The House Appropriations Committee, led by Committee Chair Kay Granger (R-TX), approved topline spending numbers for each of the 12 fiscal year (FY) 2024 spending bills that would effectively cut next year’s federal spending to FY22 levels – an estimated $131 billion cut. Under the House Republicans’ proposal, the Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development (THUD) bill – which provides funding for critical HUD programs – would be cut by over $22.12 billion, more than a 25% cut from FY23 enacted levels.
The move comes after Chair Granger and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) caved to the demands of far-right House Freedom Caucus members who, dissatisfied with the funding caps imposed by the debt ceiling agreement, threatened to disrupt legislative business in the House if steeper budget cuts were not enacted. The debt ceiling agreement, known as the “Fiscal Responsibility Act,” holds FY24 spending at FY23 levels, and limits spending increases in FY25 to a paltry 1%, far below the increase needed just to keep up with inflation.
In a statement about the steep cuts, Chair Granger said the debt ceiling agreement “set a topline spending cap – a ceiling, not a floor – for Fiscal Year 2024 bills. That’s why I will use this opportunity to make up appropriations bills that limit new spending to the Fiscal Year 2022 topline level.” Chair Granger faced swift backlash from her Democratic colleagues on the committee, including Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-CT).
“This committee is either driven by the same reckless faction that would rather have us default than uphold our constitutional duty, or the chairwoman is reneging on her vote in support for the debt deal, and clearly has no faith in the speaker’s ability to carry out his deal by offering this slate of allocations to undermine the only legislative achievement of his tenure,” Ranking Member DeLauro said.
Meanwhile, Senate Appropriations Chair Patty Murray (D-WA) and Vice Chair Susan Collins (R-ME) have continued drafting FY24 spending bills for their chamber, marking topline funding to the limits outlined in the “Fiscal Responsibility Act.” This will likely mean the House and Senate draft appropriations bills for FY24 will propose significantly different funding numbers, foreshadowing a difficult path ahead to reaching an agreement on final FY24 spending bills. Congress has until October 1 – the start of the new fiscal year – to either enact new spending bills, pass a continuing resolution to maintain federal funding, or face a government shutdown.
Implications for HUD Programs
Leaders of the House and Senate THUD Appropriations Subcommittees are warning that HUD programs face a “challenging” road ahead. Dramatically higher rents and decreased receipts from the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) that help cushion HUD’s budget mean that if funding remains flat from FY23 levels, HUD will still face a budget shortfall of up to $15 billion in FY24.
House THUD Appropriations Subcommittee Chair Tom Cole (R-OK) warned that affordable housing and rental assistance programs will likely face cuts, but emphasized the House’s topline funding levels represent an “initial position” for negotiations, not a final allocation. “At the end of the day appropriations bills have to be bipartisan to be passed,” said Chair Cole.
Senate THUD Appropriations Subcommittee Chair Brian Schatz (D-HI) noted that HUD funding is more sensitive to factors like inflation, so flat or decreased funding is felt even more acutely for HUD programs. “Our subcommittee funds construction and [repairs and maintenance], so we’re a little more sensitive to inflation than government agencies in which the primary cost is personnel,” Chair Schatz commented.
Despite recognizing the dramatic impact of inflation and increased costs on housing programs, neither Chair committed to fully renewing HUD’s rental assistance programs in FY24. House THUD Subcommittee Ranking Member Mike Quigley (D-IL) noted on NLIHC’s June 5 HoUSed Campaign National Call that he is hopeful Congress will find a way around spending caps by enacting a supplemental spending bill to ensure no one receiving HUD rental assistance loses the funding they rely on for housing.
In a March letter to Ranking Member DeLauro, HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge outlined the devastating impact of cutting HUD funding to FY22 levels plus what would happen if HUD’s programs faced a 22% cut from FY23. The Secretary noted that, under a 22% cut:
- Almost one million households currently receiving rental assistance through HUD’s Tenant-Based Rental Assistance (TBRA) or Project-Based Rental Assistance (PBRA) programs would lose the assistance they rely on to keep a roof over their heads. This would disproportionately impact households of color, people with disabilities, and older adults.
- HUD’s Public Housing Operating Fund would face an expected 78% cut, meaning families living in public housing would experience deferred maintenance, leading to a further decrease in housing quality, potentially exposing families to unsafe living conditions such as mold and lead-based paint.
- Almost 100,000 fewer people experiencing homelessness would receive the assistance they need to find and maintain stable housing. In 2022, on any given night an estimated 583,000 people in the United States experienced homelessness, and almost 40% experienced unsheltered homelessness.
At a time when renters with the lowest incomes face an over 7.2 million unit shortage of affordable housing, when the gap between income and rents continues to widen, when only one in four people who need rental assistance receive it, and when the number of people experiencing homelessness is on the rise, cuts to HUD rental and homelessness assistance programs would be catastrophic for individuals, families, and the communities they live in.
Take Action
Failure to increase appropriations for HUD’s vital affordable housing and homelessness assistance programs would have a devastating impact on the people and communities served by these programs. Even with recent funding increases to federal programs, many are still impacted by the austere spending caps put in place by the Budget Control Act of 2011 – HUD’s cumulative appropriations since FY2010 are still slightly lower than if annual appropriations had remained at FY2010 levels and adjusted only for inflation.
We cannot afford to take a step backwards. Advocates should call, email, and Tweet their members of Congress, and urge them 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.
Take action today by:
- Signing your organization on to CHCDF’s annual budget letter – join more than 2,000 organizations from around the country on CHCDF’s annual 302(b) 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.
- Emailing your members of Congress today and urging them to increase – not cut – resources for affordable housing and homelessness in FY24, and to support NLIHC’s top appropriations priorities:
- Implement full funding for the Tenant-Based Rental Assistance (TBRA) program to renew all existing contracts.
- Provide full funding for public housing operations and repairs.
- Fully fund homelessness assistance grants.
- Provide $100 million for legal assistance to prevent evictions.
- Fund a permanent Emergency Rental Assistance program.
- Maintain funding for competitive tribal housing grants for tribes with the greatest needs
Checking out NLIHC’s advocacy toolkit, “Oppose Dramatic Cuts to Federal Investments in Affordable Housing,” for talking points and sample social media messages.