Federal Policy Update:

2014 Capitol Hill Day

Capitol Hill Day Materials:http://www.endhomelessness.org/library/entry/capitol-hill-day-2014

Introductory Logistics

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Today’s Agenda • Introduction• Federal Policy Overview and

Outlook• Capitol Hill Day Logistics and

Policy Overview• Policy Priorities: Update, Talking

Points, Action Needed• Questions

Federal Policy: Overview and Outlook

• Appropriations Bills moved quickly, then stalled – Not likely going anywhere in the next two

weeks before August Recess– Could be stalled until after elections

• Bills overall, especially HUD bills, are weak – Senate bill is slightly better than House,

but both are bad • HHS bills haven’t moved forward • VA bills okay, could be better

Hill Day Logistics • Capitol Hill Day is Thursday, July 31!

• Thank you State Captains for organizing Hill Day!

• Contact Grant Sims, (gsims@naeh.org/ 202-942-8257) for info about participating in congressional visits.

Hill Day Logistics

• Check in: Advocacy Information Table (across from Registration)– Get your Capitol Hill Day packet and

materials– Find out when your state’s prep session

is• Meeting for all State Captains – 8 am

Wednesday• Congressional meetings mostly

Thursday afternoon

Capitol Hill Day Policy Agenda

• Reflects critical issues being considered AS WE SPEAK

• Issues we can impact at the time of the conference

• Prioritize issues for each meeting more progress– Alliance can help you decide which

issue(s) to focus on with each Member of Congress

Policy Priority Updates

Appropriations: VALatest Update:• FY 2014 level: $1.4 bill • Admin: $1.6 billion • Full House approved FLAT FUNDING on April 30 • Senate Appropriations Committee improved upon

VA’s proposal by $41 million

Talking Points:• Need • Continue progress• Cost-effectiveness• Community partnerships

Appropriations: VA Programs

Provide $1.641 billion for homeless veteran programs within VA, including:• $500 million for Supportive

Services for Veteran Families (SSVF);• $253 million for Grant and Per

Diem; and• $374 million for HUD-VASH case

management (significant increase).

Appropriations: McKinney

Provide $2.405 billion for HUD’s McKinney-Vento programs

Latest Update:• Final FY 2014 Level: $2.105 billion• Administration: Requested $2.406

billion• Full House: $2.105 B (flat funding)• Senate Appropriations Committee:

$2.145 B

Appropriations: McKinneyWhat will these funding levels do?

• $2.105 billion – House – No money for new projects– Won’t cover all FY 2014 renewals – will

lead to CUTS in the next NOFA, and absolutely no money for new projects

– At least $200 million for ESG • $2.145 billion – Senate

– No money for new projects– Likely to cover FY 2014 renewals, though

estimates are rough – At least $200 million for ESG

Appropriations: McKinneyTalking Points• These programs work!

– Focus on outcomes and impact on homelessness• Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH)• Rapid Re-Housing and Prevention

• Still seeing increased need– This is likely to get worse as FY 2013

NOFA cuts are implemented • Will provide sufficient funding to help

us meet the 2016 goal of ending chronic homelessness

RHYA Program• Update:

– President’s Request: $114 million for RHYA plus $2 million for study

– House and Senate Appropriations: no bills yet

• Request:– Alliance and National Network for Youth

Request: $140 million for RHYA, including dedicated funding for prevalence & incidence study

RHYA Appropriations

• Action Steps:– Let Members of Congress know about

how homeless youth in your community are impacted by lack of targeted youth resources.

– Request funding at $140 million, including $2 million for incidence and prevalence study

RHYA Appropriations

• Talking Points:– Demand for Services Greatly Exceeds Supply– RHYA Is An Effective Program – Youth Without Services Are Highly Vulnerable– RHYA can Help Youth Avoid Long-Term

Homelessness, System Involvement, and Victimization

– Accurate Data from Incidence and Prevalence Study Required to Ensure Congress and Localities Right-Size and Target Interventions to Meet Needs

Housing Choice Vouchers aka Section 8

• Status – Sequestration downsized the program, last year’s FY 2014 bill got back some but not nearly all of the lost capacity.

• HUD-VASH – a different story, all good news there, 10,000 more vouchers in all proposals, probably enough to end veterans homelessness given other developments

• Administration request – $20.045 billion• House bill – $19.357 billion• Senate bill – $19.562 billion

Housing Choice Vouchers aka Section 8

• Upshot – outside of HUD-VASH, House and maybe Senate bills go backward compared to FY 2014

• Best case scenario for Senate bill is that if PHA payments to landlords don’t go up, we might keep the number of families housed at FY 2014 levels

Housing Choice Vouchers aka Section 8

Our goals:1. Make sure there’s enough money to

fund the 10,000 HUD VASH vouchers and the number of other vouchers that were funded in FY 14 (Administration’s request).

2. Make further progress at undoing the damage caused by sequestration, through new vouchers targeted at highest-need households.

NLIHC Trust Fund OverviewEd Gramlich, Special Advisor

Sham Manglik, Senior Policy AnalystJuly 22, 2014

National Housing Trust Fund- Housing Finance Reform

• House Ask: Support the percentage (75%) of funding going to the National Housing Trust Fund in the draft Housing Opportunities Move the Economy (HOME) Forward Act sponsored by House Financial Services Committee Ranking Member Maxine Waters (D-CA), and in H.R. 5055, the Partnership to Strengthen Homeownership Act, sponsored by Representatives John Delaney (D-MD), John Carney (D-DE), and Jim Himes (D-CT).

• Senate Ask: Support the percentage (75%) of funding going to the National Housing Trust Fund in the Housing Finance Reform and Taxpayer Protection Act of 2014 sponsored by Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Chair Tim Johnson (D-SD) and Ranking Member Mike Crapo (R-ID)

www.nlihc.org

National Housing Trust Fund- Tax Reform

• House Ask: Co-sponsor H.R. 1213, the Common Sense Housing Investment Act sponsored by Representative Keith Ellison (D-MN).

• Senate Ask: Support the United for Homes campaign’s proposed changes to the mortgage interest deduction in comprehensive tax reform legislation.

www.nlihc.org

National Housing Trust Fund- Tax Reform

• The United for Homes campaign has proposed two key changes to the mortgage interest deduction: – (1) lowering the cap on the size of a

mortgage for which a household can get a tax break from $1 million to $500,000 and

– (2) converting the deduction to a 15% nonrefundable credit. These two changes, phased in over 10 years, would raise $230 billion that should be applied to the NHTF.

www.nlihc.org

Other Policy Issues• Budget and Appropriations• Extending the Federal Protecting

Tenants at Foreclosure Act

www.nlihc.org

Contact NLIHC

Sham ManglikSenior Policy Analyst

sham@nlihc.org202.662.1530 x 243

-----Ed Gramlich ed@nlihc.org

202.662.1530 ext 314www.nlihc.org

Call to Action! • Not a year for business as usual• The Administration has backed Opening

Doors, and under that plan this year is the time to finish the job of funding work to end veterans homelessness, and chronic homelessness

• Congress needs to put the money on the table to finish the job

• They won’t do it unless they hear from constituents that it’s important, and that the money will make good things happen.

Capitol Hill Day Materials:http://www.endhomelessness.org/library/entry/capitol-hill-day-2014

For more information, contact:

Kate Seif: cseif@naeh.org / 202-942-8256Julie Klein: jklein@naeh.org / 202.942.8281Grant Sims: gsims@naeh.org / 202.942.8257