By Eugene T. Lowe
October 31, 2005

On October 20, an amendment was withdrawn during Senate floor debate which would have provided an additional $200 million in each of the following programs: Community Development Block Grant formula funding, Section 8 Vouchers, and Public Housing Operating and Capital funds. The amendment was offered by Senators Patrick Leahy (VT), Paul Sarbanes (MD), Jack Reed (RI), Norm Coleman (MN), and Lindsey Graham (SC) during the floor debate on the FY2006 Transportation, Treasury, Judiciary, and Housing and Urban Development (TTHUD) Appropriations Bill.

The withdrawal of the amendment came when Senator Christopher Bond (MO), Chair of the TTHUD subcommittee, said that he would raise a budget point of order against the amendment. Neither Senator Bond nor Senator Patty Murray (WA), Ranking Member of the Subcommittee, agreed with the offset that was being used to pay for the amendment: increasing the rescission of Section 8 funds of $1.5 billion. The five senators who crafted the amendment along with 35 cosponsors said that the Section 8 funds proposed as the offset had been appropriated in prior years but were not spent.

During floor debate, Senator Bond said that he would look for funds for the programs during the house and senate conference on the appropriations bill. He said: “We will work in conference with the House to try to add money because these are high-priority programs. Community Block Grants, public housing, Section 8, these are vitally important.” “We will work with the other original cosponsors of this amendment to try to accomplish that,” he added.

Senator Leahy said that he knew that Senators Bond and Murray were committed to the programs and accepted the assurances of finding more funding in the house and senate conference. Senator Coleman also accepted and said: “I appreciate the work that the chairman and the ranking member have done and their commitment to look for more money when we get to conference.”