On Thursday, March 10, Congress passed a $1.5 trillion omnibus spending bill after months of negotiation amongst lawmakers in both the House and the Senate. If signed by President Biden this week as expected, the bill will significantly increase the funding for the federal senior housing program to a degree not experienced by HUD since fiscal year 2010.
In its 2,700 pages, H.R. 2471 provides financing for a number of matters, including billions in relief aid to the country of Ukraine, as well as extensions for telehealth policies and other general health care provisions as the pandemic enters into its third year.
In addition to funding efforts relating to these current affairs, the bill also provides discretionary funding for all federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”). Specifically, the bill will deliver gross appropriations of $65.7 billion for HUD’s affordable housing programs, which is a nearly 9% increase from appropriations provided in 2021.
Most notably, the bill provides for funding and improvements for housing efforts under the Section 202 Housing Program, such as (i) capital advances, (ii) senior preservation Project Rental Assistance Contracts, including renewals for existing Section 202 Project Rental Assistance Contracts, (iii) funding for existing services coordinators, and (iv) improvement of broadband access that could prove valuable for rural HUD households and facilities.
The impending financial assistance comes to the affordable senior housing community at an ideal time, as the United States continues to experience a remarkably fast growth rate of its citizens over the age of 65 (a rate that is currently on pace to nearly double by the year 2050).
If you have additional questions or would like to discuss HUD Loan procurement or development strategies concerning senior housing and assisted living facilities, please contact:
- Danielle Bergner at dbergner@hallrender.com or (414) 721-0913;
- Andrew Dick at adick@hallrender.com or (317) 977-1491; or
- Your primary Hall Render contact.
Hall Render blog posts and articles are intended for informational purposes only. For ethical reasons, Hall Render attorneys cannot—outside of an attorney-client relationship—answer specific questions that would be legal advice.
