.

Transportation, Housing and
Urban Development, and Related Agencies
(THUD): FY2016 Appropriations

Maggie McCarty
Specialist in Housing Policy
David Randall Peterman
Analyst in Transportation Policy
June 15, 2015
Congressional Research Service
7-5700
www.crs.gov
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Transportation, HUD, and Related Agencies: FY2016 Appropriations

Summary
The House and Senate Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies
(THUD) appropriations subcommittees are charged with providing annual appropriations for the
Department of Transportation (DOT), Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD),
and related agencies. THUD programs receive both discretionary and mandatory budget
authority; HUD’s budget generally accounts for the largest share of discretionary appropriations
in the THUD bill, but when mandatory funding is taken into account, DOT’s budget is larger than
HUD’s budget. Mandatory funding typically accounts for around half the total annual THUD
appropriation.
The FY2015 THUD bill’s appropriation totaled $107.3 billion: $53.8 billion in net discretionary
funding and $53.5 billion in mandatory funding. The Administration requested net budget
authority of $134.7 billion (after scorekeeping adjustments) for the agencies funded by the THUD
bill for FY2016, an increase of $27.4 billion (26%). Most of this increase was for highway,
transit, and passenger rail programs in DOT, reflecting the increased funding proposed in the
Administration’s surface transportation reauthorization proposal.
The House-passed bill (H.R. 2577) includes net budget authority of $108.7 billion for THUD in
FY2016, $55.3 billion in discretionary funding and $53.5 billion in mandatory funding. In total,
this is a 1% increase over FY2015 levels (+3% discretionary reduced by smaller offsets, about
level mandatory funding). The Administration has issued a Statement of Administration Policy for
H.R. 2577 criticizing the funding levels in the bill, saying that the President’s advisors would
recommend that the bill be vetoed.
DOT: The Administration requested a total of $93.7 billion in discretionary and mandatory
funding for DOT for FY2016, an increase of roughly $22 billion (31%) over FY2015. H.R. 2577
would provide $70.6 billion for DOT, $646 million less than in FY2015. The reductions were
primarily to the TIGER grant program (-$400 million), the New Starts transit grant program (-
$199 million), and Amtrak capital grants (-$252 million) (the House proposed similar cuts to the
same programs in FY2015; those cuts were not included in the enacted THUD bill).
HUD: The President requested $40.6 billion in net new budget authority for HUD for FY2016,
$5 billion more than provided in FY2015 ($35.6 billion). H.R. 2577 includes $37.7 billion for
HUD, $2.1 billion above the net discretionary funding in FY2015. Of that increase, $1.1 billion is
attributable to a reduction in savings from offsetting receipts from the Federal Housing
Administration (FHA). The bulk of the remainder of the increase is directed to funding the
renewal costs of the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher and project-based rental assistance
programs.
Related Agencies: The Administration requested a total of $351 million for the agencies in Title
III (the Related Agencies). This is about $1 million more than they received in FY2015. H.R.
2577 would provide $342 million for the related agencies, with the entire reduction coming from
the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation.

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Contents
Introduction to Transportation, HUD, and Related Agencies (THUD) Appropriations .................. 1
Budget Concepts Relevant to THUD Appropriations ............................................................... 1
THUD Funding Trends .................................................................................................................... 2
Status of the FY2016 THUD Appropriations Bill ........................................................................... 3
FY2016 THUD Discretionary Funding Allocation ................................................................... 4
FY2016 THUD Funding ............................................................................................................ 4
How a $1.5-Billion Increase in FY2016 Budget Authority Turns Out to Be Level
Funding—the Impact of Offsets ....................................................................................... 5
Detailed Tables and Selected Key Issues ......................................................................................... 6
Title I: Department of Transportation ........................................................................................ 6
DOT in Brief .............................................................................................................................. 9
House Action ....................................................................................................................... 9
President’s Budget ............................................................................................................... 9
Title II: Department of Housing and Urban Development ........................................................ 9
HUD in Brief ........................................................................................................................... 12
House Action ..................................................................................................................... 12
President’s Budget ............................................................................................................. 13
Title III: Related Agencies ....................................................................................................... 13

Tables
Table 1. Funding Trends for Department of Transportation and Department of Housing
and Urban Development, FY2009-FY2015 ................................................................................. 3
Table 2. Status of FY2016 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related
Agencies Appropriations .............................................................................................................. 3
Table 3. THUD FY2015 Discretionary Funding Appropriation and
FY2016 302(b) Allocations .......................................................................................................... 4
Table 4. Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies
Appropriations, FY2015-FY2016................................................................................................. 5
Table 5. Budget Adjustments in FY2016 THUD Appropriations Bill ............................................. 6
Table 6. Department of Transportation FY2015-FY2016 Detailed Budget Table ........................... 7
Table 7. HUD FY2015 Detailed Budget Table .............................................................................. 10
Table 8. Appropriations for Related Agencies, FY2015-FY2016 .................................................. 13

