The Department of Housing and Urban Development: FY2008 Appropriations (CRS Report for Congress)
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| Release Date |
Revised Jan. 16, 2008 |
| Report Number |
RL34022 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
Maggie McCarty, Libby Perl, and Bruce E. Foote, Domestic Social Policy Division; Eugene Boyd, Government and Finance Division; Meredith Peterson, Knowledge Services Group |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
| Older Revisions |
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Summary:
On February 5, 2007, President Bush released his FY2008 budget request, ten days before the Congress finished work on the FY2007 spending bills by approving a revised year-long continuing resolution (P.L. 110-5). The FY2007 CR funded most Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) programs at their FY2006 level, but with decreases for some programs, and increases for other programs. The CR provided HUD with over $36.6 billion for FY2007.
The President's FY2008 budget requested about a billion dollar decrease in funding for HUD. It proposed to provide no new funding for several programs that have been targeted for elimination in recent years, but that Congress has continued to fund (HOPE VI, Rural Housing and Economic Development, Brownfields Redevelopment, and Section 108 Loan Guarantees). The President's FY2008 budget also requested decreased funding for several programs, including housing programs for the elderly and disabled, fair housing and lead paint programs, public housing modernization, and the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program. Each of these programs had been targeted for decreases in past budget requests, but Congress had not approved the requested decreases. The President's budget requested funding increases for several programs, including public housing operating costs and programs for the homeless, persons with AIDS, and first-time homebuyers. The FY2008 funding debate was also shaped by the ongoing decline in receipts from the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) available to offset the cost of the budget. For FY2007, it was estimated that FHA would generate a net surplus of over $650 million; for FY2008, that amount was estimated to be about $250 million.
On July 18, 2007, the House Appropriations Committee reported its version of the FY2008 HUD funding bill (H.R. 3074). On July 16, 2007, the Senate Appropriations Committee reported its version (S. 1789). Both bills would have increased funding above the President's request for Section 8 vouchers, HOPE VI, housing programs for the elderly and disabled, and CDBG. On July 24, 2007, the House approved H.R. 3074, and on September 12, 2007, the Senate approved its substitute version. On November 14, 2007, the House approved a conference agreement that would have funded HUD at about $3 billion above the President's request (H.Rept. 110-446). In a Statement of Administration Policy, the President indicated that he would veto the agreement, and the Senate never considered it. Instead, on December 19, 2007, Congress approved the FY2008 Consolidated Appropriations Act (attached to H.R. 2764), which funds HUD at a lower level than the House bill, Senate bill, and conference agreement, but at a level about $2 billion above the President's request. The President signed the bill into law on December 26, 2007 (P.L. 110-161), ending a series of continuing resolutions that had funded most agencies at their prior-year level since the end of the 2007 fiscal year.
This report tracks the FY2008 congressional appropriations process and provides a detailed discussion of the funding and issues related to the majority of accounts in HUD's budget. Following completion of the FY2008 appropriations process, this report will not be updated.
