Senate Appropriations Committee Releases FY 2023 Spending Bills

Yesterday, the Senate Appropriations Committee released twelve FY 2023 appropriations bills, including the FY 2023 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies (THUD) and Department of Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies (USDA) appropriations bills.

The FY 2023 THUD appropriations bill would provide $59.6 billion for HUD programs and activities, $5.9 billion more than the FY 2022 enacted level and $3.1 billion below the House-passed bill (H.R. 8249). The bill includes $1.725 billion for the HOME Investment Partnerships (HOME) program, an increase of $25 million over the House-passed bill. This is the highest level of funding for HOME in over a decade, and the Senate estimates it will result in the construction of more than 11,400 new rental and home buyer units. The Senate bill does not include the $50 million HOME set-aside for down payment assistance to help first-time, first-generation home buyers purchase homes that was included in the House bill. The bill includes $14.69 billion for project-based rental assistance, $147 million below the House-passed bill but $747 million above the FY 2022 enacted level. The amount includes $375 million for contract administration.

The FY 2023 USDA appropriations bill would provide $27.072 billion in funding, nearly $150 million less than the House-passed bill but $2.3 billion more than the FY 2022 funding level. Both the single-family direct and guaranteed loans programs would receive equal funding as in the House-passed bill, at $1.5 billion and $30 billion, respectively. The Section 542 rental voucher assistance program would be funded at $50 million, a $12 million increase compared to the House-passed bill. The Senate bill also includes language to “de-couple” rental assistance for tenants living in properties in which the USDA loan has been paid off. The Senate estimates this provision will preserve 15,000 units over the next two years and more than 130,000 units in the next 10 years.

Senate Appropriations leaders are still negotiating total FY 2023 discretionary spending levels, which direct how much each individual bill will spend. Senate Democrats hope releasing the bills will lay out key funding priorities, while Republicans are already voicing concerns about uneven spending increases between defense spending and non-defense discretionary spending and policy provisions included in the bills. The Senate is set to adjourn for its month-long August recess at the end of next week, so mark-ups and further action will be delayed until September.

Funding levels for key HUD and USDA Rural Housing programs are below. For more information on individual program levels proposed by the Senate Committee and contained in the House-passed FY 2023 bill, see NCSHA’s Budget Chart.

HUD Program Funding

• $30.18 billion for Tenant-Based Rental Assistance, $866 million lower than the House-passed bill. The draft includes $50 million for new incremental vouchers, compared to the $1.1 billion included in the House-passed version.
• $3.545 billion for Homeless Assistance Grants, $59 million below the House-passed bill.
• $3.525 billion for Community Development Block Grants, $225 million more than the House-passed bill.
• $1.033 billion for Housing for the Elderly, $167 million below the House-passed bill but $67 million more than the President’s FY 2023 budget request.
• $468 million for Housing Opportunities for People with AIDS, $132 million below the House-passed bill but $18 million above the FY 2022 enacted level.
• $390 million for the Office of Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes, $25 million below the House-passed bill and the FY 2022 enacted level.
• $287 million for Housing for Persons with Disabilities, $113 million below the House-passed bill and $65 million below the FY 2022 enacted level.
• $250 million for the Choice Neighborhoods Initiative, $200 million below the House-passed bill and $150 million below the FY 2022 enacted level.
• $85 million for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, $1 million below the House-passed bill and level with the FY 2022 enacted level.
• $63 million for housing counseling, $7 million below the House-passed bill but $5.5 million above the FY 2022 enacted level.
• $4 million for the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, $600,000 below the House-passed bill.

USDA Rural Housing Program Funding

• $1.5 billion in loan authority for Section 502 Direct loans, equal with the House-passed bill but $250 million more than the FY 2022 enacted level.
• $30 billion in loan authority for Section 502 Singe-Family Guaranteed loans, the same level as both the House-passed bill and FY 2022 appropriations.
• $400 million for Section 538 Multifamily Guaranteed loans, $150 million above FY 2022 funding levels and $100 million more than in the House-passed bill.
• $100 million for Section 515 Multifamily Direct loans, $50 million less than the House-passed bill but $50 million more than the FY 2022 enacted level.
• $1.488 billion for Section 521 Rental Assistance, $6 million less than the House-passed bill but more than $35 million more than FY 2022 appropriations.
• $50 million for Section 542 Rural Housing Vouchers, $12 million more than the House-passed bill and $5 million more than the FY 2022 funding level.
• $45 million for the Rental Preservation Demonstration program, $5 million more than the House-passed bill and $11 million more than the FY 2022 funding level.