	Most Recent Developments

		FY2008 Consolidated Appropriations Act Approved

On December 19, 2007, Congress enacted the FY2008 Consolidated Appropriations Act (attached to H.R. The bill was signed into law by the President on December 26, 2007 ( P.L. On September 27, 2007, Congress approved a continuing resolution (CR) funding most programs at their FY2007 funding levels through November 16, 2007 ( P.L. Conference Agreement Reached

On November 8, 2007, House and Senate conferees agreed to an FY2008 Transportation-HUD funding bill ( H.Rept. It was approved by the House on November 14, 2007; it was never considered by the Senate. The President, in a Statement of Administration Policy, indicated that if the bill had been sent to him, he would have vetoed it because its funding level exceeded his request. Introduction to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)

Most of the funding for the activities of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) comes from discretionary appropriations provided each year in the annual appropriations acts enacted by Congress. Surplus FHA funds are used to offset the cost of the HUD budget. On February 15, 2007, the 110 th Congress approved a revised continuing resolution covering the remainder of FY2007 ( P.L. 110-5 ). It funded most programs at their FY2006 level, although it specified higher or lower funding levels for some programs, including several HUD programs. Specifically, the CR funded six HUD accounts above their FY2006 level:
Tenant Based Rental Assistance: $15,920 million for FY2007; Project-Based Rental Assistance: $5,976 million for FY2007; Public Housing Operating Fund: $3,864 million for FY2007; Indian Housing Loan Guarantee: $6 million for FY2007; Homeless Assistance Grants: $1,442 million for FY2007; and Salaries and Expenses: the FY2006 levels, plus such sums as necessary to meet 50% of the need for cost-of-living increases for federal employees for FY2007. Accounts

The following section of the report provides a detailed discussion of the majority of accounts included in Table 2 . The committee report ( S.Rept. Both House- and Senate-passed versions of H.R. The President's FY2008 budget requested that Congress rescind $1.3 billion from the HCF. Operating Fund

The President's FY2008 budget requested a $130 million increase in funding for the public housing Operating Fund. The House bill would have funded the account at the FY2007 level (over $400 million above the President's request), and the Senate bill would have provided almost $500 million above the President's request. HOPE VI

Each year since FY2004, the President has requested that Congress provide no new funds for the HOPE VI program, although each year the Congress has continued to fund the program. In addition, the President's budget request stated that the Administration would seek to reform the CDBG program during the 110 th Congress, but at the end of the first session, no formal legislative proposal had been introduced in the House or the Senate. In addition to reduced funding for CDBG formula grants, the Administration's FY2008 budget proposed eliminating funding for several other community development related programs, including Rural Housing and Economic Development Grants, Community Development Block Grant Section 108 loan guarantees, and Brownfields Economic Development Initiatives. 3074 . 3074 . 110-446 ), also proposed to fund these programs at $735 million; the House-passed version of H.R. The President's budget and the House bill estimated that FHA will require net positive appropriations for FY2008. 110-161 , like the House bill, Senate bill, and House-Senate conference agreement, includes the President's proposal to lift the multifamily loan limit, temporarily lifts the cap on HECMs, and rejects the President's proposals to increase GNMA's fees and move accounts between the GI/SRI fund and the MMI fund.
On February 5, 2007, President Bush released his FY2008 budget request, ten days before the Congress finished work on the FY2007 spending bills by approving a revised year-long continuing resolution (P.L. 110-5). The FY2007 CR funded most Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) programs at their FY2006 level, but with decreases for some programs, and increases for other programs. The CR provided HUD with over $36.6 billion for FY2007.
The President's FY2008 budget requested about a billion dollar decrease in funding for HUD. It proposed to provide no new funding for several programs that have been targeted for elimination in recent years, but that Congress has continued to fund (HOPE VI, Rural Housing and Economic Development, Brownfields Redevelopment, and Section 108 Loan Guarantees). The President's FY2008 budget also requested decreased funding for several programs, including housing programs for the elderly and disabled, fair housing and lead paint programs, public housing modernization, and the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program. Each of these programs had been targeted for decreases in past budget requests, but Congress had not approved the requested decreases. The President's budget requested funding increases for several programs, including public housing operating costs and programs for the homeless, persons with AIDS, and first-time homebuyers. The FY2008 funding debate was also shaped by the ongoing decline in receipts from the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) available to offset the cost of the budget. For FY2007, it was estimated that FHA would generate a net surplus of over $650 million; for FY2008, that amount was estimated to be about $250 million.
On July 18, 2007, the House Appropriations Committee reported its version of the FY2008 HUD funding bill (H.R. 3074). On July 16, 2007, the Senate Appropriations Committee reported its version (S. 1789). Both bills would have increased funding above the President's request for Section 8 vouchers, HOPE VI, housing programs for the elderly and disabled, and CDBG. On July 24, 2007, the House approved H.R. 3074, and on September 12, 2007, the Senate approved its substitute version. On November 14, 2007, the House approved a conference agreement that would have funded HUD at about $3 billion above the President's request (H.Rept. 110-446). In a Statement of Administration Policy, the President indicated that he would veto the agreement, and the Senate never considered it. Instead, on December 19, 2007, Congress approved the FY2008 Consolidated Appropriations Act (attached to H.R. 2764), which funds HUD at a lower level than the House bill, Senate bill, and conference agreement, but at a level about $2 billion above the President's request. The President signed the bill into law on December 26, 2007 (P.L. 110-161), ending a series of continuing resolutions that had funded most agencies at their prior-year level since the end of the 2007 fiscal year.
This report tracks the FY2008 congressional appropriations process and provides a detailed discussion of the funding and issues related to the majority of accounts in HUD's budget. Following completion of the FY2008 appropriations process, this report will not be updated.