Contacts
Author Contact Information........................................................................................................... 14
Key Policy Staff ............................................................................................................................. 15

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Introduction to Transportation, HUD, and
Related Agencies (THUD) Appropriations

The Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies (THUD)
appropriations subcommittees are charged with drafting bills to provide annual appropriations for
the Department of Transportation (DOT), the Department of Housing and Urban Development
(HUD), and six small related agencies.
Title I of the annual THUD appropriations bill funds DOT. The department is primarily a grant-
making and regulatory organization. Its programs are organized roughly by mode of
transportation, providing grants to state and local government agencies to support the
construction of highways, transit, and intercity passenger rail infrastructure, while overseeing
safety in the rail, public transportation, commercial trucking and intercity bus, and maritime
industries. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is exceptional among DOT’s large sub-
agencies in that the largest portion of its budget is not for grants but for operating the U.S. air
traffic control system. In support of that task, it employs over 80% of DOT’s total workforce,
roughly 46,000 of DOT’s approximately 56,000 employees.
Title II of the annual THUD appropriations bill funds HUD. The department’s programs are
primarily designed to address housing problems faced by households with very low incomes or
other special housing needs. These include several programs of rental assistance for persons who
are poor, elderly, and/or have disabilities. Three rental assistance programs—Public Housing,
Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers, and Section 8 project-based rental assistance—account for
the majority of the department’s funding. Two flexible block grant programs—the HOME
Investment Partnership Program and Community Development Block Grants (CDBG)—help
communities finance a variety of housing and community development activities designed to
serve low-income families. Other, more specialized grant programs help communities meet the
needs of homeless persons, including those with AIDS. HUD’s Federal Housing Administration
(FHA) insures mortgages made by lenders to home buyers with low down payments and to
developers of multifamily rental buildings containing relatively affordable units.
Title III of the THUD appropriations bill funds a collection of agencies involved in transportation
or housing and community development. They include the Access Board, the Federal Maritime
Commission, the National Transportation Safety Board, the Amtrak Office of Inspector General
(IG), the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation (often referred to as NeighborWorks), the U.S.
Interagency Council on Homelessness, and the costs associated with the government
conservatorship and regulation of the housing-related government-sponsored enterprises, Fannie
Mae and Freddie Mac.
Budget Concepts Relevant to THUD Appropriations
Most of the programs and activities in the THUD bill are funded through regular annual
appropriations
, also referred to as discretionary appropriations.1 This is the amount of new

1 According to Congressional Quarterly’s American Congressional Dictionary, discretionary appropriations are
appropriations not mandated by existing law and therefore made available annually in appropriation bills in such
amounts as Congress chooses. The Budget Enforcement Act of 1990 defines discretionary appropriations as budget
(continued...)
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funding allocated each year by the appropriations committees. Appropriations are drawn from the
general fund of the Treasury. For some accounts, the appropriations committees provide advance
appropriations
, or regular appropriations that are not available until the next fiscal year.
In some years, Congress will also provide emergency appropriations, usually in response to
disasters. These funds are sometimes provided outside of the regular appropriations acts—often
in emergency supplemental spending bills—generally in addition to regular annual
appropriations. Although emergency appropriations typically come from the general fund, they
may not be included in the discretionary appropriation total reported for an agency.
Most of the Department of Transportation’s budget is in the form of contract authority. Contract
authority is a form of mandatory budget authority based on federal trust fund resources, in
contrast to discretionary budget authority, which is based on resources in the general fund.
Contract authority controls spending from the Highway Trust Fund and the Airport and Airway
Trust Fund. When the Appropriations Committee subcommittees are given their 302(b)
allocations, those figures include only net discretionary budget authority (non-emergency
appropriations, less any offsets and rescissions); contract authority from trust funds is not subject
to that limitation. This can lead to confusion when comparing totals, as the total annual
discretionary budget authority for THUD is typically around half of the total funding provided in
the bill, with the remainder made up of mandatory contract authority.
Congressional appropriators are generally subject to limits on the amount of new non-emergency
discretionary funding they can provide in a year. One way to stay within these limits is to
appropriate no more than the allocated amount of discretionary funding in the regular annual
appropriations act. Another way is to find ways to offset a higher level of discretionary funding. A
portion of the cost of regular annual appropriations for the THUD bill is generally offset in two
ways. The first is through rescissions, or cancellations of unobligated or recaptured balances from
previous years’ funding. The second is through offsetting receipts and collections, generally
derived from fees collected by federal agencies.
THUD Funding Trends
Table 1 shows funding trends for DOT and HUD over the period FY2009-FY2015, omitting
emergency funding and other supplemental funding. The purpose of Table 1 is to indicate trends
in the funding for these agencies; thus emergency supplemental appropriations are not included in
the figures.

