The Obama administration has released its fiscal year (FY) 2016 budget proposal, which will now be considered and debated by the U.S. Congress.
We are thoroughly examining this 1,300-page federal budget blueprint to assess its full impact on supportive housing and individuals and families experiencing homelessness and unstable housing.
In recent years, the administration proposed significant increases for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Grants and other programs helping vulnerable populations.
We applaud some important highlights from the president's proposal released yesterday:
- Commits to ending homelessness and increasing affordable housing: The proposed FY2016 budget asks Congress to provide $177.5 million Special Purpose Vouchers that target homeless families, victims of domestic violence, veterans, tribal families experiencing homelessness, families engaged with the child welfare system and youth aging out of the foster care system. Further, the budget asks for an additional $277 million to restore vouchers lost due to sequestration. The budget proposal increases funding for McKinney-Vento Homelessness Assistance to $2.4 billion for contract renewals, new supportive housing for chronically homeless and emergency solutions.
Temporary relief from strict spending caps imposed by the Budget Control Act of 2011 (sequestration) is now expiring, so we are facing a particularly difficult fiscal year and budget negotiations.
We need to join together to persuade Congress to fund programs that end homelessness, create more supportive housing, and increase the overall supply of affordable housing for all Americans.
