The U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Appropriations released today its fiscal year (FY) 2025 draft Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development (THUD) spending bill. The proposal, drafted with bipartisan input, proposes funding the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) at $73.2 billion, which would result in a $2.3 billion, or 3%, cut to HUD’s vital affordable housing, homelessness, and community development programs from the previous year’s funding level. See NLIHC’s updated budget chart for full details.
At a time when more households are struggling to afford the cost of rent, and more people – including seniors and families with children – are experiencing homelessness, this proposal largely fails to provide resources at the scale needed to end the nation’s affordable housing and homelessness crisis and would cut key investments used by communities to address pressing housing needs.
The proposal was drafted in accordance with the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 (FRA), which severely restricted funding in FY24 and limits increases in FY25 to just 1%. In FY24, however, congressional leaders reached an agreement to provide an additional $69 billion over amounts allowed by the FRA. This “side deal” was not included in the FY25 proposals released by the House, and as a result, the proposal would slash overall funding for domestic spending by $67 billion, or 6% from FY24, while increasing defense spending by 1%, or $9 billion.
While the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program would receive an increase of $115 million compared to the previous year’s funding level, bringing the program to a total of $32.3 billion, this amount may not be sufficient to cover the full cost of renewals, which could leave even more households without the assistance they need to keep a roof over their heads. Advocates warn that this could lead to the loss of thousands of housing vouchers. The House proposal also rejects the President’s request for an additional $241 million in new vouchers, failing to expand the program to serve more households struggling to pay rent.
Several programs would receive deep spending cuts in the House proposal. Both the Public Housing Operating Fund ($5.1 billion) and Public Housing Capital Fund (3.09 billion) would see funding cuts of $380 million and $318 million, respectively. These accounts provide funding to operate and maintain public housing, as well as to make needed repairs to public housing units. Due to chronic underfunding by Congress, public housing already has an estimated $90 billion capital needs backlog. This cut would only exacerbate needed repairs and expedite the deterioration of public housing stock, exposing residents to dangerous, potentially life-threatening living conditions.
The Choice Neighborhood program, Yes in My Backyard program, eviction defense resources, and Native Hawaiian Housing Block Grants are eliminated under the House proposal, and the HOME Investment Partnerships (HOME) program would be dramatically cut to $500 million, resulting in a 60% cut compared to the previous year’s funding. The Healthy Homes program would be cut by $10 million to a total of $335 million. Without these funds, it will be more challenging for communities nationwide to build and preserve more affordable, healthy homes and to prevent evictions.
A few programs would receive level funding compared to last year’s spending bill, including Community Development Block Grants ($3.3 billion in formula funding), Housing for Persons with AIDs ($505 million), Policy Development and Research ($119 million), and Housing Counseling ($57.5 million).
The House proposal would provide increased funding for Tribal housing, including a $111 million increase to Native American Housing Block Grants ($1.22 billion), and a slight increase of $9 million to Homeless Assistance Grants ($4.06 billion). Project-Based Rental Assistance ($16.6 billion) would receive a $585 million increase, the Section 202 Housing for the Elderly program ($931 million) would receive an $18 million increase, and the Section 811 Housing for Persons with Disabilities Program ($257 million) would receive a $49 million increase compared to last year.
Beyond spending provisions, the House proposal includes policy changes that would undermine equal access to housing, tenant protections, and efforts to curb climate change. The bill seeks to prohibit HUD from implementing, administering, or enforcing the proposed “Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing” rule. In doing so, the bill would make it harder for communities nationwide to meet their legal obligations under the Fair Housing Act to actively undo racial segregation and promote housing choice for all households, undermining racial and social equity. The proposal bars funding for any “sanctuary” community, and it eliminates an important protection created by Congress during the pandemic to provide renters with a minimum of 30 days’ notice of any eviction. The bill prohibits HUD from creating energy efficiency standards on new housing to help reduce utility bills and curb the harmful impact of climate change.
