Department of Housing and Urban Development

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) supports home ownership, access to affordable housing free from discrimination, and community development. Because affordable housing and a healthy mortgage market are especially critical to America’s continued recovery and long-term economic health, the President’s 2012 Budget provides $42 billion to support these efforts.  Excluding receipts, this is $48 billion, a decrease of more than $600 million from last year's request. Reflecting the need to make government-wide cuts in order to focus investments where they are needed most, funding for several grant programs has been reduced below recent enacted levels, including a $300 million reduction to the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG).

Supports the Housing Market and Economic Recovery

• Sustains support for housing counseling services, including assistance for families in danger of foreclosure, and Federal Housing Administration (FHA) mortgage insurance to support home purchases and lower-cost re-financed mortgages, as well as providing loss mitigation solutions for FHA-insured borrowers at risk of foreclosure. 
• Improves public housing and revitalizes surrounding neighborhoods by providing $250 million to continue HUD’s transformative investments in high-poverty neighborhoods where distressed HUD-assisted public and privately-owned housing is located.
• Invests in sustainable communities by providing $150 million for more communities to develop comprehensive local and regional housing and transportation plans that result in sustainable development, reduced greenhouse gas emissions, and increased transit-accessible housing.
• Bolsters economic rejuvenation in hard-hit areas with a new Growth Zone program that will deliver expanded tax incentives for investment and employment (in collaboration with the Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration).

Improves the Way Federal Dollars are Spent

• Helps economically distressed communities use Federal funds more strategically to support job creation and economic development through the launch of an interagency effort led by HUD and the Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA).
• Reduces funding for CDBG by 7.5 percent, or $300 million relative to current funding levels, in a tough choice that balances the need to decrease the budget deficit with the fiscal constraints confronting State and local governments.
• Reduces funding for new housing construction for seniors and persons with disabilities by $172 million relative to the 2010 enacted level.  The Budget maintains funding for all currently assisted housing for these groups, and provides a total of $953 million for the programs.
• Begins the transformation of HUD-assisted public and privately-owned housing with a $200 million demonstration that will leverage private capital for preservation and thereby prevent the loss of critical affordable units.

Protects Housing Opportunities for the Highly Disadvantaged

• Provides $35 billion to preserve rental housing assistance to 4.7 million low-income families.
• Provides more than $2.5 billion to continue progress toward the Administration’s goal to end chronic homelessness and homelessness among veterans and families.