(...continued)
authority provided in annual appropriation acts and the outlays derived from that authority, but it excludes
appropriations for entitlements.
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Table 1. Funding Trends for Department of Transportation and Department of
Housing and Urban Development, FY2009-FY2015
(In billions of current dollars)
Department FY2009a FY2010 FY2011 FY2012 FY2013b FY2014 FY2015
DOT
$67.2 $75.7 $68.7 $71.6 $70.7 $71.2 $89.5
HUD
41.5 46.9 41.1 37.4 33.5 32.8 36.9
Source: U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Appropriations, Comparative Statement of Budget
Authority tables from FY2010 through FY2016. Unless otherwise noted, amounts are reduced to reflect across-
the-board rescissions.
a. FY2009 figures do not reflect $61.8 billion in emergency economic stimulus funding (P.L. 111-5).
b. FY2013 figures do not reflect $29 billion in emergency funding for recovery from Hurricane Sandy (P.L.
113-2) or reductions due to sequestration.
Status of the FY2016 THUD Appropriations Bill
Recent Developments
The House passed H.R. 2577 on June 9, 2015, with a number of amendments.
Transportation amendments adopted include adding $9 million to Amtrak’s capital grant funding for installing inward-
facing cameras in locomotives (offset by reductions in other accounts), adding $4 million to the National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration’s Operations & Research account (offset by reductions in the DOT Secretary’s Office
Salary & Expenses account), and adding $3.5 million to the Federal Railroad Administration’s Safety & Operations
account (offset by another reduction in the DOT Secretary’s Office Salary & Expenses account).
HUD amendments adopted include an increase in funding for Housing for Persons with AIDS of $3 million, offset by a
reduction in funding for information technology; an increase in funding for Housing for the Elderly of $2.5 million,
offset by a reduction in funding for research and development; and a redirection of fair housing funding from private
to administrative enforcement activities.
The Administration has issued a Statement of Administration Policy for H.R. 2577 criticizing the funding levels in the
bill, saying that the President’s advisors would recommend that the bill be vetoed.

Table 2 provides a timeline of legislative action on the FY2016 THUD appropriations bill.
Table 2. Status of FY2016 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and
Related Agencies Appropriations
Subcommittee
Markup
Conference Approval
House
House
Senate
Senate
Conf.
Public
Bill
House Senate
Re
port
Passage
Report
Passage
Report
House Senate Law
H.R. 2577
4/29/2015
5/13/2015
6/9/2015






(voice
30-21
216-210
vote)
H.Rept.
114-129
Source: CRS Appropriations Status Table.
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FY2016 THUD Discretionary Funding Allocation
The annual budget resolution provides a budgetary framework within which Congress considers
legislation affecting spending and revenue. It sets forth spending and revenue levels, enforced by
the rules of each chamber, including spending allocations to House and Senate Appropriations
Committees. After the House and Senate Appropriations Committees receive their discretionary
spending allocations from the budget resolution (referred to as 302(a) allocations), they divide
their allocations among their 12 subcommittees, each of which is responsible for one of the 12
regular appropriations bills. The allocations to each of the subcommittees are referred to as
302(b) allocations.
The FY2016 budget resolution was agreed to by the House on April 30, 2015, and the Senate on
May 6, 2015 (H.Con.Res. 27 and S.Con.Res. 11). It set an overall base discretionary spending
limit of $1.017 trillion for FY2016, an increase from the FY2015 level of $1.014 trillion and
consistent with the current statutory spending limits under the Budget Control Act, as amended.
The current Section 302(b) allocation for the Senate THUD subcommittee is $376 million more
than that provided for the House subcommittee. This difference creates an additional difficulty in
reaching agreement on a final FY2016 THUD appropriation level. Table 3 shows the
discretionary funding provided for THUD in FY2015, the Administration request for FY2016,
and the amount allocated by the House and Senate Appropriations Committees to the THUD
subcommittees. Table 4 lists the total funding provided for each of the titles in the bill for
FY2015 and the amount requested for that title for FY2016.
As discussed earlier, much of the funding for this bill is in the form of contract authority, a type of
mandatory budget authority. Thus, the discretionary funding provided in the bill is only about half
of the total funding provided in this bill.
Table 3. THUD FY2015 Discretionary Funding Appropriation and
FY2016 302(b) Allocations
(in billions of dollars)
FY2016
FY2015 Enacted
Budget Request
House 302(b)
Senate 302(b)
$53.772 $65.0
$55.27 $55.646
Source: Figures are current as of the date of this report and are taken from the budget table in H.Rept. 114-
129; House 302(b) from H.Rept. 114-118; Senate 302(b) from S.Rept. 114-55.
Note: FY2015 enacted and FY2016 request are net of advance appropriations, rescissions, offsetting col ections,
and other adjustments.
FY2016 THUD Funding
As shown in Table 4, the President’s FY2016 budget requested $134.7 billion for the programs in
the THUD bill, $27.4 billion more than appropriated for THUD in FY2015. Most of this increase
was for highway, transit, and rail funding under the Administration’s surface transportation
reauthorization proposal; the request for DOT is $22 billion over FY2015. The request for HUD
is $5 billion more than provided in FY2015, but $1.1 billion of that increase reflects a decline in
savings available from offsetting receipts.
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Table 4. Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies
Appropriations, FY2015-FY2016
(in millions of dollars)
FY2015
FY2016
FY2016 House
FY2016
FY2016
Title
Enacted
Request
H.R. 2577
Senate
Enacted
Title I: Transportation





