Over the next several weeks and possibly months, the federal budget picture and how to reduce the federal deficit will dominate Congress and the Administration. The decisions they make could result in significant federal cuts to the housing and health programs necessary to create and sustain supportive housing programs.
The federal budget conversation is complex and will largely be decided through three separate but connected policy discussions. Each has its own process and content but the potential cuts build upon each other and taken in total could significantly reduce resources for supportive housing. Therefore, understanding these three conversations is important in order to protect the programs vital to the most vulnerable Americans.
The three biggest challenges come from sequestration, Congressional budget action which could include entitlement cuts and cuts through the regular appropriations process. In this document, we will lay out in detail the three funding challenges.