WASHINGTON, D.C. —U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) led U.S. Senators Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), and 29 Senate colleagues in demanding the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) rescind a series of proposed changes that would fundamentally undermine implementation of the Fair Housing Initiatives Program (FHIP) — a federal program that funds nonprofit organizations on the front lines of combating housing discrimination and enforcing fair housing protections nationwide.
In a letter to HUD Secretary Scott Turner, the Senators warned that HUD's Fiscal Year 2025 and Fiscal Year 2026 funding notices threaten to strip funding from organizations that handle more than 74 percent of housing discrimination complaints in the country. The Senators blasted the new funding notices for bypassing the intent of Congress and fundamentally reshaping the program — locking out experienced fair housing organizations, prioritizing first-time applicants over groups with proven track records protecting Americans from discrimination, and abandoning the organizations that have carried out this work for decades.
“Dedicated local fair housing organizations, functioning on small budgets, provide an indispensable service for so many Americans: disabled veterans who require reasonable accommodations in housing, seniors and people with disabilities who need accessible housing, families with children turned away illegally from renting a home, women who are experiencing sexual harassment from landlords, survivors of domestic violence who have been improperly evicted, and victims of racial and other forms of unlawful discrimination,” the senators wrote.
The Senators noted that this latest move is part of a pattern: the Trump Administration has repeatedly tried to dismantle fair housing protections, including failed attempts to terminate FHIP grants and proposing to eliminate the program's funding altogether — despite strong bipartisan support in Congress.
The Senators are calling on Secretary Turner to immediately rescind and reissue the FY25 and FY26 FHIP funding notices in line with federal law and longstanding program standards. They also demanded HUD turn over information by August 10, 2026 on how the new funding process was developed and implemented, including internal analyses, communications with potential recipients, and any future changes planned for fair housing policy.
In addition to Booker, Warnock, and Van Hollen, the letter is signed U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Angela D. Alsobrooks (D-MD), Adam B. Schiff (D-CA), Charles E. Schumer (D-NY), Peter Welch (D-VT), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Tina Smith (D-MN), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Christopher A. Coons (D-DE), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Patty Murray (D-WA), Bernard Sanders (I-VT), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Jon Ossoff (D-GA), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Jack Reed (D-RI), Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Richard J. Durbin (D-IL), Jeffrey A. Merkley (D-OR), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Michael F. Bennet (D-CO), and Mark Kelly (D-AZ).
Read the full text of the letter here.