Senate Appropriations Committee Approves Rural Housing Funding Bill

The Senate Appropriations Committee yesterday unanimously approved the FY 2020 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies appropriations bill. The bill would provide $151.7 billion in discretionary and mandatory funding for all USDA programs, a decrease of $87 million from the FY 2019-enacted funding level.

Despite the slight decrease in overall funding for USDA, the bill funds many key rural housing programs at or near FY 2019 levels. Additionally, a number of programs the Administration’s FY 2020 budget proposed to eliminate would receive funding in the bill, including the Multifamily Rental Preservation Demonstration, Section 502 Single-Family Housing Direct Loans, Section 515 Multifamily Housing Direct Loans, and the Section 504 Home Repair program.

The bill provides:

• $24 billion for the Section 502 unsubsidized single-family guaranteed loan program, equal to its FY 2019 funding level.
• $1 billion for the Section 502 Single-Family Housing Direct Loan program, equal to FY 2019.
• $230 million for the Section 538 multifamily loan guarantee program, equal to FY 2019.
• $1.375 billion for the Section 521 Rural Rental Assistance program, $44 million more than FY 2019.
• $32 million for Section 542 rural housing vouchers, $5 million more than FY 2019.
• $24.5 million for the Multifamily Rental Preservation Demonstration program, $500,000 less than FY 2019.
• $40 million for the Section 515 Multifamily Housing Direct Loan program, equal to FY 2019.
• $28 million for the Section 504 Home Repair program, equal to FY 2019.

NCSHA will provide updates on the legislation as it is considered by the Senate. Please contact Glenn Gallo with any questions.