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In mid-March, Congress passed final fiscal year (FY) 2013 legislation that, after sequestration, will provide $17.949 billion for Tenant-Based Rental Assistance. This includes $75 million for an estimated 10,000 new HUD-VA Supportive Housing (VASH) vouchers for homeless veterans. The legislation also included $8.864 billion, after sequestration, for Project-Based Rental Assistance. In his FY 2014 Budget Proposal, the President recommended providing $20 billion for Tenant-Based Renal Assistance, including $75 million for approximately 10,000 new HUD-VASH vouchers and $111 million for new mainstream vouchers provided by the Section 811 Program. The President's proposed funding level includes a significant increase in administrative fees for the program. The budget proposal also includes a significant increase for the Project-Based Rental Assistance voucher program to $1.427 billion. The proposed funding levels for both Tenant-Based Rental Assistance and Project-Based Rental Assistance are intended to ensure that the approximately 3.4 million households currently using the programs continue to be served. The House and Senate will release their own versions of the FY 2014 legislation in the coming weeks.

Last spring, in an effort to move forward with various reforms of the Section 8 program, the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Insurance, Housing and Community Opportunity released the Affordable Housing and Self-Sufficiency Improvement Act (AHSSIA), which includes a variety of changes to the Section 8 Program, including most notably an increase in minimum rents to $69.45. However, since the bill was never formally introduced in the House, the bill died at the end of the 112th Congress. Due to the cost savings produced by the legislation, it is possible that it will be revisited in the 113th Congress. The President's Budget Proposal also includes a series of legislative changes to the programs intended to streamline and enhance them.

About the Section 8 Program
The Section 8 program provides rental assistance for low-income households, with 75 percent of funds being targeted at households living at or below 30 percent of area median income (AMI). Section 8 tenant-based assistance follows participating individuals and families, regardless of whether or not they move over the course of their subsidy. Participants in the program pay 30 percent of their incomes toward housing costs, with the program paying the remainder up to a set maximum amount. These vouchers are the leading form of low-income housing assistance, serving over two million households, including families with children, elderly households, and people with disabilities. For more information about tenant-based Section 8, also called the Housing Choice Voucher program, please see the National Low Income Housing Coalition's webpage.

About Reform Efforts
There has been an ongoing attempt to reform the Housing Choice Voucher program in previous congresses. The previous efforts, known as the Section 8 Voucher Reform Act (SEVRA) and the Section 8 Savings Act (SESA) intended to streamline and enhance the program, though there were controversies surrounding the minimum rent requirement in SESA. The Affordable Housing and Self-Sufficiency Act of 2011 (AHSSIA) was introduced by the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Insurance, Housing and Community Opportunity last year. Similar to SESA, AHSSIA would require HUD to implement minimum rents of approximately $70/month for tenants, though this iteration of the reform legislation does strengthen hardship exemptions and allow public housing authorities to make their own determination on waiving the monthly rents. AHSSIA would also allow up to 500,000 units to be included in a basic Moving to Work (MTW) program and in general strengthens the allocation of voucher renewal funding - the main impetus behind reforming the program.

Reform of the Housing Choice Voucher program for the first time in ten years would help the program continue to provide affordable housing to millions of households, while using federal resources more efficiently. For a more in-depth analysis of proposals as they are available and other information, please see the National Low Income Housing Coalition's webpage.