NLIHC is calling on advocates nationwide to contact their members of Congress and keep urging them to pass a final fiscal year (FY) 2024 spending bill that provides increased funding for HUD’s vital affordable housing and homelessness programs, including full funding to renew all existing Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) contracts.
Congressional leaders have reached an agreement on how to divvy up total available funds among domestic priorities, though the agreed-upon spending levels have not yet been made public. However, the funding level for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was leaked, and the amount suggests that the agency could receive a significant spending boost over those levels previously proposed. The spending increase for DHS could further squeeze available funding for other domestic priorities, including HUD’s critically important affordable housing and homelessness programs.
Take Action!
Congress needs to hear from you! Advocates should contact their members of Congress and demand they help address the housing and homelessness crisis by enacting an FY24 spending bill with significant increases for affordable housing and homelessness programs, including NLIHC’s top priorities:
- Full funding to renew all existing contracts for the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program.
- Increased funding for public housing operations and repairs.
- At minimum, the $3.9 billion for Homeless Assistance Grants proposed by the Senate bill.
- The protection of $20 million in funding for the Eviction Prevention Grant Program provided in the Senate bill.
- The $1.1 billion for Native Housing proposed by the House bill.
Advocates can continue to engage their members of Congress by:
- Emailing or calling members’ offices to tell them about the importance of affordable housing, homelessness, and community development resources to you, your family, your community, or your work. You can use NLIHC’s Take Action page to look up your member offices or call/send an email directly!
- Using social media to amplify messages about the country’s affordable housing and homelessness crisis and the continued need for long-term solutions.
- Sharing stories of those directly impacted by homelessness and housing instability. Storytelling adds emotional weight to your message and can help lawmakers see how their policy decisions impact actual people. Learn about how to tell compelling stories with this resource.
National, state, local, tribal, and territorial organizations can also join over 2,100 organizations on the Campaign for Housing and Community Development Funding’s (CHCDF’s) national letter calling on Congress to support the highest level of funding possible for affordable housing, homelessness, and community development resources in FY24.
Background
HUD programs are currently being funded through a continuing resolution (CR), which funds the government at last year’s levels. The current CR is set to expire on March 1, at which point Congress will need to finalize a spending bill, pass another CR, or face a partial government shutdown.
After weeks of negotiations, congressional leaders reached an agreement on topline spending amounts for each of the 12 appropriations bills, including spending for Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (THUD). While the spending levels are not publicly available, the funding levels for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that were leaked suggest that the department will receive a major spending boost in FY24 above what was proposed in the Senate’s draft bill.
The increased funding for DHS puts even more pressure on HUD’s already inadequate funding. As proposed, neither the House nor Senate draft THUD spending bills provide substantial enough funding to renew all existing HCV contracts: under the House bill, an estimated 112,000 vouchers would be lost upon turnover, while under the Senate bill, an estimated 80,000 vouchers would be lost.
The continuing debate over HUD funding is taking place against the backdrop of historically high rates of homelessness, and congressional action is needed now to help communities address this pervasive and growing crisis. The COVID-19 pandemic proved that, with action from Congress, the administration, and communities, homelessness is both solvable and preventable. Together, we have achieved extraordinary, historic resources for people experiencing or at risk of homelessness, and together we will continue to defend and expand these vital investments.
Thank you for your advocacy!