Benjamin Miksch, State and Federal Policy Associate

It’s February 6, and we once again find ourselves about a month away from falling off the latest iteration of the fiscal cliff. Sequestration, which was delayed until March 1, continues to loom over us threatening severe cuts to programs that serve homeless and low-income Americans. Unlike the last time, however, the general consensus is that Congress won’t act in time to avert sequestration before it begins.

The New Year budget deal paid for two months of sequestration, which means the automatic, across-the-board cuts slated for March 1 won’t be quite as bad as they would have been if sequestration had begun on January 1. Unfortunately, the planned cuts still look rather grim.

DC-based nonpartisan research institute Center on Budget and Policy Priorities crunched the numbers for state-by-state sequestration cuts for major HUD programs. According to their estimates, should March 1 come around with no action from Congress, this Washington would see the following cuts begin:

• CDBG Formula Grants: -$2,490,349
• HOME: -$1,010,135
• Native American Housing Grants: -$1,871,511
• Public Housing: $3,213,466
• Homeless Assistance Grants: -$2,327,564
• Housing Opportunities for Persons With Aids: -$129,692

In addition, funding equivalent to 2,510 Housing Choice Vouchers would disappear.

Image

Sequestration isn’t the only thing we’ve got looming on the horizon. On March 27, the current budget for the federal government also expires. Then on May 19, the debt ceiling suspension expires (the debt ceiling issue was sidestepped, more or less, with the passage of the No Budget, No Pay Act on January 23).

For easy reference, here’s a list of the upcoming federal budget deadlines coming up:

Image

This Tuesday, President Obama once again asked Congress to pass a package of targeted spending cuts and tax changes in order to delay the automatic cuts for a few more months while Congress continues to hammer out a broad budget package that will finally settle these debates. Throughout this process, it is imperative that we continue to stay vigilant and keep telling Congress to protect the programs that low-income and homeless people depend upon. A great place to start is to sign onto the Coalition of Human Needs letter telling Congress to prevent the harmful cuts due to start in March. You can sign that letter here.

These debates at the federal level are also directly linked to the debates we’re having in Olympia. With federal support at risk, state funding for programs such as the Housing Trust Fund and Housing and Essential Needs/Disability Lifeline program become all the more important. The best way to deliver this message, of course, is in-person on Housing and Homelessness Advocacy Day this Monday. Register today!

There are a few other links that are worth looking at if you’d like to learn more. The Center on Budget Policy and Priorities has a blog post detailing how the March 1 Sequester would split cuts between Defense and Non-defense spending.

Senator Patty Murray, Chair of the Budget Committee, wrote a memo to her senate colleagues outlining where we stand heading toward the upcoming budget cliffs and where we need to go to find a budget resolution. Read it here.