President Signs Appropriations Bill Funding Government, HUD

On Feb. 15, President Trump signed into law H.J. Res. 31. This legislation will fund the remainder of the government, including HUD, through Sept. 30, 2019, the end of Fiscal Year (FY) 2019. With the signing of the resolution into law, there will be no more shutdowns impacting FY 2019 funding.

The bill provides HUD programs with more than $12 billion above the president’s request. Compared to FY 2018, the negotiated package increases funding for tenant-based rental assistance, public housing, project-based rental assistance, and homeless assistance grants. The bill also provides enough funding to renew all contracts for Section 811 Housing for Persons with Disabilities and Section 202 Housing for the Elderly. The HOME Investment Partnerships program received a slight reduction.

The spending package also includes $25 million for a mobility housing voucher demonstration for families with young children to help them move to areas of opportunity, and it provides $100 million in competitive grants to Native American communities to spur construction and preservation of affordable rental housing. The bill does not include an amendment introduced by former Senator Dean Heller (R-NV) that would have prohibited people charged with certain crimes from receiving housing assistance.

In terms of moving on to FY 2020, the proposed budget should have been released at the end of February. However, because of all of the controversies surrounding FY 2019, that proposed budget will probably not be released until late March or even as late as early April.