National Housing Law Project Housing Law Bulletin

Both the House and Senate have now adopted Fiscal Year 1999 funding levels for the Department of Agriculture. The House passed its measure on June 24,¹ and the bill includes $4.939 billion for the Rural Housing Service, an increase of $105 million over the FY 1998-enacted level of $4.834 billion. The Senate completed action on July 16.²

The House consolidated several programs under Rural Housing Assistance Grants, including very low-income housing repair grants and farm labor housing, among others. The former are grants to very low-income families to make needed repairs in order to make their homes safe and sanitary and to remove health-threatening hazards. The latter fund public or private nonprofits or other eligible organizations for low-rent housing and related facilities for domestic farm labor.

Next Steps

As the Bulletin went to press, the Senate had named conferees. The House has yet to name its conferees. Whether the bills will be reconciled before or after the August recess remains unclear.

¹  H.R. 4101, Making Appropriations for Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Programs for the Fiscal Year Ending September 30, 1999, and for Other Purposes; H. REP. NO. 588, 105th Cong., 2d Sess. (June 19, 1998).
²  S. 2159, Making Appropriations for Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Programs for the Fiscal Year Ending September 30, 1999, and for Other Purposes; S. REP. NO. 212, 105th Cong., 2d Sess. (June 11, 1998).
³  This information was taken from a more comprehensive compilation prepared by Rapoza Associates.