House Appropriations THUD Subcommittee Holds Markup on FY27 Spending Bill for HUD Programs – Take Action!

By Kim Johnson, NLIHC Senior Director of Policy  

The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (THUD) held on May 21 a markup of its fiscal year (FY) 2027 spending bill, released May 20. Overall, the bill would fund HUD at $71.38 billion, a $5.94 billion, or over 8%, cut from the $77.3 billion provided for HUD programs in FY26. For details, see NLIHC’s full analysis and our updated budget chart.  

A markup is a regular part of the legislative process, giving subcommittee members the opportunity to debate and amend a drafted bill and vote whether to move the bill on for consideration before the full committee, and ultimately, for a floor vote in the full House or Senate.  

THUD Subcommittee Chair Steve Womack (R-AR) opened the markup with brief remarks on the FY27 spending bill, noting the bill “meets our responsibility to support our most vulnerable citizens who rely on housing assistance while implementing fiscal discipline.” However, the funding levels outlined in the House’s FY27 HUD spending bill for resources like Tenant-Based Rental Assistance (TBRA) contract renewals are unlikely to be sufficient to cover the full cost of renewing all existing TBRA contracts, especially given the need for additional funding to ensure over 46,000 households who rely on an Emergency Housing Voucher (EHV) to help afford the cost of rent continue receiving assistance.   

Subcommittee Ranking Member Jim Clyburn (D-SC) emphasized in his opening remarks the nation’s growing affordability crisis, and how the proposed FY27 spending bill for HUD would fall short of meeting the needs of communities.  

“The bill before us proposes to eliminate all investments for eviction prevention and reduces HUD’s Homeless Assistance Grants by more than $256 million,” said the ranking member. “This comes at a time when more than 771,000 people are experiencing homelessness, and 75% of low-income renters are spending more than half of their income on rent.” Ranking Member Clyburn also highlighted the bill’s 65% cut to fair housing enforcement.  

Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) noted her opposition to the spending bill, stating “it does nothing to bring down the rising costs that confront American families each and every day. In fact, by slashing funding for programs that help families who are struggling to stay afloat amid rising costs, this bill makes the problem even worse.” The Ranking Member encouraged her colleagues to “negotiate on a bipartisan basis to craft a bill that meets the needs of the American people.”  

Representative Mike Quigley (D-IL) highlighted some of the positive aspects of the spending bill, including restoring funding for the Housing Opportunity for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA) program, Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, and HOME Investment Partnerships program (HOME), all of which were eliminated in the White House’s FY27 budget request for HUD programs. Rep. Quigley echoed his colleagues’ concerns about cuts to TBRA, as well as self-sufficiency programs meant to encourage economic stability and mobility.   

Representatives Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ) and Norma Torres (D-CA) expressed similar concerns about the cuts proposed in the THUD spending bill.  

“Overall funding levels of this bill are 8% less than FY26, far short in providing for the needs of the American people,” said Rep. Watson Coleman. “This bill contains a 15% cut in public housing, or nearly $1.3 billion below FY26, which will lead to a rise in rent and utility payments to 2,700 Public Housing Agencies across the country, and could then lead to thousands of Americans being forced onto the streets, not to mention the elimination of funding that addresses lead-based paint hazards in nearly 700,000 low-income units at risk of lead exposure.”  

“The bill cuts $355 million in rental assistance and vouchers,” said Rep. Torres. “These people are working, but the minimum wage just simply isn’t enough for them to be able to make rent, and buy groceries, much less put gas in their cars.”  

In addition to voicing concerns about the cuts outlined in the House’s FY27 HUD spending bill, Representative Adriano Espaillat (D-NY) highlighted the potential impact of changes proposed by the Trump administration to HUD’s “Mixed-Status” rule, which would force families with “mixed” immigration status living in HUD-assisted housing to either give up their assistance or evict family members with ineligible immigration status.  

“[HUD Secretary Scott Turner] talked about splitting mixed status families,” said Representative Espaillat. “And I continuously asked him what’s going to happen to the kids that are U.S. citizens, and he couldn’t answer that… what’s going to happen to these kids that are U.S. born citizens that we’re denying basic services to?”   

Members of the THUD Subcommittee voted along party lines, 9-7, to move the bill on for consideration in the full House Appropriations Committee. The full committee is scheduled to markup the THUD bill on June 3; the Senate Appropriations Committee has not yet made their FY27 markup schedule public; the Senate Appropriations Committee has not yet made their FY27 markup schedule public.  

Watch the House Appropriations THUD Subcommittee markup here.  

Tell Congress to Expand – Not Cut – Federal Investments in Affordable Housing and Homelessness Assistance Programs!  

At a time when a record number of renters are housing cost burdened and families around the country are struggling to afford necessities like housing, food, and medical care, Congress should be working to expand—not slash—funding for programs that help people make ends meet.  

Advocates can use NLIHC’s toolkits and resources to take action on the FY27 spending bill, and urge federal lawmakers to increase investments in HUD programs, including NLIHC’s top priorities:  

• Full funding to renew all existing Tenant-Based Rental Assistance (TBRA) contracts, including ensuring continued assistance for Emergency Housing Voucher holders. 
• At least $5.1 billion for HUD’s Homeless Assistance Grants program to address the needs of people experiencing homelessness. 
• Increased funding for public housing operations and capital needs, to help maintain and efficiently operate public housing. 
• Increased investments in programs that support the construction and preservation of deeply affordable, accessible housing, including full funding for all Section 811 Project Rental Assistance (PRA) and PRA Contract renewals, at least $424 million for new Section 811 PRA contracts, and full funding to renew all existing contracts under the Section 202 Housing for the Elderly program.  
• At least $15 million for HUD’s Eviction Prevention Grant Program (EPGP) to provide communities grants to establish right to counsel and other programs that help people avoid eviction and remain housed.  
• At least maintained funding of $1.1 billion for the Indian Housing Block Grant (IHBG) program, and increasing funding to $150 million for the IHBG-Competitive program.  
• Establishing guardrails to ensure the administration releases appropriated funding to communities, and does not withhold, redirect, or otherwise rescind congressionally approved funding.  

Advocates can take action today 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.     
• Organizations can also join CHCDF’s sign-on letter calling for the highest possible funding for HUD and USDA affordable housing, homelessness, and community development programs in any final FY27 spending bills. Read the letter and sign your organization on here.  

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.