NHTF Spared in Senate THUD Bill

On June 25, the Senate Committee on Appropriations passed a Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies (THUD) passed an FY16 spending bill that does not raid the National Housing Trust Fund, as would the House counterpart, H.R. 2577.

The House bill would use all NHTF funds in 2016 to fund a $133 million cut it would make to HOME. The Senate bill cuts HOME by 93% in order to have enough funds to maintain the rest of HUD’s programs. The Senate cuts to HOME, and the House raid of the NHTF are the direct result of the 2011 Budget Control Act’s sequester spending caps, which do not allow for sufficient resources for domestic discretionary programs for FY16. (see article in the Federal Budget section of Memo).