Federal Government Shuts Down; Read MBA’s Shutdown Member Guide

As of yesterday morning, the federal government is shut down after Congress failed to come to an agreement on Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 funding.

• Read MBA’s member guide that outlines the potential impacts to single-family and multifamily government lending programs.

Why it matters: Starting yesterday, the shutdown necessitated the furloughs of certain federal employees as well as significant curtailment of certain operations requiring agency staff intervention or action at the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Veterans Affairs, and the Department of Agriculture.

• National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) authorities have also expired, a disruptive development that impacts real estate transactions in flood-prone areas where insurance is required. MBA is advocating for an immediate extension of NFIP’s authority–including a separate/targeted authorization measure–to avoid long-term disruptions to the housing and flood insurance markets. Read the recent trade groups/coalition letters to congressional leadership here and here.

Go deeper: On Sept. 19, Republicans in the House of Representatives passed a short-term Continuing Resolution (CR) that extends Fiscal Year (FY) 2024-2025 funding levels through Nov. 21, 2025. However, in the Senate, where 60 votes are needed, several attempts to advance the House-passed measure (and a competing Democratic alternative) have all failed in recent days. Democratic leaders continue to insist that certain health-care related priorities must be added to any government funding package. Further funding-related votes are expected later today–and throughout the weekend–as negotiations amongst senators continue.

What’s next: MBA is engaged with lawmakers in both chambers of Congress–and affected regulators–and encourages members to contact us directly with any real-time impacts your firms are experiencing. A shutdown lasting a few days slightly inconveniences single-family and multifamily mortgage markets. A longer delay–especially if it leads to widespread layoffs at federal agencies important to the industry–will have severe and disruptive impacts to members and the consumers, end users and customers they serve.

For more information, please contact Bill Killmer at (202) 557-2736, Pete Mills at (202) 557-2858 and Jamie Woodwell at (202) 557-2936.