Federal Lawmakers Provide Over $7.2 Billion Increase for HUD Programs in Final FY26 Spending Bill – Take Action!

Congressional Appropriators released on January 20 the text of a final fiscal year (FY) 2026 spending bill for Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (THUD) programs. Overall, the bill provides $77.3 billion for HUD programs in FY26, an over $7.2 billion increase over the previous fiscal year. This is significantly more than the $3.3 billion increase for HUD programs provided in the Senate’s FY26 spending bill; the House FY26 bill proposed cutting HUD programs by $2.2 billion.   

Thanks to the hard work of advocates and affordable housing champions in Congress, key rental and homelessness assistance programs received funding increases or level funding in the final bill, including: 

• $34.9 billion to renew Tenant-Based Rental Assistance (TBRA) contracts, plus additional funding and administrative flexibilities to help transition Emergency Housing Voucher (EHV) holders to other rental assistance programs.   
• $4.4 billion for HUD’s Homeless Assistance Grants (HAG) program.   
• $1.1 billion for the Indian Housing Block Grant (IHBG) program.   
• $7.5 million for the Eviction Protection Grant Program (EPGP). 

Read NLIHC’s full analysis of the FY26 THUD spending bill here, and view NLIHC’s updated FY26 budget chart for key HUD programs here.   

Take Action! 

With the text of the final bill introduced, the House is expected to pass the THUD bill along with remaining FY26 spending bills this week. The Senate will consider them next week, ahead of the January 30 expiration date for the continuing resolution (CR) currently funding HUD and other federal programs. Without a final spending agreement enacted by January 30, Congress will need to pass another CR, or risk a government shutdown.   

Use NLIHC’s toolkits and resources to contact your members of Congress and urge them to pass a final FY26 HUD spending bill with increased funding for HUD’s programs! 

• NLIHC’s advocacy toolkit, “Opposing Cuts to Federal Investments in Affordable Housing,”  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!   
• Email or call 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!  
• Share 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.    

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.    

Thank you for your advocacy!