The U.S. House of Representatives passed on June 9 the FY-2016 Transportation-HUD spending bill (HR 2577) on a vote of 216-210. The legislation includes funding for the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of Transportation, and other related agencies through the end of the fiscal year on September 30, 2016.
The bill provides $37.7 billion for the Housing and Urban Development Department. Click here to see our breakdown of funding for HUD programs.
According to Enterprise, the bill significantly underfunds critical federal housing and community development programs, falling nearly $1.5 billion short of what is needed to simply maintain current funding levels. Before approving the bill, the House passed several amendments that take aim at federal fair housing programs. Included is an amendment offered by Representative Scott Garrett (R-N.J.) than bans HUD from using the Disparate Impact Rule to enforce fair housing laws. The Senate has not yet considered its THUD bill. The White House has threatened to veto this bill and any other spending legislation that adheres to the current budget framework.
In total, the bill reflects an allocation of $55.3 billion in discretionary spending – an increase of $1.5 billion above fiscal year 2015 and $9.7 billion below the President’s budget request. However, given reduced offsets – primarily caused by a $1.1 billion decline in Federal Housing Administration receipts – the bill actually represents an increase of only $25 million above the current level. The Obama administration has threatened to veto the bill.
