Unpacking Trump's proposed "skinny" budget 

By Kelsey Caspersen, Senior Director of Compliance and Governments Investment, Connections for the Homeless 

Published May 13, 2025 

The so-called “skinny” budget proposal released by the White House in early May is sending shock waves through housing and homelessness agencies across the U.S. 

The administration’s proposed 44% cut in funding for the Department of Housing and Urban Development would cause irreparable harm to millions of households across the country. In Illinois, we anticipate this budget would force tens of thousands of households into homelessness, on top of last year’s 116% increase in the number of people experiencing homelessness. 

The administration has framed the cuts as a “consolidation” effort that would combine five rental assistance programs into a block grant to states while also decreasing funding by $27 billion (43%) below current levels. The five program areas to be consolidated are Housing Choice Vouchers, public housing, project-based rental assistance, Section 202 Housing for the Elderly and Section 811 Housing for Persons with Disabilities. 

The White House proposal would zero out funding for other critical programs, including the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program that supports infrastructure and housing in low-income neighborhoods; the HOME Investment Partnership program that supports affordable housing; the Pathways to Removing Obstacles (PRO) Housing grants that facilitate zoning reform (see here for a comprehensive rundown). 

This funding helps support more than 6,400 shelter beds and 10,400 permanent supportive housing units in Illinois. 

Crucially, the transition to block granting would eliminate the federal government’s role in administering the funds, requiring states to absorb the responsibility. 

But consolidation and elimination of federal programming won’t increase efficiency but rather dramatically escalate levels of homelessness — and the cuts will fall disproportionately on some of the most vulnerable members of our society. 

Vincent is a parent of two adult kids — Monica and Maurice — and all three are working in food-service and hotel jobs, but they’re still unable to afford a market-rent apartment. They receive a Section 8 voucher that allows them to maintain their housing. Under the terms of the White House “skinny” budget, they would face a two-year time limit on rental assistance and have no option but to live on the streets or in a homeless shelter if the proposal is enacted without changes. 

“The White House can try to claim that these cuts are about saving money and making government more efficient, but it’s far less expensive to house people than to pay for emergency medical services, shelter services, and other social costs that result from living on the street,” said Connections CEO Betty Bogg. “If enacted, the cuts in the ‘skinny’ budget proposal will dramatically increase what it costs our society to deal with the housing crisis. The end result is that governments at all levels will spend more money while doling out cruelty on a horrific scale.” 

In Illinois, there is already a shortage of more than 5,000 shelter beds, more than 10,000 PSH units, and more than 360 transitional housing units. The annual point-in-time count of people experiencing homelessness found nearly 26,000 people in Illinois were already living on the street in January 2024. Cutting programs for people with disabilities in this context shows nothing less than callous disregard for people who literally have no other options. 

According to the Center on Budget Policy and Priorities, 400,000 people in Illinois depend on federal housing programs. Nearly two-thirds of this population are seniors, individuals with disabilities, or children. And because wages have failed to keep up with skyrocketing rent and mortgage costs, 819,700 Illinoisans spend more than half their income on housing. 

In fiscal year 2023, more than $411 million came to Illinois through HUD, meaning that the White House budget proposal would diminish Illinois’ budget for housing and homelessness supports by roughly $175 million. 

Simply put, such a dramatic cutback will force jaw-dropping numbers of individuals and families into shelters or onto the street.  

Concretely, this would have a devastating impact on the work of our agency by compelling us to scale back our drop-in and outreach programs, eliminate critical community resources for affordable housing development, and terminate nearly half of housing vouchers and public-housing supports. 

At a time when the cost of living continues to increase, rents and home prices are soaring, and the state of Illinois and the entire country are experiencing record rates of homelessness, the White House proposal would represent nothing less than an assault on the survival needs of countless vulnerable households. 

So what do we do?  

Advocates are organizing — join us in the movement, as we demand Congress to reject these proposals and expand housing investments. 

  • Emailing or calling members’ offices to tell them about the importance of affordable housing, homelessness, and community development resources to you, your family, your community, or your work. You can use NLIHC’s Take Action page to look up your member offices or call/send an email directly!