NLIHC and our colleagues with the Campaign for Housing and Community Development Funding (CHCDF) will host a National Day of Action on January 25 to urge those in our networks to contact their members of Congress and demand increased funding for HUD and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) affordable housing, homelessness, and community development programs in a final fiscal year (FY) 2024 budget!
Take Action!
Advocates should contact their members of Congress on January 25 to demand that they address the housing needs of people with the lowest incomes and the over 653,000 people experiencing homelessness by enacting an FY24 spending bill with significant increases for affordable housing, homelessness, and community development programs.
In addition to the most possible funding, NLIHC is pushing Congress to provide in any final FY24 budget:
- Full funding to renew all existing contracts for the Tenant-Based Rental Assistance (TBRA/Housing Choice Voucher) and Project-Based Rental Assistance (PBRA) programs.
- Increased funding for public housing operations and repairs.
- At minimum, the Senate’s proposed $3.9 billion for Homeless Assistance Grants.
- The $20 million in funding for the Eviction Prevention Grant Program provided in the Senate bill.
- The House’s proposed $1.1 billion for Native Housing.
National, state, local, tribal, and territorial organizations can also join over 2,100 organizations on 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.
Not sure what to say? Stay tuned for NLIHC’s National Day of Action resource – to be released the morning of January 25 – for ideas, tips, and inspiration.
Background
Your advocacy is needed to ensure that Congress enacts a final spending bill that fully funds affordable housing and homelessness programs. Because the cost of housing rises every year, increased funding is necessary to maintain the number of people served by HUD’s affordable housing and homelessness programs. In FY24 alone, HUD needs an estimated $13 billion to $16 billion in additional funding just to maintain current levels of assistance.
Congress is expected to pass another continuing resolution (CR) before the current CR expires on January 19. The new CR will extend federal funding for HUD and USDA at current levels until March 1, at which point members will need to finalize a spending bill, pass another CR, or face a partial shutdown of the federal government.
The road to enacting a final FY24 spending bill with sufficient HUD funding is steep. New analysis shows that neither the House nor Senate draft bill provides sufficient funding to renew all existing Housing Choice Vouchers. Under the Senate proposal, as many as 80,000 fewer households would receive needed assistance, and under the House funding level, roughly 112,000 fewer households would receive assistance.
Anything less than a final FY24 spending bill with significant funding increases for HUD will result in more housing insecurity, greater hardship for low-income households, and, ultimately, increased homelessness at a time when communities nationwide are experiencing historically high rates of homelessness. Congressional action is needed now to help communities address this pervasive and growing crisis.
Thank you for your advocacy!