November 2, 2015

A message from the HOME Coalition:

Last week, Congress voted to raise the very low spending caps required by the Budget Control Act of 2011. In the next few days, President Obama is expected to sign the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 into law.

While the budget deal does not guarantee that HOME funding will be restored, it does represents a critical first step. Right now, the House and Senate Appropriations Committees are in the process of deciding how to divvy up the additional spending from the budget agreement among the 12 Appropriations Subcommittees–including the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (THUD) Subcommittee. Over the next couple of weeks, these Subcommittees will then negotiate new funding levels for each specific program, including HOME.

Now is the time for HOME supporters to make their voices heard by:

1. Calling your Representatives and Senators to deliver a clear, unified message. Tell them:”We need a budget that works for our communities. Please work to ensure that affordable housing and community development programs in the THUD bill receive the highest allocation possible and that HOME funding is restored to $1.06 billion.”
2. Sharing the National HOME Sign-On Letter with as many organizations, local governments, and advocates as possible before the November 9 deadline.

Without additional funding, HOME will be deeply cut–or even essentially eliminated. According to the HOME Coalition’s new report, the Senate Appropriations Committee’s proposed cuts to HOME would result in 36,000 fewer affordable homes, 36,000 fewer jobs, and $2.3 billion in less local economic activity. The report also includes information on HOME’s impact in all 50 states and more than 100 HOME Success Stories.

For more information, check out the HOME Coalition website or read Enterprise’s recent blog post on how you can help #SaveHOME.

Thank you for your advocacy.