AG Nessel Secures Order Protecting Federal Support for Homelessness Services

LANSING – Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel and a multistate coalition have won their case (PDF) challenging Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) illegal attempt to cap funding for permanent housing projects that help families facing housing insecurity or experiencing homelessness. If the coalition had not been successful, tens of thousands of people would have lost their homes.

“Thousands of Michigan residents would have been unlawfully forced onto the streets if the Trump administration was left to its own devices, but I am relieved the court has once again stepped in to protect this critical funding,” said Attorney General Nessel. “We have had tremendous success in our federal actions holding this White House accountable to the rule of law and ensuring federal agencies cannot arbitrarily rewrite the rules at the expense of our most vulnerable. If given their way, the federal government would have stripped billions in crucial funding and essential services from Michigan families. I am proud to stand in the way to block these unlawful attempts and defend our communities.”

For more than two decades, HUD has embraced a commitment to permanent housing programs and a Housing First model. However, the current federal administration has rejected that commitment and undermined the Continuum of Care (CoC) program.

In June, the states won a separate case against HUD in federal court in Rhode Island regarding the agency’s decision last year to impose illegal conditions on billions of dollars in funding for the CoC program, including an attempt to impose a cap on the amount of CoC funds that can support permanent supportive housing. After that cap was struck down as unlawful, HUD changed its tactics. It issued a notice of funding opportunity that would have created a $1.3 billion set-aside for new projects prioritizing such things as transitional housing, which would have resulted in a de facto cap on permanent housing. That shift threatened housing for at least 97,000 residents of CoC-funded permanent housing across the country, and 3,156 people in Michigan, according to the National Alliance to End Homelessness.

Attorney General Nessel again joined a coalition of states in suing to block these harmful changes. The U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island granted critical parts of the coalition’s motion for summary judgment, ruling that HUD’s set-aside is unlawful and cannot be implemented.

Attorney General Nessel joined the lawsuit with the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin, and the governors of Kentucky and Pennsylvania.

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