House Subcommittee Approves Section 8 Housing Bill

On June 8, the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity approved, 23-2, a bill (H.R. 5443) to reform the Section 8 voucher program.

The Section 8 program provides monetary vouchers for low-income families to obtain privately-owned rental housing. Section 8 is the largest federal program designed to provide affordable housing to low-income families, serving more than two million households.

Among other provisions, the bill would:

• Require review every three years, rather than annually, for families certified as “fixed income” — those receiving all income from Social Security, a pension, or other periodic payments;
• Allow biennial, rather than annual, inspection of eligible dwelling units;
• Simplify the rent determination procedures for the section 8 voucher program;
• Expand the Moving To Work (MTW) program, which gives incentives to families to become more self-sufficient and reduces the administrative burdens on public housing agencies, from 25 agencies to 40; and
• Require the Government Accountability Office to conduct a study of the MTW program.