To the Editor:
The 44 percent cuts to the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) included in the President’s proposed Fiscal Year 2026 budget would negatively impact our collaborative efforts to prevent homelessness and provide affordable housing in Princeton.
Collectively, Princeton Community Housing (PCH), Housing Initiatives of Princeton (HIP), and the Princeton Housing Authority (PHA), provide homes, rental subsidies, and other housing support to more than 800 households in Princeton. In the face of federal funding cuts, our combined ability to support our neighbors will be severely challenged and our efforts to expand affordable housing in our community could be crippled.
The president’s FY 2026 budget proposes a historic cut to funding for HUD’s vital affordable housing, homelessness prevention, and community development programs and imposes changes to rental and homelessness assistance programs that could leave more Princeton families struggling to afford rent and thus at increased risk of homelessness.
Specifically, the proposal would cut funding for operating subsidies for the elderly, emergency housing vouchers, homelessness assistance grants, and public housing operating and capital needs. These cuts amount to a catastrophic decrease in federal support for housing assistance.
Furthermore, we are concerned about proposed changes to HUD’s rental assistance programs which would consolidate the reduced funding into state block grants, requiring states to scramble to develop and administer new programs and try to fill the funding gaps for these programs in very short order.
These proposed cuts to housing assistance programs in the FY2026 budget come alongside potential reductions in other vital safety net programs included in the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” including proposed reductions in Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act, and food assistance provided through the SNAP program.
Please join us in strenuously opposing these cuts to vital housing programs included in the FY2026 budget now under consideration in Congress. Reach out to your senators and representatives to share your concerns about the impact of these proposals on community members.
PCH, HIP, and PHA will always strive to effectively and thoughtfully serve the housing needs of our community, despite the actions of the federal government. But we need your help to continue — and expand —our robust and critical services. We urge you to raise your voices in support of our efforts.