AHF Welcomes Biden’s Proposed 15% HUD Budget Increase

President Bidens budget proposal for HUD is great news and could not have come a moment too soon, said Michael Weinstein, president of AHF.

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Saturday, April 10, 2021
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Public policy, Government, Construction & Property, White House, Federal Government, Public policy, Other Policy Issues, Urban planning, Other Construction & Property, Residential Building & Real Estate, Biden family, Public housing in the United States, United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, Urban planning in the United States, Joe Biden, Homelessness, Democrats United States), Government, Federal government of the United States
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  • President Bidens budget proposal for HUD is great news and could not have come a moment too soon, said Michael Weinstein, president of AHF.
  • Even before the pandemic, many millions of Americans were struggling with housing affordability while homelessness was continuing to spiral out of control.
  • The times require real action and President Bidens HUD budget delivers it.
  • Politico also reported the Biden budget blueprint would boost funding by nearly 10 percent, to $3.8 billion, for the Community Development Block Grant program.


Housing justice advocates from AHF and its housing advocacy arm, Housing Is A Human Right (HHR), today are cheering President Joe Biden’s proposed 2022 budget for his Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Department, which includes an overall 15% increase above current levels, and includes significant increases for two programs—the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME (HOME Investment Partnerships Program)—which the Trump administration repeatedly tried to eliminate.

“President Biden’s budget proposal for HUD is great news and could not have come a moment too soon,” said Michael Weinstein, president of AHF. “Even before the pandemic, many millions of Americans were struggling with housing affordability while homelessness was continuing to spiral out of control. We thank the Biden administration for its leadership here and encourage them to do everything in their power to shepherd the budget to the finish line with these numbers and increases intact.”

According to a story published yesterday in Politico, “The White House is proposing $68.7 billion to fund the Department of Housing and Urban Development in fiscal year 2022, a 15 percent increase over current levels, in the budget request released Friday.”

Biden’s budget proposal will allow for housing subsidies to 200,000 additional families and will add $500 million—a roughly 17 percent increase—to the Homeless Assistance Grants program at a time when more families face the prospect of losing their homes due to the pandemic. Politico also noted that, “HUD on Thursday unveiled $4.9 billion in new emergency grants for state and local homelessness-prevention efforts as part of the $1.9 trillion rescue plan enacted last month.”

“We applaud the Biden administration for increased budget allocations for much needed housing assistance for low income and unhoused communities and support of the Community Development Block Grant and HOME programs. These crucial housing programs are popular with both legislators and the public—and are also programs which President Trump repeatedly tried to cut year after year,” said Susie Shannon, policy director for Housing Is A Human Right, AHF’s housing advocacy arm. “The times require real action and President Biden’s HUD budget delivers it.”

Politico also reported the Biden budget blueprint would boost “…funding by nearly 10 percent, to $3.8 billion, for the Community Development Block Grant program. And it would give the HOME Investment Partnerships Program an additional $500 million, bringing its total funding to $1.9 billion, the highest funding level for the program since 2009.”

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