Title I Discretionary
17,801
24,008
17,181


Title 1 Mandatory
53,485
69,666
53,460


Title I Total
71,286
93,674
70,640


Title II: Housing and
35,621 40,640 37,739


Urban Development
Title III: Related Agencies
350
351
342


Total
107,257 134,666 108,722


Net Total Discretionary
53,772 65,000 55,262


Total Mandatory
53,485 69,666 53,460


Sources: Table prepared by CRS based on information in H.Rept. 114-129.
Note: Figures are net after rescissions, offsets, and other adjustments. Figures include advance appropriations
provided in the bill, rather than advance appropriations that will become available in the fiscal year. The former
are the amounts generally shown in committee press releases; the latter are the amounts against which the
committee is general y “scored” for purposes of budget enforcement. Totals may not add up due to rounding
and scorekeeping adjustments.
The House-passed H.R. 2577 provides a total of $108.7 billion for THUD in FY2016. While this
appears to be $1.5 billion over the net budgetary resources amount provided in FY2015, after
accounting for a projected $1.1 billion reduction in offsetting receipts to HUD in FY2016 and the
effects of $400 million in rescissions of funding in the FY2015 bill, the actual amount of new
funding recommended in the House bill is virtually identical to the FY2015 level. This situation is
explored further in the next section of this report and Table 5.
How a $1.5-Billion Increase in FY2016 Budget Authority Turns Out to Be Level
Funding—the Impact of Offsets

In the case of the THUD bill, net discretionary budget authority (which is the level of funding
measured against the 302(b) allocation) is not the same as the amount of new discretionary
budget authority made available to THUD agencies, due to budgetary savings available from
rescissions and offsets. Each dollar available to the subcommittees in rescissions and offsets
enables the subcommittee to provide funding that doesn’t count against the 302(b) level. As
shown in Table 5, in FY2015, due to rescissions and offsets, the THUD subcommittees were able
to provide $10.1 billion in discretionary appropriations to THUD agencies above the net
discretionary budget authority level.
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Table 5. Budget Adjustments in FY2016 THUD Appropriations Bill
(in millions of dollars)
FY2016
House
Change
FY2015
Committee
FY2015 to
Components of THUD Budget Authority
Enacted
H.R. 2577
FY2016
Gross New Discretionary Appropriations
$63,906
$63,931
+$25
New Discretionary Appropriations
59,506
59,531
+25
Advance Appropriation
4,400
4,400
0
Minus
Savings
-10,134 -8,669 -1,465
Rescissions of Prior Year Funding and Contract Authority
-396 -14 -382
Offsetting Collections and Receipts
-9,738 -8,655 -1,083
Net Total Discretionary Budget Authority
$53,772
$55,262
+1,490
Limitation on Obligations (Mandatory Funding)
$53,485
453,460
-25
Source: Table prepared by CRS based on Comparative Statement of New Budget (Obligational) Authority for
Fiscal Year 2016, H.Rept. 114-129.
The amount of these “budget savings” can vary from year to year, meaning that the “cost” in
terms of 302(b) allocation of providing the same level of appropriations may vary as well. Due to
a $1.1 billion reduction in offsetting collections in FY2016 compared to FY2015, it “cost” the
House THUD subcommittee an additional $1.1 billion in discretionary funding in FY2016 to
provide the same level of total funding as provided in FY2015, all else being equal. Combined
with a decrease in rescissions in their FY2016 proposal, the House THUD subcommittee’s $1.5
billion increase in 302(b) allocation over THUD’s net FY2015 level ends up as a $25 million
increase. And since the subcommittee also proposed reducing the mandatory funding level by $25
million, the net change for FY2016 becomes zero.
Detailed Tables and Selected Key Issues
Title I: Department of Transportation
Table 6 presents FY2016 appropriations totals and selected accounts for DOT, compared to
FY2015 enacted levels. A brief summary of key highlights follows the table.
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Table 6. Department of Transportation FY2015-FY2016 Detailed Budget Table
(in millions of current dollars)
FY2016
House
Department of Transportation
FY2015
FY2016
H.R.
FY2016
FY2016
Selected Account
Enacted
Request
2577
Senate
Enacted
Office of the Secretary (OST)
Payments to Air Carriers (Essential Air Service)a
155
175
155


