Erik Gartland

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.

Over 3.7 million people lived in doubled-up households in 2019, including an estimated 2.2 million renters, a recent report analyzing American Community Survey data found, exposing an often-hidden but widespread crisis in housing. “Doubling up,” or living with others because of economic hardship or housing loss, can lead to overcrowded living conditions, place undue strain on personal or familial relationships, and hinder kids’ performance in school.