Congress averted a government shutdown by passing a two-week stopgap funding measure on December 7. The House and Senate both passed the measure, known as a continuing resolution (CR), by a unanimous vote. The CR will keep the government funded until December 21. Congress has failed to enact several federal spending bills for FY19, including those that fund affordable housing and community development programs. The main issue preventing lawmakers from reaching a year-long spending deal is President Donald Trump’s insistence that any agreement includes $5 billion for a southern border wall, which Democrats strongly oppose.
Lawmakers have floated the idea of a year-long CR through September 30, 2019 instead of passing the remaining full-year spending bills that have largely been negotiated and agreed to. A CR carries forward funding levels from the previous year.
A year-long CR would cause thousands of families to lose access to stable housing. For FY19, HUD needs approximately $1.3 billion and USDA needs at least $10 million more than FY18 funding to maintain current program levels and renew existing housing assistance contracts. A year-long CR at FY18 levels would result in deep cuts to critical housing programs that could cause thousands of families and children to lose access to stable housing, putting them at increased risk of homelessness.
A year-long CR would also put other vital investments in affordable housing at risk. Both the House and Senate proposed bills for HUD that would increase resources to help provide affordable, stable, and accessible housing for more seniors, people with disabilities, families with children, and people experiencing homelessness.
Call your lawmakers to urge them to enact clean, full-year FY19 spending bills for HUD and USDA.
Find your elected officials at: https://bit.ly/2rr1AkV
A December 3 Campaign for Housing and Community Development Funding (CHCDF) webinar on the current status and outlook for FY19 and FY20 funding for affordable housing and community development programs can be found at: https://bit.ly/2BWXRPH