Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) wrote letters to the leadership of the House Committee on Appropriations.

In four of the letters, she requested the committee fund certain initiatives to address the housing and homelessness crisis. These included providing at least $150 billion in emergency housing investments in accordance with the Housing Crisis Response Act, a bill sponsored by Waters, which would help address the housing and homelessness crisis while also combatting inflation.

Waters also requested increased funds for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) homelessness programs. Accompanying this request were requirements for HUD to assess flexibilities to improve program operations addressing the growing homelessness crisis, and to deliver new resources to communities in need.

Another letter requested the appropriators provide at least $100 million for the agency’s Eviction Grant Program, which helps low-income renters with legal assistance to avoid homelessness and housing instability when they are at risk of, or subject to, eviction. Waters also suggested an update to legacy appropriations provisions that have locked low-income college students out of stable housing opportunities, including students who were experiencing or at risk of homelessness, since 2006.

Other letters sent to the Appropriations Committee by Waters were co-signed by other representatives. These letters called for:

• Increased funding and the addition of programmatic flexibilities to support, expand, and preserve rental assistance and affordable housing developments in rural America through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Housing Service.
• Increased funding for HUD’s rental assistance programs, including public housing, to provide ongoing and expanded assistance to low-income families who face rising rental costs, inflation, the end of federal and local eviction protections, and the exhaustion of Emergency Rental Assistance funds.
• $100 million in funding for HUD’s HOME Program, in line with Waters’ Downpayment Toward Equity Act, to provide downpayment, interest rate buydown, and other upfront cost assistance to first-time, first-generation homebuyers seeking to purchase their first home.
• Funding to create a $100 million community-led capacity building program to enable nonprofit organizations and intermediaries providing local technical assistance and support to help enhance the capacity of mission driven, non-profit organizations in undertaking affordable housing-related activities.
• $4.2 billion in additional funds for the Community Development Block Grant, one of “the most effective federal programs for growing local economies and providing a lifeline to families and communities,” according to a committee release.
• The cancellation of $20.5 billion in National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) debt to maintain the program’s solvency and long-term stability, and to preserve the affordability of NFIP premiums.
• Funds for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Risk Mapping, Assessment, and Planning (MAP) program. The request was for $2.4 billion in 2025 and a commitment to maintain this funding level over the next five years, for a total of $12 billion invested in FEMA’s Risk MAP program.

Waters and other representatives also requested the committee support underserved communities by funding the Minority Business Development Agency, the only federal agency charged to focus on the needs of minority business enterprises, and by providing financial support for programs assisting diverse and mission-driven community financial institutions such as the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, Community Development Financial Institutions and Minority Depository Institutions, and the National Credit Union Administration. To protect the nation’s investors, Waters was also amongst those signing a letter requesting funds to support the Securities and Exchange Commission’s mission to protect investors, maintain fair, orderly, and efficient capital markets, and facilitate capital formation.