ACTION ALERT: Urge Congress to Protect and Expand Affordable Senior Housing Funding
Following a Sept. 12th release from the White House outlining the damaging impacts of the U.S. House appropriations bills for Fiscal Year 2024 (FY 2024), LeadingAge National is once again urging stakeholders to continue their advocacy for affordable housing programs and the older adults they serve.
Earlier this year, as part of an agreement to raise the federal debt ceiling, the White House, Senate, and House agreed on overall FY 2024 spending caps. The Senate proceeded to write its 12 appropriations bills under the confines of those caps, plus a last-minute $14 billion addition. However, the House wrote its bills at levels far below the agreed-upon threshold.
- Altogether, the bills proposed by the Senate and House are about $70 billion apart in total funding. According to the Sept. 12th release from the White House, the bills proposed by the House would result in:
- the elimination of 20,000 Housing Choice Vouchers, including 6,000 used by older adults, through the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD);
- half a million fewer people receiving job training and employment services through the Department of Labor (DOL); and
- the elimination of funding for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), which would end long-COVID research and delay other priority health services research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
With the House and Senate bills miles apart, a continuing resolution (CR) will be necessary to keep federal programs funded past the Oct. 1st start of FY 2024 and avoid a government shutdown. LeadingAge National has joined a coalition of 680 local, state, and national organizations in sending a letter to every member of the House and Senate urging passage of a clean, bipartisan CR, including emergency funding to support current services and address urgent needs. “Shutdowns harm our nation’s overall economy, the financial security of individuals and families, government efficiency, and the public’s access to needed services,” the letter states. “A shutdown would put the nation’s economy at risk, delay or interrupt services to millions, and disrupt the jobs of over a million workers, making it harder for people to put food on the table, a roof over their heads, and stay safe and healthy.”
Simultaneously, and as the Senate considers its version of the FY 2024 HUD bill with expected bipartisan support, LeadingAge National notes that it will be critical for stakeholders to continue to advocate with their members of Congress to protect and expand affordable senior housing in the final appropriations agreement. Click here to contact your members of Congress today.
Contact: Annalyse Komoroske Denio, akomoroskedenio@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8866