By David Gasson
| We have reached the final quarter of the year, with kids going back to school and college, work schedules returning to normal, and Congress (the House at least) returning to DC for the last mad dash before the midterm elections. It may not be pretty for the next few weeks, but at least the beginning of the end of the 119th Congress got off to a good start. Today, the House voted overwhelmingly to support the Senate-passed continuing resolution (CR), funding the government through December 11th. Assuming President Trump signs the CR, there will be no shutdown or funding gap at the end of the month. Budget negotiations continue, and the post-election House and Senate will need to pass another CR or a budget before December 11th. The CR included a few anomalies, including one allowing Public Housing Authorities (PHAs)to repurpose unobligated Tenant-Based Rental Assistance (TBRA) funds to cover expiring vouchers through the end of calendar year 2026. Much will now depend on the results of the November 3rd election. If the Democrats win control of the House in the 120th Congress, it is unlikely they will have the numbers to pass a budget in December. That is guaranteed if the Democrats also win back control of the Senate. We are already working on several appropriations priorities in case a final funding vote is pushed back into 2027. We will remind you that the past several budgets have not been passed until March and April of the budget cycles. The other wild card is, of course, President Trump’s disposition toward working with a potential Democratic majority in either chamber on Capitol Hill. This could be an issue for both appropriations and a potential tax bill in 2027. Thank you for your continued advocacy of housing issues. David Gasson |