The House Committee on Appropriations voted its fiscal year 2026 (FY26) Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) funding bill out of Committee on July 17, 2025 by a party line of 35 to 28.

Committee members made minor changes to the bill’s HUD provisions but none that ameliorated the bill’s insufficient resources for housing choice voucher renewals, cuts to public housing funding, and elimination of funding for the HOME program. The bill would also eliminate funding for the Older Adult Home Modification Program, cut funding for fair housing and housing counseling programs, and come up short on funding for Homeless Assistance Grants.

The bill would provide a $237 million increase for the Section 8 Project-Based Rental Assistance program, which Majority staff report is sufficient to fully renew all contracts in FY26. The bill would also provide an $18 million increase to renew Section 202 Project Rental Assistance Contracts and Service Coordinator and congregate service programs in FY26, which Majority staff say is sufficient to meet full renewal needs in FY26.

Democrats counter that the bill underfunds each of these programs (Project Based Rental Assistance (PBRA) renewals by at least $500 million and Project Based Rental Assistance Contract (PRAC) renewals by $18 million). LeadingAge is working with congressional offices to ensure full funding is included in any final bill. Unlike requests for all previous years, this year’s FY26 budget request from HUD does not spell out specific FY26 renewal needs for these accounts; the request asked for zero funds for these programs.

In provisions very concerning to LeadingAge, the bill would give the HUD Secretary the authority to allow public housing agencies to alter program eligibility and resident rent-setting policies and to allow time limits and work requirements for residents of public housing and the housing choice voucher programs. In addition to the aging services workforce these programs serve, more than one million older adults rely on the public housing and voucher programs for stable, affordable housing. These flexibility provisions would not apply to HUD multifamily assisted housing.

According to the Committee’s report accompanying the bill, the bill rejects HUD’s request to block grant its five largest rental assistance programs to states because the block grant program has not been authorized. “Replacing functioning authorized programs with an unauthorized alternative would disrupt services to elderly, disabled, veterans, and working families who depend on these vital housing supports,” the report says.

Regarding the zeroing out of HOME funding, the report cites the existence of billions of currently unexpended carryover funding and directs HUD to report back on ways to remove barriers to the use of these funds. The report also directs HUD to provide an analysis of the impacts of streamlining National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requirements, which LeadingAge has urged HUD to address.

The report also “encourages the Secretary to prioritize discretionary funding to distressed counties within the Central Appalachian region” and, as amended in Committee, requires HUD to report to Congress on the installation of automatic sprinkler systems in public housing.

The Senate Committee on Appropriations is expected to take up its FY26 HUD bill this month but no markups have been scheduled yet.

Read the bill’s report here. Take action in support of strong funding for housing programs here.

Keep up with all LeadingAge news on HUD FY26 funding here.