Congress Close to Finalizing FY 2022 Spending Bill

This week, Congress took a crucial step toward finalizing Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 appropriations. Late last night, the House of Representatives passed an omnibus appropriations bill (H.R. 2471), consisting of all 12 FY 2022 appropriations bills, including the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (THUD) appropriations bill and the Agriculture and Rural Development appropriations bill, which provide funding for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) rural housing programs.

In total, the bill provides $65.7 billion for HUD programs and activities, an increase of $5.3 billion from FY 2021. The bill includes increased funding levels for many HUD programs over FY 2021 funding levels, including $1.5 billion for the HOME Investment Partnerships program, the highest level of funding HOME has received in more than a decade. The bill also includes a waiver to exempt these funds from the 24-month commitment deadline and a waiver allowing funds reserved for Community Housing Development Organizations (CHDOs) that have gone unspent for a period of 24 months to be used by the HOME Participating Jurisdiction for other eligible activities.

The bill also includes $27.4 billion for tenant-based rental assistance, nearly $1.6 billion over FY 2021, and $200 million to expand rental assistance to additional households, with a specific focus on individuals and families experiencing or at risk of homelessness, survivors of domestic violence, and veterans. The bill includes $13.94 billion for project-based rental assistance, an increase of $475 million over FY 2021. Appropriators believe these funding levels are sufficient to renew existing Section 8 contracts and cover administrative fees.

Also incorporated into the package is the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2022 (VAWA), which reauthorizes VAWA federal grant programs through 2026 and modernizes the law. As NCSHA has previously written, the VAWA Reauthorization Act of 2022 would expand VAWA’s applicability to the Housing Trust Fund, the Rural Housing Voucher program, and housing programs for homeless veterans.

Unfortunately, the bill does not include language NCSHA supported that would have allowed the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund, authorized in the American Rescue Plan Act last year, to be used to provide long-term loans to Housing Credit developments. It is our understanding Republican leadership raised concerns about using the bipartisan omnibus appropriations bill to modify a program enacted as part of a partisan reconciliation bill. NCSHA is continuing to pursue other avenues for this fix.

The expectation is that the Senate will pass and President Biden will sign H.R. 2471. However, it is unlikely there will be enough time to consider and pass the bill before the current continuing resolution expires at midnight on March 11. To avoid a government shutdown and allow the Senate to complete its work, the House of Representatives also passed a short-term continuing resolution (H.J. Res. 75) to keep the government running through midnight March 15. The Senate is expected to pass the continuing resolution quickly.

In addition to annual funding for federal programs, the package includes $13.6 billion in emergency funding to support Ukraine. Originally, the package included $15.6 billion in supplemental funding to help manage the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the funding would have been offset by rescinding COVID relief funds previously provided to states and localities, including State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds. The COVID-19 supplemental was removed from the omnibus. Congress will consider the Coronavirus Supplemental Appropriations Act as a standalone bill next week. That measure does not include any offsets from State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds.

HUD Funding Levels for Key Programs

• $1.5 billion for the HOME Investment Partnerships program, an increase of $150 million over the FY 2021 enacted level.
• $27.4 billion for tenant-based rental assistance, nearly $1.6 billion above the FY 2021 enacted level, and $200 million to expand rental assistance to additional households.
• $13.94 billion for project-based rental assistance, up slightly from $13.46 billion in FY 2021.
• $3.3 billion for Community Development Block Grants, $170 million lower than FY 2021.
• $3.21 billion for Homeless Assistance Grants, $213 million more than the FY 2021 enacted level.
• $1.03 billion for Housing for the Elderly, $178 million more than the FY 2021 enacted level.
• $450 million for Housing Opportunities for People with AIDS, $20 million more than the FY 2021 enacted level.
• $350 million for the Choice Neighborhoods Initiative, $150 million more than the FY 2021 enacted level.
• $352 million for Housing for Persons with Disabilities, $125 million more than the FY 2021 enacted level.
• $57.5 million for Housing Counseling, even with the FY 2021 enacted level.
• $415 million for HUD’s Office of Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes, $55 million more than the FY 2021 enacted level.
• $3.8 million for the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, even with the FY 2021 enacted level.

USDA Rural Housing Program Funding Levels

• $30 billion in loan authority for Section 502 Singe-Family Guaranteed loans, up from $24 billion from FY 2021.
• $1.25 billion in loan authority for Section 502 Direct loans, up $250 million from FY 2021.
• $250 million for Section 538 Multifamily Guaranteed loans, an increase of $20 million from FY 2021.
• $50 million for Section 515 Multifamily Direct loans, an increase of $10 million from FY 2021.
• $1.45 billion for Section 521 Rental Assistance, up slightly from FY 2021.
• $45 million for Section 542 Rural Housing Vouchers, up from $40 million in FY 2021.
• $34 million for the Rental Preservation Demonstration program.

For more information on individual programs in the FY 2022 omnibus appropriations bill, see NCSHA’s Budget Chart.