News from LeadingAge: House Subcommittee Advances “Unthinkable” HUD Funding Bill

Posted on July 13, 2023 by LeadingAge

During a markup help by the House Subcommittee on Transportation and Housing and Urban Development (THUD) on July 12, lawmakers advanced a Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) funding proposal for Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24) that would enact serious cuts to affordable housing programs.

The proposed legislation would reduce HUD’s budget overall by 25% for FY24 over the current fiscal year, including a 15% cut to Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly. During the markup, Subcommittee Chairman Tom Cole (R-OK) stressed the importance of fiscal responsibility in approving federal agency funding for next year, saying that not all of the country’s current housing and transportation programs “made the cut.”

In response, Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), who serves as the Ranking Member for the House Appropriations Committee, said that the cuts proposed in the Subcommittee’s bill are “unthinkable.”

Several other subcommittee members also voiced their opposition to cuts to housing and transportation programs, as well as to a regulatory provision in the proposal that would restrict HUD implementation of affirmative fair housing requirements.

Next, the full House Appropriations Committee will consider the bill, during which time amendments may be offered; the Senate has yet to release its own version of HUD funding legislation for FY24.

A recording of the markup is available here, and more information about the proposed legislative is available here. LeadingAge members can take action to protect HUD funding for affordable senior housing by completing an urgent action alert here.