Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies (THUD) Appropriations for FY2020: In Brief

Contents

• FY2020 Appropriations Process
• FY2020 THUD Appropriations Status
• President's Budget
• House Action
• Senate Action
• Department of Transportation
• Selected DOT Issues
• Infrastructure Funding
• Commercial Truck Safety
• California High Speed Rail Project
• Automobile Fuel Economy Standards
• Department of Housing and Urban Development
• Selected HUD Issues
• Grant Funding
• Rental Assistance
• Policy Provisions
• THUD Independent Agencies
• Selected Independent Agencies Issues
• NeighborWorks America
• USICH

The respective 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), the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and certain related agencies. This report describes and tracks action on FY2020 annual appropriations for THUD, including detailed tables for each major agency.

FY2020 Appropriations Process

Appropriations for DOT, HUD, and the related agencies typically funded in the THUD bill happen in the context of the broader annual congressional appropriations process. That process generally begins with the submission of the President's budget request and the adoption of the congressional budget resolution that sets the overall level of spending for that year's appropriations bills. For FY2020, the first step was delayed, and the second step has not occurred.

The President's budget submission for FY2020 was submitted on March 11, 2019, about five weeks after the statutory deadline. The delay was, in part, attributable to extended negotiations over a number of the FY2019 annual appropriations bills (including THUD), during which there was a five-week government shutdown. Ultimately, appropriations for these annual bills were enacted on February 15, 2019, completing FY2019 annual appropriations almost five months after the start of FY2019.

The annual adoption of a congressional budget resolution by its target date of April 15 is meant to provide an opportunity for Congress to consider and agree on an overall budget framework for that year's appropriations bills. For FY2020, the House and Senate have not agreed to a budget resolution.

In the absence of agreement on a budget resolution, on April 9, 2019, the House adopted a deeming resolution for FY2020 (H.Res. 293), which gave the House Appropriations Committee a top-line spending allocation of approximately $1.295 trillion for FY2020. The subcommittee-level 302(b) allocations were revised on June 21, 2019 (H.Rept. 116-124), and included $75.771 billion for THUD.¹

Similarly, on September 9, 2019, the Senate Committee on the Budget published in the Congressional Record its top-line spending allocation of $1.288 trillion for FY2020. On September 26, 2019, in S.Rept. 116-122, the Senate Appropriations Committee published its 302(b) allocations, including $74.3 billion for THUD.

In August 2019, the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2019 (BBA 2019; P.L. 116-37) was enacted. The BBA 2019 set the overall FY2020 statutory spending limit at $1.288 trillion. It set the nondefense spending limit (the limit applicable to THUD funding) at $621.5 billion, an increase of $24.5 billion (+4%) relative to FY2019.

Because the House allocation of $1.295 trillion exceeds amounts available under the statutory discretionary spending limits set in BBA 2019, and because the House and Senate lack agreement on both overall top-line spending levels and the THUD-funding allocation (302(b)), complications may arise as the House and Senate seek to resolve their differences on appropriations.

FY2020 THUD Appropriations Status

President's Budget

The Administration's budget request proposed cutting funding for THUD agencies by 8.6% ($11.3 billion) from their FY2019 levels. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) would have been reduced by 17% (-$7.6 billion), DOT by 4% (-$3.6 billion), and the independent agencies in Title III of the THUD bill by 35% (-$127 million) (see Table 1). The reductions in HUD funding would have come from zeroing out a half-dozen programs, the largest of which was the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, and reducing funding for many more programs. The reductions in DOT funding would have come primarily from reducing funding for highways, new transit lines, and Amtrak. Two independent agencies, the Interagency Council on Homelessness and the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation, are also proposed for significant reductions in the President's Budget request.

House Action

The House Committee on Appropriations reported out H.R. 3163, the THUD FY2020 Appropriations Act, on June 6, 2019 (H.Rept. 116-106). The committee recommended a 6.6% ($4.7 billion) increase in discretionary funding over the comparable FY2019 figure, with most of the increase going to HUD (see Table 1), though that increase is partially offset by a reduction in offsetting receipts from HUD's mortgage insurance programs.

