Washington, D.C. – The House and Senate Appropriations Committees released topline funding allocations for the Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development (THUD) fiscal year (FY) 2024 spending bill. Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Patty Murray (D-WA) and Vice Chair Susan Collins (R-ME) provided $88.091 billion for THUD funding, for both vital HUD and Department of Transportation (DOT) programs.
This year, amidst increasing rents, inflation, and lower Federal Housing Administration (FHA) receipts, HUD is facing an expected budget shortfall of $15 billion.
House Republicans bent to the demands of far-right House Freedom Caucus members and will cut FY24 spending by over $22.12 billion, an untenable 25% reduction from FY23 enacted levels.
These proposed cuts would bring profound hardship to people already struggling to make ends meet. If enacted, over one million households would lose their rental assistance. Additionally, over 24,000 fewer people experiencing homelessness would receive services needed to find and maintain stable housing; and the country’s already dire shortage of 7.3 million affordable, available units for extremely low-income renters would continue to grow. According to HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge, such extreme funding cuts would make it impossible for HUD to stave off mass evictions.
Renters with the lowest incomes across the nation are in crisis. Even before the pandemic, 10 million extremely-low income households were struggling to keep a roof over their heads, always one financial shock away from falling behind on rent and facing evection or, in worst cases, homelessness. When COVID-19 hit, Congress took historic action to provide unprecedented resources and protections to ensure millions of renters could remain in their homes. Today, as emergency resources are depleted, and protections have expired, these same households will once again face urgent threats to their housing stability.
At a time when eviction filing rates have surpassed pre-pandemic levels and homelessness is increasing in many communities, gutting funding from the very programs that help address the dire housing needs of people with the lowest incomes is shortsighted and cruel.
To ensure that no one loses their homes because of the reckless, callous demands of far-right Republicans, the House and Senate must work together to provide at least level funding for HUD programs, whether through the regular FY24 appropriations process or through a supplemental spending package.
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