President Joe Biden and HUD Secretary Marcia L. Fudge released their full fiscal year (FY) 2024 budget request on March 9. The proposal calls for increased funding for affordable housing using two approaches: modest funding increases to HUD programs using the regular appropriations process, and major investments in housing through mandatory spending. While an important marker of the level of investments needed to address the nation’s housing crisis, the mandatory spending proposal will not gain the bipartisan support needed for enactment in the current Congress. If enacted, the budget request would provide substantial federal investments in affordable homes and increase the availability of housing assistance to families with the greatest needs. For more details, see NLIHC’s initial analysis.
Through its mandatory spending proposal, the president’s request calls for significant investments to address the housing needs of extremely low-income households. The budget request builds on the success of the Emergency Rental Assistance program, which kept millions of renters stably housed during the pandemic, by providing $3 billion in new resources for eviction prevention. The proposal also expands access to rental assistance by providing $9 billion to ensure universal coverage to all youth aging out of foster care and $13 billion to serve extremely low-income veterans. According to the White House, the new resources for homeless veterans and youth are a “historic down payment on the president’s goal of providing universal housing vouchers for low-income households.” Additional mandatory funding is provided to address the capital needs of the most distressed public housing properties nationwide ($7.5 billion) and expand the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit and project-based rental assistance ($7.5 billion).
Through the regular appropriations process, the president’s budget calls for funding HUD programs at $73.3 billion, or approximately $1.1 billion – or 1.6% – more than the FY23-enacted level. The proposal calls for $32.7 billion to renew all existing housing vouchers and to expand assistance to an additional 50,000 households through increased funding and another 130,000 households through program reserves, among other things.
The release of the president’s budget request marks the official start of the FY24 appropriations cycle. In the coming months, the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate will start drafting their own FY24 spending proposals.
This year, Congressional Republicans are threatening to make drastic cuts to federal spending in FY24 – including funding for vital housing and homelessness resources – in exchange for raising the debt ceiling or avoiding a government shutdown. Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) has proposed capping FY24 spending at FY22 levels, which would result in an estimated $130 billion in budget cuts from non-defense programs. Some Republicans are considering a budget outline that would slash housing programs by as much as 43% and eliminate the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program, a critical tool that helps millions of households with the lowest incomes afford rent and avoid homelessness. While Congressional leaders are far from finalizing the FY24 budget, the budget threats are deeply concerning.
Take Action
It is unacceptable to balance the federal budget by demanding cuts to programs that help the lowest-income households survive. Without adequate funding for vital federal affordable housing and homeless assistance programs, households with the lowest incomes will continue to live precariously, only one missed paycheck or unexpected emergency away from housing instability, eviction, and, in the worst cases, homelessness.
- Sign your organization on to the Campaign for Housing and Community Development Funding’s (CHCDF) annual budget letter, calling on Congress to reject spending cuts and instead provide the highest possible allocation for HUD’s and USDA’s affordable housing, homelessness, and community development programs in FY24.
- Email your members of Congress today and urge them to increase – not cut – resources for affordable housing and homelessness in FY24.
- Use NLIHC’s advocacy toolkit, “Oppose Dramatic Cuts to Federal Investments in Affordable Housing,” for talking points, sample social media messages, and ideas about other ways to get involved!