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August 2, 2024 The compare and contrast edition. This week, the Senate Appropriations Committee all but completed marking up its 12 appropriations bills – it has one left to go (Homeland Security), which they plan to finish when members return after the August recess. House appropriators completed their 12 mark-ups last month, but their bills are going nowhere fast. In this issue of Human Needs Watch, we compare and contrast the two approaches to funding government over the next fiscal year. One approach is lean, but bipartisan and forward-thinking on many fronts. Scroll down, and you’ll see the differences between the two approaches in funding affordable housing, the Census Bureau, domestic violence programs, home energy assistance, education, workers’ rights, early learning, child care, and Head Start, and funding for the IRS to pursue tax cheats and continue customer service improvements. Stay tuned. It’s going to be an important funding showdown.
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>10% |
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Senate appropriators approved $78.2 billion for HUD’s vital affordable housing, homelessness, and community development programs – a more than 10% increase from the previous fiscal year. Retweet this. |
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-548,200 |
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By contrast, House appropriators cut HUD funding by $2.3 billion from the previous fiscal year. Cuts include a 60% decrease in funds for new affordable rental and home ownership housing construction via the HOME program. An estimated 548,200 people would be impacted by the reduction of Housing Choice Vouchers. Retweet this. |
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+$100 million +$15 million |
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Senate appropriators approved $4.125 billion for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), a $100 million increase over the previous year, to help low-income people heat and cool their homes. By contrast, House appropriators increased LIHEAP’s budget by only $15 million. The National Energy Assistance Directors Association (NEADA) has requested $7 billion given rising heating and cooling costs. Retweet this. |
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+$26.5 million -$46 million |
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Senate appropriators approved $739.5 million for grants provided by the Office on Violence Against Women, a $26.5 million increase over the previous year and the highest funding level ever. By contrast, House appropriators cut funding for Violence Against Women grants by $46 million. Retweet this. |
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+$195 million -2% |
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Senate appropriators approved $1.58 billion for the Census Bureau – a $195 million increase over the previous year. By contrast, House appropriators cut funding by 2% and included two poison pill riders: one would, in violation of the U.S. Constitution, forbid including non-citizens in reapportionment and one would limit Bureau efforts to secure responses so severely that it would result in the decennial Census and the American Community Survey (ACS) counting barely a third of the country. Retweet this. |
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For the full report, click here.
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