On June 19, 2019, the House Rules Committee approved a rule amending H.R. 3055 by adding the texts of several other appropriations bills, including the FY2020 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Other Independent Agencies (THUD) appropriations (as reported in H.R. 3163) as Division E. That consolidated appropriations bill was passed by the House on June 25, 2019. A number of THUD-related amendments were adopted.

Senate Action

The Senate Committee on Appropriations ordered reported S. 2520, its version of the THUD FY2020 Appropriations Act, on September 19, 2019. The committee recommended a 4.5% ($3.2 billion) increase in discretionary funding over the comparable FY2019 figure. As with the House bill, most of the increase is directed to HUD (see Table 1), though that increase is partially offset by a reduction in offsetting receipts from HUD's mortgage insurance programs.

On October 31, 2019, the Senate passed S.Amdt. 948, the Senate amendment to H.R. 3055, which contained the text of the Senate committee-reported THUD as well as the text of three other appropriations acts. While several THUD-related floor amendments were adopted, none changed funding at the account, agency, or title levels.

Department of Transportation

The committee recommended virtually level funding (an increase of $167 million) for DOT for FY2020, relative to the comparable level for FY2019. The details of the recommended funding can be found in Table 2.

Selected DOT Issues

Infrastructure Funding

The House and Senate bills would provide several boosts above the authorized levels of infrastructure funding. Both would provide $1 billion for the BUILD competitive grant program (not an authorized program); $500 million (House) and $450 million (Senate) for discretionary grants to airports (in addition to the $3.35 billion authorized); $1.75 billion (House) and $2.7 billion (Senate) for highway programs (in addition to the $47 billion authorized amount); $750 million (House) and $560 million (Senate) for transit infrastructure grants; and $700 million (House) and $555 million (Senate) for rail grants. Some of that funding could potentially go to Amtrak's Hudson Tunnel Replacement Project, a project cited as critical by DOT but which has been a source of contention between the Trump Administration and the States of New York and New Jersey.

Commercial Truck Safety

The congressional mandate for heavy trucks to be equipped with electronic logging devices (ELDs) to track the time worked by drivers went into effect at the end of 2017.² ELDs make it harder for drivers to exceed federal-hours-of service limits (which limit the amount of time a driver can drive each day and each week to reduce the risk of truckers driving while fatigued) without detection. The hours-of-service limits were not changed when ELDs became mandatory. However, objections from certain sectors of the trucking industry have led Congress and the President to repeatedly waive enforcement of the ELD mandate with respect to livestock haulers, and to consider amending the hours-of-service rules to provide more flexibility to drivers. These steps have been opposed by safety advocates. The House and Senate bills both include provisions that would extend the waiver for livestock haulers.

California High Speed Rail Project

The Administration announced in February 2019 that it would cancel the remaining $929 million in federal funding for the California High Speed Rail Project after California's new governor announced that the project would be scaled back. The House bill would bar DOT from canceling the funding, or from reallocating the money until any litigation concerning the funding is completed; the Senate bill does not have a similar provision.

Automobile Fuel Economy Standards

The House bill would bar the use of any DOT funding to suspend the higher corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards that are scheduled to go into effect applying to model year 2022-2025 vehicles;³ the Senate bill does not have a similar provision.

Department of Housing and Urban Development

As shown in Table 3, the President's FY2020 budget requested a reduction of 18% relative to FY2019 in gross appropriations available for programs and activities. Conversely, the House bill proposed to provide an increase of 6.9% in gross appropriations for HUD in FY2020 relative to FY2019, and the Senate bill proposed an increase of 4.2%.

Selected HUD Issues

Grant Funding

The President's budget request for FY2020 again included a proposal to eliminate funding for several HUD grant programs that support various affordable housing and community development activities. Most notable among these are HUD's two largest block grant programs for states and localities, CDBG and HOME Investment Partnerships (HOME), as well as competitive grants funded in the Self-Help Homeownership Opportunity Program (SHOP) account (i.e., funding for sweat-equity programs, like Habitat for Humanity, and certain capacity-building programs). The HUD press release accompanying the budget request suggests that the activities funded by these grant programs should be devolved to the state and local levels.⁴

These grant programs were also slated for elimination in the President's FY2018 and FY2019 budget requests, although they were ultimately funded in each of those fiscal years. The House and Senate bills both include funding for each program.

