Lawmakers Leave Capitol Hill for Winter Recess with Plans to Introduce FY26 HUD Spending Bill and Vote on CoC Funding Amendment in January—Take Action Today!

By Kim Johnson, NLIHC Senior Director of Policy  

Federal lawmakers left their offices in D.C. for winter recess without releasing the text of the “minibus” spending package that would include five fiscal year (FY) 2026 funding bills, including the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (THUD) bill that funds HUD’s vital affordable housing, homelessness, and community development programs. However, before adjourning, Senators agreed to vote on several amendments to the minibus when they return on January 5, including an amendment from Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) that would extend existing Continuum of Care (CoC) funding for current grantees for an additional 12 months. This extension would hold HUD to its promised two-year CoC Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) process and allow grantees currently operating homelessness response systems to continue serving their communities without interruption.  

There is still time for advocates to weigh in with their members of Congress on the importance of increased funding for HUD’s vital programs, and to call on Congress to extend current CoC grant contracts another 12 months. The THUD bill is the best opportunity advocates will have this year to protect federal investments in rental assistance and homelessness services!  

The amendment extending HUD CoC NOFO contracts an additional 12 months is necessary to protect funding for the homelessness response programs on which communities rely. In November, HUD issued an FY25 NOFO that would make drastic changes to how the federal government funds homelessness assistance programs. While HUD withdrew the NOFO on Monday, December 8, HUD reserves the right to reissue the NOFO at a future date; Senator Reed’s amendment to the FY26 THUD bill would prevent HUD from reissuing the NOFO and mandate the department carry out its promised two-year funding cycle.  

If HUD releases a new NOFO, it would be so late in the funding cycle that CoCs would invariably face funding gaps and delays that would put people who had previously been experiencing homelessness at risk of losing their housing. The now withdrawn NOFO set an application deadline for January 14, and funding awards would not have been announced until May at the earliest; a new NOFO would likely have an even later deadline and award date. The National Alliance to End Homelessness (the Alliance) warns that approximately one-third of all current CoC funding awards expire between January and June; even if their funding contracts are ultimately selected for renewal, these programs will run out of money before they receive new funding, resulting in unpaid rental assistance, a significant decrease in services, and more people experiencing homelessness. Read the Alliance’s full analysis of the NOFO here, and find more resources here. 

NLIHC and the Alliance are calling on Congress to hold HUD accountable to its promised two-year NOFO cycle and to include language in any final THUD bill that would extend funding for previously awarded projects for another 12 months.  

In addition, Congress must provide in any final FY26 THUD bill sufficient funding to renew all existing Housing Choice Vouchers (HCVs) and Emergency Housing Vouchers (EHVs). Without sufficient funding, vouchers will be lost through attrition—when a household no longer needs their voucher, the voucher cannot be reissued to a new family because it is no longer attached to funding. When renewal funding is insufficient—or when funding is cut—households that rely on a voucher to keep a roof over their heads actively lose their rental assistance, putting them at risk for housing instability, eviction, and in worst cases, homelessness.  

At current funding levels, over 2.4 million households receive rental assistance, accounting for just one in four households who qualify. Under the House’s FY26 spending bill, an estimated 181,900 fewer households would be served; in the Senate, 107,800 fewer households would receive rental assistance. The loss of these vouchers would disproportionately affect older adults, people with disabilities, and families with children.  

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.   

Take action on the CoC NOFO using the National Alliance to End Homelessness’s advocacy link.  

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.