Lawmakers Urge Hud To Rescind Homelessness Strategy Changes

Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., the ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee, led 53 House Democrats in urging Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Scott Turner to reverse a policy they say will severely undercut federal homelessness programs.

In a letter to HUD, lawmakers blasted the agency’s new Notice of Funding Opportunity for the 2025 Continuum of Care (CoC) program — warning it would dramatically reduce permanent supportive housing funding and disrupt services nationwide.

“We write in response to the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) reckless and disturbing policy change and funding announcement that could push over 170,000 formerly homeless individuals back on the streets and exacerbate our nation’s homelessness crisis,” the lawmakers wrote.

HUD issued the funding notice Nov. 13.

Under the changes, allocations for permanent supportive housing would drop from 86% of CoC funds to 30%.

Waters and colleagues said the timeline for applications is so compressed that it would create a roughly six-month gap in services — while deprioritizing communities using Housing First models.

“At a time when our nation has over 771,000 people experiencing homelessness, this (Notice of Funding Opportunity) will worsen the situation, impacting people with disabilities, veterans, domestic violence survivors, women with children and more,” they wrote.

The plan redirects CoC resources toward short-term shelters that tie participation to employment and substance-abuse treatment.

According to a statement from HUD, the administration believes this approach will increase accountability and encourage independence — targeting what it perceives to be the underlying drivers of homelessness.

“These long-overdue reforms will promote independence and ensure we are supporting means-tested approaches to carry out the President’s mandate, connect Americans with the help they need and make our cities and towns beautiful and safe,” HUD Secretary Scott Turner said in a release.

Turner announced $3.9 billion in competitive grant funding for the program.

House Democrats also criticized the agency for delaying release of the funding notice, arguing that the shortened window for applicants could jeopardize rent payments and essential service contracts.