The House Financial Services Committee has approved H.R. 3045, the Section Eight Voucher Reform Act of 2009. This measure would reform the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program, which provides rental housing assistance to 2 million low-income families nationwide. The legislation, sponsored by Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), was approved by a vote of 41- 24. Key provisions include:
- Establishes a new funding system for the Section 8 program that would ensure that no tenant is ever at risk of losing housing assistance due to unexpected budget shortfalls.
- Restore previous assistance levels by authorizing 150,000 new vouchers.
- Streamlines the process of providing Section 8 housing assistance. The calculations governing tenant rent payments would be simplified, reducing the burden on housing agencies, tenants and private owners of subsidized housing.
- Streamlines the housing inspection process, along with administrative burdens that make it difficult to transfer vouchers between jurisdictions.
- Provides the flexibility needed for public housing authorities to preserve affordable housing by allowing agencies to make greater use of “project-based” vouchers.
- Reforms Moving to Work, renaming it the Housing Innovation Program, which currently permits the Department of Housing and Urban Development to waive certain regulations for 30 public housing agencies, allowing them to experiment with different rent structures and programs. To ensure the efficacy of the program in addressing the needs of the most vulnerable households, the bill provides for rigorous evaluation requirements, stronger tenant protections, and clearer program goals to ensure effective use of federal funds.
The measure now awaits consideration by the full House of Representatives.
