Federal Government Reopened; Congress Must Now Pass FY26 HUD Spending Bill to Protect Vouchers and Housing Assistance for Over 170,000 People who Have Experienced Homelessness–Take Action!
Nov 17, 2025
By Kim Johnson, NLIHC Senior Director of Policy and Alayna Calabro, NLIHC Senior Policy Analyst
With a continuing resolution (CR) in place to fund the federal government through January 30, members of Congress will turn their attention toward enacting the nine remaining spending bills to fund federal programs and services for the remainder of fiscal year (FY) 2026, including the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (THUD) bill that funds HUD’s vital affordable housing, community development, and homelessness services programs. Three FY26 funding bills – Agriculture, Military Construction-Veterans Affairs, and Legislative Branch – were included in the CR passed on November 12.
Congress may consider the final FY26 THUD spending bill this week, but the House and Senate proposals differ by billions of dollars. The House bill would reduce HUD funding by $2.2 billion from last year, while the Senate bill would increase it by $3.3 billion over FY25. As rent costs rise each year, increased funding is necessary to maintain assistance. Flat funding reduces the number of available vouchers. Currently, only one in four eligible households receive rental assistance, leaving 75% of qualified families, people with disabilities, older adults, and low-wage workers struggling to afford housing.
Final HUD Spending Bill Must Increase Voucher Funding, Protect CoC Funds for Permanent Housing
Neither the House nor Senate FY26 THUD bills provide enough funding to renew all existing Housing Choice Vouchers (HCVs) or Emergency Housing Vouchers (EHVs). Without adequate funding, vouchers are lost through attrition, meaning they cannot be reissued when a household no longer needs them. Insufficient renewal funding puts households at risk of losing rental assistance, which can lead to housing instability, eviction, or homelessness.
Currently, over 2.4 million households receive rental assistance, which serves only one in four eligible households. The House’s FY26 bill would result in 181,900 fewer households served, while the Senate’s bill would reduce assistance for 107,800 households. These losses would disproportionately impact older adults, people with disabilities, and families with children.
In addition to increased voucher funding, Congress must provide increased funding for HUD’s Homelessness Assistance Grants (HAG) program, and reject the harmful changes made to HUD’s Continuum of Care (CoC) funding process. The Trump administration released on November 13 a long-awaited Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 Continuum of Care (CoC) Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), making significant changes to how the federal government funds homelessness assistance programs. The new policy outlined in the NOFO slashes support for permanent housing programs by more than half, putting as many as 170,000 people who rely on CoC assistance for stable, affordable housing at risk of returning to homelessness.
Currently, approximately 87% of CoC funds are allocated to support permanent housing, including permanent supportive housing and rapid rehousing, which are proven solutions to homelessness. The NOFO limits CoC funding for permanent housing to 30%. The National Alliance to End Homelessness warns this will force communities to shift funds from effective permanent housing programs to less effective options, such as high-barrier transitional housing, emergency shelters, or new Supportive Services Only projects.
Senators Patty Murray (D-WA), vice chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee; Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee; Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), ranking member of the Senate Appropriations THUD Subcommittee; and Tina Smith, ranking member of the Senate Banking Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation, and Community Development led Senate Democrats in a letter to HUD Secretary Scott Turner calling on him to immediately halt the drastic changes to the CoC program.
Learn more about the NOFO here.
Read the National Alliance to End Homelessness’ full analysis here and then register here to attend the Alliance’s “Understanding HUD's FY2025 NOFO” webinar on Wednesday, November 19, from 3:00 pm to 4:30 pm ET.
Take Action
Use NLIHC’s toolkits and resources to take action on FY26 funding, including by:
- Using NLIHC’s advocacy toolkit, “Opposing Cuts to Federal Investments in Affordable Housing,” to call on Congress to protect and expand affordable housing and homelessness resources, including NLIHC’s priorities:
Full funding to renew all existing tenant-based voucher contracts, to ensure the people and families who rely on an HCV or EHV to keep a roof over their heads do not lose their assistance. Check out the “EHV Funding Cliff Mobilization Toolkit” for more information, including talking points and resources.
$4.922 billion for HUD’s Homeless Assistance Grants (HAG) program, and for HUD to stick to its commitment to a two-year Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for the Continuum of Care Program.
$5.7 billion for public housing operations, and at least $5 billion to address public housing capital needs.
$15 million for the Eviction Protection Grant Program (EPGP), as provided in the Senate’s spending bill.
At least $1.3 billion for HUD’s Indian Housing Block Grant (IHBG) program and $150 million for IHBG-Competitive funds, targeted to Tribes with the greatest needs.
The toolkit includes talking points, advocacy materials, engagement ideas, and more resources for advocates to weigh-in with their members of Congress on the importance of these vital resources!
- 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.
National, state, local, Tribal, and territorial organizations can also join over 2,800 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 FY26.
Visit NLIHC’s Advocacy Hub for more information and resources that can help you take action and help protect the affordable housing programs people rely on.