North Carolina affordable housing advocates sounded the alarm over the Trump administration’s proposed cuts to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and urged members of the public to take action.
On a call Monday with representatives from more than 200 housing-related organizations in 80 counties, Samuel Gunter, executive director of the North Carolina Housing Coalition, said the situation is more dire than any he has experienced in his nearly 10 years with the organization.
“We are in an existential crisis in affordable housing and community development. … We're looking at some scary numbers if the federal government pulls out of most or all of the affordable housing and community development investments that they make in North Carolina and across the country,” Gunter said.
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He urged those on the call to contact Sens. Ted Budd (R-N.C.) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and other members of the state’s congressional delegation to ensure that they are “hearing from us clearly and in numbers.”
“The decision to hold up federal funds and eliminate federal staff will cost people their homes. Full stop,” he said.
William Comer, a spokesperson for Tillis, said the senator "supports efforts to crack down on fraud, eliminate wasteful spending, and make government more efficient," but that "we also need to ensure there are no unintended cuts to vital positions." In particular, he cited "workers who are providing critical functions like helping Western North Carolina recover from the devastation of Helene.”
Budd's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from BPR.
The New York Times reported last month that the Trump administration plans to make sweeping cuts to HUD, including an 84% reduction in staffing at its Office of Community Planning and Development. The office administers a broad range of programs, including disaster-relief block grants and services for people experiencing homelessness.
North Carolina has been allocated $1.6 billion in HUD block grants for Hurricane Helene recovery and is currently going through the long process of applying for the funding to be released.
A HUD spokesperson told the Times that disaster recovery efforts “will not be impacted” but did not give further details. HUD did not immediately respond to a request for comment from BPR.
Prior to the news of the proposed HUD staffing cuts, funding for affordable housing and related programs was already plunged into limbo by the January release of an Office of Management and Budget memo seeking to freeze grants and loans across the federal government.
The memo was quickly rescinded amid court challenges, and a federal judge blocked the freeze. But advocates said they remain worried that even funding that has already been allocated by Congress will be halted.
In a recent letter to the state’s congressional delegation, the North Carolina Housing Coalition described a potential pause on federal funding as “catastrophic,” particularly given the destruction wrought by Hurricane Helene on the western part of the state.
“While the attempted freeze is subject to a temporary restraining order as of January 31, there remains much uncertainty about whether or not already appropriated housing resources will flow to the communities and organizations making a difference across North Carolina,” the Coalition said in the letter.
On Monday’s call, Gunter emphasized that “none of this is a done deal” and that members of Congress will play a key role.
“The time for as much pressure as possible is now,” he said. “If you have relationships, if you have trust built up with anyone who has any trust built up with your representatives, now is the time to deploy it. But we may be, a couple of weeks and months from now, talking about what this work looks like without a lot of these resources.”
The issue is one of many that will likely come up during Rep. Chuck Edwards’s (R-N.C.) town hall at A-B Tech next Thursday night.
In a statement Tuesday, Edwards said that given the "unsustainable" national debt, it is "prudent to make sure that we are using Americans’ hard-earned tax dollars efficiently and effectively."
"I was able to bring billions in disaster funds back to WNC to help us rebuild, and I remain in close contact with the administration to make sure the deployment of Helene recovery funds are not hindered in any way," he added.
Note: This story has been updated to include statements from Sen. Thom Tillis and Rep. Chuck Edwards.
