Senate Committee Passes HUD Funding Bill for FY 2012

The Senate Appropriations Committee recently passed S. 1596, which provides funding for HUD, the Department of Transportation, and other programs. The measure provides nearly $37 billion to fund HUD programs in fiscal year (FY) 2012. While the bill funds many programs at levels similar to FY 2011, there are some notable changes.

The Senate bill would increase funding for Housing Choice Vouchers to $18.9 billion, which includes $75 million for HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing vouchers; it would also increase funding for project-based rental assistance to $9.4 billion. The Senate measure also includes reductions to several programs. For example, it would decrease funding for the public housing capital fund to $1.9 billion. It would also reduce funding for the Community Development Block Grant program to $2.85 billion.

The Senate Appropriations bill differs from the bill passed by the House Appropriations Committee. The Senate bill funds several programs that the House version does not, including HUD's Housing Counseling program, at $60 million; the Choice Neighborhoods program, at $120 million; and the Sustainable Communities program, at $90 million.