The president’s proposed budget will cut funding from many programs aimed at helping low- to moderate-income families, warns the Center for Responsible Lending
President Donald Trump’s 2018 budget proposal is going to do more harm than good for US housing, the Center for Responsible Lending maintains.
Last week, the Office of Management and Budget released its proposed 2018 budget for federal spending, and many of departments and federally funded programs are in danger of having their budget cut.
“President Trump has crafted a budget that will severely impact consumers, especially those with low-to-moderate income,” said Yana Miles, policy counsel for the Center for Responsible Lending. “From disadvantaged youth served by Job Corps centers across the country to senior citizens trying to transition to financial limitations in what should be their golden years, this budget proposal harms far more than it helps.”
The proposed budget would slash $6.2 billion from the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s budget. The two-page HUD budget proposal included ending programs such as the Community Development Block Grant, which would save the government $3 billion. According to the proposal, the federal government has spent more than $150 billion on the grant since 1974, but the program has been insufficient in helping the poorest populations and hasn’t delivered favorable results.
Trump’s budget proposal also suggested the removal of funding from “lower-priority” programs, such as the HOME Investment Partnerships Program, Choice Neighborhoods and the Self-help Homeownership Opportunity Program. Removal would save $1.1 billion from the 2017 budget.
Funding for Section 4 Capacity Building for Community Development and Affordable Housing is also on the chopping block, as the proposal stated it would save $35 million from the 2017 budget, since it is “duplicative of efforts funded by philanthropy and other more flexible private sector investments.”
But Miles said that all the budget would accomplish would be to shift many responsibilities onto the states – which would receive no additional revenue to pick up the slack.
“This proposal will do little to help people who are struggling to make ends meet. As Congress considers the president’s budget, it is our hope that our federal lawmakers fight to restore crucial funding to programs that put working families first,” Miles said.
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