02.25.25

Cantwell Sounds Alarm on DOGE Plan to Cut Half the Staff at Federal Housing Agency

Mass firings could increase housing costs, and delay or halt funding for critical housing programs that protect families, address homelessness; The Washington Post: HUD cuts expected to worsen America’s housing crisis, staffers say

WASHINGTON, D.C. – ICYMI, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and senior member of the Senate Committee on Finance, joined 24 Senate Democrats in sending a letter to the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Scott Turner, questioning the alarming consequences of the recently announced “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) Task Force on HUD’s ability to support vulnerable communities. 

“HUD engages in critical work supporting communities in expanding their housing supply, providing rental assistance, and preventing homelessness—work that is urgently important for millions of Americans looking to purchase a home to build generational wealth or find an affordable place to rent,” wrote the Senators. “Axing these offices will handicap the Department’s ability to serve the American public and exacerbate the housing crisis we currently find ourselves in.”

The DOGE Task Force plans reportedly include laying off 50% of its workforce, eliminating half of HUD’s field offices serving local communities across the country, and gutting programs that protect families and people with disabilities from discrimination, address our homelessness crisis, and provide resources to communities to tackle our housing shortage and recover from disasters.

The senators are also seeking clarity on the DOGE Task Force’s overall objectives and how it is defining waste: “In addition to personnel cuts, you also announced that HUD and DOGE have identified $260 million in savings on wasteful contracts.  If this represents legitimate waste, we are happy to work with you to wipe it out,” wrote the Senators. “But to date, there has been no transparency about DOGE’s involvement, or what exactly it is finding. We ask that you provide additional information on the allegedly wasteful spending identified by DOGE, and a clear accounting of how these funds have been misused.”

There are also reports that HUD is terminating the Green and Resilient Retrofit Program, which was provided by Congress to help repair and improve efficiency in homes for families, seniors, and people with disabilities. These funds have already been awarded and obligated to nonprofits and other housing providers to improve more than 30,000 homes across the country – but now DOGE at HUD is trying to claw these funds back. 

Sen. Cantwell has been a longtime supporter of affordable housing and is the leading champion of the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC). In the previous Congress, Sen. Cantwell successfully negotiated the inclusion of two provisions to enhance LIHTC in the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act of 2024. A background document detailing those provisions in addition to Sen. Cantwell’s advocacy on LIHTC is available HERE.

Since its creation in 1986, LIHTC has helped pay for 90% of the federally-funded affordable housing construction across the country, and has financed over 3.8 million affordable homes, including more than 100,000 in Washington state. The economic activity that the credit generated has supported nearly 170,000 jobs and generated more than $19 billion in wages.

The full text of the HUD letter is available HERE.