The House THUD Subcommittee is scheduled to review and vote on the draft spending bill on June 27, with a full committee vote slated for July 10. The Senate is expected to release its spending bills in the coming weeks.
Take Action
Congress needs to hear from you about the impact these spending cuts would have on you and your family, neighbors, and communities. Congress must not balance the federal budget at the expense of people with the lowest incomes.
- Sign on to a national letter urging Congress to oppose budget cuts and instead to support the highest level of funding possible for affordable housing, homelessness, and community development resources in FY25. Nearly 2,300 organizations have already signed on to the letter from the Campaign for Housing and Community Development Funding (CHCDF).
- Urge your senators and representatives to expand – not cut – investments in affordable, accessible homes, including 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 Prevention 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 advocacy toolkit for talking points, sample social media messages, and more!
Detailed Analysis
Tenant-Based Rental Assistance
The House proposes increasing funding for the Tenant-Based Rental Assistance (TBRA) program by $115 million above FY24-enacted levels, to a total of $32.27 billion; this amount would also be $485 million less than what was proposed in the president’s FY25 budget request for HUD. At the time of writing, it is not clear whether this will be sufficient to renew existing voucher contracts.
Because the cost of rent increases from year to year, it is crucial that TBRA receive increased annual funding to maintain the number of people served – without sufficient increases, HUD may be unable to ensure all current TBRA contracts are fully renewed, which could leave even more households without the assistance they need to keep a roof over their heads. The TBRA program is already vastly underfunded, with only one in four households that qualify for TBRA receiving the assistance they need. Failing to fully renew all existing TBRA contracts would represent a step backwards in the fight for housing stability.
The Tribal Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (VASH) program, which serves Native veterans, would see its funding increased by $500,000. The bill would provide $701 million for Section 811 mainstream vouchers – a decrease of $42 million from FY24.
The proposal includes no funding to expand vouchers to more households, or to provide family unification vouchers or vouchers for veterans.
Project-Based Rental Assistance
The House spending proposal would provide $16.59 billion to renew Project-Based Rental Assistance (PBRA) contracts, an increase of $585 million from FY24 funding levels, but $91 million less than levels proposed in the president’s FY25 budget. As with TBRA, increased funding for PBRA is critical to maintain the level of services provided to households in need. PBRA also helps finance the construction and operation of affordable housing units, so any funding decreases would likely impact the construction of new affordable housing.
Homelessness Assistance
The House calls for $4.06 billion for Homeless Assistance Grants (HAG), an increase of $9 million from the FY24-enacted level, and level funding from the president’s budget request. HAG provides funding for communities to address the needs of people experiencing homelessness. While this increase is welcome, with the dramatic rise in the number of people experiencing homelessness, more funding is needed for communities to sufficiently address the needs of unhoused neighbors, including finding safe, stable, affordable housing.
Public Housing
The spending bill would allocate $3.09 billion to public housing capital needs, a decrease from the $3.41 billion provided in FY24, and $318 million less than last year’s funding level. This assistance includes formula funding and $30 million for emergency capital needs. In addition, the bill proposes $50 million for assisted housing inspections and risk assessments, which would fund travel, training, and program supports for inspecting and assessing the quality of HUD’s assisted housing stock.
The bill provides $5.12 billion for public housing operating costs, a decrease of $380 million from FY24, and $107 million less than the president’s proposal. Operating support includes both formula funding and an additional $25 million, to be allocated based on need.
Eviction Protection Grants
The House proposal does not provide funding for HUD’s Eviction Protection Grant Program (EPGP), a cut from the $20 million provided in FY24. The EPGP program, first authorized in 2021, provides communities with funding to provide people facing eviction with legal aid services and other resources to help prevent evictions before they occur.
Native Housing
The House bill would provide the Native American Housing Block Grant program with $1.2 billion, an increase of $111 million from the previous fiscal year, and provide level funding for the competitive tribal housing program, at $150 million. Competitive Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act (NAHASDA) funding would still be targeted to tribes based on need.
