While the Fiscal Year 2011 HUD appropriations bills approved by the full House and the Senate Committee on Appropriations would provide sufficient funding to renew all existing Section 8 vouchers, those bills are unlikely to be enacted and the 3 most likely alternatives are not encouraging, as a Center for Budget and Policy Priorities report says. The report, Proposals to Cut Domestic Programs Proposals to Cut Domestic Programs Threaten Loss of Housing Assistance for Thousands of Low-Income Families, identifies those 3 alternatives as:
- omnibus spending bill. If Congress passes an omnibus spending bill, it would likely reduce HUD funding by about $1 billion, including S.8 voucher reductions of about $300 million (which the report estimates would result in a loss of more than 38,000 vouchers; a little less than 1,000 in Michigan)
- continuing resolution through Fiscal Year 2011. If Congresses passes a continuing resolution (“CR”) that would fund federal agencies at their 2010 levels, vouchers for about 100,000 families would not be funded. (about 2,500 in Michigan)
- short term CR. If Congress only approves a CR that funds the government until early next year, the incoming Congress would then be responsible for determining funding levels for the remainder of the fiscal year. If the proposal of incoming House Speaker Boehner to reduce federal discretionary spending by 21 percent is adopted, funding to HUD would be cut by nearly $10 billion, eliminating about 475,000 vouchers (a little more than 11,000 in Michigan).
Frighteningly, as the adjournment of the current Congress approaches, the worst case funding alternative of a short term CR is growing increasingly likely. The CBPP report is at http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=3332
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Michigan Poverty Law Program
