Senate Democrats press HUD over homelessness grants and housing cuts in FY27 budget hearing

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Senate questions HUD on housing

Highlights

Murray criticizes HUD at the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee hearing for delays in releasing Continuum of Care grants and shifting away from permanent supportive housing, risking aid for over 170,000 households.
HUD Secretary Turner disputes that staffing losses cause delays, citing government shutdowns and asserting ongoing compliance with court orders, while defending a broader approach beyond housing first.
Murray contrasts proposed housing cuts with increased defense funding, arguing that redirecting $500 billion could build 1.1 million affordable units to address a seven million unit national shortfall.

Funding delays and grant compliance under scrutiny

As reported by the Senate Committee on Appropriations, Murray uses the hearing before the Senate Appropriations Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Subcommittee to question whether HUD will renew Continuum of Care grants expiring this year, as required by the FY26 appropriations bill. She says thousands of organizations across the country depend on the grants to reduce homelessness and warns that communities are still waiting too long for funds to be released.

Murray argues that HUD has moved away from proven homelessness strategies such as permanent supportive housing and rapid rehousing. She says earlier changes to federal grant rules could have cut homelessness housing support in Washington state by more than half and could have put more than 170,000 households nationwide at risk of losing assistance.

Turner says HUD has already sent out first-quarter and second-quarter money from the prior year and that later tranches will also go out. He maintains that the department is taking a different approach because he views the housing first model as inadequate on its own, saying homelessness policy also must address mental health, substance addiction and domestic violence.

Murray rejects that argument, saying research shows economic pressures are driving homelessness and that housing first includes case management, mental health, substance use treatment and employment services. She also accuses HUD of continuing to attach illegal or unacceptable grant conditions despite a federal court order, and says local governments and nonprofits are being forced to navigate shifting requirements while funding notices remain delayed.

Turner responds that HUD will comply with court orders and enforce the Fair Housing Act as written. He disputes Murray's claim that staffing losses at the department are responsible for delays, saying departures were voluntary and that HUD still has an adequate team, while also pointing to the government shutdown as a factor holding up notices of funding opportunities.

Budget priorities and housing supply debate

Murray then broadens the dispute to the administration's overall spending priorities, contrasting proposed housing cuts with what she describes as a large increase in defense funding under President Donald Trump's budget plan. She argues that federal resources should be directed toward easing housing shortages rather than toward military spending.

During the exchange, Murray says that redirecting a half trillion dollars in additional war funding could support construction of 1.1 million affordable housing units, which she says would make a significant dent in a national shortfall of seven million units. She presses Turner on whether more families can be helped with $84 billion than with $73.5 billion, framing the issue as a direct trade-off between reduced housing support and unmet household need.

Turner does not directly answer that comparison and instead says his focus as HUD secretary is on housing affordability and reducing a regulatory environment that he says is holding back construction. He also points to high mortgage rates, interest rates and inflation as structural pressures affecting affordability, while Murray counters that the administration is avoiding responsibility for its own budget choices.

Our earlier report on the House amendment to the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act covered lawmakers’ push to expand homeownership and improve affordability by reducing barriers to new home construction and modernizing HUD programs. The measure also aimed to let banks allocate more funding into local communities, potentially supporting lending as housing supply constraints continue to weigh on affordability.

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