The Big Picture
On November 12, 2025, the U.S. House of Representatives voted 222-209, primarily along party lines, to end the federal government shutdown. The House vote followed negotiations in the U.S. Senate that secured the necessary votes to break the stalemate and reopen the government. The 2025 government shutdown was notably the longest in U.S. history, lasting 44 days.
Where Funding Stands
To reopen the government, Congress agreed to pass three one-year appropriations bills: Military construction and veterans affairs, the legislative branch bill and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) bill. Additionally, they extended the continuing resolution (CR) for the remaining bills at Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 spending levels until the end of January 2026.
USDA: The USDA bill included several provisions of importance to National Apartment Association (NAA) members and the broader rental housing industry. The bill included full-year appropriations that included funding increases for Section 521 rental assistance for rural housing (to nearly $1.7 billion) and continues the pilot decoupling of rental assistance from expiring mortgages in Section 515. This decoupling will allow rental assistance to remain on the properties, providing a tool for preservation of the rural portfolio.
Unfortunately, other programs - including Multifamily Direct Loan Programs – were reduced in the budget by almost 17%. The shortages of rental housing in rural areas are acute, and NAA will continue to work with Congress to increase funding for these programs.
NFIP: The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) has been extended until the end of January and will continue issuing new and renewal flood insurance policies.
What’s Next
Additional important industry programs, including the Community Development Block Grant (CBDG) Program, Project and Tenant-Based Housing Programs (PBRA and TBRA), Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) contracts, the HOME Investment Partnership and the PRO Housing, await FY2026 consideration in the Transportation Housing and Urban Development (THUD) appropriations bills.
Congress must pass the nine remaining bills, which make up about 90 percent of federal operations. This will be more challenging and is necessary to avoid further partial government shutdowns and funding disruptions. Several proposals are evolving to finish FY2026 appropriations, including combining several bills into a package versus voting on each bill separately. Appropriators must negotiate the remaining bills, with significant differences in funding between current House proposals and Senate requests. Funding under the current CR expires January 30, 2026.
Deeper Dive
Want more? Listen to Spencer discuss the latest in appropriations on the NAA Apartmentcast.