On Wednesday, October 16th, both Houses passed a continuing resolution through November 22nd. Appropriations will most likely be finished during the lame-duck session following the election.

On Wednesday, October 9th, the House Appropriations Committee completed its markup of the VA, HUD, and Independent Agencies appropriations bill. (The Subcommittee marked up a similar bill on October 7th.) See below for the chart with funding details.

The programs listed below fared well - with increases or level funding. HOME ($2.2 billion) and CDBG ($5 billion) both received an increase above FY 2002 and the President's budget. A $200 million set-aside for the President's Downpayment Initiative was included in the House's proposal. The CDFI Fund received level funding ($80 million), which is higher than the Senate's number or the President's proposal. The House ignored the Administration's proposal to eliminate the Rural Housing and Economic Development program, and provided level funding of $25 million. YouthBuild ($65 million) and the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation ($105 million) received level funding.

Why the level funding, even increases, after all this talk of less money for domestic programs and discretionary spending? Take a look at the public housing voucher program for a clue. It was CUT by almost $1 billion from the President's budget - $940 million to be exact. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, this would eliminate 150,000 to 200,000 vouchers. The House's reasoning behind this is their frustration with the number of unused vouchers and rescinded money at the end of each year. The proposal includes a "central reserve" of $280 million for those PHAs that need additional vouchers - but this funding cannot be used to cover additional costs due to housing costs and inflation.

HUD, Independent Agencies Funding for Selected Programs
(dollars in millions)

! The President requested that Housing Counseling be a separate item outside of CDBG. The House and Senate did not follow this request.