Government Shutdown: What it Means for Affordable Housing and Community Development

What’s Happening

Today, the federal government officially entered a shutdown after Congress failed to reach agreement on legislation to fund the government before the end of the fiscal year on September 30.

Last night, the Senate again voted on two proposals to provide a short-term extension of federal funding while Congress seeks agreement on full-year funding bills: one put forward by Republicans that would continue funding through November 21, and one put forward by Democrats that would fund the government through October 31 and include limitations on the President’s ability to withhold funding Congress provides, as well as an extension of Affordable Care Act health insurance subsidies that expire at the end of the year and a reversal of Medicaid cuts enacted in July in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Both bills failed to pass.

Prior to the shutdown, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued a memo directing federal agencies to prepare to make permanent job cuts in the event of a shutdown. The memo instructs agencies to identify programs that depend on discretionary funding, have not received funding through another source (like the One Big Beautiful Bill Act), and are not aligned with Administration priorities, and to prepare plans to eliminate positions in those programs through a Reduction in Force (RIF). Permanently eliminating positions during a temporary shutdown is not typical, and the directive adds additional uncertainty during this shutdown period.

Read full article here: Government Shutdown: What it Means for Affordable Housing and Community Development — NAAHL