May 3, 2005
CALL TO ACTION
Call all Senators and Representatives toll free (888)818-6641.
(Ask to speak to staffperson who covers housing.)
TELL THEM YOU STRONGLY OPPOSE the State and Local Housing Flexibility Act and YOU WANT CONGRESS TO REJECT IT!
Senator Wayne Allard (R-CO) has introduced HUD's "State and Local Housing Flexibility Act of 2005" (SLHFA) in the Senate (S. 771) on April 13, 2005 and Representative Gary Miller (R-CA) introduced companion legislation, H.R. 1999, in the House on April 28, 2005.
SLHFA will drastically change how affordable housing programs operate and reduce the number of extremely low income families and individuals - those with incomes below 30% of Area Median Income (AMI) — who will benefit from public housing and the Section 8 voucher program. WE MUST STOP THIS BILL!
SLHFA will make the following changes in Public and Assisted Housing, among others:
Income Targeting:
SLHFA allows 90% of vouchers to go to households with incomes up to 60% of area median. Nationally, 84% of severely cost burdened households have incomes below 30% of area median income. Today, at least 75% of voucher must go to households with incomes below 30% AMI. The bill represents a mismatch between known housing needs and use of federal resources.
Rents:
In both the public housing and voucher programs, the bill would allow rents to no longer be tied to incomes, which currently keeps rents affordable to low income people. The bill would allow housing authorities to establish their own rent policies, which may or may not be affordable to people with low income households.
Time Limits
The bill allows housing authorities to establish time limits for participating in the voucher program.
Portability:
The bill greatly restricts portability and poses other serious fair housing and civil rights problems. On portability, only certain housing authorities could port voucher to other authorities, and even then only with a written agreement.
Enhanced Vouchers:
Currently, residents are protected with enhanced vouchers if owners of HUD multifamily properties prepay on their mortgages or opt out of renewing project-based Section 8 contracts, Under SLHFA, enhanced vouchers will only be good for one year then they are converted to regular tenant-based vouchers. Over 60,000 tenants with enhanced vouchers would be forced to move and find housing they can afford with a regular voucher.
Moving to Work
Any housing authority could apply to be a Moving to Work site. As such, most housing requirements would no longer apply or could be waived (except for public housing demolition/disposition rules). A housing authority's funds could be transferred and/or merged between the public housing operating and subsidy funds and the voucher program.
See NLIHC website for more information on this legislation's impact on low income families. Please report back on your calls to Craig Stevens at craig@nlihc.org.