Critical Protections for Housing and Behavioral Health Funding in Latest Appropriations Bills

In the face of sharp federal cuts to housing and mental health, many organizations, activists, and politicians have been working tirelessly to protect critical housing and mental health service funding that help TR and many other nonprofits like ours across the state provide support and treatment to those in our community who need it most. This round of dramatic cuts proposed by the administration to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) would have delt a blow to the critical services and support that people like TR’s clients rely on. Our very own Washington State U.S. Senator Patty Murray has been a champion of protecting and expanding federal investments in housing and mental health services, and as Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Murray has considerable sway in shaping appropriations each year. In the latest appropriations bills passed over the last few weeks, she ensured that housing support, healthcare access, and behavioral health programs were not only preserved, but strengthened for the next fiscal year.

One lesson we’ve learned in advocacy over the years is that lawmakers get a lot of complaints and calls to action on many different issues, but they rarely get thanked about their work on these issues. You’d be surprised how much weight a thank you carries, and so we encourage you to take a moment if you have time and let Senator Murray know that you appreciate her hard work and efforts to keep housing and mental health funding intact so that programs like TR can continue operating and serving people in our community.

For organizations like TR, federal funding is substantial to the work we do and directly impacts our ability to serve low-income adults with complex behavioral health needs. When these programs–including affordable housing, rental assistance, homelessness prevention, and behavioral health services–are cut or delayed, people’s lives are upended. They can get turned away from programs, their housing stability can be lost, and their recovery is interrupted. These are challenges that the people we serve cannot withstand for long.

Ensuring these safeguards to housing and supportive services funding remain intact helps us to:

  • Maintain stable housing for people who might otherwise fall into homelessness
  • Provide consistent behavioral health treatment and supportive services
  • Plan responsibly instead of operating in crisis mode due to funding uncertainty

This stability allows our staff to focus on supporting people as they heal, rebuild, and move toward long-term independence and life in the community.

We are grateful for Senator Murray’s continued commitment to funding these critical services and recognizing that stable housing and supportive care are foundational to public health, public safety, and strong communities.

Here are some key areas the bills protect and improve:

  • The final bills rejected $1 billion in proposed cuts to substance abuse and mental health cuts. The bill instead provides additional resources to help communities assist more people in crisis and connect them to mental health services.
  • Negated Trump’s proposal to eliminate SAMHSA and instead will strengthen protections to SAMHSA’s funding. This includes a $5 million increase to the Mental Health Block Grant, an additional $5 million for the Substance Use Prevention and Recovery Services Block Grant, a $20 million increase for State Opioid Response grants, and a $15 million increase for the 988 Lifeline.
  • Retained funding to keep over 50,000 Emergency Housing Vouchers for people experiencing homelessness. Without this funding, approximately 110,000 individuals would have been cut off from housing assistance.
  • Secured a $4.1 billion increase in rental assistance and homeless assistance programs, including removing work requirements and time limits for housing assistance. The President’s previous proposal to impose work requirements and time limits on housing assistance was rolled back and is NOT in the final funding bill, supporting over 10 million Americans with housing assistance. (As a note, the new work and legibility requirements for Medicaid and Apple Health remain intact.)

If you have a few minutes, please reach out to Senator Murray and thank her for her tireless work in protecting funding for important programs to help people stay housed and build stability!