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Members Warn of HUD Program Cuts, Urge Major Increases to Housing Accounts
Summary
Members of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development testified during a member-day hearing that recent federal actions and funding cuts threaten housing programs for seniors, people with disabilities and communities of color, and urged large appropriations increases for fiscal 2026.
WASHINGTON — Members of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development warned during a member-day hearing that recent federal actions and funding cuts have put critical housing programs at risk and urged large increases in fiscal 2026 appropriations to protect vulnerable households.
Representative Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.) told the subcommittee she is “deeply concerned about the state of housing” and said actions by the current administration have reduced staff at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), delayed funding and “severely undermined housing protections” for underserved communities. “In the state of Illinois, almost 400,000 people rely on subsidized housing,” Ramirez said. She said about $60,000,000 in funding was “thrown into limbo” by recent federal directives.
The warning was echoed by Representative Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), who described rising homelessness, constrained housing production and what she called increasing purchases of single-family housing by private equity funds. Waters asked the subcommittee to “increase all housing accounts well beyond fiscal year 2024 funding levels” and outlined specific funding requests, including large allocations for vouchers, public housing capital needs and emergency housing assistance.
Why this matters: Subcommittee appropriations set funding levels for HUD programs that serve seniors, people with disabilities, people experiencing homelessness and other populations. Witnesses said funding uncertainty and grant cancellations can delay construction, homelessness prevention and fair-housing enforcement efforts.
Key testimony and details
- Ramirez said the administration cancelled or delayed actions affecting HUD programs and cited the HIV/AIDS Housing (HAPWA) program and fair-housing grants as examples. She said the administration canceled 78 Fair Housing Initiatives Program grants in February, a claim she presented as part of a broader argument that cuts are disproportionately affecting Black and Brown communities and people with disabilities.
- Ramirez urged the subcommittee to define congressional intent in appropriation language so funds are protected from further executive-branch changes and to sustain funding for programs that provide permanent supportive housing.
- Waters called for large, specific funding increases and cited her Housing Crisis Response Act as a model. She recommended, among other items, $10 billion for the HOME program, $500 million for each of the Section 202 and Section 811 accounts, $24 billion for the Housing Choice Voucher program, $65 billion to address public-housing capital needs and $8 billion for emergency housing vouchers. Waters also said the FY25 continuing resolution reduced federal housing funding by $500 million and said that cut could put “at least 32,000 families at risk of eviction and homelessness.”
- Members from both parties voiced concern about access to affordable housing; Representative Clyburn noted older homeowners receiving offers from investment firms and urged protecting longtime residents, and another member highlighted rising mortgage interest rates and insurance costs as additional affordability pressures.
What was not decided: The hearing recorded testimony and requests but did not include formal votes or committee-level funding decisions. Witnesses asked the subcommittee to consider larger appropriations and to protect congressional intent in any FY26 measures; the subcommittee did not issue directions or adopt specific language at the hearing.
Context and next steps: Witnesses’ written statements will be placed in the hearing record. Appropriations staff will use member input as they draft the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development appropriations bill for fiscal 2026; any final funding levels will be set through the committee and then full House and Senate appropriations processes.
Ending: Members urged prompt action to shore up HUD programs and to consider statutory or appropriations language clarifying congressional intent so that funds reach local housing projects and fair-housing enforcement efforts.
