CONGRESSIONAL ORDER FOR TIMELY APPROPRIATIONS

Congress must, through regular order, pass timely appropriations each year that fully fund housing and community development programs while considering the significant impact of inflation. Relying on continuing resolutions creates considerable uncertainty that impacts the public housing program, voucher utilization, and makes long-term planning extremely challenging. It also delays funding for important programs like Choice Neighborhoods, the HOME program, and Community Development Block Grants (CDBG). Congress must also consider that HUD formulas often use data from prior years that do not reflect the true increases from inflation we have seen over the past year. A full-year Continuing Resolution would have a disastrous impact on the funding that housing and redevelopment agencies receive.

• Maintain the federal commitment to housing assistance and community development by prioritizing the appropriations process to ensure that HUD does not shut down.
• Pass the annual appropriations bill in a timely manner.
• Refrain from relying on cuts to discretionary spending to address the nation’s fiscal challenges.
• Avoid yearlong continuing resolutions that would have disastrous impacts on housing and redevelopment agencies.
• Consider the significant impacts of inflation on housing and community development programs.
• Continue to urge HUD to develop new methods for calculating fair market rents as they frequently lag behind market rental prices.