WASHINGTON — House Republicans’ vow to use the debt ceiling negotiations to extract spending concessions from Democrats has housing advocates worried about cuts targeting crucial programs amid a strained supply and elevated rents.
The stakes are especially high for the Housing and Urban Development Department because the cost of maintaining some of its biggest programs, such as rental vouchers, at their existing level increases each year as rents rise, advocates said.
“Depending on how they do it, it could result in resources being taken away from households that are already receiving housing assistance,” said Sarah Saadian, the National Low Income Housing Coalition’s senior vice president of public policy. “At a time where we’re seeing rising rents, eviction rates that are reaching pre-pandemic levels, homelessness is on the rise in many communities, this is the exact time where Congress should be expanding resources, expanding housing resources, not cutting them back.”
