Sixteen Senators joined a letter led by Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) to Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies leadership requesting inclusion of $30 million for housing-based models of care through the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) to expand or adapt evidence-based, existing population health models serving older adults and adults with disabilities in the FY24 Labor-H spending bill. Senator Sanders is the Chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.

“This request aims to further President Biden’s goal of increasing access to mental and physical health care services, bringing down medical costs for low- and moderate-income Americans, and creating greater health care equity,” the letter says. Read the letter here.

On April 6, Senator Robert Menendez sent a letter in support of strong funding for HUD’s Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly program to Senate Appropriations Committee leadership. The letter garnered sign-ons from 41 Senators, the most ever to join this annual letter.

“We respectfully request: full funding for contract renewals for the Section 202 Housing for the Elderly program and an additional $600 million for capital advances and operating subsidies for new 202 homes to keep up with existing and increasing need,” the letter says.

Read the full bulletin.

In a letter coordinated by LeadingAge, 40 national organizations urged House and Senate appropriators to fully fund housing renewals and expand the supply of affordable senior housing in HUD’s FY24 funding bill.

“We urge Congress not to stray from its commitment for full and timely renewal funding for the 1.9 million older adult households currently assisted by HUD’s Project-Based Rental Assistance, Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly, Public Housing, and Housing Choice Vouchers programs. Meeting funding needs for the uninterrupted provision of quality affordable housing for currently assisted residents is of utmost importance,” the March 31 letter says. “We urge Congress to expand the supply of housing affordable to older adults with very low incomes by providing $600 million for new capital grants and operating subsidies for approximately 5,400 new Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly homes.”

Contemplated House cuts to domestic discretionary programs in fiscal year 2024 would equate to a “five-alarm fire” for older adults, the White House said on March 23. “By suggesting cuts that would rob a million older adults of nutrition services, deny thousands of seniors access to paid work opportunities, and put seniors across the country at risk of homelessness, the Republican proposal shows that they are willing to turn their backs on this vulnerable portion of our population at a time when they need the support the most,” a March 23 press release from Appropriations Democrats says.

Read the bulletin for more details.

House Committee on Financial Services Ranking Member Maxine Waters (D-CA) is circulating an FY24 appropriations letter to her House colleagues. The letter requests investments in Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) rental assistance programs and is addressed to House Committee on Appropriations leadership. Affordable senior housing advocates and stakeholders are urged to ask their U.S. Representatives to join the letter by March 27.

“Older adults with such severe housing cost burdens spend significantly less on basic necessities like health care and food than their peers without housing cost burdens and may even be pushed into homelessness. In fact, according to LeadingAge, between 2007 and 2017, the rate of homelessness among individuals 62 and older nearly doubled from 4.1% to 8%,” the letter says.

Read the bulletin for more details.

U.S. Senate offices have until April 3 to join a letter to the Chair and Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and related agencies for strong Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly funding in FY24. LeadingAge is grateful to Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) for his leadership of the letter.

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On March 20, Chair DeLauro published the full suite of responses from Administration departments and agencies, including the response from HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge. In response to a proposal by a majority of House Republicans to cut discretionary spending for FY24 back to FY22 levels, House Committee on Appropriations Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro asked every agency what such a rollback to FY22 funding levels or to a cut of 22% compared to FY23 levels would mean for programs they administer.

Read more in the full article.

On March 13, the White House released appendices and tables to accompany with the fiscal year 2024 budget request overview delivered to Congress on March 9. For housing programs, the new documents provide detail on the Administration’s request. Overall, the request seeks $73.3 billion for HUD, approximately $1.1 billion more than the 2023 enacted funding level.

Read the full article.

LeadingAge policy team gives a comprehensive overview of the proposed budget and how it impacts affordable housing.

“The President’s 2024 Budget directly supports this historic Administration’s goal of building a better America for all. For those of us at HUD, that means addressing homelessness with urgency and ensuring everyone in this country has access to quality affordable housing,” HUD Secretary Marcia L. Fudge said in a March 9 statement.

Read the full article.