The White House is expected to release its fiscal year (FY) 2026 budget request mid-May, with an outline – known as a “skinny budget” – expected later in April.
Every year, the Administration submits a budget request to Congress in advance of the annual appropriations process. Only Congress has the power to provide funding for federal programs, so the president’s budget request does not carry any legal weight, but it does provide an opportunity for the Administration to signal their priorities in the fiscal year ahead. The anticipated “skinny budget” will likely provide topline funding requests for each of the 12 appropriations bills for FY26, including the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (THUD) spending bill that funds HUD’s vital affordable housing and homelessness assistance programs. The mid-May request will provide fuller details about how the Trump Administration would fund individual federal programs.
During his first term, President Trump repeatedly called for massive spending cuts to HUD programs, including deep cuts to the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program that, if enacted, would have taken housing assistance away from 200,000 households who rely on their HCV to keep a roof over their heads. The previous Trump Administration also pushed Congress to enact policies that would increase barriers to accessing housing assistance, including work requirements, time limits, and minimum rent increases on HUD-assisted households. However, thanks to advocates and congressional champions who worked tirelessly to protect HCVs and other vital HUD programs, these proposed cuts and policy changes were never enacted. NLIHC is expecting these threats to be raised again as FY26 negotiations take shape.
The need for additional funding for the Emergency Housing Voucher Program
In addition to the need for increased funding in FY26 to cover the cost of HCV renewals, Congress will need to provide funding to ensure the 60,000 households who receive an Emergency Housing Voucher (EHV) do not lose their assistance. The EHV program was created in the “American Rescue Plan Act of 2021” which provided $5 billion for 60,000 new tenant-based rental assistance vouchers specifically targeted to people experiencing or at immediate risk of homelessness, including people escaping intimate partner violence. The EHV program mandates that public housing authorities (PHAs), which are responsible for administering the program, work with their local Continuums of Care (CoCs) to identify people and families at risk of or experiencing homelessness and connect them to an EHV, plus wrap-around services when needed for long-term housing stability.
The EHV program has been extremely successful in helping almost 60,000 people and families – in particular families with children – find and maintain stable housing. While funding for the program was originally slated to last until 2030, the rapid increase in the cost of rent over the last four years has caused funding to run out much more quickly than expected. Unless additional funding is allocated by Congress, HUD estimates that funding for the program will likely run out in 2026.
As Congress beings their work on FY26, NLIHC will continue to monitor developments and provide updated materials for advocates to take action and demand increased funding for HUD’s vital programs in any final FY26 spending bill.