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Pittsburgh housing authority pares voucher programs over fears of 2026 federal budget cuts | TribLIVE.com
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Pittsburgh housing authority pares voucher programs over fears of 2026 federal budget cuts

Julia Burdelski
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Justin Vellucci | TribLive
Caster D. Binion, executive director of the Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh, is grappling with the potential impact of massive federal budget cuts in fiscal 2026.

The Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh intends to scale back some programs benefiting low-income residents, landlords and developers amid fears of massive federal budget cuts next year.

The government is proposing to slash nearly $27 billion for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Any such cuts would impact many local housing authority programs, including the Housing Choice Voucher Program, Pittsburgh officials warned on Thursday.

In 2024, the housing authority received about $147 million from HUD, according to Chuck Rohrer, the authority’s spokesperson.

The vouchers allow low-income people to rent housing on the private market. The housing authority pays a portion of their rent to make it affordable.

In addition to federal funding to support the housing authority’s voucher programs, Pittsburgh receives about $18 million from HUD annually “to help support the health, safety and welfare of vulnerable residents,” said Cydney Cooper, a spokeswoman for Mayor Ed Gainey.

“The city would not be able to sustain programming at current levels without those funds,” Cooper said.

In an effort to maintain its current programs, the housing authority said it is pausing new landlord incentives and rent increases for landlords, effective at the end of the month.

The pauses could make it harder for the housing authority to recruit new landlords, particularly if property owners feel the authority can’t compete with the open market.

The housing authority also is pausing project-based voucher awards, which provide financial support to specific developments that then set aside some units as affordable housing for low-income residents.

“This decision, while not made lightly, is intended to maintain long-term stability of the program,” the housing authority’s executive director, Castor D. Binion, said in a statement.

Binion said he was “positive” the pause in some programs will allow the authority to keep the Housing Choice Voucher Program “viable in order to maintain our current roster of landlords and tenants.”

The housing authority said the changes are in the best interest of the more than 3,000 landlords and property owners accepting the vouchers and the more than 5,000 low-income renters who are housed through the program.

Pittsburgh’s Office of Management and Budget officials are closely watching how HUD cuts could impact other city-run housing programs, Cooper said.

The federal budget for fiscal year 2026 looks to cut the Community Development Block Grants program, which offers grants to fund projects that benefit low- or moderate-income people, eliminate blight and boost community development.

Cooper said HOME Investment Partnership funds also could be on the federal government’s chopping block.

That program aims to expand and preserve the supply of affordable housing.

Julia Burdelski is a TribLive reporter covering Pittsburgh City Hall and other news in and around Pittsburgh. A La Roche University graduate, she joined the Trib in 2020. She can be reached at jburdelski@triblive.com.

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