The White House released and sent to Congress its Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 budget summary. Because of strict budget caps imposed by the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023, the Administration’s budget balances mostly level funding with proposals for new initiatives for aging services, including on workforce, Medicaid, immigration, and affordable housing.

Overall, the President proposed relatively flat funding for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) but included a number of bold initiatives for housing affordability and access, including for older adults. Like in Fiscal Year 2024, the President proposed guaranteed Housing Choice Vouchers for certain populations and is seeking the first new project-based rental assistance contracts in decades, designed to serve extremely low-income households. Newly this year, the President is proposing to establish a $20 billion “innovation fund” that would help invest in new multifamily housing development, as well as a new tax credit for first time homebuyers and grants to help local efforts on eviction prevention.

The proposal also renews existing project-based Section 8 and Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly contracts, seeks renewal funding for Service Coordinators, and requests supplemental funding to preserve Section 202 units undergoing conversion through the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD). Missing from the proposal is significant new investment in Section 202 and Service Coordination.

Notably, the budget proposes continuity funds for the Affordable Connectivity Program, which will sunset as early as May 2024 without urgent investment.

Again, this is just the first move in a long and complex set of discussions and negotiations that will determine the actual budget for the federal government next fiscal year. Further LeadingAge analysis is forthcoming.