California Gov. Newsom’s May Revision begins final budget talks but does not include new funding for affordable housing or homelessness programs.

As natural disasters grow more frequent and destructive, long-term recovery programs like Hud's Community Development Block Grant–Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) are more essential than ever.

In a new issue brief, we discuss opportunities to scale affordable housing innovations designed to facilitate the development of low-density multifamily housing. Development of LDMF, sometimes known as "missing middle" housing, is a promising strategy to help cities and towns address the housing shortage across the country.

Severe storms, flooding, and other natural disasters can make an already tough market for affordable rental housing nearly impossible to navigate. An analysis of Colorado counties that received CDBG-DR funding after major disasters in 2013 found that monthly rents in those counties were 4-6% less - the equivalent of $60-$90 - on average than they would have been without the CDBG-DR funding. 

With the results from the 2024 General Election decided, it is confirmed there will be a Republican party government trifecta in the 119th Congress. Due to the slim Republican majority in both chambers, Congress will require complete party unity or some bipartisan support to pass major legislation such as appropriations or tax legislation.