The House Appropriations Committee approved the HUD fiscal year 2026 (FY26) spending bill(link is external) on July 17, rejecting many of the drastic cuts and proposals to consolidate rental assistance and homelessness programs that were included in the President’s budget request, but still including cuts to key housing and community development programs.
The House Appropriations Subcommittee for Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies (THUD) proposed $67.75 billion for HUD in net discretionary funding, $939 million below what agency currently is funded at for FY25 under the full year Continuing Resolution.
Many of Enterprise’s priorities did receive level funding, such as the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), the Section 4 Capacity Building for Affordable Housing and Community Development programs, and Native American Programs. According to House Republicans(link is external), the amount provided for rental assistance programs would be sufficient for renewing all existing contracts. However, House Democrats(link is external) believe that the amounts provided could lead to the eviction of thousands of low-income families. This proposal would also eliminate programs like the HOME Investment Partnership Program (HOME).
The Committee report (link is external)cites funding that remains available through the HOME-American Rescue Plan (HOME-ARP) program as the reason to not provide funding for the core HOME program. HOME-ARP is not a substitute for the core HOME program as they serve different purposes and populations. The core HOME program is expressly designed to help state and local governments create affordable housing for low-income households and serves as an essential gap filler for many transactions involving the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (Housing Credit).
A breakdown of the affordable housing and community development spending levels can be found in our Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Request and Appropriations Chart. Here’s where funding for some of HUD’s key programs stands compared to last year’s budget:
- $35.3 billion for Tenant-Based Rental Assistance (Housing Choice Vouchers), a $877 million (2%) decrease from FY25.
- $17.1 million for Project-Based Rental Assistance, a $637 million increase (4%) from FY25.
- $7.3 billion for Public Housing Fund, a $1.5 billion (17%) decrease from FY25. This total includes $4.98 billion for the operating fund, $500 million (9%) below FY25, and $2.29 billion for the capital fund, $913 million (28%) below FY25.
- $950 million for Section 202 Housing for the Elderly, an $18 million (2%) increase from FY25.
- $261.8 million for Section 811 Housing for Persons with Disabilities, $5 million (2%) above FY25 enacted.
- $5.6 billion for the Community Development Fund (CDF). Of this, $3.3 billion is allocated for the CDBG, equal to FY25. An additional $2.3 billion in CDF is for earmarks and congressionally directed spending projects. The House proposal does not include funding for the Pathways to Removing Obstacles (PRO) Housing grant program.
- $4.16 billion for Homeless Assistance Grants, $107 million (3%) above FY25 enacted. This includes $290 million for Emergency Solutions Grants (ESG) and $3.9 billion for Continuum of Care (CoC), rejecting the administration’s proposal to consolidate the Housing Opportunities for Persons with Aids, ESG, and CoC programs.
- $1.34 billion for Native American Programs, level with FY25. This includes $1.11 billion for the Native American Housing Block Grant formula program and $150 million for the competitive program, both level with FY25.
- $125 million for the Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) program, $15.5 million (11%) below FY25.
- $29.5 million for the Fair Housing Activities, a $56.8 million (66%) decrease from FY25. The proposal maintains the funding for the Fair Housing Assistance Program ($26 million), National Fair Housing Training Academy ($1.5 million), and the Limited English proficiency initiative ($1 million) but would eliminate funding for the Fair Housing Initiatives Program (funded at $56 million in FY25).
- $42 million for the Section 4 program, level with FY25.
Elimination of Programs
The House THUD proposes to eliminate the following programs key housing and community development programs:
- HOME Investment Partnership Program, which was funded at $1.25 billion in FY25.
- Choice Neighborhoods Initiative, which was funded at $75 million in FY25.
- Preservation and Reinvestment Initiative for Community Enhancement (PRICE) program, funded at $10 million in FY25.
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
On June 23, the House Appropriations Committee approved(link is external) the proposed spending levels for rural housing programs(link is external) under the USDA Rural Housing Service. Below is an overview of the spending proposal:
- $1.715 billion for Section 521 Rental Assistance, $73 million (4%) above FY25.
- $880 million for the Section 502 Single Family Housing Direct Loan Program, $164 million (30%) above FY25. It also provides $6 million for the Tribal Direct Relending Pilot, $1.4 million above FY25.
- $400 million for the USDA Section 538 guaranteed loans to preserve and rehabilitate USDA rental housing, level with FY25.
- $60 million for the Section 515 Rural Rental Housing program, $13 million (28%) above FY25.
- $30 million for the Multi-family Housing Preservation and Revitalization Program, $16 million (35%) below FY25.
Treasury
The Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) subcommittee(link is external), which provides funding for the Treasury, released its proposal on July 20 and provided $23.3 billion for the agencies under its jurisdiction. This includes:
- $276 million for the CDFI Fund, $47 million (15%) below FY25 levels. The bill does not include the administration’s proposal to eliminate all CDFI Fund financial assistance programs, nor does it include the proposed $100 million program targeted to rural areas.
Enterprise opposes cuts to housing and community development programs and will continue to advocate for Congress to provide robust funding levels for affordable housing and community development.
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