Yesterday the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development and Related Agencies (T-HUD) favorably reported its FY 2020 funding bill to the full committee. The full Senate Appropriations Committee will hold a hearing on the bill at 10:30 am EDT on September 19 in the Dirksen Senate Office Building, Room 106 and via webcast. The full committee will also markup the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies and Financial Services and General Government FY 2020 funding bills during this hearing.
As of publication, the T-HUD bill has yet to be released. Overall the subcommittee received a 302(b) allocation of $74.3 billion, $3.2 billion above the FY 2019 enacted levels. HUD received $56.0 billion in total budgetary resources, which is offset by $7.4 billion in receipts from the Federal Housing Agency/Ginnie Mae for a net funding level of $48.6 billion, an increase of $2.3 billion above the FY 2019 enacted level. HUD rental assistance programs received $23.8 billion for tenant-based Section 8 vouchers; $7.5 billion for public housing; $12.6 billion for project-based Section 8 rental assistance; $696 million for Housing for the Elderly; and $184 million for Housing for Persons with Disabilities.
The Community Development Block Grant formula program is funded at $3.3 billion, while the HOME program is funded at $1.3 billion. The bill will provide $290 million to combat lead hazards, $11 million above the FY2019 enacted level.
Finally, the bill places an emphasis on ending homelessness through $2.8 billion for homeless assistance programs. The bill includes $20 million for new family unification vouchers to prevent youth exiting foster care from becoming homeless. An additional $80 million is provided for grants and technical assistance to end youth homelessness in urban and rural areas. In addition, the bill provides $50 million for rapid rehousing assistance for victims of domestic violence, and $40 million for new HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (VASH) vouchers.
The bill needs to be approved by the full Senate Appropriations Committee and then reconciled with the House passed T-HUD Appropriations bill. Congress has just eight working days (including today) left to pass FY 2020 government funding before the end of the fiscal year. Congressional leadership is working on a temporary funding measure that would fund the government at FY 2019 levels through November 21, 2019, in hopes that appropriators will finish the final FY 2020 bills and both chambers will approve the bills by then.