National infrastructure investments (TIGER)
500
1,250
100


Safe transport of oil

5



Total, OST
803
1,612
389


Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
Operations 9,741
9,915
9,845


Facilities & equipment
2,600
2,855
2,503


Research, engineering, & development
157
166
157


Grants-in-aid for airports (Airport Improvement
3,350 2,900 3,350


Program) (limitation on obligations)
Total, FAA
15,847
15,836
15,855


Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)
Limitation on administrative expenses
426
442
429


Federal-aid highways (limitation on obligations)
40,256
50,068
40,256


Total, FHWA
40,995
51,307
40,995


Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA)
Motor carrier safety operations and programs
271
329
259


Motor carrier safety grants to states
313
339
313


Total, FMCSA
584
669
572


National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
Operations and research
269
331
278


Highway traffic safety grants to states (limitation
562 577 562


on obligations)
Total, NHTSA
830
908
840


Federal Railroad Administration (FRA)
Safety and operations
187
204
190


Research and development
39
39
39


Rail service improvement program

2,325



Current passenger rail service

2,450



Amtrak operating grants
250

289


Amtrak capital and debt service grants
1,140

859


Total Amtrak grants
1,390
2,450
1,148


Total, FRA
1,626
5,018
1,377


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FY2016
House
Department of Transportation
FY2015
FY2016
H.R.
FY2016
FY2016
Selected Account
Enacted
Request
2577
Senate
Enacted
Federal Transit Administration (FTA)
Formula grants (M)
8,595
13,800
8,595


