LeadingAge Takes Housing to the Hill; Take Action from Home Using LeadingAge's Action Alert
(Oct. 20, 2026) As reported by LeadingAge, with the debate over federal housing funding and policy heating up ahead of the midterm elections, the national association’s affordable housing policy experts and housing provider members from around the U.S. visited congressional offices on Oct. 6th to elevate and explain affordable senior housing communities’ most pressing issues.
Discussions focused on sharing member experiences with congressional committee staff from both parties, including the House Financial Services Committee and the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, which oversee policy for federal housing programs, as well as the Senate Committee on Appropriations, which oversees funding for housing programs.
Led by LeadingAge’s housing policy team, the group of 10 mission-driven housing organizations also met with the office of Senator Reed (D-RI), a key champion of affordable senior housing programs, and the office of Congresswoman Goodlander (D-NH), who helps lead bipartisan efforts to speed up affordable housing production.
Conversations centered on five priorities outlined in LeadingAge’s housing policy agenda: expanding rental assistance for older adults, improving preservation programs for existing affordable senior housing, strengthening development tools to create new units for older adults with low incomes, investing in Service Coordination and place-based supportive services throughout affordable senior housing, and modernizing existing programs serving older adults.
The group of advocates represented housing communities from Massachusetts to Ohio to California, through both large and small housing portfolios. Over several hours in both the House and Senate, LeadingAge members described their experiences with federal housing programs, including the importance of the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly program; their challenges with infeasible domestic procurement requirements through the Build America, Buy America (BABA) Act; and such ongoing concerns as the need for greater rental assistance funding and how Section 202 can be most effectively combined with the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC).
The congressional staff appeared deeply engaged in conversations of members’ experiences. Many asked detailed follow-up questions and requested input on potential solutions, including legislative approaches championed by LeadingAge.
The meetings underscored the value of member participation in federal advocacy. Collaborative efforts like these visits are vital to advocacy work on the Hill because they help elected officials understand the real-life impact of policy.
But being in DC is not the only avenue for engagement: members can also take action to urge Congress to enact full funding for housing programs serving older adults in Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 and get connected with LeadingAge’s work on affordable housing for older adults. As Congress is drafting funding bills for HUD for FY 2027 following expiration of the current Continuing Resolution (CR) on Dec. 11th, take action now to support a strong Senate HUD funding bill and reject funding reductions proposed by the House.
The House has advanced harmful cuts to rental assistance and housing supply programs at HUD — but the Senate can still take action to save and expand housing assistance for the next FY! Act now to urge your senators to make strong and smart investments in programs our communities rely on. You can personalize your messages to Congress with stories of how HUD funding directly supports residents and affordable housing communities.
Contact: Annalyse Komoroske Denio, akomoroskedenio@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8866