Republican Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development Funding Bill Makes It More Difficult for Americans to Secure and Remain in Affordable Housing

WASHINGTON — During today’s House Appropriations subcommittee markup of the 2025 Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies funding bill, House Democrats highlighted how the bill makes it more expensive for Americans to keep a roof over their heads, commute to work and school, and have a chance at homeownership.

House Republicans’ Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies bill provides $90.4 billion, including $378 million for maritime defense programs at the Department of Transportation. After accounting for housing revenues, $99 billion is provided for federal transportation and housing programs, a cut of over $4.4 billion, or 4.3 percent, from 2024.

The legislation:

• Ignores the high cost of living for Americans while threatening to damage our nation’s economy by making it more difficult for Americans to secure and remain in affordable housing, access homeownership, and increase wealth and threatening to force tens of thousands of evictions.
• Walksaway from critical investments in commuter rail and bus infrastructure and Amtrak operations, resulting in service cuts, delays to station improvements that support accessibility for people with disabilities, and the loss of thousands of future jobs.
• Strips away equal access to housing and community development investments for people across America otherwise protected from discrimination on the basis of disability, race, color, national origin, religion, sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation), and family status.

“Throughout America, people are concerned about homelessness and the economy. Nearly every district is faced with a rise in the number of people living on the streets and in shelters, as families are forced to earn more money just to keep pace with the cost of housing,” Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee Ranking Member Mike Quigley (D-IL-05) said. “While this bill would advance the safety of our airports and skies, expand community development in Tribal communities, and support community-led project funding for both sides of the aisle, it would also undercut necessary investments for Amtrak and transit projects with shovels already in the ground, push tens of thousands of low-income families out of stable housing, slow new housing construction, and ignore the impacts of climate change.”

Congressman Quigley’s full remarks are here.

“Housing and transportation are two of the largest costs for American households. People across our districts and America are asking for sound investments that lower housing and transportation costs. Instead, the House Republican bill will raise costs for struggling American families and make it harder to build, sustain, and connect affordable, thriving communities,” Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03) said. “American families deserve safe, dependable, affordable, and world-class transportation options. But instead of making wise investments to lower costs for families, connect our communities, and make our transportation infrastructure more resilient and reliable, the bill threatens to damage our nation’s economy, make commutes longer, cause service delays, and incite cancelations to major and desperately-needed transportation infrastructure improvement projects.”

Congresswoman DeLauro’s full remarks are here.

A summary of House Republicans’ 2025 Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies funding bill is here. A fact sheet is here. The text of the bill is here. Information on Community Project Funding in the bill is here.

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