The U.S. House of Representatives passed its fiscal year (FY) 2023 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies (THUD) Subcommittee spending bill along a party line vote of 220-207 on July 20. The bill would provide nearly $63 billion for HUD’s vital affordable housing, homelessness, and community development programs, a $9 billion – or 17% – increase from the previous fiscal year. For more details about the bill, see NLIHC’s analysis and budget chart.
The THUD bill was one of six FY23 spending bills passed by the House as part of a “minibus” spending package. If enacted, the House bill would substantially increase federal investments in housing assistance for those with the greatest needs. The bill includes a major expansion of Housing Choice Vouchers (HCVs) to an additional 140,000 households, which would put the nation on a path towards universal housing assistance for all eligible households, and nearly all other HUD programs would receive increased funding compared to last year.
Representatives submitted over 600 amendments to the “minibus” spending package, some with bipartisan support. Amendments that proposed shrinking the size of HUD’s budget or limiting funding for specific HUD programs were defeated. Meanwhile, House members passed an amendment proposed by Representative Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) to prioritize funding in HUD’s Homeless Assistance Grants program for Housing First projects.
With House action on the FY23 THUD spending package complete for now, the U.S. Senate is expected to release its draft FY23 spending bills as soon as this week. However, appropriations leaders in the House and Senate have yet to reach an agreement on topline spending numbers for the new fiscal year, so the drafted bills are using President Biden’s FY23 budget request as a spending benchmark and are written to reflect Democratic priorities in the coming fiscal year. Senate bills can only be enacted with support from Republicans because of the even divide in the chamber, so any final bills will likely provide less funding than either the House or Senate drafts.
Advocates should continue weighing in with their senators and representatives to urge them to expand investments in affordable, accessible homes through the FY23 spending bill, including for NLIHC’s top priorities:
- $32.13 billion for the Tenant-Based Rental Assistance (TBRA) program to renew all existing contracts and expand housing vouchers to an additional 200,000 households.
- $5.125 billion for the Public Housing Capital Fund to preserve public housing, and $5.06 billion for the Public Housing Operating Fund.
- $3.6 billion for HUD’s Homeless Assistance Grants program to address the needs of people experiencing homelessness.
- $100 million for legal assistance to prevent evictions.
- $300 million for the competitive tribal housing program, targeted to tribes with the greatest needs.
Organizations can also sign the national letter led by the Campaign for Housing and Community Development Funding (CHCDF), urging Congress to provide the highest level of funding possible for housing, homelessness, and community development.
Thank you for your advocacy!