The Trump Administration on Tuesday announced its 2018 proposed budget for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), scaling back funding to the agency approximately 13 percent to $40.68 billion.
The proposed budget preserves rental assistance for 4.5 million low-income households, but recommends reforms to the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV), Housing for the Elderly (Section 202) and Housing for Persons With Disabilities (Section 811) programs, and Project-Based Rental Assistance (PBRA) and the Public Housing Operating/Capital Fund. The budget suggests eliminating the statutory limit on the amount of public housing units that can participate in Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD), as well as opening up RAD eligibility to senior housing developments participating in the Section 202 program.
The budget also aims to cease at the federal level the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, as well as the Choice Neighborhood’s Initiative, HOME Investment Partnerships program and the Self-Help Opportunity program (SHOP), assigning oversight instead at the state and local levels; and $130 million allocated to address lead hazards.
The budget, in addition, allows for up to $400 billion in new loan guarantee authority, and reinforces the Federal Housing Administration’s (FHA) Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) program with a $30 million “administrative fee” to update the agency’s systems.
The budget’s proposed policies would “serve as a starting point as HUD works to modernize an outdated and complex support system,” according to a release on the announcement.
“This budget reflects this Administration’s commitment to fiscal responsibility while continuing HUD’s core support of our most vulnerable households,” said HUD Secretary Ben Carson in a statement. “We will work very closely with Congress to support the critical work of our agency as we vigorously pursue new approaches to help work-eligible households achieve self-sufficiency.”
The provisions of the proposed budget are in line with an outline released by the Administration in March.
View the proposed budget in the full.Â
Source: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
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