Department of Housing and Urban Development: FY2015 Appropriations

In FY2015, the Department of Housing and Urban Development was funded as part of the FY2015 Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act (P.L. 113-235), enacted on December 16, 2014, following funding through three short-term continuing resolutions. The bill provides $45.4 billion in gross discretionary appropriations, not accounting for savings from offsets and other sources, about $90 million less than in FY2014 ($45.5 billion). However, net budget authority is higher than...
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In FY2015, the Department of Housing and Urban Development was funded as part of the FY2015 Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act (P.L. 113-235), enacted on December 16, 2014, following funding through three short-term continuing resolutions. The bill provides $45.4 billion in gross discretionary appropriations, not accounting for savings from offsets and other sources, about $90 million less than in FY2014 ($45.5 billion). However, net budget authority is higher than in FY2014, approximately $35.6 billion in FY2015 compared to $32.8 billion in FY2014. Net budget authority takes into account rescissions and offsets from receipts and collections. The primary difference between FY2015 and FY2014 is that estimated receipts from the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loan insurance program dropped by about $3 billion. For the most part, P.L. 113-235 funds HUD programs at approximately the same levels as FY2014. Exceptions include increased funding for Research and Technology (by nearly 57%), Housing for the Elderly and Housing for Persons with Disabilities (by 9% and 7%, respectively), Housing Counseling (by 4%), and the Homeless Assistance Grants (by not quite 1%). However, in most cases any increases would largely support renewals of existing assistance. Decreased funding includes Choice Neighborhoods (by 11%), HOME Investment Partnerships (by 10%), Project-Based Section 8 Rental Assistance (by 2%), and the Community Development Fund and Fair Housing activities (by 1% each). Prior to enactment of P.L. 113-235, the President requested $46.7 billion in gross discretionary appropriations for HUD, about $1.2 billion more than the amount provided in FY2014. Net budget authority requested was $36.9 billion. While the President requested increased funding for some programs (for example, the Homeless Assistance Grants, Housing for the Elderly, and Housing for Persons with Disabilities), in most cases, funding for these programs would largely have supported renewals of existing rental assistance contracts. Programs proposed for decreased funding included the Community Development Block Grant program (more than 7%), and the HOME Investment Partnerships Program (5%). The House Appropriations Committee approved H.R. 4745, its version of the Departments of Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies (THUD) appropriations bill, on May 27, 2014. Two weeks later, on June 10, 2014, the full House approved the bill, with amendments, though none changed the total amount of funding the bill would have provided for HUD. The bill would have provided approximately $44.7 billion in gross appropriations, a decrease of about $800 million compared to FY2014 and about $2 billion compared to the President's budget request. After accounting for offsetting collections and receipts, H.R. 4745 would have provided $35.0 billion in net budget authority. The Senate Appropriations Committee reported its version of the THUD appropriations bill, S. 2438, on June 5, 2014. The bill would have provided about $1 billion more than the House-passed bill for both gross and net budget authority-$45.8 billion and $36.0 billion, respectively.