Federal Advocacy Alert: LeadingAge Holding National Call-In for HUD Funding on April 26th
Advocacy alert! LeadingAge and other national housing and community development organizations are asking advocates to call their lawmakers tomorrow, Wed., April 26th, and urge them to pass a fiscal year 2017 HUD funding bill before the Continuing Resolution expires on April 28th.
Please dial 877-413-2313 and deliver this simple message to your representatives:
“Please enact a fiscal year 2017 bill to fully fund HUD’s critical programs!”
By way of background, the Senate last year passed its fiscal year 2017 HUD spending bill, and the House Appropriations Committee approved its version of this bill. However, Congress decided not to enact most of the spending bills, including HUD’s, and instead funded most federal programs at fiscal year 2016 levels until April 28th. HUD programs cannot continue to be funded at fiscal year 2016 levels through the end of this fiscal year (Sept. 30, 2017) without causing major challenges to these programs’ ability to help older adults afford their housing.
As you engage with lawmakers tomorrow, be sure to let them know what’s at stake:
- Without a fiscal year 2017 funding bill, HUD might continue to be funded at fiscal year 2016 levels.
- For the Section 202 Housing for the Elderly program, 2016 funding levels could mean that HUD might not have the resources it needs to renew Section 202 Project Rental Assistance Contracts that come up for renewal this October and November. The Section 202 account needs a $72 million increase from fiscal year 2016 to be fully funded in fiscal year 2017.
- For the Section 8 Project-Based Rental Assistance (PBRA) program, 2016 funding levels could mean that HUD will be forced to renew some contracts for less than 12-month terms. The PBRA account needs a $200 million increase from fiscal year 2016 to be fully funded in fiscal year 2017.
- A critical opportunity will be missed to expand the Rental Assistance Demonstration to include Project Rental Assistance Contracts, which is necessary to help preserve some of these Section 202 communities.
For your reference, LeadingAge National’s Affordable Senior Housing issue brief is available here. Thank you for taking action!