The Native Hawaiian Housing Block Grant program would not receive funding in the House bill – a proposed cut of $22 million.
Other Housing and Community Development Programs
The House bill includes $931 million for the Section 202 Housing for the Elderly program, an increase of $18 million from FY24 and level funding from the president’s request. The proposal would provide $257 million for the Section 811 program to support affordable, accessible housing for people with disabilities, a $49 million increase from FY24-enacted levels and level funding from the president’s budget request. It is not clear whether this funding would be sufficient to renew all voucher contracts.
The House bill would provide $3.3 billion for formula funding under the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program – an amount equal to what was provided in the previous fiscal year. In addition, $2.18 billion is slated for “Community Project Funding,” better known as “earmarks,” which are spending requests submitted by members of Congress for specific projects in their districts. This year, House THUD Chair Tom Cole announced that the House THUD spending bill would not allow earmarks for non-profit organizations, a decision largely based in “culture war” politics after committee Republicans objected last year to earmarked funding going to non-profit organizations serving members of the LGBTQ+ community. The bill would also eliminate funding for CDBG’s “Yes In My Back Yard” competitive grant program, started in FY23 to encourage jurisdictions to adopt more inclusionary zoning practices.
The House proposes to fund the HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME) at $500 million, a decrease of $750 million from FY24 and from the president’s budget request, which would have provided level funding. The HOME program was also cut sharply in the final FY24 spending bill – by $250 million from the previous fiscal year. The Choice Neighborhoods Initiatives program, which was cut by $275 million in FY24, would not receive funding in the House’s proposal.
The bill would provide level funding ($10 million) for the Preservation and Reinvestment Initiative for Community Enhancement (PRICE) program, first funded in FY23 to provide grants to preserve and vitalize manufactured housing communities.
Funding for the Housing Opportunities for People with AIDS (HOPWA) program would receive level funding of $505 million in FY25.
The Family Self-Sufficiency program would be funded at $125 million – a $16 million decrease from FY24-enacted levels and from the president’s FY25 budget request.
Healthy Homes
The bill would provide $335 million to the Office of Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes’ grants, a decrease of $10 million from FY24 and $15 million less than the president’s budget proposal; this program was also cut by $65 million in the previous fiscal year.
Fair Housing
The House calls for a $1 million cut to HUD’s Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, for a total funding level of $85 million.
U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness
The bill would provide $4 million to fund the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, which is responsible for coordinating the federal response to the needs of people experiencing homelessness. This would result in level funding from FY24-enacted funding.
Other Provisions
Beyond spending provisions, the House proposal includes policy changes that would undermine equal access to housing, tenant protections, and efforts to curb climate change.
As in the House’s FY24 draft bill, committee Republicans include in the proposal legislative language that would ban the use of FY25 funding to “implement, administer, or enforce” the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) rule, or from using funds to direct grantees to undertake specific changes to existing zoning laws to carry out the interim final rule, “Restoring Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing Definitions and Certifications.” In doing so, the bill would make it harder for communities nationwide to meet their legal obligations under the Fair Housing Act to actively undo racial segregation and promote housing choice for all households, undermining racial and social equity.
The bill proposes banning from receiving appropriated funds “local jurisdictions that refuse to comply with a request from the Department of Homeland Security to provide advance notice of the scheduled release” of an immigrant without legal documentation – more commonly known as “sanctuary cities.”
The bill would also undermine efforts to curb the harmful impacts of climate change by restricting HUD’s ability to use appropriated funds to update minimum energy efficiency standards for new HUD-funded housing, as outlined in the federal notice, “Adoption of Energy Efficiency Standards for New Construction of HUD- and USDA-Financed Housing.”
The draft bill would remove the CARES Act 30-day eviction notice requirement, which requires HUD-assisted housing providers to give tenants at risk of eviction notice of at least 30 days before carrying out an eviction action.