Committee Wants to Shrink HUD's Budget in an Effort to Control Spending
Last week the U.S. House of Representatives Appropriations Committee released details of its Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill for fiscal year 2024. “The Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies bill provides a discretionary total of $90.243 billion, which is $8.633 billion (8.7%) below the President’s Budget Request,” the committee said in an announcement, HousingWire reports.
Overall, the committee aims to reduce HUD's budget by nearly one-third compared with FY 2023 enacted levels. The committee specified that addressing identified shortfalls and “fund[ing] Republican priorities” would requir the elimination and/or cutting of several existing programs.
Ranking member of the House Appropriations Committee, Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), blasted the proposals made by Republican committee leaders in a statement during the markup hearing that was later released by House Democrats.
“[T]he biggest issue touching every community is the lack of affordable housing,” she said. “There is a shortage of 7.3 million affordable homes available nationwide. Ensuring affordable and adequate housing is available in the places Americans live and work – ensuring there are roofs over the heads of children and families – should not be controversial. Yet this bill fails to meet the housing needs of a growing and aging population.”