The Senate Committee on Appropriations unanimously voted on July 27, 2017 to approve its FY2018 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (THUD) bill. The bill eliminates the cap in the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) program, which has been supported by Secretary Carson, and also removes RAD’s sunset date. In addition to the advancements in RAD, some additional rental assistance highlights of the bill include:
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Increase in tenant-based Section 8 vouchers to $21.365 billion ($1.07 billion above the FY2017 enacted level);
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Increase in public housing funding to $6.45 billion ($103.5 million above the FY2017 enacted level);
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Increase in project-based Section 8 to $11.5 billion ($691 million above the FY2017 enacted level);
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Increase in Housing for the Elderly to $573 million ($70.6 million above the FY2017 enacted level); and
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Increase in Housing for Persons with Disabilities to $147 million for (nearly $1.0 million above the FY2017 enacted level).
The Senate Committee on Appropriations released an overall summary of the bill that can be found here. Unlike the drastic cuts seen in the House’s THUD bill, the Senate’s bill delivers increased overall funding of $60.058 billion ($3.5 billion higher than the House). This funding level represents an increase of $2.407 billion over current levels. While many speculate neither the Senate nor the House will move their respective THUD bill to the floor, the Senate’s funding levels represent a step in the right direction for those that rely on many HUD programs.
