Members of Congress returned to their offices on Capitol Hill today, kicking off a final month of legislative work before a campaigning recess in October, ahead of November’s elections. Congress’s most urgent priority for the month will be passing a continuing resolution (CR) by September 30 to temporarily extend funding for federal programs, including HUD’s vital affordable housing and homelessness programs.
Congress is charged with appropriating new funding for federal programs every fiscal year (FY), a period lasting from October 1 to September 30 of the following year. In theory, Congress should finalize its appropriations work by September 30 of every year to keep federal programs running smoothly; in reality, Congress very rarely meets this deadline. More typically, Congress must pass a CR to temporarily extend funding from the previous fiscal year for a specified period, giving members additional time to negotiate final spending bills. Failure to pass spending bills or a CR by the September 30 deadline would cause a partial shutdown of the federal government.
U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) is expected to propose a CR that would extend funding for the federal government but would also contain provisions guaranteed not to pass the Democrat-controlled Senate, including a proposal to decrease topline funding for FY25 by stripping a $70 billion “side deal” negotiated by President Biden and then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA). This “side deal” has been critical for increasing funding above the harsh spending caps imposed by the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023, which limits spending increases in FY24 and FY25 to just 1% over the previous year. The Speaker’s CR is also expected to extend federal funding until March 2025, which would give whichever party controls Congress and the White House another opportunity to advance its own priorities in a final FY25 spending package.
While it is not clear whether Speaker Johnson’s proposal would have sufficient votes to pass the House, it is unlikely to be considered – let alone passed – in the Senate. Still, despite the anticipated back-and-forth between the chambers, Congress is expected to pass a CR by the end of September and avoid a shutdown.
Take Action!
While Congress is expected to avoid a shutdown, advocates should continue pressuring their members of Congress not only to finalize a CR but to enact a final FY25 spending bill that provides increased funding for HUD’s vital affordable housing and homelessness programs. Long-term CRs and government shutdowns have serious consequences for HUD programs: because the cost of housing and homelessness programs rise every year, it is vital these programs receive increased funding every year just to maintain current levels of assistance.
Advocates can use NLIHC’s resources to take action today and push Congress for increased funding for affordable housing and homelessness in FY25, including for NLIHC’s top priorities:
- Full funding to renew all existing contracts for the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program and expand assistance to 20,000 more households.
- $6.2 billion for public housing operations and $5.2 billion for public housing capital needs.
- $4.7 billion for HUD's Homeless Assistance Grants (HAG) program.
- $100 million for the Eviction Protection Grant Program.
- At least $1.3 billion for Tribal housing programs, plus $150 million for competitive funds targeted to tribes with the greatest needs.
Use NLIHC’s toolkits and resources to take action on FY25 funding, including by:
- Emailing or calling members’ offices to tell them about the importance of affordable housing, homelessness, and community development resources to you, your family, your community, or your work. You can use NLIHC’s Take Action page to look up your member offices or call/send an email directly!
- Sharing stories of those directly impacted by homelessness and housing instability. Storytelling adds emotional weight to your message and can help lawmakers see how their policy decisions impact actual people. Learn about how to tell compelling stories with this resource.
- Utilizing our advocacy toolkit Oppose Dramatic Cuts to Federal Investments in Affordable Housing: This toolkit includes resources, talking points, advocacy ideas, and other helpful information on defending funding for affordable housing and homelessness resources in the fiscal year (FY) 2025 federal budget. Meet with your members and urge them to provide the possible funding for these vital programs in any final FY25 budget agreement!
National, state, local, tribal, and territorial organizations can also join over 2,300 organizations on CHCDF’s national letter calling on Congress to support the highest level of funding possible for affordable housing, homelessness, and community development resources in FY25.