WASHINGTON, DC — Dozens of Rhode Islanders who escaped homelessness or domestic abuse could soon lose critical rental support under the federal Emergency Housing Vouchers (EHV) program, with funding expected to run out by the end of 2026 unless Congress intervenes. At least 142 vouchers are currently being used in Rhode Island, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), to help families move from unstable housing or homelessness, to a safe, affordable situation.
In an effort to stop preventable evictions, U.S. Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) teamed up with a bicameral group of 99 Congressional colleagues in urging Appropriators to include funding for the Emergency Housing Voucher (EHV) program as part of Fiscal Year 2026 funding legislation. Tens of thousands of Americans depend on this vital program for safe, stable, and affordable housing.
Reed, Whitehouse, and their colleagues sent the letter after HUD announced that the EHV program will soon run out of money, due largely to rents rising at the fastest pace in decades, and the Trump Administration’s plan not to renew the program to keep people housed.
“[Public Housing Agencies] in every state have benefited from the improved voucher issuance and utilization that the EHV program provides, as have the people and communities they serve,” wrote the 101 lawmakers. “Congress must provide sufficient and robust funding to ensure that the families who rely on EHVs don’t lose their housing.”
“The EHV program provides rental assistance to help end and prevent homelessness,” continued the lawmakers. “At a time when housing costs and homelessness continue to rise, we respectfully request that you provide adequate funding in the FY26 THUD Appropriations bill to renew all EHVs to ensure that those who have been served by the program do not lose their housing support and to ensure landlords continue receiving the rental payments they depend on to maintain their properties.”
As of April, this critical program supports 107,000 individuals who are mostly children under five years old, older adults, individuals with disabilities, and domestic violence survivors. Support for the program is especially important as the Trump Administration cuts vital HUD funding and support staff.
A senior member of the Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, Senator Reed helped established the EHV program in 2021 through the American Rescue Plan. Congress originally authorized $5 billion in funding for 70,000 vouchers through September 2030, with increased flexibilities for public housing authorities that made the program more successful than typical housing vouchers. The program is administered by local public housing authorities across the country in partnership with local Continuums of Care, which help coordinate housing and services for homeless families and individuals.
Senators Reed and Whitehouse have long championed efforts to expand access to safe and affordable housing and increase the supply of housing across Rhode Island.
In addition to Reed and Whitehouse, the bicameral letter was also signed by U.S. Senators Alex Padilla (D-CA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Angus King (I-ME), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Edward J. Markey (D-A), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Tina Smith (D-MN), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Mark Warner (D-VA), Peter Welch (D-VT), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Ron Wyden (D-OR), as well as U.S. Representatives Maxine Waters (D-Calif.-43), Alma Adams (D-N.C.-12), Yassamin Ansari (D-Ariz.-03), Becca Balint (D-Vt.-AL), Nanette Barragán (D-Calif.-44), Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio-03), Donald Beyer (D-Va.-08), Sanford Bishop (D-Ga.-02), Suzanne Bonamici (D-Ore.-01), Julia Brownley (D-Calif.-26), Janelle Bynum (D-Ore.-05), Salud Carbajal (D-Calif.-24), André Carson (D-Ind.-07), Greg Casar (D-Texas-35), Gilbert Cisneros (D-Calif.-31), Emanuel Cleaver, II (D-Mo.-05), Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.-09), Joe Courtney (D-Conn.-02), Sharice Davids (D-Kan.-03), Danny K. Davis (D-Ill.-07), Maxine Dexter (D-Ore.-03), Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas-37), Cleo Fields (D-La.-06), Bill Foster (D-Ill.-11), Valerie Foushee (D-N.C.-04), Laura Friedman (D-Calif.-30), Jesús G. “Chuy” García (D-Ill.-04), Sylvia Garcia (D-Texas-29), Daniel Goldman (D-N.Y.-10), Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.-34), Maggie Goodlander (D-N.H.-02), Al Green (D-Texas-09), Jahana Hayes (D-Conn.-05), James Himes (D-Conn.-04), Steven Horsford (D-Nev.-04), Val Hoyle (D-Ore.-04), Jonathan Jackson (D-Ill.-01), Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.-51), Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.-07), Robin Kelly (D-Ill.-02), Ro Khanna (D-Calif.-17), Greg Landsman (D-Ohio-01), John Larson (D-Conn.-01), Sam Liccardo (D-Calif.-16), Ted Lieu (D-Calif.-36), Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.-08), Morgan McGarvey (D-Ky.-03), James McGovern (D-Mass.-02), LaMonica McIver (D-N.J.-10), Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.-05), Dave Min (D-Calif.-47), Gwen Moore (D-Wis.-04), Kevin Mullin (D-Calif.-15), Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.-12), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.-AL), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.-14), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.-05), Jimmy Panetta (D-Calif.-19), Scott Peters (D-Calif.-50), Brittany Pettersen (D-Colo.-07), Stacey Plaskett (D-V.I.-AL), Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.-07), Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.-03), Luz Rivas (D-Calif.-29), Raul Ruiz (D-Calif.-25), Andrea Salinas (D-Ore.-06), Linda Sánchez (D-Calif.-38), Janice Schakowsky (D-Ill.-09), Suhas Subramanyam (D-Va.-10), Shri Thanedar (D-Mich.-13), Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.-12), Derek Tran (D-Calif.-45), Nydia Velázquez (D-N.Y.-07), Nikema Williams (D-Ga.-05), and Frederica Wilson (D-Fla.-24).
Full text of the letter follows:
Dear Chair Hyde-Smith, Ranking Member Gillibrand, Chair Womack, and Ranking Member Clyburn:
As you develop the Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (THUD) and Related Agencies Appropriations bill, we respectfully request that you include funding to ensure that the nearly 60,000 households who are currently being served by the Emergency Housing Voucher (EHV) program do not fall into homelessness.
During the pandemic, Congress appropriated $5 billion in mandatory funding for the EHV program to help people experiencing or at risk of experiencing homelessness, including survivors of domestic violence and victims of human trafficking, access safe, stable and affordable housing during a moment of crisis.
Since 2021, the success of the EHV program and its design, which includes critical administrative flexibilities that are responsive to a tumultuous housing market, cannot be overstated. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) reported that EHVs are leasing at a rate faster than any previous housing voucher program within HUD and drove unprecedented collaboration among public housing agencies (PHAs), homeless services organizations, and victim services organizations to provide rapid and effective housing assistance to vulnerable populations. PHAs in every state have benefited from the improved voucher issuance and utilization that the EHV program provides, as have the people and communities they serve. Congress must provide sufficient and robust funding to ensure that the families who rely on EHVs don’t lose their housing.
We understand that the Subcommittee must make difficult decisions. However, the EHV program provides rental assistance to help end and prevent homelessness. At a time when housing costs and homelessness continue to rise, we respectfully request that you provide adequate funding in the FY26 THUD Appropriations bill to renew all EHVs to ensure that those who have been served by the program do not lose their housing support and to ensure landlords continue receiving the rental payments they depend on to maintain their properties. Thank you for your consideration of this request and your continued support for the most vulnerable Americans.
Sincerely,
