Like the previous year, the Trump Administration’s Fiscal Year 2027 budget urged Congress to eliminate funding for the Continuum of Care (CoC) program, which provides permanent housing to people experiencing homelessness. CoC resources would be shifted to fund more temporary shelter. Although the House and Senate rejected the president’s FY26 proposal, the current House appropriations bill still seeks to cut the CoC program by 5.8 percent in FY27. More than 200,000 formerly homeless people currently rely on the CoC program for housing. The proposed cuts will push many of them back into homelessness, and undermine efforts to house the more than 700,000 people experiencing homelessness counted during the 2025 Point in Time (PIT) Count.
This unprecedented shift would also be a waste of the taxpayer dollars. CoC programs like Rapid Re-Housing (RRH) and Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) are highly effectice at achieving the bipartisan goal of rehousing people. The vast majority of people who receive RRH or PSH subsidies stay housed or exit to fully independent housing.
Despite its success, the CoC program has never received enough funding to permanently house everyone experiencing homelessness. In 2024, it only funded enough available beds to house two percent of people experiencing homelessness during the 2024 PIT.
Put simply, permanent housing programs are highly successful but grossly underfunded to house everyone experiencing homelessness. The president’s proposal to divert funds to temporary housing may help to hide people by putting them in shelters, but it will not end homelessness.
Rather than eliminate programs that work, Congress and the administration should focus on using federal resources to expand them.
You might also be interested in
Stay Updated: Solutions, Stories, and Ways to Make an Impact
Sign up to receive updates on the Alliance’s work, including the latest research, advocacy efforts, and real stories of progress — plus ways you can help drive lasting change.