Senate subcommittee presses HUD secretary on FY2026 budget, block-grant proposal and program cuts

Secretary Turner, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development secretary, defended the administration's FY2026 budget request and its plan to reorganize federal housing programs during testimony before the Senate Appropriations subcommittee overseeing HUD funding. Chair Cindy Hyde-Smith opened the hearing by noting the committee's review of the "fiscal year 2026 budget request for the Department of Housing and Urban Development."

The administration's proposal requests $43,500,000,000 for HUD, a figure Secretary Turner described as a "new playbook" intended to increase housing supply and reduce waste. "This budget requests $43,500,000,000 for the department funding critical programs and providing greater fiscal responsibility and restraint," Turner said, adding the proposal would "empower states" through a state-based formula grant that consolidates several rental assistance programs.

The consolidation at issue would roll tenant- and project-based Section 8, public housing, housing for the elderly, and housing for persons with disabilities into a single block grant. Chair Cindy Hyde-Smith warned that the OMB request assumes statutory changes the authorizing committees would need to make, and said the request is, in her words, "33,600,000,000 or 43.6% below the current funding levels." Hyde-Smith also said the consolidated programs currently serve "approximately 4,500,000 households," most of whom are elderly or disabled, and cautioned…