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Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee, I appreciate the opportunity to appear before you to discuss the budgetary situation of the federal rental assistance programs operated by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). My testimony today is based primarily on a study by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) titled The Challenges Facing Federal Rental Assistance Programs, which was released last month.

Appropriation decisions made by the Congress over the last two decades or so have committed the federal government to large future outlays for rental assistance. Moreover, the upcoming expiration of significant numbers of existing commitments will add pressure for additional appropriations. That situation appears at odds with the goals of many Members of Congress to reduce the size of government significantly and to increase spending in certain discretionary areas such as defense.

My statement today discusses three topics:

• The relationship between budget authority and outlays in rental assistance programs in which expenditures resulting from a given year's appropriation occur over long periods of time;
  
  
• The conflict between projected spending on rental assistance and the desire of many Members of Congress for a sharp decline in domestic spending; and
  
  
• Options for reducing federal expenditures on rental assistance.

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