Transportation, Housing and Urban
Development, and Related Agencies (THUD)
Appropriations for FY2019: In Brief

February 4, 2019
Congressional Research Service
https://crsreports.congress.gov
R45487

THUD Appropriations for FY2019: In Brief

he House and the Senate Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related
Agencies (THUD) appropriations subcommittees are charged with providing annual
T appropriations for the Department of Transportation (DOT), the Department of Housing
and Urban Development (HUD), and certain related agencies.
Final FY2019 THUD appropriations have not been enacted. Instead, DOT, HUD, and the related
agencies that are funded in the annual THUD appropriations act are currently funded under a
continuing resolution (CR) through February 15, 2019 (H.J.Res. 28; P.L. 116-5). The CR
generally funds THUD programs and activities at FY2018 levels. Prior to enactment of the CR on
January 25, 2019, funding had lapsed for THUD and six other annual appropriations acts,
resulting in a partial government shutdown beginning December 22, 2019 (see text box).
FY2019 Funding Lapse
As a result of a funding lapse, portions of the operations of the departments and agencies funded under THUD,
along with those generally funded under six other annual appropriations acts, were suspended for 35 days, ending
late on January 25, 2019. In some cases, operations were simply suspended, and employees were furloughed
without pay. In other cases, operations continued for reasons such as they were considered essential for
protection of life or property, or because an agency had funding available to continue operations. Agency
contingency plans, posted on the website of the Office of Management and Budget (https://www.whitehouse.gov/
omb/information-for-agencies/agency-contingency-plans/), provided information about how agencies planned to
handle a lapse in appropriations. In some cases, those plans were updated over the course of the funding lapse to
reflect changes in policy or operations; in other cases they were not.
Department of Transportation
A portion of DOT funding comes from contract authority, a type of mandatory funding that is provided in
authorizing laws rather than through the annual appropriations process. Thus, certain offices in DOT were funded
and continued to operate during the appropriations funding lapse. Other offices were operating, at least in part,
due to having responsibilities related to protection of life and safety issues.
Department of Housing and Urban Development
According to HUD’s contingency plan dated 2018, during a funding lapse the majority of agency staff would be
furloughed and operations would be suspended. However, the plan states that the operations of the Federal
Housing Administration (FHA) related to insuring single family mortgages largely would continue unaffected. The
plan further states that HUD’s rental assistance programs, which serve roughly 5 million low-income families,
would continue to receive funding for as long as the agency is able to identify available resources. Agency
statements during the FY2019 funding lapse indicated funding would be available to provide federal payments
through February, with the exception of expiring project-based rental assistance contracts.

FY2019 Appropriations Actions
Tracing the status of the FY2019 THUD appropriation bill can be confusing because the process
spans two Congresses (the 2nd session of the 115th Congress and the 1st session of the 116th
Congress), and because more than one full-year FY2019 THUD bill has been passed by the
House of Representatives in the 116th Congress. While the bills that were under consideration
during the 115th Congress died with the end of that Congress, they may inform 116th
congressional action. For example, the Explanatory Statement for one of the bills passed by the
House (H.R. 648, 116th Congress) directs that:
Unless otherwise noted, the language and allocations set forth in the House report (H.Rept.
115-750) and the Senate report (S.Rept. 115-268) carry the same weight as language
included in this statement and should be complied with unless specifically addressed to the
contrary in this division or statement. House report language and Senate report language,
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THUD Appropriations for FY2019: In Brief

