Federal Government Reopens After Partial Shutdown
Legislation provides full-year funding for crucial housing and community development programs.
Today, President Trump signed government funding legislation that reopens the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the CDFI Fund, and many other federal agencies after a brief partial shutdown of these agencies began on January 31. The legislation passed the House and Senate with bipartisan support.
What’s In the Bill?
The legislation signed today provides funding through September 30, 2026 – the end of the fiscal year – for five out of the six appropriations bills that Congress had not yet passed:
Financial Services and General Government;
State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs;
Defense;
Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies; and
Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies.
The sixth and final bill, funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), received a 10-day continuation of funding to allow for further negotiations.
Congress previously passed six of the 12 annual appropriations bills: Agriculture; Military Construction-VA; Legislative Branch; Commerce, Justice, Science; Energy and Water Development; and Interior and Environment. All of the agencies funded by these bills already had funding to operate through the end of the fiscal year and were not affected by the latest shutdown. With the signing of today’s legislation, more than 95 percent of the government is funded until September 30, 2026.
What Does This Mean for Housing and Community Development?
The legislation includes $324 million for the CDFI Fund (level with FY 2025 funding), once again showing broad, bipartisan recognition of the critical role that CDFIs play in expanding economic opportunity. It also provides $77.3 billion for HUD (an increase over FY 2025 levels), including:
$1.25 billion for the HOME Investment Partnerships program (equal to FY 2025).
$3.3 billion for the Community Development Block Grant program (equal to FY 2025).
$50 million for PRO Housing grants to help communities reduce zoning barriers (reduction from FY 2025).
$38.439 billion in Tenant-Based Rental Assistance (increase from FY 2025).
$18.543 billion in Project-Based Rental Assistance (increase from FY 2025).
$46 million for Section 4 Capacity Building, including $5 million for rural capacity building (increase from FY 2025).
$158 million for NeighborWorks (equal to FY 2025).
NAAHL’s budget chart, which provides a more detailed breakdown of the funding levels for key programs, is available here.
In addition to funding, the legislation also includes language that provides a timeline for the noncompetitive renewal of expiring HUD Continuum of Care (CoC) grants, which support housing and homelessness services, until awards can be made under a new Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for FY 2025 CoC funds. It further requires HUD to noncompetitively renew at least 60% of CoC grant funds, continuing support to existing homelessness services and housing.
In the policy brief Essential Funding for Essential Housing, NAAHL and the Center for Affordable Housing Lending outlined the ways disruptions to federal funding can imperil affordable housing deals. NAAHL also wrote to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought and joined with other banking trades highlighting the critical role CDFI Fund staff play in supporting financial opportunity and economic growth.