On May 23rd, President Trump presented his budget request for fiscal year 2018 (FY18) to Congress, outlining his spending priorities for the coming year.
The FY18 budget request calls for $4.1 trillion to fund government operations in the next fiscal year. This would set funding at $69 billion in discretionary budget authority, down from $84.1 billion in FY17. This includes slashing funding for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) by 15 percent. If implemented, the cuts proposed in this budget would be devastating to low-income families with children who are struggling to maintain stable housing and would result in an increase of child and youth homelessness in the U.S.
This fact sheet looks in greater detail at policy proposals in the budget that impact housing. With a few exceptions, the majority of the programs are not exclusively child-oriented, as most “children’s housing” programs deliver housing services to adults as well. Notable policy changes for particular programs are indicated.