Critical funding for the national Housing Trust Fund may be at risk!
Last week, the Trump administration signaled that funding for the Housing Trust Fund (HTF) could be suspended, undermining our nation’s ability to address homelessness and housing poverty.
NLIHC encourages all advocates to contact your senators and representative and sign a letter to Congress telling them to protect and expand the Housing Trust Fund, the first new federal housing resource in a generation exclusively targeted to address the underlying cause of the affordable housing crisis: the severe shortage of affordable rental homes available to people with the lowest incomes.
Background
Under the Obama administration, Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Mel Watt took important steps to ensure funding for the national Housing Trust Fund and Capital Magnet Fund. One month after Director Watt’s term ended in January, FHFA Acting Director Joseph Otting — appointed by President Trump — stated that FHFA “is reviewing its options,” related to contributions to the Housing Trust Fund and Capital Magnet Fund. President Trump’s nominee for FHFA director, Mark Calabria, goes before the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday for a confirmation hearing.
If FHFA suspends funding for the Housing Trust Fund, the long-term viability of the program would be put at risk, making it harder for the lowest income seniors, people with disabilities, families with children, people experiencing homelessness and other individuals to have affordable homes.
In 2016, the FHFA allocated the first $174 million in Housing Trust Fund dollars to states. NLIHC’s September 2018 interim report summarizes key features of the 1,500 rental homes being created by 42 states with their inaugural Housing Trust Fund dollars. (The remaining seven states and the District of Columbia are now sharing their information with NLIHC, which we will present as an updated supplement to the interim report at NLIHC’s 2019 Housing Policy Forum.)
Take Action
It is critical that advocates urge their members of Congress to protect and expand the Housing Trust Fund. You can help!
- Call your senators and representative and tell them to protect current funding for the Housing Trust Fund.
- Join nearly 2,000 organizations and local government officials by signing onto a national letter urging Congress to protect and expand the Housing Trust Fund. Organizations and local governments can sign onto the letter here.