NFHA Condemns the House THUD Subcommittee’s Decision to Slash Critical Fair Housing Funding
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
NFHA Condemns the House THUD Subcommittee’s Decision to Slash Critical Fair Housing Funding
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the National Fair Housing Alliance® (NFHA ™) denounced the House Appropriations Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (THUD) Subcommittee bill that would slash critical fair housing funding, leaving disabled veterans, seniors, survivors of domestic violence, families with children, people of color, and more unprotected during the nation’s fair and affordable housing crisis. The House draft bill follows the recommendations in the Trump administration’s budget proposal, including eliminating vital funding for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD’s) Fair Housing Initiatives Program (FHIP), which funds local, community-based fair housing organizations throughout the U.S. In 2023, FHIP-funded organizations processed over 75 percent of all housing discrimination complaints filed, during a time where the nation is facing a record number of housing discrimination complaints.
“Despite the nation’s escalating fair and affordable housing crisis, the House draft FY26 Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development (THUD) appropriations bill would only worsen the housing crisis, while distressing and upending the most vulnerable communities that are currently being served,” said NFHA’s Executive Vice President Nikitra Bailey. “Without local fair housing organizations on the ground serving their communities, everyday people will be unfairly denied fair housing opportunities, resulting in more people becoming homeless and/or facing housing insecurity.”
Created during the Reagan Administration and consistently funded with strong bipartisan support in Congress, HUD’s FHIP funding has helped thousands of families to access housing free from discrimination, extended fair housing opportunities to millions of people, and prepared local housing providers to better understand their responsibilities under the law. It is a competitive grant program that, through nonprofit fair housing organizations, provides localized assistance to people who face housing and lending discrimination. FHIP funding is the only federal resource for local, nonprofit, private enforcement and fair housing services.
On Sunday, July 13th, the House released its draft Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 THUD appropriations bill. The House Appropriations THUD subcommittee held a mark-up of the bill on Monday, July 14th at 5pm ET. The full House Appropriations Committee is scheduled to meet Thursday, July 17th at 10am ET for further consideration of the bill. In addition to calling for the elimination of the FHIP program, the House proposal would allocate only $68 million for the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (FHEO), which cuts $18 million from its current budget. FHEO is already underfunded, resulting in insufficient staffing levels. The House bill will significantly reduce FHEO’s staff at a time when complaints of housing discrimination are at an all-time high.
The full House Appropriations Committee should reject this measure and work to ensure FHIP is fully funded. Failure to do so means that the nation’s fair and affordable housing crisis will only worsen at a time when voters are seeking federal interventions to address the barrage of skyrocketing rents; a lack of supply of affordable housing units; increased complaints of housing discrimination; and technology’s growing role in making housing decisions.
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The National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA) is the country’s only national civil rights organization dedicated solely to eliminating all forms of housing and lending discrimination and ensuring equal opportunities for all people. As the trade association for 200 fair housing and justice-centered organizations throughout the U.S. and its territories, NFHA works to dismantle longstanding barriers to equity and build diverse, inclusive, well-resourced communities.