nal appropriations process . In fiscal year 2016 , Congress appropriated approximately $ 47 billion for housing . Virtually all of that amount is dedicated to providing rental assistance to low-income households , primarily through programs administered by the U . S . Department of Housing and Urban Development ( HUD ). Three HUD programs – the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program , Project-Based Section 8 Rental Assistance , and Public Housing ( capital fund and operating fund ) – consume most of the federal government ’ s direct spending on rental housing .
Programs like the Housing Choice Voucher and Project-Based Section 8 provide “ demand-side ” subsidies , helping the beneficiaries bridge the difference between their rental costs and what they can afford to pay
Figure F
Photo : CPDC in rent . They also provide “ supply-side ” relief by helping to sustain private investment in the assisted-housing stock that might otherwise be jeopardized in the absence of the subsidy . Public Housing , the oldest of the three programs , supports a housing stock of approximately 1.1 million units . The overall
Figure G
Appropriations for Federal Rental Assistance Programs Have Remained Relatively Flat |
|
Tax Expenditures for Homeownership Are Projected to Increase |
Billions |
Billions |
40 |
|
|
|
35 |
n Annual Totals for All Four Programs |
100 |
n Mortgage Interest Deduction |
|
30
25
|
n Housing Choice Voucher Program |
80 |
|
|
20
15
10
|
n Project- Based Rental Assistance
n Public Housing Operating Fund
|
60
40
|
n Property Tax Deduction
n Capital Gains Exclusion – Sales of Principal Residences
|
5
“ 2011 ” “ 2012 ”
“ 2013 ” “ 2014 ”
“ 2015 ”
“ 2016
2011 * 2012 2013 * 2014 2015 2016 n Public Housing Capital Fund
* FY2011 - Includes 0.2 % Rescission * FY2013 - Includes Sequester
Source : Based on information supplied by Enterprise Community Partners and the Consolidated Appropriations Act , Fiscal Year 2016 .
20 “ 2016 2016 ” “ 2017 2017 ” “ 2018 2018 ” “ 2019 2019 ” “ 2020 2020 ”
Source : Joint Committee on Taxation , Estimates of Federal Tax Expenditures for Fiscal Years 2016-2020 ( January 30 , 2017 ).
Money is Policy : How Federal Housing Dollars Are Spent 11