Trump and DOGE Want to Zero Out Critical Fair Housing Funding in the FY26 Budget

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Trump and DOGE Want to Zero Out Critical Fair Housing Funding in the FY26 Budget

Background

Last Friday, President Trump issued his FY26 budget proposal and it cuts $163 billion across the federal government, including the “so-called” DOGE’s recommendation to zero out critical funding for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Fair Housing Initiatives Program (FHIP). Created during the Reagan Administration and consistently funded with strong bipartisan support in Congress, FHIP 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, including disabled veterans and seniors, people with disabilities, survivors of domestic violence, families with children, and more.

Our country was founded on the principle that all of us are entitled to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Illegal discrimination threatens this foundational principle and keeps people from pursuing their dreams; it is un-American! Our government has a responsibility to ensure freedom from discrimination and that our society is fair. One key way the federal government has fulfilled this responsibility is by ensuring non-profit fair housing groups are funded to enforce the fair housing laws and educate people and housing providers about their rights and obligations. That is what FHIP does. As an example:

• FHIP brings federal dollars to local communities to increase fair and affordable housing opportunities for thousands of people each year.
• FHIP helps end the discrimination that serves as barriers to progress and opportunity and make it unnecessarily harder for families to navigate difficult housing and lending markets.
• FHIP helps ensure fair housing groups can promote and implement programming that leads to increased fair and affordable housing opportunities, well-resourced schools, good paying jobs, clean transportation, healthy food and quality healthcare in every community.
• FHIP provides critical funding to help fair housing organizations combat redlining, appraisal bias, and predatory lending practices that rob people of homeownership and asset building opportunities.
• FHIP enables fair housing groups to implement programs that help cut down on homelessness and housing insecurity which are key to ensuring children perform well in school.

FHIP is the only source of federal funding that supports these critically important fair housing services, and it is a remarkably valuable use of tax-payer dollars.

FHIP saves the federal government money in multiple ways, especially as FHIP grantees processed 75.52 percent of complaints of housing discrimination complaints in 2023, compared to 5.10 percent by HUD, 19.26 percent by Fair Housing Assistance Program (FHAP) agencies, and 0.12 percent by the U.S. Department of Justice. And FHIP grantees save the federal government money by preventing and addressing discrimination, which ultimately reduces the cost associated with homeless and helps to prevent later costlier interventions like emergency housing and additional social services for people affected by housing discrimination. HUD itself also noted the unique value of the FHIP program in a 2011 study, noting that FHIP grantees are indispensable in the investigation of complex cases that require specialized expertise and sophisticated investigation methodologies.

Overall, FHIP supports activities that increase the supply of fair and affordable housing; help reduce homelessness; increases housing security for people with disabilities, seniors, veterans, survivors of domestic violence, and other vulnerable groups; and promotes healthy, vibrant neighborhoods where children have everything they need to thrive.

Nikitra Bailey, Executive Vice President, National Fair Housing Alliance released the following statement:

“President Trump and the so-called DOGE’s attempts to eliminate the Fair Housing Initiatives Program (FHIP) while the nation is in the throes of a fair and affordable housing crisis is dangerous and irresponsible. Zeroing out FHIP funding will harm disabled veterans and seniors, survivors of domestic violence, families with children, people with disabilities, and others seeking to secure housing free of discrimination. The action would also inject risk into an already fragile housing market during a time when voters want solutions that will drive down the barrage of skyrocketing housing costs in rural, suburban, and urban communities throughout the nation; removal of exclusionary zoning ordinances that thwart solutions to the creation of the over 5 million needed affordable housing units; expanded access to fair mortgage credit in underserved communities; reduced homeowners’ insurance costs; the removal of toxins from residential communities; and actions that ensure people can have clean water in their homes. Congress must continue to prioritize funding FHIP at the highest levels possible to ensure all people can live and thrive in well-resourced, healthy, and resilient communities with the life affirming amenities necessary to live thriving lives.

NFHA recommends that Congress appropriates 125 million in FY26 to FHIP to account for the growing need to address current forms of housing discrimination. Each year, there are over four million acts of housing discrimination and many of these cases go unreported for fear of retaliation and lack of education. The cost of conducting fair housing investigations has grown just as the complexities of the housing market have. Novel business practices, including emerging algorithms, have been adopted altering our nation’s housing market, and FHIP-funded organizations are at the forefront of addressing new and complex forms of housing discrimination that drive up costs for consumers and our society. Additionally, current funding levels leave over a half of a dozen states without a full service private nonprofit fair housing organization. Funding must be increased to account for this need and people must immediately contact their members of Congress and ask them to protect vital FHIP funding.”

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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.