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NAHRO Supports Housing Voucher Improvement Act of 2002

(April 11, 2002) Washington, D.C. - NAHRO welcomes Sen. Paul Sarbanes' introduction of the "Housing Voucher Improvement Act of 2002." Sen. Sarbanes has taken the lead on affordable housing and community development issues throughout the years. The association supports many provisions of the bill, however, NAHRO does recommend some modifications.

Local administration for the Section 8 program is crucial. Yet one provision in the bill would reallocate unused budget authority and give preference in those unused vouchers to regional housing agencies. NAHRO believes unused budget authority should be reallocated first within the metropolitan statistical area but without providing automatic preference to regional housing agencies over local housing agencies.

The Association also recommends expansion of a provision that would allow the use of unspent Section 8 funds for expenses that would help families secure housing, such as move-in fees and housing search services.

NAHRO is seeking to expand that proposal to include application of unused annual contribution contract reserves as well.

NAHRO supports these provisions of the Housing Voucher Improvement Act of 2002:

• Allow housing assistance payment (HAP) payments to be made to an owner prior to inspection of a particular unit so long as certain conditions are met;
• Allow people who live in Project-Based Section 8 (PBA) housing to be eligible for Family Self-Sufficiency activities;
• Allow LHAs to use Resident Opportunities and Self-Sufficiency funds to serve Section 8 families;
• When determining rent, require that payments made by agencies, such as those that welfare agencies make to help with increased rental payments due to increased earnings, be deducted from the family's income;
• Authorize the Welfare-to-Work Voucher program from FY 2003 to FY 2007;
• If the HAP contract covers a unit that carries housing tax credits and is not located in a qualified census, allow payment standards to be set at a level that is no more than the rents for comparable units in buildings with no Section 8 assistance; and
• If a HAP covers a unit with HOME funds that is not in a qualified census tract, allow the rent for the unit, if it is higher than the fair market rent (FMR), to be established at a payment standard that does not exceed rents for comparable units in buildings with no HOME funds attached. If both tax credits and HOME funds are allotted to a unit with Section 8 assistance, the HOME provision would apply, except for project-based units.

NAHRO is seeking modification or clarification to two other provisions:

• Allow LHAs to set their voucher payment standard at 120 percent of the fair market rent without HUD approval.
• Reallocating unused budget authority first within the metropolitan statistical area and then within the state of the agency whose voucher allocation has been reduced, without providing automatic preference to regional housing agencies over local housing agencies.

Ophelia Basgal, executive director of the Housing Authority of Alameda County, Hayward, CA, was to testify on NAHRO's behalf at today's hearing about Sen. Sarbanes' proposed legislation.

"Many of these changes - housing search assistance, increased discretion in the setting of voucher payment standards, expanded self-sufficiency opportunities - parallel similar recommendations by NAHRO members," Basgal said. "We are, however, concerned about the proposal to use the reallocation of underutilized vouchers as an opportunity to experiment with regional program administration. NAHRO believes that the focus on the reallocation of underutilized vouchers should be on getting the funding utilized by families in need of housing assistance."

NAHRO made recommendations that are important but were not included:

• Set 40 percent cap on tenant rent
• Make technical correction to income targeting requirements, allowing 75 percent of all vouchers issued to be provided to households below 30 percent of average median income
• Exclude Welfare-to-Work local housing agencies (LHAs) from adhering to income targeting requirements for families participating in the WtW program to eliminate barriers on attracting working families to the program.

"NAHRO is most pleased that Senator Sarbanes is taking a proactive position in support of the housing programs, particularly the Housing Choice Voucher Program. He is a longstanding friend of housing with an uncommon understanding of the importance of housing to America's communities," said NAHRO President Kurt Creager. "We will work to ensure that the views of NAHRO members, informed by practical experience, are communicated to Senator Sarbanes and his fine staff as this legislation moves forward to passage."

NAHRO represents more than 9,000 members nationwide, including LHAs that administer 93 percent of the nation's Section 8 tenant-based housing choice vouchers.

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