Paper: Preliminary budget would cut $6 billion from HUD

WASHINGTON – Preliminary budget documents obtained by The Washington Post show the Trump administration is considering more than $6 billion in cuts to the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The newspaper reports that the preliminary budget would slash nearly $2 billion from funds dedicated to public housing. It would eliminate the Community Development Block Grant Program, which funds local improvement efforts and anti-poverty programs.

Programs that help fund housing for homeless veterans, disabled people and the elderly would also face substantial cuts.

The Post reports that HUD’s overall budget would be cut by about 14 per cent, to $40.5 billion in fiscal 2018.

HUD spokesman Jereon Brown told the Post the budget document “is still a work in progress.” The Trump administration is expected to announce its overall budget plan next week.