Here's Why it Matters:
Whatever overall amount of funding the T-HUD Appropriations Subcommittee receives will be divided up among all of the Transportation and HUD programs, including key homeless assistance and affordable housing programs such as the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Grants, Section 8 Tenant-Based Rental Assistance, and many others.The larger the overall allocation, the better chance each HUD program has of receiving sufficient funding.
We need as many organizations from across the country as possible to join this letter by March 13 in order to ensure as much overall funding for HUD programs in FY 2016 as possible.
Here's What You Can Do:
- Click here to read and here to sign your organization on to the letter.
- Forward the link to local and state partners who work on housing and transportation issues and ask them to sign the letter, too!
More Information:
Every year, the House and Senate Appropriations Committees divide up the total amount available for federal funding among the 12 appropriations subcommittees in each chamber, including T-HUD. These subcommittee allocations are known as 302(b) allocations. Both T-HUD Appropriations Subcommittees will ultimately divide their 302(b) allocation up among all of the HUD and Transportation programs within their jurisdiction and set FY 2016 funding levels for each program. Therefore, it is critical for the T-HUD 302(b) allocation to be as high as possible.
As the letter explains, the challenging fiscal environment makes the social and economic returns provided through the T-HUD allocation more crucial than ever. A high allocation will be critical to meeting the nation's housing needs. Without sequestration relief, non-defense discretionary programs, including important housing programs, will experience the lowest spending on record when the need for these programs is at historically high levels. The cuts have caused the loss of 70,000 rental assistance opportunities for low-income families since 2013, and have hindered our progress in ending homelessness.
It is imperative that we let Congress know how important it is to provide sufficient funding for HUD programs! This letter is open to all local and state organizations -
so please join today!
