House and Senate Launch Conference Committee on FY 2012 HUD and Rural Housing Funding

On November 4, House and Senate negotiators met briefly to convene a conference committee to reconcile differences between House and Senate appropriations bills funding housing programs in FY2012.  House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers (R-KY), one of the conferees, stated during the meeting that he hopes the conference committee is able to agree to a final bill by November 14.  Thirty-eight congressional members were appointed to the conference committee, 20 from the House and 18 from the Senate. 

On November 1, the Senate passed, by a vote of 69 to 30, a “minibus” FY2012 appropriations bill, which consisted of three individual appropriations bills, including those funding HUD and the Department of Agriculture (USDA).  The House Transportation-HUD Appropriations Subcommittee approved its FY2012 T-HUD funding bill on September 8, but the bill did not advance to the full Appropriations Committee or to the House floor for further consideration.  The full House passed its FY2012 Agriculture and Rural Development funding bill on June 16.

Few housing-related amendments were accepted during Senate debate on the minibus.  One of the amendments the Senate adopted raises and extends for two years the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loan limits.  Before FY2012 began October 1, the limits were the lower of $729,750 or 125 percent of the highest median home price in each metropolitan statistical area (MSA).  In FY2012, the limits decreased to the lower of $625,500 or 115 percent of the highest median home price in each MSA.  The House bill does not reinstate the pre-FY2012 limits.

Both the House and Senate will need to pass the final bill version before it is sent to the President for his signature.  Congress has yet to complete its work on any of the FY2012 appropriations bills and all federally funded agencies are currently operating under a continuing resolution (CR), which will expire on November 18. 

NCSHA encourages its members to reach out again this week to their congressional members regarding the importance of funding for HUD and USDA housing programs in FY2012.

See NCSHA’s September 22 blog for information on funding levels and policy provisions included in the Senate T-HUD bill and NCSHA’s September 9 blog for information on the House Appropriations T-HUD Subcommittee bill. 

See NCSHA’s September 13 blog for information on the Senate’s Agriculture, Rural Development bill and NCSHA’s June 21 blog for information on the House-passed version. 

See NCSHA’s funding chart for additional information.