Congress Agrees on FY2017 Budget - May 1, 2017

On May 1, Congress reached an agreement on an FY2017 budget that will fund the federal government through September and averts a government shut down. The spending package is expected to be voted on later this week before the current Continuing Resolution ends on May 5^th, a full seven months after the start of the fiscal year in October 2016. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC), the deal does not include any of the $18 billion in cuts requested by the Trump Administration for non-defense programs, which include affordable housing and community development.

The FY2017 spending bill funds most programs at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) at or above FY2016 levels, including  Tenant- and Project-Based Rental Assistance, Family Self-Sufficiency, Community Development Block Grants (CDBG), HOME, Homeless Assistance Grants, Section 202 Housing for the Elderly, Housing Counseling, Policy Development and Research, and Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity.  However, as detailed in a Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) analysis, it provides $450 million less than needed to fully renewal all tenant-based vouchers is use.700-800

Some programs also saw an increase over original budget proposals in the House and Senate, including Public Housing Capital Fund, Choice Neighborhoods Grants, Housing for Persons with AIDS, and Healthy Homes & Lead Hazard Control.  Funding is provided for about 5,400 new vouchers for veterans, 1,000 new Family Unification Program vouchers and 700-800 new vouchers for persons with disabilities.  It also raises the cap on conversions under the RAD program to 225,000 units.

Two programs saw funding cuts compared with FY2016. These cuts include the Public Housing Operating Fund ($4.4 billion in FY2017 compared to $4.5 billion in FY2016) and Section 811 Housing for People with Disabilities ($146 million in FY2017 compared to $151 million in FY2016).

For a full description of the FY2017 agreement on federal funding, please visit NLIHC's website by clicking here.