Trump Admin is planning to make drastic changes to the Continuum of Care (CoC) program, which could force 200,000 people back onto the streets 

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) joined 41 Senate colleagues in urging Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Scott Turner to immediately halt reported plans to make drastic changes to the Continuum of Care (CoC) program, which could result in nearly 200,000 Americans being forced out of their housing and back into homelessness. In their letter, the Senators call on Secretary Turner to instead use existing congressional authorization to expeditiously renew existing CoC grants for Fiscal Year 2025 (FY25) to prevent massive disruption and frightening uncertainty for hundreds of thousands of vulnerable Americans in the coming months. 

“We write to express our deep concerns regarding the instability the entire homeless support system could face if funding delays, uncertainty, and rushed policy changes continue,” write the Senators. “HUD must immediately reconsider these harmful and potentially illegal changes that could result in nearly 200,000 older adults, chronically homeless Americans with disabilities, veterans, and families being forced back onto the streets. As Secretary, you have the authority to avoid this worst-case scenario by carrying out the previously planned and congressionally authorized two-year Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), and we strongly urge you to do so expeditiously.” 

The lawmakers note that the reported and potentially illegal plans to upend the program, which is the largest source of federal grant funding to prevent homelessness, would cause sudden and significant shortfalls and real pain across the country. Specifically, they write: “The most troubling of these changes is a new, arbitrary cap on the amount of funds that may be used for permanent housing. Currently, 87% of CoC funds support permanent housing, but the new NOFO reportedly limits the amount of funding for permanent housing to only 30%. This appears to be in contravention of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, undermines local decision-making authority, and ignores decades of research that has proven that permanent supportive housing and rapid rehousing are less costly and more likely to be successful in providing long-term stability than other strategies, particularly for chronically homeless people and families.” 

“Each new Administration can make policy changes when they take office,” the Senators continue. “While we may not always agree on those policy changes, we should never have to question whether agency officials will faithfully follow the law and work to minimize harm to our constituents and communities when implementing those new policies. Reports of HUD intentionally blocking staff from examining the legality of the Fiscal Year 2025 NOFO changes with its own attorneys are deeply troubling.” 

The Senators note that, since January 20, repeated, chaotic policy changes affecting the program have created needless, costly uncertainty for communities across the country—and HUD has failed to communicate clearly with stakeholders and Congress about its plans: “For months, our staffs have sent HUD countless questions about its intents and actions around CoC funding that have remained unanswered, undermining Congress’s ability to carry out its legislative and oversight functions. Real people in every community across the country rely on these funds to address homelessness. The funding competition process for FY25 has not begun, and with CoC project awards beginning to expire in less than two months, HUD is simply out of time.” 

“There is a better way forward,” the Senators conclude. “HUD’s current path risks causing a dangerous spike in street homelessness and creating chaos in urban, suburban, and rural communities alike by forcing nearly 200,000 chronically homeless Americans with disabilities and families back onto the streets. We implore you to make the better choice and expeditiously renew current CoC grants for FY25 as authorized by Congress to protect communities and avoid displacing thousands of our nation’s most vulnerable individuals.” 

The letter is led by U.S. Senators Senator Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee; Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee; Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies; and Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Ranking Member of the Senate Banking Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation, and Community Development. In addition to Senator Welch, the letter is also cosigned by Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sens. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Rev. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Angus King (I-Maine), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), and John Fetterman (D-Pa.). 

Read and download the full text of the Senators’ letter to HUD Secretary Scott Turner. 

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