House Appropriations Subcommittee
marks up FY '04 HUD spending bill;
Flatlines Operating and Capital Funds
& imposes huge cut in HOPE VI

The House VA/HUD Appropriations Subcommittee marked up an FY '04 HUD spending bill late yesterday afternoon. It will go to the full Appropriations Committee next week. The following brief report is based on the subcommittee's press release. The actual bill and report language were not yet available at this writing.

The bill basically flatlines the Operating and Capital Funds at roughly the same level as the current fiscal year -- $3.6 billion and $2.7 billion, respectively. It is unclear how many earmarks are included in the Capital Fund. In contrast, PHADA is supporting $3.85 (operating) and $3.5 (capital) billion for next fiscal year. There is no mention of HOPE VI in the subcommittee's release, but other reports indicated that it was funded at only $50 million compared to $575 million this year. The administration has proposed the complete termination of the program.

While these numbers are not unexpected in light of the panel's tight budgetary constraints, they are still disappointing and inadequate given the significant financial hardships HAs have encountered the last few years with the loss of PHDEP and the severe Operating Fund shortfall HUD announced last autumn. Accordingly, PHADA will continue to strongly advocate for full funding for the Operating and Capital Funds in FY '04.

The press release further says that the measure includes $12.1 billion for Section 8 contract renewals, about $205 million more than HUD requested. The subcommittee says this figure is based on a 96 percent lease-up rate. As soon as possible, PHADA will carefully compare the overall funding levels and the assumptions used in the bill with other recent reports indicating that there could be a more than $1 billion shortfall in the voucher section of HUD's FY '04 budget request.

PHADA will report further information on the appropriations bill in the coming days, and will post it on the website as soon as it is made electronically available.

PHADA FRONT