Pallone Leads New Jersey House Democrats in Slamming Trump Plan to Rip Away Housing Support in the Dead of Winter

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. and New Jersey’s Democratic House Members sent a letter today to Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Scott Turner urging the Trump Administration to reverse a policy change that would destabilize housing for the most vulnerable New Jersey residents.

“As President Trump continues to ignore the demands of millions of Americans for affordability, these new rules only threaten to remove roofs over the heads of our most vulnerable and kick them to the curb. To preserve the stability of the program and to ensure that over 2,000 New Jerseyans aren’t forced into homelessness, we urge you to immediately withdraw this harmful proposal and immediately renew existing projects for twelve months,” the members wrote.

The NJ House members also raised alarm over the Trump Administration’s new ideological criteria that would allow HUD to reject qualified housing providers based on political alignment rather than merit. They note that communities now have fewer than nine weeks to overhaul their applications, putting at least 37 New Jersey housing projects at risk of expiring as early as Spring 2026.

“We are also alarmed by the addition of new ideological criteria to the application process. This would effectively handicap or outright disqualify certain applicants, even if they have a proven track record of addressing homelessness in their community. You cannot claim to evaluate applications on merit while also allowing HUD to simply reject any projects from applicants that do not share the political views of this Administration,” the members continued.

The Trump Administration’s new Fiscal Year 2025 Continuum of Care (CoC) and Youth Homeless Demonstration Program Grants Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) cuts permanent housing support from 90 percent down to 30 percent -- stripping New Jersey of more than $47 million in permanent housing funding and threaten housing stability for more than 2,000 residents.

Pallone’s letter noted that the program under threat by the Trump Administration is one of the federal government’s most important long-term housing tools, relied upon by local governments and providers for multi-year leases, staffing, and planning. Last year, New Jersey used $66 million funding to maintain 22,434 year-round housing beds in projects across the state.

Full text of Pallone’s letter is here and below:

The Honorable Scott Turner
Secretary
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
451 7^th St SW
Washington, D.C. 20410

Dear Secretary Turner:

As Members of Congress from New Jersey, we write with deep concern regarding the Fiscal Year 2025 Continuum of Care (CoC) Competition and Youth Homeless Demonstration Program Grants Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) issued November 13, 2025. We request that you immediately reverse this harmful change in policy before it negatively impacts thousands of families in our state and many more across the country.

The Continuum of Care Program is the largest source of funding to address homelessness in the United States. CoC brings together local governments, faith-based organizations, and nonprofits to provide permanent housing and supportive services to the most vulnerable individuals, including seniors, people with disabilities, veterans, and victims of domestic violence. Last year, CoCs in New Jersey coordinated $66 million in awards to support thousands of households and provided 22,434 year-round beds.^[1]

The changes the Trump Administration is making threaten to upend the program as we know it and will result in tens of thousands of families becoming homeless across the country, including thousands of New Jerseyans.^[2] CoC has historically set around 90 percent of its funding in the noncompetitive Tier 1 category, leaving the remaining 10 percent for projects to compete in Tier 2. For decades, CoCs have relied on the steadiness of Tier 1 funding for long-term planning and stability, especially for multi-year leases and staffing. Your changes slash the availability of protected Tier 1 funding from 90 percent to 30 percent, meaning states will lose critical funding that help keep families housed. Under President Trump’s plan, New Jersey will lose more than $47 million for permanent housing for homeless families.

Placing a 30 percent cap on permanent housing will disrupt the carefully coordinated plans of CoCs built around the successful, evidence-based policies of Housing First. Over 80 percent of last year’s CoC funding for New Jersey goes to permanent housing that provides 13,515 total year-round beds for those in need.^[3] An estimated 2,240 New Jerseyans belonging to 1,500 households would lose their homes because of this arbitrary limit.

We are also alarmed by the addition of new ideological criteria to the application process. This would effectively handicap or outright disqualify certain applicants, even if they have a proven track record of addressing homelessness in their community. You cannot claim to evaluate applications on merit while also allowing HUD to simply reject any projects from applicants that do not share the political views of this Administration. 

This new NOFO gives CoCs just under nine weeks to completely restructure their applications and comply with your drastic, ill-advised changes to the program. New Jersey has at least 37 projects set to expire by the beginning of Spring 2026. The harmful program changes and unnecessary timeline threaten a lapse in funding that would put thousands of vulnerable New Jerseyans out on the street during the coldest months of the year.

The overwhelming majority of projects in CoC applications are renewals for existing awards., Congress purposefully authorized – and HUD issued – a two-year NOFO for FY24 and FY25 to improve government efficiency and allow CoCs to focus on planning, not grant writing .^[4] We request that you come back to the agreement under the original NOFO and renew the existing, time-tested projects in our state. 

This is not a partisan request. On October 28, all three of New Jersey’s Republican Congressmen signed a letter highlighting the “predictability and reduced administrative burdens” of the two-year NOFO and urging you to renew the existing awards.^[5]

As President Trump continues to ignore the demands of millions of Americans for affordability, these new rules only threaten to remove roofs over the heads of our most vulnerable and kick them to the curb. To preserve the stability of the program and to ensure that over 2,000 New Jerseyans aren’t forced into homelessness, we urge you to immediately withdraw this harmful proposal and immediately renew existing projects for twelve months.