May 7, 2025
On Friday, the Administration released The President’s FY 2026 Discretionary Budget Request, which proposes dramatic funding reductions to a wide range of federal programs critical to the health and well-being of the unhoused population.
The proposed cuts to HHS and HUD target energy assistance, HIV services, maternal-child health, family planning, infectious disease prevention, preventive health, substance use/harm reduction services, rental assistance, and homeless services. The proposal includes many instances of eliminating programs altogether or consolidating numerous grant programs into a single block grant to states, thereby capping federal aid and shifting the remaining cost burden to states.
If we want to solve homelessness, this budget won’t get us there.
Should these budget proposals be adopted, the cuts would dramatically reduce the federal resources needed to deliver health care and provide housing to the increasing number of people struggling with poor health and homelessness. We are concerned that many states will be unable to make up for these funding losses, resulting in a further cascade of funding reductions and service eliminations at the state and local level.
The result will be many more people who are sick and in poor health sleeping on sidewalks and in public parks. This only makes it harder to escape homelessness.
We call on the HCH Community to contact their members of Congress and encourage them to fully fund HHS and HUD programs so that we can address the health care and housing needs of the communities we serve. We can only end homelessness when all people get the health care and housing support they need to achieve wellness and stability.
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Background details from the budget:
Within HHS:
- Cuts over $4 billion by eliminating the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), which helps lower energy costs for low-income households.
- Reduces HRSA by $1.7 billion through consolidating Ryan White programs for HIV care and eliminating Maternal and Child Health programs, family planning programs, and education and training grants.
- Reduces CDC by $3.6 billion by consolidating funding for infectious disease, opioids, hepatitis, sexually transmitted diseases, and tuberculosis into one grant program while also eliminating the Preventive Health and Human Services Block Grant.
- Reduces SAMHSA by just over $1 billion to eliminate harm reduction grants focused on lowering harm to people who use drugs and eliminating funding for the Mental Health/Substance Use Prevention/Treatment Programs of Regional and National Significance.
- Reduces CMS funding by $674 million and ends DEI and health-equity focused activities and certain outreach and education funding.
Within HUD:
- Cuts almost $27 billion by creating a new state-based grant program that consolidates five rental assistance programs, limiting assistance “for able-bodied adults” to only two years and terminates many federal regulations.
- Reduces homeless assistance programs by $532 million by consolidating Continuum of Care and HOPWA programs with a pared-down Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG), capping assistance at two years. Mentions President’s “pledge to eliminate street homelessness by quickly connecting homeless individuals to shelter.”
