President Joe Biden’s fiscal 2023 budget proposal calls for $32.1 billion for the Housing Choice Voucher program, which would accommodate an additional 200,000 households. It would be the largest one-year increase in vouchers since the program was authorized in 1974, according to housing officials.

The support for the vouchers is part of an overall $71.9 billion discretionary spending proposal for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) that has been submitted to Congress. The request is about $6.2 billion more than the fiscal 2022 budget and $12.3 billion more than fiscal 2021 levels.

“This budget tells the American people that the president, and our agency, view housing as a foundational platform to help address the most urgent challenges facing our nation,” said HUD secretary Marcia Fudge in a statement. “This budget will help us meet our mission to provide security and stability for those who live on the outskirts of hope, advance opportunity and equity on behalf of marginalized communities, and meet the existential threats posed by natural disasters and climate change.”

The Biden administration is also seeking an additional $10 billion for the low-income housing tax credit program over 10 years. This would come by way of selective, nongeographic basis boosts for bond-financed developments.

The administration also proposes to make the New Markets Tax Credit permanent at $5 billion annually and indexed for inflation after 2026.

In addition, the 2023 budget request includes:

• $3.72 billion for the public housing capital fund, up from $3.39 billion in fiscal 2022; • $1.95 billion for the HOME program, up from $1.5 billion in fiscal 2022;
• $3.58 billion in Homeless Assistance Grants, up from $3.21 billion in fiscal 2022; and
• $3.77 billion for the Community Development Fund, up from $3.48 million in 2022.

To learn more about the HUD budget proposal, here are key links to several resources:

• Office of Management and Budget;

• Treasury Department;

• Department of Housing and Urban Development;

• National Council of State Housing Agencies;

• Affordable Housing Tax Credit Coalition; and

• National Low Income Housing Coalition.