Capital investment grants (New Starts)
2,120
3,250
1,921


Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
150
150
100


FTA Total
10,887
18,399
10,726


Maritime Administration (MARAD)
341 407 361


Assistance to small shipyards
3
3
3


Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA)
Subtotal 220
256
227


Offsetting user fees
127
154
125


Emergency preparedness grants (M)
29
29
29


PHMSA Net Total
94
102
103


Office of Inspector General
86 87 86

Saint Lawrence Seaway Development
32 36 29

Corporation
Surface Transportation Board (STB)
Salaries and expenses
31
32
31


Offsetting
col ections
1 1 1
STB Net Total
30
31
30


DOT Totals
Appropriation (discretionary funding)
18,184
24,016
17,182


Limitations on obligations (M)
53,485
69,666
53,460


Subtotal—new funding
71,284 89,744 70,549


Rescissions of discretionary funding
-122




Rescissions of contract authority
-260




Offsetting col ections
-1
-7
-1


Net new discretionary funding
17,801 24,008 17,181


Net new budget authority
$71,286 $93,674 $70,640


Sources: Table prepared by CRS based on information in H.R. 2577 and H.Rept. 114-129.
Notes: “M” stands for mandatory budget authority. Line items may not add up to the subtotals due to omission
of some accounts. Subtotals and totals may differ from those in the source documents due to treatment of
rescissions, offsetting collections, and other adjustments. The figures in this table reflect new budget authority
made available for the fiscal year. For budgetary calculation purposes, the source documents may subtract
rescissions of prior year funding or contract authority, or offsetting collections, in calculating subtotals and totals.
a. The EAS program also receives an additional amount in mandatory budget authority; see discussion below.
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DOT in Brief
House Action
For DOT, the House-passed H.R. 2577 would provide the following:
• $70.6 billion in budgetary resources, $1.0 billion (1%) below the comparable
FY2015 level.
• $100 million (an 80% cut from FY2015) to the National Infrastructure
Investment (TIGER grants) program.
• $1.148 billion (a 17% cut from FY2015) to Amtrak.
• A 9% cut from FY2015 to the transit Capital Investment Grants (New Starts &
Small Starts) program.
• That no funds may be used to facilitate new scheduled air transportation to Cuba,
or to issue a license or certificate for a commercial vessel that docked or
anchored within 7 miles of a Cuban port within the previous 180 days.
President’s Budget
The Administration’s budget proposal for DOT included the following:
• A request for $93.7 billion in budgetary resources, an increase of 31% over
FY2015.
• A 150% increase in funding over FY2015 for National Infrastructure Investment
(TIGER grants).
• A 25% increase in funding over FY2015 for the federal-aid highway program.
• A 69% increase in funding over FY2015 for transit.
• A 76% increase in funding over FY2015 for Amtrak, plus $2.3 billion for
development of other passenger rail service.
Title II: Department of Housing and Urban Development
Table 7 presents an account-by-account summary of FY2016 appropriations proposals for HUD,
compared to FY2015 enacted levels. It is followed by a brief summary of key highlights. For an
expanded discussion, see CRS Report R44059, Department of Housing and Urban Development:
FY2016 Appropriations
, coordinated by Maggie McCarty.
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Table 7. HUD FY2015 Detailed Budget Table
(In billions of dollars)
FY2016 FY2016 FY2016
House
Senate Enacted
FY2015
FY2016
H.R.
Accounts
Enacted Request
2577
Appropriations





Salaries and Expenses (Mgmt. & Adm.)
1.314
1.425
1.341


Tenant-Based Rental Assistance (Sec. 8 vouchers)a 19.304
21.123
19.919

Rental Assistance Demonstration
0.000b 0.050 0.000


Public housing capital fund
1.875
1.970
1.681


Public housing operating fund
4.440
4.600
4.440


Choice Neighborhoods
0.080
0.250
0.020


Family Self Sufficiency
0.075
0.085
0.075


Native American housing block grants
0.650
0.660
0.650


Indian housing loan guarantee
0.007
0.008
0.008


Native Hawai an block grant
0.009
0.000c 0.000


Native Hawaiian loan guarantee
0.000d 0.000c 0.000


Housing, persons with AIDS (HOPWA)
0.330
0.332
0.335


Community Development Fund (Including CDBG)
3.066
2.880
3.060


HOME Investment Partnerships
0.900
1.060
0.767e


Self-Help Homeownership
0.050f 0.000g 0.050f


Homeless Assistance Grants
2.135
2.480
2.185


Project-Based Rental Assistance (Sec. 8)h 9.730
10.760
10.654


Housing for the Elderly
0.420
0.455
0.417


Housing for Persons with Disabilities
0.135
0.177
0.152


Housing Counseling Assistancei 0.047
0.060
0.047


Manufactured Housing Fees Trust Fundj 0.010
0.011
0.011


Rental Housing Assistancek
0.018
0.030
0.030


Federal Housing Administration (FHA) Expensesj 0.130
0.174
0.130


Government National Mortgage Assn. (GNMA) Expensesj 0.024 0.029 0.023


Research and technology
0.072
0.050
0.050


Fair housing activities
0.065
0.071
0.065


Office, lead hazard control
0.110
0.120
0.075


Information Technology Fund
0.250
0.334
0.097


Inspector General
0.126
0.129
0.126


Gross Appropriations Subtotal
45.373
49.323
46.407


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FY2016 FY2016 FY2016
House
Senate Enacted
FY2015
FY2016
H.R.
Accounts
Enacted Request
2577
Rescissions





