Extended Short-Term CR Likely, Leaves Questions for HUD Funding

President-Elect Trump’s transition team has voiced interest in shaping FY-2017 appropriations legislation. As a result, and with support from House Republicans, it now seems likely that the Congress will seek to pass another short-term Continuing Resolution (CR) before the expiration of the current CR on December 9. This would allow legislators to negotiate a year long FY-2017 spending bill with President-Elect Trump rather than with President Obama.

While the House and Senate produced their own versions of appropriations bills for Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (THUD), an extended CR would keep HUD at 2016 spending levels for several months into 2017. While the Senate passed its bill, the House THUD bill only passed committee and has not been brought to the floor (the House did pass the Senate’s HR 2577 bill, but stripped all THUD language from the bill before doing so, providing only spending measures for Military Construction and Veteran’s Affairs). It is therefore likely that THUD will be funded in an omnibus – where all appropriations bills are funded in one piece of legislation.

There is no guarantee that a spending deal brokered between the Trump Administration and a Republican House and Senate will maintain any spending levels for HUD outlined in the House or Senate bills, as Republicans are likely to lower spending caps for non-defense discretionary programs.

 

May 25, 2016 — On May 19^th, the Senate passed a two-bill appropriations package (HR 2577), which combines the Transportation-HUD bill (S 2844) with the Military Construction-VA bill. A policy rider stood in the way on the THUD side regarding HUD’s Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) Rule. The AFFH Rule is a relatively new means for enforcing the Fair Housing Act of 1968 – a law designed to curtail housing discrimination.

Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) proposed the rider which would defund AFFH, arguing that it would give HUD control over local zoning laws. Lee’s colleague, Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) proposed her own amendment which keeps AFFH funding in place with the specific stipulation that HUD be prohibited from dictating local zoning ordinances. Collins’ amendment was passed 87-9 and was followed the same day by the passage of the entire $140B spending bill.

The Senate’s passage now puts pressure on the House to do the same. House Appropriators approved a $58.2B spending bill for transportation and housing programs for FY 2017 on May 24th.

Like in the Senate, however, policy riders may present an issue, including one controversial rider affecting commercial truck driver safety issues that made it through the House Appropriations Committee.

The House bill allocates $38.7B for HUD ($350M less than what the Senate proposes for HUD’s programs). The bill provides increases over FY 2016 for programs such as Housing Choice Vouchers ($560M increase), Project-Based Rental Assistance ($279M increase), and Housing for the Elderly ($72.3M increase). The Choice Neighborhoods program would be funded at $100M (a $25M cut, but still $20M more than the Senate’s budget). The House bill would also eliminate National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling.