The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies (THUD) is scheduled to mark up its FY16 spending bill on Tuesday, June 23. Consideration of the THUD bill by the full Committee on Appropriations may occur later in the week.
Although the Senate’s THUD Subcommittee received a higher allocation than its House counterpart, the amount is not expected to allow for a Senate THUD bill that adequately funds HUD’s housing and community development programs. The House THUD Subcommittee allocation was $55.27 billion; the Senate THUD allocation is $55.65 billion. How the Senate THUD Subcommittee divides this amount among HUD, the Department of Transportation, and the various related agencies will become public early in the week of June 22.
The House’s THUD allocation ultimately resulted in a bill that passed the House on June 9 (see Memo, 6/15) that would zero out the National Housing Trust Fund, cut key programs like HOME, Public Housing Capital, and Section 202 Housing for the Elderly, and provide insufficient funds to renew existing housing choice vouchers and project-based rental assistance.
NLIHC issued an action alert on June 18 asking advocates with Senators on the THUD Subcommittee to urge their Senators to oppose any THUD bill that raids the NHTF, cuts key program funding, or does not provide sufficient resources to renew existing housing choice vouchers and project-based rental assistance.
The June 23 Senate THUD mark-up will be at 10 am ET in room 138 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.
NLIHC’s action alert is at http://nlihc.org/article/take-action-senate-thud-subcommittee-mark-imminent
NLIHC’s budget chart is at http://nlihc.org/sites/default/files/FY16HUD-USDA_Budget-Chart.pdf