neither of which is changed by this statement, is a result of the 2019 appropriations
agreement. (Explanatory Statement accompanying H.R. 648).
Overview of Major Actions
Actions Occurring During the 115th Congress
 On February 12, 2018, President Trump released his FY2019 budget request to
Congress.
 On March 23, 2018, final FY2018 appropriations for THUD were enacted as a
part of a FY2018 omnibus appropriations act (P.L. 115-114).
 On May 23, 2018, the House Appropriations Committee approved its FY2019
THUD appropriations bill (H.R. 6072; H.Rept. 115-750). This bill was not
considered by the full House before the end of the 115th Congress.
 On June 7, 2018, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved its FY2019
THUD appropriations bill (S. 3023; S.Rept. 115-268).
 On August 1, 2018, the text of S. 3023, as reported, was incorporated as Division
D into an amended version of H.R. 6147 (a House-passed bill that combined the
texts of the Interior-Environment and Financial Services-General Government
appropriations bills) and was passed by the full Senate. House and Senate
conferees for H.R. 6147 were announced on September 6, 2018.
 On September 28, 2018, a CR through December 7, 2018, was enacted as part of
a consolidated full-year Defense and Labor, Health and Human Services, and
Education spending bill (P.L. 115-245, Division C). The CR covered the agencies
and activities generally funded under seven regular FY2019 appropriations bills
that had not been enacted before the end of the fiscal year, including THUD.
 On December 7, 2018, the previous CR was extended through December 21,
2018 (P.L. 115-298).
 No further funding action was completed before the expiration of the CR on
December 21, 2018, and a funding lapse affecting the unfunded portions of the
federal government, including those generally funded by the THUD bill,
commenced on December 22, 2018.
Actions Occurring During the 116th Congress
 Following the start of the 116th Congress and during the funding lapse, the House
passed several full-year THUD funding bills, none of which have been taken up
in the Senate. These include the following:
 H.R. 21, an omnibus funding bill, which included THUD language identical
to that which had passed the Senate in the 115th Congress in H.R. 6147;
 H.R. 267, a standalone THUD bill, again containing language identical to the
115th Congress Senate-passed THUD language; and
 H.R. 648, an omnibus funding bill containing language characterized by the
Chairwoman of the House Appropriations Committee as reflecting House-
Senate conference negotiations on H.R. 6147 from the 115th Congress.
 On January 16, 2019, the House passed H.R. 268, a supplemental appropriations
bill. As passed by the House, the bill would provide supplemental appropriations
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to DOT and HUD (as well as other agencies) in response to the major disasters of
2018. The bill also contained CR provisions to extend regular appropriations
through February 8 for agencies and programs affected by the funding lapse.
 On January 24, 2019, the Senate considered H.R. 268, the supplemental
appropriations bill that previously passed the House. One amendment, S.Amdt. 5
offered by Senator Shelby, included additional funding for border security, as
well as full-year appropriations for those agencies affected by the funding lapse.
The THUD provisions in Division G were identical to those that had passed the
Senate in the 115th Congress in H.R. 6147. The Senate voted not to invoke
cloture on S.Amdt. 5 on January 24, 2019, and no subsequent action has occurred
with regard to this amendment as of the date of this report.
 Late on January 25, 2019, a CR (H.J.Res. 28; P.L. 116-5) was enacted, providing
funding for THUD and the six other funding acts that have not received full-year
funding, through February 15, 2019.
Table 1 provides an overview of funding levels under each of the relevant appropriations bills.
Table 1. THUD Appropriations, FY2018-FY2019
(in billions of dollars)
FY2019
FY2019
FY2019
FY2019
House
House
FY2018
FY2019
House
FY2019
House
(H.R.
(H.R.
FY2019
Title
Enacted
Request
Cmte.
Senate
(H.R. 21)
267)
648)
Enacted

115th Congress
116th Congress
Title I:
$27.3
$16.1
$27.8
$26.6
$26.6
$26.6
$26.5

Transportation
Title II: Housing and
$42.7
$31.7
$43.7
$44.5
$44.5
$44.5
$44.2

Urban Development
Title III: Related
$0.3
$0.2
$0.4
$0.4
$0.4
$0.4
$0.4

Agencies
Title IV: General
a
–
–
Provisions

–
–
–
a

Total:
Discretionary
$70.3
$48.0
$71.8
$71.4
$71.4
$71.4
$71.1

Budget Authority
Total:
Budgetary
Resources (inc.
$129.2
$108.0
$131.8
$131.4
$131.4
$131.4
$131.1

mandatory
funding)b
Source: Table prepared by CRS based on P.L. 115-141, and accompanying Explanatory Statement, as published
in the Congressional Record, March 22, 2018, beginning on p. H2872; HUD FY2019 Congressional Budget
Justifications; H.R. 6072 (115th Congress) and H.Rept. 115-750; S. 3023 (115th Congress) and S.Rept. 115-268;
H.R. 6147 (115th Congress); H.R. 21; H.R. 267; and H.R. 648 and Explanatory Statement as published in the
Congressional Record, January 18, 2019, beginning on p. H927.
Notes: Excludes emergency funding. Totals may not sum due to rounding.
a. Amount rounds to less than $100 million.
b. More than half of DOT’s budget comes from contract authority, a form of mandatory funding.
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THUD Appropriations for FY2019: In Brief

Author Information

Maggie McCarty
David Randall Peterman
Specialist in Housing Policy
Analyst in Transportation Policy

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