Take Action Today: Urge Congress to Expand Federal Investments in Affordable Housing and Homelessness Programs!
Jul 11, 2025
Appropriators in Congress are working now on their draft spending bills for fiscal year (FY) 2026, including the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (THUD) bill that funds HUD’s vital affordable housing and homelessness programs.
Appropriators in the House are expected to begin reviewing their FY26 THUD bill as soon as July 14, although Appropriations leaders have yet to reach an agreement on topline funding for any of the 12 appropriations bills, and the text of the THUD bill has not been released.
Advocates can contact their lawmakers TODAY and urge them to expand federal investments in the vital resources that help millions of people find and maintain safe, stable homes.
Take Action: Urge Congress to Provide Increased Funding in FY26 for Affordable Housing and Homelessness Programs
While the White House released a FY26 budget request that would inflict devastating cuts to the affordable housing and homelessness programs our communities rely on, only Congress has the power to decide how much funding to provide HUD programs. Advocates can contact their members of Congress TODAY and urge them to invest in vital affordable housing and homelessness resources. Here’s how:
- 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 Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) contracts and funding to renew 60,000 Emergency Housing Vouchers (EHVs).
- Increased funding for public housing operations and public housing capital needs.
- $4.922 billion for HUD’s Homeless Assistance Grants (HAG) program.
- $20 million for the Eviction Protection Grant Program (EPGP).
- At least $1.3 billion for HUD’s Tribal housing programs and $150 million for 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!
- Share stories of those directly impacted by homelessness and housing instability. Storytelling adds meaningful context to your advocacy and can help lawmakers see how their policy decisions impact real people. Use this resource from the HoUSed campaign to learn about how to tell compelling stories.
- National, state, local, tribal, and territorial organizations can also join over 2,700 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.
The Importance of Sufficiently Funding Rental Assistance Renewals
This year, in addition to funding the costs of Housing Choice Vouchers (HCVs) and other rental assistance renewals, Congress needs to provide sufficient funding to renew nearly 60,000 Emergency Housing Vouchers (EHVs). These vouchers are specifically aimed at individuals and families at risk of or currently experiencing homelessness, as well as those escaping intimate partner violence or human trafficking. Without this additional funding, these vulnerable households may lose their assistance, which would increase their risk of falling back into homelessness.
- Learn more about the EHVs and take action on voucher funding with the “Reject Housing Cuts and EHV Funding Toolkit.” Created in collaboration with the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, National Alliance to End Homelessness, and National Housing Law Project, the toolkit is updated regularly with new resources and advocacy materials.
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.
Thank you for your advocacy!