Rental Assistance

Combined, HUD's rental assistance programs (tenant-based rental assistance, public housing, project-based rental assistance, and the Section 202 and Section 811 programs) serve roughly 4.7 million low-income individuals and families. Through the various programs, the federal government provides subsidies to allow families to pay low, income-based rents, generally set at 30% of a family's adjusted income.

The HUD press release accompanying the budget requests contends that the requested funding for the various rental assistance programs would be sufficient to continue to serve all currently assisted households.⁵ However, the President's budget documents assume adoption of a set of rent reforms designed to increase tenant rents and therefore reduce federal subsidies that were proposed in 2018 but have seen no legislative action in Congress.⁶ Neither the House bill nor the Senate bill adopts the proposed rent reforms, and instead each proposes to provide increased funding for each of these programs.

Policy Provisions

The House bill includes a number of new General Provisions to block HUD's implementation of various administrative actions that have been considered controversial.

• Section 234 would block HUD's implementation of a proposed rule to restrict the eligibility of certain families composed of members with varied immigration statuses from receiving housing assistance.⁷
• Section 236 would block HUD from revising or repealing HUD rules related to equal access to housing based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
• Section 237 would codify other HUD guidance related to transgender persons' access to emergency shelters in accordance with gender identity.
• Section 238 would prevent HUD from altering its Annual Contributions Contracts (ACC) used in the public housing program without going through a notice-and-rulemaking process.

The Senate bill does not include most of the provisions in the House bill, but does include several of its own new provisions.

• Section 233, like Section 238 in the House bill, would block HUD's implementation of a new ACC unless mutually agreed upon with PHAs, but would not require notice and comment rulemaking.
• Section 236 would provide additional funding flexibilities to Moving to Work agencies.
• Section 237 would prohibit HUD from restricting Public Housing Authorities (PHAs) under federal receivership or monitoring from applying for lead hazard grant funding.

THUD Independent Agencies

Selected Independent Agencies Issues

NeighborWorks America

Similarly, and as in FY2018 and FY2019, the President's FY2020 budget included a request for legislation to begin the process of winding down federal funding for the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation (commonly known as NeighborWorks America), which was created via federal charter in 1978 to support affordable housing and neighborhood revitalization nationwide. The requested funding level of $27 million is intended to cover personnel, administrative, and other costs associated with winding down existing commitments. The House bill proposes to increase funding for NeighborWorks America relative to FY2019 and the Senate bill would maintain level funding, at $152 million.

USICH

As in FY2018 and FY2019, the President's FY2020 budget requested legislation to begin the process of winding down the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH), which was created in 1987 to coordinate across government agencies to reduce and end homelessness. The requested funding level was intended to cover salaries, benefits, and operational costs for permanently closing the agency. The USICH has a statutory sunset date—currently, October 1, 2028—that has generally been extended in annual appropriations acts. Both the House and Senate committee-passed bills propose to increase funding for USICH. The FY2019 appropriation level for USICH was $3.6 million. The House bill would increase funding to $4.1 million and the Senate bill to $3.7 million.

Author Contact Information

Footnotes

1.	302(b) allocations refer to the division of the overall spending allocation among the appropriation subcommittees.
2.	Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, "Final Rule: Electronic Logging Devices," 80 FR 78292, December 16, 2015, https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2015-12-16/pdf/2015-31336.pdf.
3.	See CRS In Focus IF10871, Vehicle Fuel Economy and Greenhouse Gas Standards, for more information.
4.	HUD, "Trump Administration Proposes 2020 HUD Budget: Spending plan preserves rental subsidies; increases homeless assistance and healthy housing," press release, March 11, 2019, https://www.hud.gov/press/press_releases_media_advisories/HUD_No_19_027.
5.	Ibid.
6.	See HUD FY2020 Congressional Budget Justifications, "Overview of Rental Assistance Programs," available at https://www.hud.gov/sites/dfiles/CFO/documents/2020CJ-OverviewOfRentalAssistancePrograms.pdf.
7.	For more information, see CRS Insight IN11121, HUD's Proposal to End Assistance to Mixed Status Families.