House Passes Omnibus Appropriations Bill with FY 2010 Funding for HUD Programs

By a voted of 212-202, with not a single Republican voting in favor, the House has passed H.R. 3228, the. conference report on the FY 2010 omnibus appropriations bill.  The omnibus bill wraps together a total of six bills.  H.R. 3288 was originally the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development and Independent Agencies appropriations bill, which although it passed the House it never reached the Senate floor.  Instead staff from both the House and Senate Appropriations Committee resolved the differences between the House and Senate versions.  The Senate could vote on the package as early as Sunday.

Under the conference agreement, the Community Development Fund gets $4.45 billion, the same amount requested by the Obama Administration, but $150 million below the House amount.  Included in this total are: $3.99 in formula grants (a roughly $300 million increase over FY 2009), compared to $4.166 billion in the House version; $150 million for a new Sustainable Communities Initiative, the same as the House and senate versions, which is an effort to integrate housing transportation, energy and environmental planning at the regional level; $172 million in project-specific Economic Development Initiative grants; $65 million for Indian tribes; $22 million for project-specific neighborhood initiatives to improve conditions in distressed and blighted neighborhoods, and $25 million for a Rural Innovation Fund to address concentrations of rural housing distress and community poverty; and $25 million to continue HUD’s partnerships with Historically Black and other colleges and universities.

The Sustainable Communities Initiative is designed to support an interagency collaboration among HUD, the Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).  Funding includes $100 million for regional integrated planning grants, $40 million for Community Challenge Planning Grants and $10 million for HUD, in partnership with DOT, to conduct research around the Initiative.

The HOME Investment Partnerships Program is level-funded under the conference report at this year’s $1.825 billion, the same amount requested by the President.  This is $175 million below the House amount of $2 billion.  The conference agreement also contains $1.865 billion for homeless housing programs, $81 million more that the President’s request and $25 million over the House amount.  The amount includes full funding for renewal of Shelter Plus Care rent subsidy contracts, requires a 25 percent match for social services, and requires all homeless fund recipients to coordinate with other mainstream and targeted social services programs.

NACCED, NACo and others pressed the conferees to generally approve the higher amounts in the House bill. 

The conference report includes $17.5 million in funding for Brownfields Redevelopment Program as proposed by the President.  The House bill would have funded the program at $25 million, a $15 million increase over FY 2009.  The agreement also includes $275 million for the Section 108 loan guarantee program under CDBG, the same level as FY 2009. 

Also included in the conference agreement is $18.184 billion to renew expiring Section-8 tenant-based rent subsidy contracts, slightly less than the House level of $18.242 billion.  Included in the total is funding for 10,000 additional vouchers for homeless veterans.  Also included in the conference agreement is $8.55 billion to renew Section-8 project-based rent subsidy contracts.   

The public housing capital fund would get $2.5 billion under the agreement, the same level provided under the House and Senate bills.  The public housing operating fund gets $4.77 billion, the same level as the House bill but $150 million above the budget request.  The agreement provides $200 million HOPE VI demolition and replacement of severely distressed public housing.  Of that amount, $65 million can be used for a demonstration of the Obama Administration’s Choice Neighborhoods initiative.  This initiative expands the Hope VI demolition and replacement of severely distressed public housing to include other federally-assisted housing.  The initiative is intended to transform poverty neighborhoods into sustainable mixed income communities.  Recipients are encouraged to form partnerships with local governments who can bring other resources to the table such as job-training and social services.

The Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA) program would be funded at $335 million under the agreement, a splitting of the difference between House bill’s $350 million and the Senate bill’s $320 million.

Housing counseling gets $87.5 million under the conference report as opposed to the $100 million in the Senate bill and the $75 million in the House bill.  The conference report also includes $50 million for an energy innovation fund.  The funding is intended to promote local initiatives that can be replicated in cost-saving energy retrofits of existing housing.

Finally, the section 202 elderly housing program is funded at $825 million under the agreement while the section 811 housing program for persons with disabilities is funded at $300 million.

Congress must act on the legislation prior to the December 18^th expiration of the current “continuing resolution (CR).”  The CR funds programs at the FY 2009 funding level until a new appropriation is enacted.

HUD remains on Track to Announce NSP 2 Grantees this Month

HUD officials with whom NACCED staff has spoken indicate that their work is finished on approving grantees from the Neighborhood Stabilization Program 2 competition. They are now awaiting a formal announcement that should come this month.  Those consortia that are approved will have until January 29, 2010 to submit their financial agreements with members of the consortium.  HUD will provide a template for these agreements.

HUD Indicates Grantees Failed to Report on Use of CDBG R Funds

HUD sources indicate that between 40 and 50 recipients of Community Development Block Grant R funds did not report on October 10th on their used of CDBG R funds.  The Obama Administration is taking reporting very seriously, and grantees are admonished to report in a timely and accurate fashion.  The next round of reports are due in January 2010.

Click here to download 2010 HUD Appropriations Report.