Take Action TODAY! President Biden and House Republicans Close to Debt Ceiling Deal That Could Cut Funding for Affordable Housing and Homelessness Assistance
President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) could reach an agreement as soon as this week to lift the debt ceiling, and deep spending cuts for affordable housing and homelessness programs are squarely on the table. President Biden and Speaker McCarthy are also considering measures to impose rigid work reporting requirements for anti-poverty programs and to rescind COVID-19-relief funding, among other harmful provisions.
Call your members of Congress today! Your advocacy is more important than ever to ensure that any agreement to lift the debt ceiling protects and expands resources to help people with the lowest incomes find a safe, stable, accessible, and affordable place to call home.
Take Action
Contact your members of Congress TODAY and ask them to weigh in with the White House and congressional leaders. Tell them that it is unacceptable to attempt to balance the federal budget at the expense of low-income people.
Email your members of Congress today and urge them to increase – not cut – resources for affordable housing and homelessness programs in FY24 and to support NLIHC’s top appropriations priorities:
$32.7 billion for the TBRA program to renew existing vouchers and to expand the program to an additional 200,000 households.
$5.4 billion for public housing operations and $5 billion for public housing repairs.
$3.8 billion for HUD’s Homeless Assistance Grants program.
$100 million for legal assistance to prevent evictions.
$3 billion for a permanent Emergency Rental Assistance program.
$300 million for competitive tribal housing grants, targeted to tribes with the greatest needs.
Check out NLIHC’s advocacy toolkit, “Oppose Dramatic Cuts to Federal Investments in Affordable Housing,” for talking points, sample social media messages, and more!
Background
Congressional leaders must reach a deal to lift the debt ceiling by as soon as June 1, according to the U.S. Department of the Treasury, or risk a default that could cause widespread economic turmoil. President Biden and Speaker McCarthy could reach a deal as soon as this week.
House Republicans are demanding deep spending cuts to domestic programs, including housing and homelessness programs, and other harmful measures, in exchange for lifting the debt ceiling. The House-approved “Limit, Save, and Grow Act” would temporarily lift the debt limit in exchange for reducing FY24 spending to FY22 levels and capping future spending increases at 1% annually for 10 years. This would result in at least a 30% reduction in funding for key housing and homelessness programs.
According to HUD Secretary Marcia L. Fudge, such cuts would “represent the most devastating impacts in HUD’s history” and “make it impossible to stave off mass evictions.” Nearly 1 million households could lose HUD rental assistance, and nearly 120,000 fewer people experiencing homelessness would be served. USDA also released a statement suggesting that up to 63,000 rural households would lose rental assistance if the Republican budget bill passed. Republicans are also pushing to rescind unobligated COVID-19-relief funding and put in place rigid work requirements for some anti-poverty programs, among other harmful provisions. The White House has released state-by-state factsheets highlighting the devastating impacts of the proposed budget cuts.
It is critical that Congress not enact policies that increase poverty and hardship, especially for people with the lowest incomes. Members of Congress must look beyond dollar amounts and understand the human cost of cutting federal spending for affordable housing and homelessness programs. Call your members of Congress today!
The National Low Income Housing Coalition is dedicated to achieving racially and socially equitable public policy that ensures people with the lowest incomes have quality homes that are accessible and affordable in communities of their choice.
