Tri-Caucus Chairs, New Democrat Housing Task Force Lead Letter to Defend Fair Housing Programs

Washington, D.C. — Today, New Democrat Coalition Housing Task Force Chair Emilia Sykes (OH-13) penned a letter alongside Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus Chair Grace Meng (NY-06), Congressional Black Caucus Chair Yvette Clarke (NY-09), and Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chair Adriano Espaillat (NY-13) to House Speaker Mike Johnson and Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries urging the preservation of programs that protect affordable housing and the rights of Americans against housing discrimination during the FY 2026 appropriations process.

In a letter co-signed by more than 40 Members, including 30 New Dems, the lawmakers call for an end to efforts to defund or underfund the Federal Housing Initiatives Program (FHIP), Fair Housing Assistance Program (FHAP), and the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, all of which would be gutted in the current iteration of the FY 2026 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill.

“At a time when many Ohioans are struggling to afford housing, we should be focused on lowering costs, not cutting critical housing funding,” said NDC Housing Task Force Chair Emilia Sykes. “That’s why I’m leading a letter to the House Appropriations Committee, highlighting the impact of underfunding key programs that Ohioans rely on. Communities are made strong by the people who live in them, and I’m committed to ensuring OH-13 residents can afford housing in their communities.”

"For decades, fair housing programs have protected Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander families—as well as other underserved communities—from discrimination,” said Rep. Grace Meng, Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus. “Now, congressional Republicans are threatening to defund these programs amidst a national affordable housing crisis. It is unconscionable. CAPAC will stand up for these programs to ensure that all families, regardless of their race or background, have a safe, affordable place to call home."

“Funding for fair housing is not optional, it is essential. At a time when housing insecurity continues to grow and discrimination still denies America’s most vulnerable communities a fair shot at safe and affordable housing, we cannot eliminate the very funding intended to end the housing crisis in our country,” said Rep. Yvette D. Clarke, Chair, Congressional Black Caucus. “The Federal Housing Initiatives Program (FHIP), Fair Housing Assistance Program (FHAP), and the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity are not just line items in a budget – they are lifelines for millions of Americans facing displacement, needing a roof over their heads, and a home to call their own. Slashing these critical resources will turn back the clock on years of bipartisan progress and harm millions of Americans. Congress must fully fund these programs to ensure that our communities have an equal chance at safe and affordable housing without discrimination.”

“Fair housing has been a shared, bipartisan commitment. Efforts to defund fair housing initiatives are disconnected from the needs of the American people,” said CHC Chair Rep. Adriano Espaillat. “The Fair Housing Act is a success story by any measure – it helps more people have broader access to more affordable, better housing. This is exactly why Americans send us to Washington.”

You can read the full letter here, and below:

Dear Speaker Johnson and Leader Jeffries:

 As you deliberate on FY 2026 appropriations, we write to urge you to defend funding for historically bipartisan housing-related anti-discrimination programs, including the Federal Housing Initiatives Program (FHIP), Fair Housing Assistance Program (FHAP), and the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, which are proposed to be defunded or severely underfunded in the released appropriations bills. As the affordable housing crisis continues to impact Americans across the country, we cannot undermine federal programs that ensure each person gets a fair chance to buy, rent, or sell a home at a fair price.

The proposed FY26 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill eliminates the entirety of the current $56,000,000 in funding for FHIP, funds FHAP at $26,000,000, and cuts $34,900,000 from the Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. Without proper programmatic resources, Congress cannot be sure that the Department is fully enforcing the Fair Housing Act as mandated by law.

To begin, the budgetary justification for the Department of Housing and Urban Development fair housing programs are misleading. They are based on incorrect information that state and local enforcement agencies process the majority of the nation’s fair housing complaints through the Fair Housing Assistance Program (FHAP). Research instead shows that the majority of complaints, almost 75%, are processed through FHIP, which provides funding for housing organizations and other non-profits to assist people who believe they’ve been victims of housing discrimination. These organizations have more flexibility to conduct outreach, investigations, and proactive approaches, putting them in a leading position to fight discrimination. In fact, these local fair housing organizations process complaints at a 3:1 rate of all other government agencies combined - of the 34,150 complaints filed in the United States in 2023, 25,789 were processed through fair housing organizations while HUD, FHAP agencies, and DOJ processed 8,361 complaints combined.

On top of this, FHAP, which funds state and local agencies that enact and enforce their own statutes to protect housing rights and promote fair housing, is already underfunded with 12 states and many localities not having a FHAP agency in place to fight discrimination. The proposed cuts in the FY26 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill, alongside reductions in other opportunity-based programs, would deny housing opportunities free of discrimination for seniors, disabled veterans, people with disabilities, people of color, families with children, women, people of faith, LGBTQ+ people, and more.

The Fair Housing Act is a federal success story, one borne out of years of abuse of Americans’ rights by people looking to make an illicit profit and harm their fellow citizens. Undermining programs that protect the rights of Americans against discrimination in housing will only serve to exacerbate the housing crisis and deny equal opportunity to Americans looking to get a fair deal on their housing choices. In light of the flawed budgetary justifications and the critical need for these programs, we write to ask for your support for the continuation and proper funding of these initiatives.

###