The Senate Appropriations Committee approved, 17-0, the FY2001 Veterans Affairs, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies spending bill (as-yet-unnumbered) on September 13. The House approved its version (H.R. 4635) on June 21.
As Congress pushes to complete work on the remaining FY2001 appropriations, the Republican leadership has announced its intention to pair remaining spending bills together in order to move them more quickly. Senate leaders hope to bypass Senate floor action by attaching the FY2001 VA-HUD spending bill to the conference report for the FY2001 transportation spending bill (H.R. 4475/S.2720). The transportation spending bill was approved by the House on May 19 and the Senate on June 16, but conferees have not met.
As approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee, the VA-HUD spending bill would level-fund the Housing Opportunities for People with AIDS program at $232 million. The House-passed bill would provide an $18 million increase.
Additionally, the Senate bill would level-fund the Stewart McKinney Homeless Assistance grants program at $1 billion, the same amount as the House-passed bill.
