, for more narrative, see the National Low Income Housing Coalition's recap from Jan. 16. Unless otherwise noted, all programs listed are administered by HUD.
Increased funding:
- USDA Section 521 Rental Assistance funding (+32%)
- Project-Based Rental Assistance (+12%)
- Not high enough for the Administration to end the practice of short funding contracts
- McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Grants (+9%)
Public Housing Capital & Operating Funds (+8%)- Fully funds the Emergency Solutions Grants
- Does not cover the cost of renewals for the Continuum of Care program
- Section 202 Housing for the Elderly (+8%)
- HUD Office of Policy Development and Research (+7%)
- Tenant Based Rental Assistance/Section 8 (+7%)
- Native American Housing Block Grants (+6%)
- HOME program (+5%)
- Housing Opportunities for Persons With AIDS program (+5%)
- Housing Counseling program (+4%)
Level Funding:
- USDA Section 514 and 516 Farm Labor Housing (+1%)
- USDA Section 515 Rental Housing Direct program (+0%)
- Community Development Fund/CDBG Formula Grants (-1%)
- Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (FHEO) (-1%)
- Native Hawaiian Housing Block Grants (NHHBG) (-2%)
Decreased Funding:
- Healthy Homes program (-4%)
- Section 811 Housing for Persons with Disabilities program (-19%)
- Choice Neighborhood Initiative, a component of the Promise Zones Initiative (-21%)
- Self-Help Home Ownership (SHOP) program (-23%)
Farm Bill, nearly passed, will be significant victory for rural housing
After two years of negotiations, Congress is closing in on approval of a farm bill as of late January 2014. Section 6208 of the farm bill is a significant victory for rural housing organizations, advocates, and developers because it maintains the definition of "rural" through the 2020 Census, ensuring that the more than 900 communities currently eligible for USDA Rural Development programs will continue to receive this benefit. Rural Development programs are often their only source of federal housing funding. It also increases the population threshold for "rural" from 25,000 to 35,000. This will help ensure that low-income families--particularly those living in metro counties--will have access to these critical USDA resources and programs. In addition, it provides much-needed certainty to rural housing developers and organizations. For more information, see the Rural Housing Coalition website.
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