Update on the House of Representatives' Supplemental Budget Debate
This critical amendment sought to build on the House Ways and Means proposal to provide an additional $100 million for the Residential Assistance for Families in Transition program by expanding the uses of RAFT funds to cover households and needs currently covered under the federally funded Emergency Rental Assistance Program and restoring RAFT and ERAP benefits to December 2021 levels. This amendment would have:
- Restored the $10,000/year cap on standard RAFT assistance, up from the current cap of $7,000
- Allowed eligible households in need of assistance above the standard RAFT cap to access additional funds under ERAP or an ERAP-like fund within RAFT
- Reinstated a swift ERAP recertification process for households needing further assistance, instead of requiring families and individuals to begin a new application
- Allowed families and individuals to apply for future rent assistance from ERAP or RAFT, even if they have not already fallen behind on rent
- Allowed tenants to access RAFT after exhausting ERAP benefits
- Allowed households with incomes above 50% of area median income but below 80% AMI to be served
House leadership did not adopt many amendments during the short debate on the supplemental budget last Wednesday, and Amendment #39, unfortunately, was not incorporated into the final House version of the supplemental budget.
We are grateful to Representative Decker and the 24 Representatives who joined her in cosponsoring the amendment in less than one day. Thank you to you, as well, for mobilizing to encourage your Representative to sign on and actively support the amendment.
Here is a list of Reps who signed on (in alphabetical order):
- Representative Barber
- Representative Capano
- Representative Ciccolo
- Representative Connolly
- Representative Decker (lead sponsor)
- Representative Domb
- Representative Elugardo
- Representative Farley-Bouvier
- Representative Gouveia
- Representative Higgins
- Representative Keefe
- Representative Khan
- Representative Lewis
- Representative Madaro
- Representative Malia
- Representative Mark
- Representative Meschino
- Representative Miranda
- Representative O’Day
- Representative Owens
- Representative Sabadosa
- Representative Ultrino
- Representative Uyterhoeven
- Representative Vargas
- Representative Vitolo
Action Step for Today:
If your State Representative is listed above, please reach out to them to thank them for their support and to ask for their continued support for rental assistance as the supplemental budget is finalized and the FY23 budget is developed.
