This morning a draft of President Trump’s 2018 HUD budget was leaked. It is uncertain whether or not these numbers are final, but the full budget is expected to be released on Tuesday. The leaked proposal makes even more drastic cuts than in the Skinny Budget released in March. These proposed cuts are draconian. Earlier this week, Satana Deberry wrote about how budgets are values documents. This budget proposal does not value families in need of safe, decent, and affordable housing.
The budget draft drastically reduces federal investments in affordable housing through HUD by 17% – $7.7 billion. According to an analysis by the National Low Income Housing Coalition, the proposed cuts could mean more than 250,000 people could lose their housing vouchers.
The HUD programs that are eliminated include:
- Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing;
- Choice Neighborhoods;
- Community Development Block Program;
- HOME Investment Partnerships; and
- Self-Help Homeownership Opportunity.
Nearly every single HUD program in this proposal sees significant cuts. For a comparison of the leaked budget proposal to the 2017 enacted budget, see below.
We will continue to keep you informed as the final version is released next week, but it is clear from this draft, that this budget must be opposed. As developers and advocates, we must clearly demand of our Congressional delegation a budget that invests in North Carolina’s families, particularly those most in need of safe, decent, and affordable housing.
