Programs to help with home repairs, provide emergency rent assistance and more hang in the balance for Federal Way residents.

Next month, members of the Parks, Recreation, Human Services & Public Safety (PRHSPS) Council Committee are expected to deliberate on which local organizations will receive approximately $1 million in grant funding through federal Community Development Block Grants (CDBG).

On Aug. 12, council members voted to sign a letter to Washington Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell and Representative Adam Smith, asking them to support the continuation of those same funds.

“Without CDBG, 292 small businesses would not have received the support to keep their doors open and 60 homes would not have received the critical repairs that they need to keep families stably housed, and many families would not have received services such as rent assistance (249 households) or employment training (191 households),” the council members shared in their letter.

From 2020-2024, Federal Way utilized $3.7 million in CDBG funding total to pay for these programs and more.

“Our cities in Washington often leverage these federal funds to support a broad array of community needs-based programs, and tie the funds to local, state and private funds,” the council letter said.

The CDBG program was first enacted in 1974. The Trump Administration requested to cut all funding to it in their May 2 budget proposal.

This deadline for the final federal budget is Sept. 30, which will fund operations from Oct. 1, 2025, through Sept. 30, 2026, and will require consensus between the House and Senate.

So far, the House Appropriations Committee passed a bill on July 17, 2025, which included CDBG programs at current levels.

The Senate Appropriations Committee also passed its bill on July 24, but their plan would reduce CDBG funding from $3.3 billion to $3.1 billion nationwide.

Despite support for CDBG funding from both the House and the Senate, Federal Way’s lobbyist in Washington, D.C., Luke Sullivan, told the council at the Aug. 12 meeting that “this is uncharted territory and it’s going to require the House and the Senate sitting down with the administration and hashing out a deal.”

“When this happens, there’s potential for areas to – even though there is support in the chambers – to be kind of traded off with the administration,” Sullivan explained.

For this reason, he believes it was a good choice for the council to send the letter.

“One way to really make sure that your voice is heard and that this is potentially protected is having your representation in Washington, your two senators and your congressmen, hear directly from you that these are important,” Sullivan said.

The city does have $560,000 available in prior year funds, which it would be able to allocate to applicants no matter the decision at the federal level.

The funds that are in question are the $528,450 in funding that the city is hoping will be federally funded for the 2026 federal budget.

Despite not knowing for sure whether CDBG will be funded for 2026, the Human Services Commission has been deliberating on which applicants to recommend to the council committee, then for approval by the full council.

Applicants this year include the following: African Community Housing and Development, Upwards Care, Highline College, FUSION – Family Center Security Upgrade, FUSION – Roof Ventilation Refrigeration, Habitat for Humanity – Critical Home Repair, Habitat for Humanity – Minor Home Repair, Kenyan Immigrant Community Services and El Centro de la Raza.

Bipartisan support for CDBG could protect these funds, but other federal cuts are already affecting people in Washington in other ways.

Statewide, 130,000 Washingtonians are expected to lose access to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits and all recipients will likely see less benefits due to the “Big Beautiful Bill” that has already been passed. Nearly 500,000 residents could lose medical coverage, and there is expected to be a 10-15% drop in available food sources, according to Northwest Harvest.

While these numbers are not broken down to reflect Federal Way specifically, the city has a 14% poverty rate compared to the overall state’s 10%.

“Our housing crisis will worsen as families struggle to pay for basic living expenses,” Northwest Harvest staff said of these cuts.

Sullivan explained that with “the President currently requesting pretty steep cuts across the board at the federal government…that of course is going to cause shock in communities across the country.”

These impacts are one motivation driving support for CDBG funding, Sullivan said.

The Federal Way community should know more about who Federal Way council members want funding to go to after the October PRHSPS meeting— and more about whether federal leaders want that funding to exist at all after Sept. 30.

Editor’s note: A previous version of this article stated council members would deliberate on the CDBG grantees at the Sept. 16 council meeting. This is incorrect – the subject will most likely be added to the October PRHSPS committee agenda.