Drug Elimination Grants
-0.001
0.000
0.000


Rural Housing and Economic Development
0.000
0.000
-0.003


Other (Sec. 233)
0.000
0.000
-0.007


Management and Administration (Sec. 234)
0.000
0.000
-0.002


Youth Build
0.000l 0.000 0.000


Section 108
0.000
0.000
-0.002


Brownfields -0.003
0.000
0.000


FHA (GI/SRI)
-0.010
0.000
0.000


Rescissions Subtotal
-0.014
0.000
-0.014


Offsetting Collections and Receipts





Manufactured Housing Fees Trust Fund
-0.010
-0.011
-0.011


FHA -8.863
-7.786m -7.757


GNMA -0.864
-0.886
-0.886


Offsets Subtotal
-9.737
-8.683
-8.654


Total Budget Authority
35.621
40.640
37.739


Sources: Table prepared by CRS based on FY2015 Consolidated and Continuing Appropriations Act (P.L. 113-
235) and the Explanatory Statement, Congressional Record, vol. 160, part 151—Book II (December 11, 2014),
pp. H9981-H9984 (FY2015 enacted levels); the President’s FY2016 budget documents, including HUD
Congressional Budget Justifications (FY2016-requested levels); and H.R. 2577 and H.Rept. 114-129 (FY2016-
requested level and FY2016-House Committee).
a. The Section 8 tenant-based rental assistance account includes both current-year and advance
appropriations. Typically, Congress appropriates about $4 billion for tenant-based rental assistance for the
subsequent fiscal year in addition to funds for the current year.
b. While no funding was provided for the Rental Assistance Demonstration, the law did raise the cap on the
number of units that can participate in the demonstration from 60,000 to 185,000 and made several other
changes. See Section 234 of HUD General Provisions in P.L. 113-235.
c. The President’s budget does not request funding for the Native Hawai an Housing Block Grant or Native
Hawaiian Loan Guarantee accounts, noting that sufficient carryover balances are available to administer each
program in FY2016.
d. Includes $100,000 for the Native Hawaiian loan guarantee (rounding to less than $1 million).
e. In addition to the funds appropriated in the bill, the House Committee-passed bill would also transfer any
funds provided to the Housing Trust Fund in FY2016 to the HOME program. The Housing Trust Fund is to
be funded through contributions from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac rather than through appropriations. The
committee report estimates that $133 million could be transferred from the Housing Trust Fund, which
would bring total funding for the HOME account to $900 million, the same as the FY2015 enacted level.
f.
The $50 million for the SHOP account includes $10 million for the SHOP program and $40 million for
capacity-building activities
g. The President’s budget proposed providing $10 million for SHOP within the HOME account, rather than in
its own account. Capacity-building activities would be funded in the Transformation Initiative account.
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h. The Section 8 project-based rental assistance account includes both current-year and advance
appropriations. Typically, Congress appropriates about $400 million for project-based rental assistance for
the subsequent fiscal year in addition to funds for the current year.
i.
In addition to HUD’s housing counseling assistance program, Congress in recent years has provided funding
specifically for foreclosure mitigation counseling to the National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling Program
(NFMCP), administered by the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation (also known as NeighborWorks
America). NeighborWorks is not part of HUD, but is usually funded as a related agency in the annual
THUD appropriations laws.
j.
Some or all of the cost of funding these accounts is offset by the collection of fees or other receipts, shown
later in this table.
k. The Rental Housing Assistance account is used to provide supplemental funding to some older HUD rent-
assisted properties, and, when funding is provided, it is typically offset by recaptures. Funding is not
requested in this account every year.
l.
Includes a rescission of $460,000 in prior year unobligated balances from the Youth Build program
(rounding to less than $1 million), which was formerly funded in HUD’s budget but is now funded in the
Department of Labor’s budget.
m. Amounts shown here reflect the Congressional Budget Office’s re-estimate of the President’s budget
request; therefore, the figure for the FY2016 budget request differs from what is shown in the President’s
budget documents.
HUD in Brief
House Action
For HUD, the House-passed H.R. 2577 would provide the following:
• $46.4 billion in gross appropriations, which is approximately $1 billion more in
appropriations than was provided in FY2015 but $3 billion less than requested by
the President.
• $37.7 billion in net budget authority, reflecting savings from offsets and other
sources, which is $2 billion more than FY2015 ($1 billion more in appropriations
and $1 billion less in savings available from offsets).
• A 15% cut in funding for HOME relative to FY2015, with a provision to
supplement that amount by diverting any funding for the Housing Trust Fund to
the HOME program.
• Roughly level funding for the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG)
program relative to FY2015, rejecting a cut proposed in the President’s budget.
• Funding cuts (relative to FY2015) for Choice Neighborhoods (-75%) and the
Public Housing Capital Fund (-10%).
• Funding increases to cover the cost of renewing subsidies in the Section 8 tenant-
based (Housing Choice Voucher) and project-based rental assistance accounts
(+$614 million and +$924 million relative to FY2015). No funding for the new
incremental vouchers that were requested in the President’s budget.
• Rejection of the legislative reforms requested by the President, with reference to
the authorizing committees being most appropriate to consider such reforms.
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President’s Budget
The President’s FY2016 budget request for HUD included the following:
• $49.3 billion in gross appropriations, which is approximately $4 billion more in
gross appropriations than was provided in FY2015.
• $40.6 billion in net budget authority, reflecting savings from offsets and other
sources, which is $5 billion more than FY2015 ($4 billion more in appropriations
and $1 billion less in savings available from offsets).
• Increases in funding for most HUD programs, including funding for 67,000 new
incremental Section 8 Housing Choice vouchers.
• A 7% funding cut for CDBG, with a proposal to revisit the way funding is
distributed to communities.
• Several legislative reform proposals affecting the rental assistance programs,
including changes to the way that income is calculated and recertified.
Title III: Related Agencies
Table 8 presents appropriations levels for the various related agencies funded within the
Transportation, HUD, and Related Agencies appropriations bill.
Table 8. Appropriations for Related Agencies, FY2015-FY2016
(in millions of dollars)
FY2016
FY2015
FY2016
House
FY2016
FY2016
Related Agencies
Enacted
Request
H.R. 2577
Senate
Enacted
Access Board
8
8
8


