LegiStorm

Summary:

The President's FY2013 budget requested nearly $34 billion in net new budget authority for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in FY2013. This is about $4 billion less than was provided in FY2012. However, in terms of new appropriations for HUD's programs and activities, the President's budget actually requested an increase of more than $512 million compared to FY2012. The difference—a decrease in net budget authority versus an increase in new appropriations—is attributable to an estimated increase in the amount of excess receipts available from the FHA insurance fund, which are used to offset the cost of the HUD budget. The President's budget requested increases in funding for public housing and homelessness assistance grants. The President's budget requested decreases in funding for the project-based Section 8 rental assistance program and several community development-related programs. S. 2322, the Transportation, HUD, and Related Agencies FY2013 appropriations bill reported by the Senate Committee on Appropriations in the 112th Congress, included about $35 billion in net new budget authority for HUD. That is about $1 billion more than the President's request and more than $2 billion less than was provided in FY2012. In terms of new appropriations for HUD's programs and activities (not accounting for offsets), S. 2322 proposed about $1 billion more than the President's request and $2 billion more than FY2012. The largest increase was provided for the project-based Section 8 rental assistance account. The House Appropriations Committee, in the 112th Congress, passed its version of the FY2013 Transportation-HUD appropriations bill on June 19, 2012 (H.R. 5972). It included $33.6 billion for HUD, which is less than the Senate but more than the President requested. The bill included increased funding for the Community Development Block Grant program, but no new funding for the HOPE VI/Choice Neighborhoods program. H.R. 5972 was considered by the House the week of June 25, 2012, and was approved, as amended, on June 29, 2012. An amendment added during floor consideration would have prohibited the transfer and use of other department funds to carry out the activities of the Sustainable Communities Initiative (SCI) grant program. On June 21, 2012, the Obama Administration released a Statement of Administration Policy on the bill expressing opposition to certain program funding levels in the House bill and objecting to the House's overall discretionary funding level for FY2013. For these reasons, the statement said that the President's advisors would recommend that he veto H.R. 5972. In September 2012, Congress enacted and the President signed a continuing resolution (H.J.Res. 117) to fund government agencies—including HUD—at their FY2012 levels, increased by 0.612%, through the earlier of enactment of final FY2013 appropriations legislation or March 27, 2012. The CR did not extend emergency funding that was provided in FY2012 (HUD received $100 million in emergency funding in FY2012). The 112th Congress adjourned without enacting final FY2013 appropriations. In January 2013, the new 113th Congress enacted a supplemental funding bill in response to Hurricane Sandy (P.L. 113-2). The bill provided $16 billion for the Community Development Block Grant program, to be used for recovery from Hurricane Sandy, and other disasters. On March 1, 2013, under the terms of the Budget Control Act of 2011 (P.L. 112-25), as amended by the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (P.L. 112-240), President Obama ordered a sequestration. The result is an across-the-board cut of 5% for most of HUD's programs and activities for FY2013, a total reduction of about $3 billion. On March 6, 2013, the House approved a bill to provide full-year government-wide appropriations for FY2013 (H.R. 933). It proposed to continue funding for HUD programs at FY2012 levels, reduced by an across-the-board rescission of .098%. It proposed to maintain the reductions imposed by the sequester. The bill included a number of anomalies, including two that affected HUD. One involved the homeless assistance programs and one involved Indian Housing Loan Guarantees. On March 12, 2013, the Senate Committee on Appropriations released a substitute amendment to H.R. 933, which included several individual appropriations bills and a continuing resolution to fund the remaining federal agencies, including DOT and HUD, through the end of FY2013. The CR continued funding for most programs and activities at FY2012 levels. Like the House-passed version of the bill, it also proposed to maintain the funding reductions imposed by the March 1, 2013, sequester. The Senate substitute amendment included more anomalies and increased funding for HUD, compared to the House-passed version of H.R. 933. The Senate substitute amendment included funding increases above FY2012 levels for homeless assistance programs, Indian Housing Loan Guarantees, Section 8 tenant-based rental assistance, and the Public Housing Operating Fund. The Senate approved H.R. 933, as amended by the substitute amendment and other floor amendments (none of which involved HUD), on March 20, 2013. The next day, the House agreed to the Senate amendments. The President signed H.R. 933 into law on March 26, 2013 (P.L. 113-6). In total, P.L. 113-6 provided $1.6 billion less in new appropriations for HUD programs and activities than was provided in FY2012 (-4%), after accounting for the sequester reduction and the 0.2% across-the-board rescission ordered by OMB as required by the law.