The White House has proposed some major changes to federal rental assistance programs. In the Southern Tier, some critics of the plan say it could destabilize a region already dealing with upheavals in its housing market.
The Trump administration’s blueprint for the discretionary budget outlines big cuts in government spending, excluding money for military and Department of Homeland Security funding.
The plan proposes an around 40% reduction in federal funding for rental assistance programs. It would also effectively end the federal Housing Choice Voucher Program, more commonly known as Section 8. The initiative was established over 50 years ago and provides housing vouchers for low-income households, allowing them to pay rent through the program.
The budget proposal describes the current federal system as “dysfunctional.” Instead, the White House wants to send the remaining money to the states in block grants to be used for their own rental assistance programs, built “based on their unique needs and preferences.”
U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner praised the plan in a statement, saying the budget helped to “address the size and scope of the federal government” which he described as “too bloated and bureaucratic to efficiently function.”
“It creates the opportunity for greater partnership and collaboration across levels of government by requiring states and localities to have skin in the game and carefully consider how their policies hinder or advance goals of self-sufficiency and economic prosperity,” Turner wrote.
However, critics of the housing plan outlined in the “skinny budget” say it could gut a vital support system at a time when housing is particularly precarious for many Americans.
Binghamton Mayor Jared Kraham, a Republican, said disruptions to Section 8 would put additional pressure on the city’s housing market.
“When you say that you're going to eliminate the Section 8 program across the nation, what you're doing is you're just throwing a wrench, or, you know, whatever it is, into an already very, very stressed housing market,” Kraham said.
Kraham believes that, overall, Section 8 is an “outstanding program.” He said the program benefits the city by mandating housing inspections and preventing the concentration of poverty, by giving renters more choice about where they live.
“To just get rid of it, without any thought or study on what is going to replace it and will it be effective, is just not practical,” Kraham said.
Kraham said Binghamton is already grappling with rising rates of homelessness and an affordable housing shortage, issues that have become more pervasive nationally. The state comptroller’s office reported an over 60% increase in homelessness in the Binghamton area between 2022 and 2024.
Rental prices have risen across the Southern Tier in recent years. At the same time, Kraham said, many of the people seeking rental assistance are still waiting in line to get it.
“The bottom line is that the last time they opened up Section 8 applications, there were 1,000 applications that came in,” Kraham said. “There are currently 880 people on the waitlist for Section 8 vouchers that are managed by the Binghamton Housing Authority.”
Almost 1,600 people are on the waitlist for Section 8 at Tompkins County Action, one of the organizations that administers the program in the Ithaca area, according to Executive Director Danielle Harrington.
Tompkins County’s high rental prices are a major driver for voucher demand, Harrington said.
“The rent rates increase at a rate much faster than income. Employment, wages can’t keep up. Social Security can’t keep up.”
The fair market rate for a studio apartment in Tompkins County is currently over $1,300. In 2020, the fair market rate was around $900.
Tompkins County Action sends out around $1 million in rental assistance a month. That money serves not just as critical housing assistance for renters, but also consistent income for landlords, Harrington said.
The Trump administration's proposed plan would also put a two-year cap on rental assistance for able-bodied adults. Harrington said that could disconnect people from aid before they are financially stable, leading to more evictions and homelessness.
“If your wages working full time can’t cover your rent, then having a two-year limit is really going to be detrimental,” she said.
The fate of rental assistance programs, along with other safety net programs marked for elimination by the proposal, is ultimately up to Congress. The House and Senate are currently in the midst of their budget process.