After the long holiday weekend, Congress returns to session this week with a potential government shutdown looming on November 18. Both the House and Senate will work this week on a continuing resolution (CR) to fund the government until Congress can pass individual appropriations bills or a larger omnibus bill.
CR Deadline Approaching
Over the weekend, House leadership proposed a “laddered” CR, which would establish two deadlines for Congress to pass appropriations bills. Under new Speaker Johnson’s (R-LA) proposal, funding for HUD programs – along with the agriculture, energy and water, and military construction/VA appropriations bills – would expire on January 19, 2024. Funding for the other eight appropriations bills would expire on February 2, 2024.
Importantly, the House proposal is for a “clean” CRs with no funding cuts or policy riders. In debates over the previous CR, some House Republicans had demanded steep funding cuts in exchange for their votes. PHADA strongly believes that any CR passed should not lower HUD funding.
The Senate is also working on its own CR that would fund the entire government likely into December or January. Majority Leader Schumer (D-NY) has stressed that the Senate’s bill will be passed with bipartisan support. As of press time, the Senate has not released its CR proposal, though PHADA expects that it will not include any funding cuts or policy riders related to HUD programs.
House Pulls T-HUD Bill
Last week, the House began voting on amendments to its T-HUD bill but postponed the final vote due to concerns over Amtrak funding. The House has not scheduled a vote on the bill, and PHADA will keep members updated as the appropriations process progresses.
Earlier this month, the Senate passed a ‘minibus’ that included its Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development (T-HUD) appropriations bill. As noted in our FY 24 appropriations Position Paper (link below), the Senate T-HUD bill provides more generous funding to core HUD programs and does not include cuts to HOME and Choice Neighborhoods proposed by the House.
Contact Your Elected Officials Today
PHADA encourages members to contact their elected officials today to emphasize the importance of passing a clean CR without funding cuts or policy riders and avoiding a government shutdown. To assist members, the Association has provided Position Papers on FY 24 appropriations and housing policy priorities. We encourage members to review those papers to better understand both the House and Senate appropriations bills as well as the Association’s stance on important housing issues.