Erik Gartland

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has proposed a rule that, under the guise of “flexibility for implementation of work requirements and term [time] limits,” would risk taking away rental assistance from as many as 3.7 million Americans. Many families and individuals could face homelessness as a result. A report from our nonprofit, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, includes state-level data that breaks down these effects by state and territory.

The Senate and House appropriations committees took sharply different approaches to funding rental assistance programs for 2025. While the Senate Appropriations Committee’s bill would fully fund existing housing vouchers and provide more resources for other critical housing and homelessness programs, the House Appropriations Committee’s proposal would result in an estimated 240,400 fewer households receiving vouchers and cut other affordable housing resources.

Housing is a basic human need, but stable housing is out of reach or hard to keep for far too many people. This is a policy choice, not an economic inevitability. Evidence shows that we can solve homelessness if we address its primary driver: the gap between incomes and rent.