Federal Housing Finance Agency IG
0
(50)a 0

Federal Maritime Commission
26
27
26


National Transportation Safety Board
104
105
104


Amtrak Office of Inspector General
24
25
24


Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation
185 182
177b


(NeighborWorks)
U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness
4
4
4


Total 350
351
342


Source: Table prepared by CRS based on FY2015 Consolidated and Continuing Appropriations Act (P.L. 113-
235) and the Explanatory Statement, Congressional Record, vol. 160, part 151—Book II (December 11, 2014),
pp. H9981-H9984 (FY2015 enacted levels); the President’s FY2016 budget documents, (FY2016-requested
levels); and H.R. 2577 and H.Rept. 114-129 (FY2016-requested level and FY2016-House Committee).
a. The President’s budget requests $50 million for the Federal Housing Finance Agency Office of Inspector
General, to be fully offset by collections, as a part of a legislative proposal.
b. H.R. 2577 proposes to fund core NeighborWorks activities at the same level as FY2015, but to reduce
funding for the National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling Program (NFMCP) by $8 million (the President’s
budget had requested a $4 million reduction in FY2016). H.Rept. 114-129 notes that foreclosure filings have
decreased significantly since the NFMCP was first funded in FY2007.
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Author Contact Information

Maggie McCarty
David Randall Peterman
Specialist in Housing Policy
Analyst in Transportation Policy
mmccarty@crs.loc.gov, 7-2163
dpeterman@crs.loc.gov, 7-3267

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Key Policy Staff

Area of Expertise
Name
Phone
Email
Transportation



General DOT funding, passenger rail,
D. Randal Peterman
7-3267
dpeterman@crs.loc.gov
NHTSA, FMCSA, surface transportation
safety and security
Aviation safety, aviation security, Federal
Bart Elias
7-7771
belias@crs.loc.gov
Aviation Administration, National
Transportation Safety Board
Federal Highway Administration, Highway
Robert S. Kirk
7-7769
rkirk@crs.loc.gov
and Airport and Airway Trust Funds, tolling
Federal Railroad Administration, freight
John Frittelli
7-7033
jfrittelli@crs.loc.gov
transportation, Maritime Administration,
Surface Transportation Board
Federal Transit Administration, surface
William J. Mallett
7-2218
wmallett@crs.loc.gov
transportation policy, private investment in
infrastructure
Airport Improvement Program, Essential
Rachel Tang
7-7875
rtang@crs.loc.gov
Air Service, airport and airline issues
Motor vehicle safety, electric and
Bill Canis
7-1568
bcanis@crs.loc.gov
alternative-fuel vehicles and infrastructure
Housing and Urban Development



Public Housing, Section 8 rent assistance,
Maggie McCarty
7-2163
mmccarty@crs.loc.gov
(project-based and vouchers), general HUD
funding
Community Development, including CDBG
Eugene Boyd
7-8689
eboyd@crs.loc.gov
FHA, HOME, Housing Counseling,
Katie Jones
7-4162
kmjones@crs.loc.gov
NAHASDA
Section 202 and Section 811, homelessness
Libby Perl
7-7806
eperl@crs.loc.gov
assistance, including HOPWA
Related Agencies



Neighborhood Reinvestment
Katie Jones
7-4162
kmjones@crs.loc.gov
Corporation/NeighborWorks
Interagency Council on Homelessness
Libby Perl
7-7806
eperl@crs.loc.gov
U.S. Access Board
Alison M. Smith
7-6054
amsmith@crs.loc.gov
Amtrak IG
D. Randal Peterman
7-3267
dpeterman@crs.loc.gov
Federal Maritime Commission
John Frittelli
7-7033
jfrittelli@crs.loc.gov



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