Congress is in recess until November 12, having passed a continuing resolution (CR) that will extend funding for the federal government until December 20 and provide minimal needed spending adjustments for certain programs to ensure they receive adequate funding to operate for the duration of the CR (known as “anomalies”). When they return to Capitol Hill – and regardless of the outcomes of elections – members of Congress will need to work quickly to finalize 12 fiscal year (FY) 2025 spending bills before the current CR expires, including the Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development (THUD) bill that funds HUD’s vital affordable housing and homelessness assistance programs. Allowing the CR to expire without passing final bills or another CR to continue funding would result in a partial shutdown of the federal government.
Despite the urgency, lawmakers have a steep road ahead to reaching a final agreement on FY25 spending. The House’s proposed FY25 budget for HUD would cut funding to the department by 3%, while the Senate’s proposal would provide a 10% increase to HUD programs. Moreover, the Senate bill provides sufficient funding to renew all existing housing voucher contracts; the House bill would come up short, failing to meet the full funding required to ensure vouchers remain available to households in need.
Take Action!
Advocates should continue pressuring their members of Congress to enact a final FY25 spending bill that provides increased funding for HUD’s vital affordable housing and homelessness programs. Inadequate funding, long-term CRs, and government shutdowns have serious consequences for HUD programs: because the cost of housing and homelessness programs rise every year, it is vital these programs receive increased funding every year just to maintain current levels of assistance.
Advocates can use NLIHC’s resources to take action today and push Congress to pass increased funding for affordable housing and homelessness in FY25, including for 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 Protection 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 toolkits and resources to take action on FY25 funding, including by:
- 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.
- Using our “Oppose Dramatic Cuts to Federal Investments in Affordable Housing” toolkit: This toolkit includes resources, talking points, advocacy ideas, and other helpful information on defending funding for affordable housing and homelessness resources in the FY25 federal budget. Meet with your members and urge them to provide the most possible funding for these vital programs in any final FY25 budget agreement!
National, state, local, tribal, and territorial organizations can also join over 2,300 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 FY25.