Congress enacted a continuing resolution (CR) on December 2 to extend current levels of funding for federal agencies and programs through February 18, 2022. The stop-gap funding bill (HR 6119), which passed the House along a near party-line vote of 221-212 and the Senate by a vote of 69-28, will also provide $7 billion in disaster relief and aid to refugees from Afghanistan but does not include any anomalies for HUD programs.
Congress now has until February 18 to authorize appropriations bills for fiscal year 2022 (FY22), pass another CR, or face a government shutdown. Rather than enacting FY2022 spending bills, Republicans in the Senate have threatened to move forward with a full-year CR, which would have disastrous consequences for affordable housing and community development programs. Because the cost of housing and development programs are tied to market rates, which generally rise each year, flat funding acts as a cut and reduces the number of people being served.
The Campaign for Housing and Community Development Fund (CHCDF) sent on November 19 a letter to congressional leadership urging Congress to quickly enact a comprehensive FY22 budget with the highest funding possible for affordable housing and community development programs. The Campaign also sent on December 3 a 302(b) letter signed by almost 900 organizations to Senate Appropriations Chair Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Vice Chair Richard Shelby (R-AL), House Appropriations Chair Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), and Ranking Member Kay Granger (R-TX), calling on the appropriators to quickly enact an FY22 spending package with the highest possible funding for affordable housing and community development programs.
Read Chair DeLauro’s press release on the CR at: https://tinyurl.com/u7awrjhm
Read CHCDF’s letter to congressional leadership at: https://tinyurl.com/a9u37zj2
Read the 302(b) letter at: https://tinyurl.com/2wahh6ju
Read CHCDF’s fact sheet on the dangers of a long-term CR at: https://tinyurl.com/2p96u7ra