On July 29, The House passed H.R. 5850, the FY11 HUD appropriations bill, with a vote of 251-167. While some budget cuts passed, the most harmful amendments were withdrawn, including Amendment #19. The amendment, offered by John Adler (D-NJ), Gary Peters (D-MI), Jim Himes (D-CT) and Peter Welch (D-VT), would have eliminated funding for Veterans Affairs Supported Housing (VASH), Resident Opportunity and Support Services (ROSS), HOPE VI, and the Brownfields Program, and reduced funding for HOME by $175M and for Self Help and Assisted Homeownership Program (SHOP) by $22M.
Fortunately, thanks to strong statewide and national advocacy, the amendment was withdrawn before the bill passed. Thanks are also due to Congressman Peter Welch, who listened to advocate’s concerns, and reconsidered the amendment.
Overall, the budget passed by the House was $1 billion more than the Obama Administration’s original request. Many of the increases included in the budget are particularly helpful to rural states like Vermont.
For a more detailed breakdown of the bill’s passed and failed amendments, read this update from the National Low Income Housing Coalition. More details on the bill are also available in their July 30th Memo to Members.
