Argentum met with senior staff of the Senate Finance Committee recently to discuss industry issues, including the Veterans assisted living pilot program legislation (S. 495 and H.R. 1815), forthcoming SENIOR Act reintroduction, access and affordability proposals, and solutions to address the continued workforce challenges.
The meeting came as lawmakers in the House and Senate Appropriations Committees have resumed their work on the fiscal year (FY) 2024 spending bills. The Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA) set the spending levels for FY 2024 effectively flat with FY 2023, and also will require Congress to pass all 12 of its annual appropriations bills by the end of January or face a stopgap funding patch that would cut spending by 1% across the board.
House Appropriators have instead suggested that they intend to set spending levels at FY 2022, which would represent a decrease in federal spending of roughly $120 billion compared to the agreed upon levels from the FRA. Among the potential casualties of limiting spending to FY 2022 levels is the HUD Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly program, with the Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies setting its spending at 24% below its FY22 amount.
Argentum is working with the Appropriations Committees on including language to support senior living workforce needs, building upon the report language we secured in the omnibus spending package signed into law last December.
