FY 25 Budget Released as Congress Completes FY 24 Appropriations
PHADA President Mark Gillett.
There has been a budget whirlwind in Washington in recent weeks. President Biden signed the FY 24 HUD appropriations act into law on March 9, more than five months after the start of the fiscal year. Congress just completed work on a package of other major bills including the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security, among others. At the same time, the President released his proposed budget for FY 25, which begins October 1.
Brief Review of FY 24 HUD Spending
Overall domestic discretionary spending was locked in last year when Congress approved the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023. That law raised the debt ceiling through 2025 and established strict caps for discretionary spending. In that context, the HUD funding Congress approved is about the best we could have expected.
As reported in the last Advocate, the new appropriations act provides over $70 billion to HUD, which is approximately 13 percent higher than last year. A good portion of the funds for the voucher program were declared “emergency” so they did not count towards the cap.
The new law provides increased funding to the operating account and voucher renewals in line with increases in rental costs. Of course, with rising material costs, increasing insurance premiums, and higher personnel costs, flat funding for these accounts will force HAs to do more with less. More disappointing is that the measure flatlines the Capital Fund and slightly decreases voucher administration fee funding.
We were pleased that Congress included several PHADA-supported policy provisions, including extending the RAD sunset date to 2029. Lawmakers also continued to prohibit HUD from basing Family Self-Sufficiency funding decisions on its flawed performance metrics system. Congress also extended agreements for the original Moving to Work agencies to 2038.
More information on FY 24 HUD appropriations including a funding amount chart is available here.
The FY 25 Proposed Budget
The White House released the President’s proposed 2025 budget on March 11. The Capitol Hill newspaper Politico called it “a nonbinding budget request Capitol Hill typically ignores—especially in a divided Congress.” While that description is accurate, its release does mark the beginning of the FY budget and appropriations process. Given the challenges around the budget—in an election year no less—it will be essential that we all advocate forcefully for housing programs.
While PHADA understands the constraints dictated in the budget, we are disappointed with the operating fund recommendation, which is about an 8 percent decrease at a time when inflation and rising TARs are still challenging many HAs. On a brighter note, the proposed increase for HCV administrative fees is helpful and badly needed.
A White House fact sheet said the budget proposes a one-time $7.5 billion investment to address the capital needs of more than a hundred thousand public housing properties nationwide. “Providing additional funds for public housing rehabilitation and modernization is critical to providing safe and sustainable living conditions for all—and to ensuring housing shortages aren’t exacerbated,” said the administration’s statement.
The Office of Management and Budget also noted the President is calling on Congress to further expand voucher rental assistance to more than half of a million households, including by providing a voucher guarantee for low-income veterans and youth aging out of foster care—the first such voucher guarantees in history.
These recommendations in the proposed budget help illustrate the case for the overall need. However, as part of the “mandatory” side of the budget, the proposals are symbolic and aspirational and not likely to be enacted by Congress for a variety of reasons.
The President’s budget also requests more tax credit authority to preserve or build roughly 1.2 million units of affordable housing. More details on the full plan including a chart with some of the major line items are available in the latest edition of the Advocate.
HUD Secretary Fudge Retires
PHADA’s leadership meeting with HUD Secretary Marcia L. Fudge (center) during the 2021 Legislative Forum in Washington, DC.
PHADA appreciates Marcia Fudge’s dedication and commitment during an esteemed career in the U.S. House of Representatives and then leading the Department the past three years. The Secretary deserves credit for her stewardship, especially at the outset of her tenure when HUD and the nation were combating the pandemic. She has been accessible to PHADA and been a proponent of more resources for public and assisted housing programs. Thank you and best wishes, Madame Secretary.
I would add that we are pleased Adrianne Todman will serve as Acting Secretary. She is well known in our industry, and will no doubt prove an effective leader as she takes over the Department’s reins.