On February 3, President Trump signed H.R.7148 Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2026 into law, which will fund most of the federal government until September 30. The package included five of the six remaining appropriations bills and corresponding earmarks that Congress had not yet passed:
- Financial Services and General Government
- State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs
- Defense
- Labor, Health, and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies
- Transportation, Housing and Urban Development and Related Agencies
The sixth appropriations bill excluded from the package would have fully funded the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Instead, Congress passed a Continuing Resolution (CR) to fund the DHS for 10 days until possible negotiations between Democrats and Republicans are made.
Congress previously passed six appropriations bills, which were signed into law: Agriculture, Military Construction-VA, Legislative Branch, Commerce, Justice and Science, Energy and Water Development and the Interior and Environment. These bills will also fund their corresponding agencies until the end of the fiscal year.
FY 26 Funding for Community Development Programs
NCRC has created a FY 2026 Appropriations Chart that lists the final funding levels for community development programs that most impact our members’ work. Listed below are highlights of the final funding numbers for major agencies and programs:
The CDFI Fund
The CDFI Fund, an agency within the Treasury Department, will receive $324 million, which is the same amount it received in FY 2025. This will provide funding for CDFI programs like the Technical/Financial Assistance grants program ($135 million) and Native CDFI initiatives ($28 million).
However, the remaining $298 million of the allotted FY 2025 funding has yet to be released by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Without the release of those funds, the CDFI Fund cannot disperse grant awards to CDFIs. CDFI Fund appropriations occur over a two-cycle period, with FY25 funding expiring this September, and FY26 funding expiring September 2027.
Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
The legislation will fund the Housing and Urban Development agency at $77.3 billion, which is a $7 million increase from FY 2025. This includes funding for major programs and grants, such as:
- $38.439 billion for the Tenant-Based Rental Assistance program (Section 8), a $2.39 billion increase from FY ‘25.
- $18.543 billion for the Project-Based Rental Assistance program, a $2.053 billion increase from FY ‘25.
- $8.319 billion for the Public Housing Fund program, a slight decrease from FY ‘25.
- $1.25 billion for the HOME Investment Partnerships program, level funding from FY ‘25.
- $3.3 billion for the Community Development Block Grant program, level funding from FY ‘25.
- $57 million for the Housing Counseling Assistance program, level funding from FY ‘25.
- $56 million for the Fair Housing Initiatives program, level funding from FY ‘25.
- $26 million for the Fair Housing Assistance program, level funding from FY ‘25.
Small Business Administration: Entrepreneurial Development
The entrepreneurial development programs of the Small Business Administration (SBA) will receive $330 million, funding programs such as the Microloan Technical Assistance program ($41 million), the Women’s Business Center ($27 million) and the Native American Outreach program ($5.3 million). These programs will assist underserved small business owners and organizations that support them via technical assistance and business education.
Political Dynamics of DHS Funding
Although the partial shutdown has ended, the CR that funds the DHS will expire on February 13. The recent raids and shootings by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), including the murders of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, have sparked outrage among Congressional Democrats as many refuse to pass another CR to fund DHS.
“An additional [continuing resolution], from our standpoint, is off the table,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told reporters on Tuesday.
On Thursday night, Senator Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries sent a letter to Republican leadership outlining 10 demands to “rein in ICE” by adding more guardrails. The demands for ICE agents include banning masks, requiring the use of body cameras and IDs and improving warrant procedures and standards. Many Republicans, including Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, have already voiced their opposition to these additional restrictions.
DHS, which also houses the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Coast Guard, may operate for a longer period without another CR, as the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) allocated $165 billion to the department. In addition, the passage of another CR could also mean that DHS will have significant leeway over how programs at the agency are managed.
NCRC will continue to monitor the situation and support our members who serve immigrant communities across the nation.
Manan Shah is the Policy Advisor with NCRC’s Policy & Government Affairs team.
Photo credit: Frank Kastle via Upsplash.
