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How the Budget Proposal Impacts HUD

Department of Housing and Urban DevelopmentOn Tuesday, the Trump administration announced its proposed 2018 budget. Included in the budget are several cuts to Department of Housing and Urban Development [1] programs, including cutting the funding to the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program, as well as the Choice Neighborhoods Initiative, HOME Investment Partnerships Program, and the Self-Help Homeownership Opportunity Program (SHOP).

According to HUD, the CDBG Program has not been effectively targeting the poorest communities and has not demonstrated a measurable impact on communities. Other programs are to be cut due as HUD states that State and local governments are better-positioned to serve their communities’ needs in place of these programs.

“This Budget reflects this Administration’s commitment to fiscal responsibility while continuing HUD’s core support of our most vulnerable households,” said HUD Secretary Ben Carson. “We will work very closely with Congress to support the critical work of our agency as we vigorously pursue new approaches to help work-eligible households achieve self-sufficiency.”

HUD’s request includes $40.68 billion in gross discretionary funding for the Department. In addition, the budget seeks up to $400 billion in new loan guarantee authority and making changes to strengthen Federal Housing Finance Agency’s (FHA) Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) or ‘reverse mortgage’ program. The Budget includes a $30 million administrative fee to support the modernization of FHA’s systems, which HUD calls “outdated.”

Additional cuts proposed include a $45 million cut to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau [2]. The current plan would steadily increase cuts to the Bureau over several years, with over $700 million in cuts expected by 2021.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin voiced his support of the proposed budget in a statement on Tuesday.

“President Trump’s budget focuses Treasury on our core missions of collecting revenue and managing the nation’s debt, while modernizing, streamlining and increasing efficiencies to reduce operating expenditures,” said Mnuchin. “President’s budget will achieve savings through reforms that prevent taxpayer bailouts and reverse burdensome regulations that have been harmful to small businesses and American workers. These initiatives, coupled with comprehensive tax reform and other key priorities, will move America one step closer to sustained economic growth of three percent or higher.”

Read the full budget here [3].