Here’s an overview of our work for you in January 2019.
We are glad Congress and the President have reached agreement on a measure to end the partial shutdown and reopen affected federal agencies for three weeks. It is good news, of course, for so many people across the country, said LeadingAge president and CEO Katie Smith Sloan.
For LeadingAge members who provide government subsidized, affordable housing for low-income older adults -- providers like Alma Ballard, executive director of the Family Housing Management Co. – this is particularly welcome relief.
Since early January, when stories emerged of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) sent letters to landlords instructing those providers whose contracts had expired to dip into their reserve funds to continue operations, LeadingAge has kept in close contact with members and HUD officials to ensure the continuation of high-quality housing fo
Federal nutrition programs are among the government services affected by the shutdown. Congregate and home-delivered meals provided under the Older Americans Act received their appropriation on a timely basis and are fully funded. However, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps, is likely to run out of money at the end of February unless a new fiscal 2019 spending bill is enacted. The 4.8 million older people covered by SNAP represent 11% of the population the program serves.
As the partial Federal government shutdown extends into its 4th week with uncertainty over when normal HUD operations will resume, an estimated 1175 project-based rental assistance (PBRA) contracts with December 2018 and January 2019 expiration dates will not be able to be renewed until after the shutdown, with Section 202/811 PRAC projects comprising the majority of impacted contracts. While some funding may be available to help the Section 8 and 811 properties for at least through January, already 440 Section 202 PRAC contracts
With HUD and its funding shutdown effective December 21, 2018, HUD was not able to renew 650 contracts for its multifamily housing partners in December. Of these 650 communities with expired contracts, MSNBC spent much of the day on January 14, 2019, broadcasting live from San Jose Manor, a LeadingAge member in Jacksonville, FL with about 100 residents.
