HUD Funds: Uncertainty and Cancellations Cause Concern; Resources Now Available to Help Residents Advocate for Adequate Funding and Staffing Levels
(March 11, 2025) Declaring that “DEI is dead at HUD,” U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Scott Turner – in a broadcast news segment posted on HUD’s YouTube channel and an agency media advisory – announced $4 million in cancelled “DEI contracts” as well as the recovery of $1.9 billion in misplaced funds.
This LeadingAge article reviews some of the HUD funding that is either in question or outright cancelled, including the Green and Resilient Retrofit Program (GRRP), capacity building grants, Fair Housing Initiatives Program funding, and mental health first aid training, among others.
House members discussed plans to cut HUD staff and programs as well as the nation’s housing supply at this year’s first hearing of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance on March 4th. Discussing the nation’s lack of affordable housing in his opening remarks, Subcommittee Chair Mike Flood (R-NE) said that the issue is “not that the government doesn’t spend enough money on federal programs,” but rather that the nation is not building enough homes to meet demand.
Ranking Member Emmanuel Cleaver (D-MO) said during the hearing that “the bills under consideration are constructive, but reported efforts to decimate HUD funding or staff are not constructive,” adding, “it would also not be constructive for Congress to pass housing legislation that HUD does not have the capacity or resources to implement,” referring to plans to cut HUD staff by 50 percent. Read more about the hearing in this LeadingAge article.
Later the same week, on March 8th, House Republicans unveiled a Continuing Resolution (CR) to keep federal programs funded until the end of fiscal year (FY) 2025. Thanks to advocacy by LeadingAge and its members, the year-long CR provides exceptions for HUD’s Section 8 Project-Based Rental Assistance and Section 202 Project Rental Assistance Contracts to ensure that HUD has the resources it needs to provide sufficient and uninterrupted funding for these programs. However, the CR does not provide all that LeadingAge was hoping for in an FY 2025 HUD funding bill. Read more in this article.
For residents who would like to engage in advocacy to ensure that HUD is well-funded and well-staffed, LeadingAge has developed this simple flyer to help and thanks members for requesting this type of resource.
Contact: Annalyse Komoroske Denio, akomoroskedenio@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8866