Posted on: Friday, October 15, 2004
Housing voucher program short $93M in rental aid
By Genaro C. Armas
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Nearly 52,000 families could be forced to pay more rent because housing agencies are short $93 million to pay for a voucher program that helps primarily poor Americans, a group of housing officials says.
And complicated Section 8 housing voucher guidelines prevent some $300 million in surpluses from being used for the shortfall, according to a study by the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials. The money would be returned to the U.S. Treasury instead of being sent to housing agencies in a deficit, the study said.
"The biggest concern is that there is a precipitous drop in the ability to serve low-income households around the country," NAHRO's executive director, Saul Ramirez, said Tuesday from Baltimore, where the group had its annual conference. The organization counts nearly 3,000 housing and community development agencies as members.
HUD disputed that, saying no money has been returned to the Treasury this year and any surpluses could not be totaled up until fall of 2005 because housing agencies go by different fiscal year periods.
"It's a flat-out misleading lie," HUD budget director David Givens said of the $300 million surplus figure.
About 2 million families, mainly poor, use Section 8 rental vouchers at a cost of $14.5 billion and account for more than half of the Housing and Urban Development Department's budget.
The Bush administration and many congressional Republicans have said that Section 8 costs must be contained, while congressional Democrats and advocacy groups say the program is being severely shortchanged.
Recipients usually pay no more than 30 percent of their monthly income in rent, with vouchers covering the rest. A voucher is worth about $500 nationally but the value varies widely among cities.
The disagreement involves HUD's reading last spring of the Section 8 funding rules in the 2004 budget. Some Republicans have noted that Congress approved a 14 percent increase in the program's budget even with the cuts.
HUD in August restored about $157 million to housing authorities that had appealed their funding. Givens noted that another $150 million left over from the 2003 budget was also redistributed in May.
NAHRO's analysis of government data found that roughly 500 housing agencies would still be left short about $93 million, while more than 900 agencies will have to return unused money totaling $300 million.
Some agencies have started taking vouchers from families, the study said.
A separate study released Tuesday by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a liberal-leaning think tank, said recent changes to another part of the Section 8 formula would disproportionately afffect voucher holders who rent apartments with three or more bedrooms and as a result, larger families.
HUD last month backed away from some drastic revisions to the "Fair Market Rent" calculations which help determine how much a voucher is worth. The fair rent calculation fluctuates by city according apartment size and the amount needed to pay for rent and utilities.
But Barbara Sard, the center's director of housing policy, said HUD did not publicize changes that did go into effect that led to bigger than expected cuts.
HUD assistant secretary Dennis Shea said the changes were published in the Federal Register and were subject to a public comment period. Variations by bedroom size, he said, came about because HUD was required by law to revise fair rent formulas using updated housing and population statistics from the 2000 census.
