U.S. Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, and a Utah Republican are making an appeal to the Trump administration to reverse its recent changes to a loan program aimed at helping low-income people in rural areas afford homes.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture made revisions in February to its Rural Development Section 502 Direct Loan program that assists poorer residents in eligible rural areas with homebuying. The changes include reducing the maximum loan amount and not allowing loans when the appraised value of a house exceeds the loan limit.

That will hurt families participating in programs where “sweat equity” lowers the loan total while increasing a home’s value. This change would affect homes built by Habitat for Humanity, the nonprofit that provides new housing to families who work alongside volunteers to build their homes, for example.

Maine is home to eight Habitat affiliates that may have to look in some cases for other loan options due to the federal changes, according to its leaders.

King, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, joined U.S. Sen. John Curtis, R-Utah, in writing a letter they are sending Friday morning to Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins to urge the department to reverse the changes. They called the appraised value-related tweak “especially problematic.”

The rural program distributed 75 loans in Maine in 2024, according to federal data.

“These changes present a fundamental misalignment with current home values, which are already soaring due to stubborn inflation, construction costs and other supply-side challenges,” the two senators wrote. “We fear that reducing loan limits without exception will render the 502 Direct program inaccessible to countless rural households.”

The rural loan program has been around for decades, growing out of the Housing Act of 1949 that former President Harry Truman signed into law. A USDA spokesperson reportedly explained the changes earlier this month as a move “to ensure we serve more rural Americans and keep the program strong for the long term.”

“Rising loan values in recent years meant that fewer families could be assisted with the resources available,” the USDA spokesperson said. “By updating the policies, we can reduce overall program costs and make room for additional loans, ultimately expanding access to the program.”

Housing advocates in Maine, a predominantly rural state with a dire need to build tens of thousands of more affordable homes and apartments, said they feel the changes will end up costing poorer homebuyers more by making it harder to qualify for the rural loan program.

Amy Nucci, executive director of Habitat for Humanity of Maine, said the program had previously helped the nonprofit save money that it “recycles” back into its operations while also helping new homebuyers.

Housing production may now slow, Nucci said Thursday. She heard from a Habitat affiliate in York County, where the eligibility changes in one scenario could wind up costing the nonprofit $100,000 more to use a different loan program.

“It’s really not just a Habitat issue,” Nucci said. “It’s a rural home issue.”

King and Curtis, Utah’s junior senator who was elected to office in 2024, are also using their letter to Rollins to ask about why the changes also require loans to go through two separate rounds of review before approval.

“These changes are not only burdensome but also create uncertainty for families navigating this process,” the senators wrote.