Congressional appropriators hope to release a final federal spending package for fiscal year (FY) 2022 as soon as tomorrow, if congressional leaders can strike a deal on requests to provide financial assistance to Ukraine, to finance another COVID-19 supplemental request from the White House, and to include a disaster supplemental that would aid states still recovering from the impacts of hurricanes Ida, Laura, and Delta. While there is bipartisan support for assistance to Ukraine, some Senate Republicans resist additional COVID-19 relief funding.
The federal government is currently operating on a continuing resolution (CR), which extends funding levels from the previous fiscal year. With the current CR set to expire on March 11, appropriators are running short on time to enact an FY22 spending bill and may require one more short-term CR to finalize the bills and get them over the finish line. House and Senate Democrats are scheduled to attend a retreat during the latter half of the week but may have to return to enact the spending bill.
The FY22 appropriations package presents Congress with an opportunity to make immediate investments in affordable housing, including by expanding the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program to an additional 125,000 households with low incomes.
Take Action
Please contact your senators and representatives today and urge them to quickly enact an FY22 spending bill with the highest possible funding for affordable housing and community development programs, including the expansion of HCVs to an additional 125,000 households.