The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and Related Agencies has approved a $158.3 billion appropriations bill for fiscal year 2021. The legislation includes $75.9 billion in discretionary funding, which is $16.8 billion more than the President’s 2021 budget request, and $1.7 billion above FY2020 levels.
“[The bill] provides substantial new investments to help vulnerable populations, including seniors, the disabled, homeless families and youth, domestic violence survivors, and veterans,” House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Chairman David Price, D-N.C. said. “It will boost production of affordable housing and address urgent life and safety threats in public housing.”
On the technology front, the bill includes $100 million for the HUD Cybersecurity and Information Technology Fund, as part of the $49 billion set aside for HUD programs “to bolster communities nationwide by making robust and resilient investments in public housing, affordable housing, and community development.”
The Department of Transportation would also receive $26 billion in additional funds to not only support the economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, but to also “to strengthen and make more resilient our nation’s aging infrastructure.” Of that total, $10.5 million of that will go towards Transportation cyber security initiatives.
“This bill represents a forward-looking vision to rebuild our nation and strengthen our communities,” House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Nita Lowey, D-N.Y., said. “Together, we can modernize our transportation systems, expand access to safe, affordable housing, and support our most vulnerable neighbors.”
