On July 4, President Trump signed into law what could be his biggest legislative accomplishment, the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” as it is officially titled. The bill, passed by the narrowest partisan majorities in both the House and Senate, makes permanent his 2017 tax cuts, wipes out the Biden administration’s environmental and sustainable energy tax credits, and makes cuts in Medicaid and other programs, while adding work requirements for some recipients able to work.
However, the bill also contains provisions that include the largest investment in affordable housing in a generation through improvements to the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC), permanent reauthorization of the New Markets Tax Credit, permanent preservation of the existing mortgage interest deduction, reinstatement of the mortgage insurance premium deduction, and an expanded and permanent Opportunity Zones (OZ) incentive that includes much needed reporting requirements absent in its 2017 version.
In many ways, this bill is the realization of a supply side economic agenda of the scope that President Ronald Reagan failed to achieve in the eight years of his presidency. In his 1986 memoir, “The Triumph of Politics: Why the Reagan Revolution Failed,” David Stockman, Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) during the first term of the Reagan Administration wrote, “Revolutions have to do with drastic, wrenching changes in an established regime… The Reagan Revolution, as I had defined it, required a frontal assault on the American welfare state… A true economic policy revolution meant risky and mortal political combat with all the mass constituencies of Washington’s largesse—Social Security recipients, veterans, farmers, educators, state and local officials, the housing industry, and many more.”
On December 19, 1980, one month before the inauguration, Stockman wrote to Reagan transition leaders Ed Meese and Jim Baker that “our enemy is time.” As I look back on the previous five months, it is clear that if current OMB Director Russell Vought had not studied this book, he clearly didn’t need to. Everything the administration has done learns from Stockman’s reflections on the “failure” of the Reagan Revolution, adjusts for its technocratic and political weaknesses and miscalculations, and executes an alternative strategy ruthlessly and flawlessly. It unfolded with lightning speed over the first 100 days, mowing down all of the power centers that unraveled the Reagan transition’s plan. Defeating time was Russell Vought’s first and most complete victory.
As we seek to defend spending on essential programs that effectively address the affordable housing crisis, it is essential that we keep this lesson in mind. Time is not on our side. We have scored some important victories, especially regarding the LIHTC, but we must be laser-focused on HUD appropriations, which is being written now.
The President’s budget proposal cuts nearly 44% from the Department of Housing and Urban Development – gutting critical housing and homelessness programs and eliminating highly successful and bipartisan programs like HOME and Family Self-Sufficiency. Further, the budget calls for the elimination of NeighborWorks® America – a highly effective organization that serves the housing needs of communities throughout the United States, especially in underserved rural areas in red states.
As noted in this week’s Member Brief, the House Appropriations Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development (THUD) Subcommittee is marking up the FY 2026 appropriations bill on Monday, July 14, and the full committee is schedule to mark up the bill on July 17. This is why NHC has written to the leaders of the Appropriations subcommittees responsible for HUD. Our letter states that “these proposed reductions would have a devastating impact on millions of Americans, particularly the most vulnerable, and would directly lead to increased homelessness across the country and the bankruptcy of many private businesses that own and operate affordable housing. It is critical that the affordable housing and community development gains made in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act not be undermined by cuts in other existing and highly successful affordable housing programs.” I have also made this point in media interviews.
During the coming congressional recess periods, it is essential that all state and local housing organizations use threatened programs articulate their value to their Senators and Members of Congress. There is nothing more impactful than having that conversation about a project that uses these funds. Including the developer or building owner is even more effective. Members of the House and Senate need to understand how these programs impact their constituents and businesses. Time is not on our side, but it is available for us if we use it.
For example, NeighborWorks® America (NWA) is a highly effective organization that serves the housing needs of millions of households throughout the United States, especially in highly underserved rural areas in red states. As a Congressionally chartered nonprofit, NWA is independent and none of its staff are federal employees. It is funded primarily by annual appropriations directly from Congress, in addition to some private grants and contributions.
In FY 2023, NWA had $232.5 million available with all funding sources combined, of which $166 million was from core Congressional appropriations. This funding provides flexible, strategic, training, and capital grants to 247 NWA network organizations. The NWA network leveraged its congressional appropriation 71:1 in FY 2024.
Over the past 10 years, NWA has created 213,481 homeowners; constructed, acquired, and preserved 140,133 rental homes; developed 13,943 For Sale developed homes; counseled and educated 1,382,638 customers; and grown its rental portfolio by 49% from 2015 to 2024, increasing from 142,603 to 211,856 rental homes owned and managed.
At the year-end of 2023, Federal rental assistance supported 2.3 million households, which is only one in four of the eligible households. In Mississippi, federal rental assistance supports 136,700 people (or 61,000 households). Four in 10 low-income Mississippians pay over half their income for rent or are experiencing homelessness.
In Arkansas, federal rental assistance supports 93,900 people (or 50,000 households). The Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program serves one in four eligible households. Three in 10 low-income Arkansans pay over half their income for rent or are experiencing homelessness.
The HOME program is a deeply impactful, locally-driven program that often provides essential gap financing for other programs such as LIHTC. It is a flexible, cost-effective program with quantifiable impact and broad bipartisan support.
In Mississippi, over $338.9 million HOME funds have been invested from 1992-2024. $1.9 billion investments have been leveraged, over 11,000 homes built or preserved, 2,600 families have received rental assistance, over 18,500 jobs have been supported, and $1.2 billion in local income has been generated, over the same period.
In Arkansas, $369 million in HOME funds have been invested from 1992-2024. Those funds have leveraged additional investments of $2.1 billion. Over 15,000 homes have been built or preserved, about 4,500 families have received rental assistance, over 20,000 jobs have been supported, and over $1.3 billion of local income has been generated by HOME investments.
We are also deeply concerned about funding for the Family Self Sufficiency (FSS) program. This bipartisan program is the federal government’s largest asset building program for families with low incomes. FSS provides people living in federally subsidized housing with the opportunity to build savings by capturing increased family rent payments due to increased earnings. Families in the program also have the opportunity to access services such as financial coaching or case management. FSS also enables families to leverage their housing assistance as a platform for economic mobility and to achieve their financial goals. Full funding at the FY 2024 level will allow this asset-building program to serve more households and help more families graduate to the self-sufficiency we all support.
Housing is a bipartisan issue that affects every American. We urge Congress to protect and strengthen federal investments in affordable housing and community development. Cutting these programs would undermine recent progress, increase homelessness, and harm local economies.