President Trump Releases FY2019 Federal Budget Proposal with Drastic Cuts for Affordable Housing and Community Development Programs

On February 12, President Trump released his FY2019 federal budget proposal with drastic cuts to affordable housing and community development programs. The budget proposal slashes federal investment in affordable homes, increases rents, and imposes work requirements on those receiving housing benefits. For a detailed table of the President's FY19 budget proposal for affordable housing and community development program prepared by the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC), please click here.

Overall, the Trump Administration proposes to cut funding for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) by $8.8 billion or 18.3% compared to the 2017 enacted levels. In an addendum stemming from the bipartisan budget agreement, the president suggests that $2 billion above his request could be added back in for a final proposed cut of $6.8 billion, still representing a 14% cut.

The president proposes eliminating critical housing and community development programs, including the National Housing Trust Fund, Community Development Block Grants (CDBG), the HOME Investments Partnership Program, and the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness.

For public housing, President Trump also proposes entirely eliminating federal funding for capital repairs and slash funding to operate public housing.

The president would underfund rental assistance through the Housing Choice Voucher program by nearly $3 billion. While the administration suggests that $700 million provided in an addendum would reverse some of this cut, NLIHC estimates that this proposed cut would lead to at least 200,000 housing vouchers being lost.

The budget would also impose punitive measures that would jeopardize family stability, increasing the financial burdens they face through higher rents and work requirements.

According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, the federal budget proposal will leave Massachusetts at risk of losing:

• 7,477 Housing Choice Section 8 Vouchers;
• $105,867,048 in funding for public housing;
• $24,336,789 in funding for HOME; and
• $91,053,974 in funding for CDBG.

For more information on the President's FY2019 budget proposal from NLIHC, please click here.