Yesterday the Senate version of the 2016 HUD appropriations bill took another step forward. It was passed by the full Senate Committee on Appropriations, apparently with no changes to the amounts for the public housing and housing choice voucher (HCV) programs approved on Tuesday by the Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies. The text of the bill is not yet available, but a press release issued by the Senate Appropriations Committee does not mention any amendments. The vote was 20–10.
Notably, the bill proposes to expand the Moving to Work (MTW) program by 300 additional housing authorities, a huge increase over the 39 agencies that currently participate. It also cuts funding for the HOME program by 93 percent, effectively eliminating it from the 2016 budget.
