Congress will not complete its fiscal year 2025 appropriations bills prior to the October 1 start of the new fiscal year. Congress is expected to enact a continuing resolution by midnight, September 30, to provide fiscal year 2024-level funding for annually appropriated programs through the duration of the continuing resolution, which some predict could last until mid-December or perhaps even as long as mid-March.

Many federal programs can survive a short stint of being funded at the previous fiscal year’s levels for a couple or several months into the next fiscal year. Others will not fare well at the previous year’s funding level. To address these programs’ unique needs, whenever Congress appears poised to enact a continuing resolution, the White House sends Congress a list of “anomalies.” These anomalies reflect unique funding and / or authorizing language changes needed, in addition to what was provided in the previous fiscal year’s spending bill, so Congress understands agency needs.

On September 3, the White House transmitted its anomalies list to Congress. Below, we review the anomalies related to LeadingAge priorities.

Department of Housing and Urban Development

Housing Choice Vouchers. The White House submitted only one anomaly for HUD and it is in regards to the Housing Choice Voucher program. In recent years, funding for the renewal of Project Rental Assistance Contracts (PRACs) within HUD’s Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly account was so thin that anomaly lists included stopgap provisions to ensure PRAC renewal funding would be available during a continuing resolution. So, it is a good sign that there is no anomaly request for PRACs in the White House’s list.

The Housing Choice Voucher program, however, does require an anomaly of authorizing language for the Tenant-Based Rental Assistance (aka, Housing Choice Vouchers) to allow the use of unobligated Tenant Protection Voucher carry over funding to be used to fill shortfalls and maintain current services for public housing authorities, which administer both types of vouchers. The White House says that anomaly language is needed to authorize the use of these funds in calendar year 2024 in order to provide PHAs with the funding needed to “maintain assistance for up to 120,000 families.” The use of the word “maintain” relays that the housing stability of current voucher-assisted households’ housing stability is at risk without the approval of this anomaly language. Nationwide, about 33% of voucher holders are older adult households.

Department of Health and Human Services Anomalies of Interest

Office of Refugee Resettlement. The White House requested $1.0 billion for the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) to support the Refugee and Entrant Assistance account within the Department of Health and Human Services to fund refugee resettlement programs that support populations eligible for refugee benefits.  Without the anomaly, ORR will not have sufficient resources to support States, communities, and new arrivals in facilitating successful resettlement and achieving economic self-sufficiency.

CDC Respiratory Virus Preparedness and Response Activities. The White House requested $50 million for Respiratory Virus Preparedness and Response activities within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Immunization and Respiratory Diseases account. Funding for these activities helps provide data to the CDC on disease outbreaks and severity for decision-making on resource allocation and countermeasure development. Without this operational funding, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) would be unable to support critical seasonal respiratory virus surveillance, epidemiology, and laboratory capacity activities during the upcoming fall and winter respiratory seasons.

CDC Wastewater Surveillance. The White House also requested $20 million in operational funding for the Wastewater Surveillance program within the CDC’s Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases account. Funding for the Wastewater Surveillance program, which monitors wastewater for COVID, mpox, as well as avian and seasonal flu, to help local public health agencies identify outbreak trends early, has been solely funded by Supplemental Appropriations Acts such as the CARES Act and the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, which HHS estimates will be exhausted in early December. Without this additional funding, HHS would be unable to continue operating this critical public health tool.

View the full list of anomalies requested by the White House here.