The $56 Million Fight Over Housing Counseling Grants, Explained
A federal lawsuit over roughly $56 million in HUD housing counseling funds pits the National Urban League and nine other nonprofits against the administration's cancellation of their grants. The case returned to public view this week when the league republished its argument for the suit. HUD counseling funds a national network advising homebuyers, renters and families facing foreclosure or eviction. The plaintiffs say months of delay followed by abrupt cancellation will eliminate foreclosure-prevention counseling for families who depend on it. The legal core is the pocket rescission: proposing to cancel appropriated funds late enough in the fiscal year that the money expires before Congress can act. The plaintiffs say the maneuver stripped about $56 million illegally; the administration claims budgetary authority. A District of Columbia federal court has already granted a temporary restraining order keeping the funds from expiring, and the plaintiffs later added a First Amendment claim, arguing the cuts punished their advocacy. The outcome reaches beyond counseling. A ruling on pocket rescissions will shape how much control any administration has over appropriated spending, in housing and across the federal budget.