FY 2026 HUD Funding Moves Forward as Shutdown Looms
We want to inform you of recent efforts to pass the Fy 2026 minibus budget, which includes funding for HUD. The current continuing resolution (CR) will expire at midnight tonight, and it appears certain there will be a shutdown of some length beginning Saturday. That said, in our conversations with Capitol Hill staff, there is little panic and a sense that the solution is just a matter of negotiation and timing. We hope this turns out to be the case.
On Thursday, the Senate took its first procedural vote on the minibus, which funds Defense, State, Transportation, HUD, DHS, Labor, HHS & Education. The vote failed 45-55, with eight Republican senators joining all the Senate Democrats in preventing the government funding legislation from moving forward. Negotiations continued between President Trump and Democratic Leader Schumer, and they agreed to strip out the DHS budget and proceed with a minibus including the remaining federal agencies, including HUD. A CR would be voted on to fund DHS while a final budget for the agency is negotiated. Several Republican senators raised objections, and those have led to Majority Leader Thune agreeing to a series of amendment votes today, followed by a vote on the minibus. If this process plays out as expected, with the minibus passing the Senate, the House would then vote on the reworked budget bill early next week. Passage in the House will depend on President Trump whipping votes, as there is sure to be pushback from conservatives. This will result in a brief shutdown this weekend.
As a reminder, the THUD budget allocates a total of $77.3 billion for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Notable funding amounts include:
Tenant-Based Rental Assistance/Section 8 Housing Vouchers: The bill provides $38.4 billion for these vouchers, an increase from both the $35.3 billion included in the House Republican THUD bill and the fiscal year 2025 enacted funding level of $36.04 billion.
Project-Based Rental Assistance: Funding is set at $18.5 billion, which exceeds both the $17.127 billion in the earlier House THUD bill and the FY 2025 enacted level of $16.5 billion.
HOME Program: The bill restores funding for the HOME program at $1.25 billion. This is a reversal from the House Republican THUD bill, which would have eliminated funding for this program.
Community Development Block Grants (CDBG): The bill maintains funding at $3.3 billion, at the same level as previous years.
Public Housing: Funding for public housing is set at $8.3 billion—$1 billion more than the earlier House bill, though still less than the prior enacted level, which was close to $9 billion.
Choice Neighborhoods: The bill allocates $25 million for the Choice Neighborhoods program, a reduction from the current level of $75 million.
As always, we will keep you informed as the budget saga continues.