The Campaign for Housing and Community Development Funding (CHCDF) and other national organizations are circulating a letter to House and Senate appropriators that calls for an increase to the FY14 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies (THUD) 302(b) subcommittee allocation. CHCDF is a campaign of more than 70 national organizations concerned about funding for affordable housing and community development programs that is staffed by NLIHC. Congressional appropriations work customarily begins with the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations dividing the total spending amount for the fiscal year among the 12 appropriations subcommittees. This portioning is referred to as a 302(b) allocation. The subcommittee that provides funding to HUD is the THUD subcommittee. “The THUD allocation uniquely promotes the well-being of our home communities by providing essential seed capital and program funding that enables public and private partners to build critical transportation infrastructure, spur economic development in communities, and help more than five million seniors, people with disabilities, and other families to afford stable housing,” write the organizations. The organizations call for an increase to the allocation, noting the importance of affordable housing, community development and transportation funding to low income households and underserved communities. The THUD allocation was 24% lower in FY13 than in FY10. In 2012, over 1,700 organizations in every state supported increasing the FY13 302(b) allocation for the Departments of Transportation and HUD. The FY14 letter is now open for national, state, and local organizations and elected officials to sign to demonstrate their support for increasing funding for the THUD subcommittee in order to increase HUD’s prospects for additional funding in FY14. NLIHC urges all organizations concerned about HUD programs to sign onto the letter by the deadline of April 30. The House and Senate are expected to set their 302(b) allocations as early as the first full week of May. Click here to view the letter (PDF). Sign onto the letter.