NLIHC calls on advocates to take action on Monday, March 10 to protect HUD from staff layoffs and funding cuts!
The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Elon Musk, is proposing to cut HUD staff by half, decimating the agency and its ability to help states and communities address their most pressing affordable housing, community development, and homelessness challenges. At the same time, Congress is struggling to finalize a fiscal year (FY) 2025 spending bill, and without a resolution by March 14 – in just nine days – the federal government may shut down.
Take Action
- Participate in a National Day of Action on Monday, March 10 to show your support for HUD programs and staff! Contact your Senators and Representatives, post on social media using the hashtag #HandsOffHUD, or host local events.
- Sign your organization onto a national letter opposing cuts to HUD staff. Help us reach our goal of 1,000 national, state, and local organizations by our March 11 deadline!
- Urge your members of Congress to pass a final FY25 spending bill with the highest level of funding possible for affordable housing and homelessness resources.
Background
HUD investments are critical to low-income households and communities across the nation. Without adequate funding for federal housing and homelessness programs – and without the staff to administer and oversee these funds – states and communities will face new barriers to accessing the critical federal resources they need to pay the rent, build affordable housing, address homelessness, recover from disasters, revitalize distressed communities, promote homeownership, enforce fair housing laws, and more. Rather than improving efficiency, such drastic staffing cuts at HUD will cause significant, harmful, and costly delays and will worsen America’s affordable housing and homelessness crisis, as well as its significant disaster recovery needs.
DOGE proposes to slash HUD staffing in half, and it is already moving forward with plans lay off employees working in local field offices, putting some offices at risk of closure. Field office staff are a vital link between HUD and the communities the department serves, helping to administer grants, provide technical assistance, and perform other essential functions.
Termination of HUD employees will make it harder for states and local governments to access congressionally approved resources to:
- Rebuild housing and infrastructure after major disasters and mitigate future harm by increasing resilient homes.
- Ensure congressionally directed spending, also known as earmarks, can be used to support key projects in local communities.
- Help rural communities and Tribal nations address their most pressing housing challenges.
- Build and preserve affordable rental housing for low-income households.
- Address and prevent homelessness, which has reached its highest level on record.
- Provide assistance to help low-income households afford their homes and reduce energy costs.
- Operate and maintain public housing and other affordable housing for millions of seniors, people with disabilities, and families with children.
- Revitalize neighborhoods, promote economic development, and improve community facilities, including infrastructure and services in underserved communities.
- Reform restrictive zoning and land use regulations that inflate housing costs and limit housing supply.
- Fix lead-based paint and other environmental hazards in homes.
- Investigate and enforce fair housing and civil rights laws.
- Comply with federal law to affirmatively further fair housing and guarantee every community has fair and affordable housing and related services.
- Access affordable mortgage loans to purchase and refinance their homes.
At the same time, lawmakers have failed to reach an agreement over a final FY25 spending bill, prompting concerns of a potential government shutdown on March 14, when the current stopgap funding measure expires. Because the cost of housing, homelessness, and development programs increases every year, it is crucial that HUD’s programs receive increased funding year-over-year to maintain the number of people and communities served by HUD’s vital programs.
As a direct consequence of the proposed cuts to HUD staff, and potential cuts to HUD funding, homeless shelters will close their doors, communities will stop construction on housing and community centers, households receiving rental assistance will face immediate rent increases and evictions, fair housing organizations cannot assist victims of discrimination, and communities, families, and small businesses impacted by disasters will be unable to rebuild. Local organizations that rely on federal funding to serve their communities may be forced to lay off staff or stop operations.
At a time when housing costs are far out of reach for renters and homelessness has reached an all-time high, now is the time to strengthen federal investments in affordable housing and homelessness solutions.
Thank you for your advocacy!