News From The Hill

House Appropriations Approves $200 M for EFSP

Last Friday, June 12, the full House Appropriations Committee approved fiscal year (FY) 2010 Homeland Security legislation. The legislation included $200 million for the Emergency Food and Shelter Program (EFSP), which represents level funding from FY 2009 levels, but $100 million more than the President requested. Last Thursday, June 18, the full Senate Appropriations Committee marked up its version of the FY 2010 Homeland Security bill, which included $175 million for EFSP. Both the House and Senate may consider their respective versions of the legislation as early as this week.

House Passes CJS Spending Bill

Last Thursday, June 18, the full House Committee approved the FY 2010 Commerce, Justice, and Science (CJS) Appropriations Bill, which includes $114 million for Second Chance Act programs. This represents $100 million for Department of Justice grant programs, a $75 million increase over the FY 2009 level, as well as $14 million for the Bureau of Prisons for staff to implement the programs. The legislation also included $12 million for Mentally Ill Offender Treatment Program and $18 million for transitional housing grants for victims of domestic violence. The Senate Appropriations CJS Subcommittee is scheduled to mark up its version of the legislation tomorrow, June 24, with the full Appropriations Committee to consider it on Thursday, June 25.

House Subcommittee Approves Funding for Homeless Veterans

Last Tuesday, June 16, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction and Veterans' Affairs marked up its FY 2010 spending bill. The legislation included $26 million for a pilot prevention program for homeless veterans, as requested by President Obama. It also included $150 million for the Homeless Veterans Grant and Per Diem program, $6 million above both President Obama's request and the FY 2009 level. The full House Appropriations Committee is scheduled to consider the legislation today.


JCHS Releases State of the Nation's Housing 2009

Yesterday, June 22, the Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies (JCHS) released "State of the Nation's Housing 2009." The report includes chapters on housing markets, demographic drivers, homeownership, rental housing, and housing challenges. Between 2001 and 2007, there was an increase in the number of households with severe cost burdens. As a result, an unprecedented 16 percent of households spent more than half of their incomes on housing in 2007, with more than 19 percent paying 30 to 50 percent of their income toward housing. The report also cites data from January 2007 point-in-time homelessness counts, noting the 10 percent decrease in overall homelessness between 2005 and 2007; it also notes, however, that many cities are starting to note increases in homelessness as a result of the recession. JCHS concludes that full-time employment is not sufficient for many low-income families to afford decent housing while only paying 30 percent of their incomes toward housing.
State of the Nation's Housing 2009

Donovan Testifies at House Appropriations T-HUD Subcommittee Hearing

Last Friday June 19, Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan testified at a hearing of the House Transportation and HUD (T-HUD) Appropriations Subcommittee. Secretary Donovan discussed the Choice Neighborhoods Program, the future of Hope VI, and the status of Section 8 funding, among other issues. Secretary Donovan also mentioned that he recently discussed with Secretary Kathleen Sebelius of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) the possibility of developing a partnership between HUD and HHS to aid the development of better linkages between permanent housing and homeless services.


USICH Holds First Meeting, Announces HUD-VASH Allocations

Last Thursday, June 18, the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) met for the first time under the Obama Administration. USICH works to coordinate the federal response to homelessness. HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan was elected Chair of the Council for the upcoming year, while Department of Labor Secretary Hilda Solis was elected Vice Chair.

During the meeting, Secretary Donovan and Secretary Eric K. Shinseki of the Department of Veterans' Affairs (VA) announced the allocation of $75 million to local public housing authorities for the HUD-VA Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) program. The allocations have not yet been posted online.


NLIHC Hosts Audio Conference on Funding for Trust Fund

On Friday, June 26 at 1 pm ET, the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) will host a conference call to clarify the situation surrounding the National Housing Trust Fund (NHTF) budget. This fund, signed into law by President Bush and supported by President Obama during his election campaign, will provide permanent, ongoing support for those living in low-income housing. President Obama followed up on his support by including $1 billion in his FY 2010 budget to capitalize the NHTF. The NHTF is part of the "mandatory" spending in the budget, meaning that it will not have to compete with appropriations issues, such as HUD programs, or other "discretionary" spending. Since there has yet to be a clear statement regarding from the funding source for the $1 billion, NLIHC will host this call to address any confusion about NHTF and its funding. Sheila Crowley, President of NLIHC, will lead the call. Participants should dial 1.877.486.3171 and enter pass code 967187.


HUD Posts Update to HPRP FAQ

HUD recently updated the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section of its HPRP resources on the Homelessness Resource Exchange (HRE). The updates include a clarification of when HPRP resources can be used to assist people with a housing subsidy: "...rental arrears can be paid on behalf of a person receiving a subsidy from another public program (e.g., Section 8) because it represents a different time period and cost type than the rental subsidy..." HUD has also posted documents detailing the data elements of the HPRP Initial and Quarterly Reports, as well as the revised HMIS standards.
HPRP FAQ


U.S. Conference of Mayors Releases Reentry Report

Last Tuesday, June 16, the U.S. Conference of Mayors released a report on prisoner reentry efforts in 79 cities. The report is based on survey results from 79 cities across the country. It found that 36 percent of the surveyed cities have made changes in ordinances or policies that had previously hindered reentry for ex-offenders. Among these cities, 58 percent changed ordinances related to housing. The report also included information on the successes, challenges, and goals that communities have had. Miami, St. Louis, and Spokane all identified homelessness prevention as a key goal of their efforts in the area of reentry.


SHNNY Releases Video on Impact of Supportive Housing in Neighborhoods

The Supportive Housing Network of New York (SHNNY) recently released a new video entitled "Good Housing. Good Neighbors," which highlights community members' reactions to three buildings providing supportive housing to people living with mental illness. The video, which lasts approximately five minutes, includes interviews with representatives from the supportive housing programs (both residents and staff), the New York State Assembly, the police force, block associations and community councils, and the New York University Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy, among other groups.