LegiStorm

Summary:

Since the beginning of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) epidemic in the early 1980s, many individuals living with the disease have had difficulty finding affordable, stable housing. In the earlier years of the epidemic, as individuals became ill, they found themselves unable to work, while at the same time facing health care expenses that left few resources to pay for housing. In more recent years, HIV and AIDS have become more prevalent among low income populations who struggled to afford housing even before being diagnosed with the disease. The financial vulnerability associated with AIDS, as well as the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that causes AIDS, results in a greater likelihood of homelessness among persons living with the disease. At the same time, those who are homeless may be more likely to engage in activities through which they could acquire or transmit HIV. Further, recent research has indicated that individuals living with HIV who live in stable housing have better health outcomes than those who are homeless or unstably housed, and that they spend fewer days in hospitals and emergency rooms. Congress recognized the housing needs of persons living with HIV/AIDS when it approved the Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA) program in 1990 as part of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act (P.L. 101-625). The HOPWA program, administered by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), funds short-term and permanent housing, together with supportive services, for individuals living with HIV/AIDS and their families. In addition, a small portion of funds appropriated through the Ryan White HIV/AIDS program, administered by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), may be used to fund short-term housing for those living with HIV/AIDS. In FY2015, Congress appropriated $330 million for HOPWA as part of the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act (P.L. 113-235). This was the same level that was appropriated in FY2014, and down slightly from the peak HOPWA funding level of $335 million in FY2010. Prior to FY2010, the most that had been appropriated for HOPWA was $310 million in FY2009. HOPWA funds are distributed to states and localities through both formula and competitive grants. HUD awards 90% of appropriated funds by formula to states and eligible metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) based on population, reported cases of AIDS, and incidence of AIDS. The remaining 10% is distributed through a grant competition. Funds are used primarily for housing activities, although grant recipients must provide supportive services to those persons residing in HOPWA-funded housing. In FY2014, more than 55,000 households received housing assistance through HOPWA, a decrease compared to the previous years. See Table 1 for funding levels and households served since FY2001. The Appendix provides the formula grants distributed to eligible states and metropolitan statistical areas from FY2007 to FY2015. For years the formula used to distribute the bulk of HOPWA funds has been an issue considered by both the Administration and Congress. The formula relies on cumulative cases of AIDS to distribute formula funds, a number that includes those who have died. In the 114th Congress, both the House and Senate Appropriations Committees noted the need to update the formula. The House Appropriations Committee Report to accompany the FY2016 HUD funding bill (H.Rept. 114-129) encouraged HUD to work with the authorizing committees to modernize the HOPWA formula. The Senate Appropriations Committee-passed version of the FY2016 appropriations bill (H.R. 2577) would follow the Administration's FY2016 proposal and use new formula factors: persons living with HIV, fair market rents, and poverty, together with a hold harmless provision.