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With funding for the federal government due to run out by Friday, December 16, appropriations committee and senior House and Senate negotiators have yet to reach agreement on whether another short-term continuing resolution (CR), year-long CR, or a final agreed-upon omnibus appropriations bill will keep the government funded. As of this writing, all parties agree that a government shutdown is not an option. The major points of disagreement center around a $26 billion dispute between defense and non-defense related programs, with defense proponents claiming non-defense programs should receive less funds in the FY23 appropriations bill due to the increased funding non-defense programs received in the Inflation Reduction Act earlier in the year. While some negotiators claim they are close to reaching agreement on the appropriations bill, most agree that an extension of the December 16 deadline will be required in order to complete action on the bill. December 23 is being floated as the next possible end date for a short-term CR needed to complete action on the FY23 bill. For housing authorities, HUD has shared its plans to advance Housing Assistance Payments (HAP) and Public Housing Operating Funds (OpFund) in preparation for a short-term CR. By December 16, HUD will obligate January and February HAP and OpFunds. This means that in January and February 2023, PHAs will receive HAP disbursements as normal and can draw down OpFunds at the beginning of each month. HUD has also noted that PHAs may expect lower-than-average OpFunds in March and April as HUD is making a couple extra weeks of funding available in December. HUD intends to publish funding obligation notices to their website, which will provide greater detail on funding obligations made on December 16. CLPHA will keep members updated on developments related to FY23 appropriations and resulting HAP and OpFund disbursement. |
Date Published:
December 12th, 2022