Yesterday afternoon, the House Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Appropriations Subcommittee approved its fiscal year (FY) 2012 funding bill. The legislation would include:

• $1.901 billion for HUD's McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Grants (level funding compared to FY 2011);  
• $75 million for new HUD - VA Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) vouchers; and
• No funding for the proposed Housing and Services for Homeless Persons Demonstration.

The subcommittee adopted an amendment by Representative Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) to provide $2.68 million for the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) - funding that was excluded from the initial draft legislation. The funding would be offset by a cut to the HUD Working Capital Fund.

While the Subcommittee provided funding for new HUD-VASH vouchers and restored funding for the USICH, the legislation does NOT provide the much-needed increase in funding for HUD's McKinney-Vento programs.  

We must let our representatives know that we appreciate the funding for HUD-VASH and ICH but hope they will support a higher funding level for HUD's McKinney-Vento programs in the final FY 2012 legislation.  

What You Can Do:

Find out if your representative sits on the House HUD Appropriations Subcommittee. Then call his/her Washington, DC office RIGHT AWAY. Congressional office phone numbers can be found by calling the congressional switchboard at 202-224-3121.   

If your representative is on the HUD Subcommittee...

1. Thank your representative for funding new HUD-VASH vouchers and restoring funding for USICH, but ask that they support a higher funding level for HUD's McKinney-Vento programs in the final FY 2012 legislation.
2. Explain the importance of HUD's McKinney-Vento programs to your community. Use these sample talking points as a guide.
3. Let us know which office you contacted by emailing Kate Seif at cseif@naeh.org.

 If your representative does NOT sit on the HUD Subcommittee... 

1. Ask that your representative work with his/her colleagues on the Appropriations Committee to ensure that the final FY 2012 legislation include a significant increase in funding for HUD's McKinney-Vento programs.
2. Explain the importance of HUD's McKinney-Vento programs to your community. Use these sample talking points as a guide.  
3. Let us know which office(s) you contacted by emailing Kate Seif at cseif@naeh.org.

Appropriations Process: Next Steps

The federal fiscal year ends on September 30, though Congress is not expected to pass all of its FY 2012 appropriations bills by that date. Instead, Congress is likely to pass a stopgap funding measure, or continuing resolution, to last into November while final funding levels are worked out.

The Senate is also currently drafting its FY 2012 HUD and HHS funding bills and is expected to release them in the coming weeks.

Because of the tight timing, Congress may not follow regular order for appropriations legislation. The House FY 2012 HUD funding bill may not be considered by the full Appropriations Committee or the full House at all; instead, it is possible that House appropriators will work with their Senate counterparts to produce a final, compromise piece of FY 2012 legislation to fund HUD programs. That legislation would then be considered by both the full House and Senate. 

Last night, President Obama addressed both chambers of Congress and proposed that they pass the American Jobs Act. The approximately $450 billion proposed legislation would fund a number of tax cuts and new initiatives, including several of benefit to people experiencing or at risk of homelessness. For more details, click here.  

Although full details are not yet available, the proposed legislation would include $15 billion to build upon the Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP). City or state agencies have used NSP funds to purchase foreclosed or abandoned property and turn it over to a nonprofit organization. The property can be used by the nonprofit organization to provide affordable housing - including permanent supportive housing - for people experiencing or at risk of homelessness.

In addition, the proposed legislation would create a new Pathways Back to Work Fund that would, among other things, build on the success of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Emergency Contingency Fund (ECF) by supporting subsidized employment opportunities for unemployed low-income individuals.

At this time, the likelihood of passage of the proposed legislation as a whole or these specific provisions is unclear.

The House has postponed a vote on its FY 2012 funding bill for programs within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), including Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (RHYA) programs. The House HHS Appropriations Subcommittee was originally scheduled to "mark up" - debate and vote on - the legislation today, September 9.

A new date has not yet been set for the mark up.

Under the Senate's allocation, the subcommittee that funds HUD programs would receive $55.3 billion in FY 2012, a 0.2 percent reduction compared to FY 2011.

In addition, the subcommittee that funds programs within HHS would receive a total of $157.1 billion, also a 0.2 percent reduction compared to FY 2011.

The two subcommittees will take these allocations and divide them up among specific programs within their jurisdictions, including HUD's McKinney-Vento programs and HHS' RHYA programs. No date has yet been set for the subcommittees to vote on either piece of legislation.