Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Reform Proposals

In July 2007, legislation led by Representatives Maxine Waters (D-CA), Judy Biggert (R-IL), Barney Frank (D-MA), and Chris Shays (R-CT) to reform the “Section 8” Housing Choice Voucher program (H.R. 1851) passed the House by a strong bipartisan vote, 333-83. A companion to the Section 8 Voucher Reform Act (SEVRA) was introduced in March in the Senate as S. 2684, and a hearing on the bill was held in April. The next step is for the Banking Committee to schedule a “mark-up” of the bill and pass it.

Housing Choice Vouchers are the leading form of low-income housing assistance, serving nearly two million households, including families with kids, the elderly, and people with disabilities. SEVRA would reform the program for the first time in ten years and will help the program continue to provide affordable housing to millions of households, while using federal resources more efficiently.

SEVRA would streamline the Housing Choice Voucher program and permanently address a formula problem that led to the loss of 150,000 vouchers over three years. Under SEVRA, funding for vouchers would be based on each public housing agency’s actual spending for vouchers in the previous year. Any public housing agencies with large unspent balances would have some of their reserves reallocated to agencies that could immediately assist families on their waiting lists. If a public housing agency faced a shortfall, it could temporarily borrow from the following year’s allotment. The bill would also reform the financing of “portability” moves, so that families could more easily exercise their right to move with a voucher and agencies could save burdensome paperwork and avoid cash-flow problems.

SEVRA simplifies the rules governing the calculation of rents in public housing, project-based Section 8 properties, and the voucher program. Tenants would still be required to pay 30 percent of their income toward the rent, but the bill would streamline the process for determining tenants’ incomes and deductions. Income of families on fixed income would only have to be recertified every 3 years. SEVRA also includes some modest changes in housing inspection rules designed to ease burdens on agencies and encourage landlords to offer apartments to voucher holders.

Latest News:
In April, the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee held a hearing on S. 2684. The next step is for the Banking Committee to schedule a “mark-up” of the bill and pass it. If the bill does not pass by the end of this Congressional session, it will have to be reintroduced next session.