Hurricane Katrina: Questions Regarding the Section 8 Housing Voucher Program

Publication Date: December 2005

Publisher: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Author(s):

Research Area: Social conditions

Type:

Abstract:

The destruction of housing stock wrought by Hurricane Katrina is unprecedented in the United States. Hundreds of thousands of families were displaced from their homes. Many of the displaced families lacked economic means before the storm; others may have become disadvantaged because of the storm. The role of the federal government in helping to meet both the short- and long-term housing needs of displaced families is under debate within the Administration, in Congress, and in the news media, and questions have arisen regarding the appropriate role of the nation's largest housing assistance program for the poor -- the Section 8 voucher program -- in the wake of the storm. This report focuses on three questions: what impact has the hurricane had on existing voucher holders; to what degree is the program now serving displaced families who had not previously received a voucher; and should the program play a larger role in serving displaced families.

Thus far, the program has played a minor role in serving the overall population of affected families. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has focused primarily on serving the estimated 50,000 displaced families who had already received HUD assistance before the storm. Initially, Public Housing Authorities (PHAs) in other parts of the country were encouraged to give these families priority for existing vouchers. Later, on September 23, HUD and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced a new Katrina Disaster Housing Assistance Program (KDHAP). Under KDHAP, FEMA funds HUD to provide special vouchers to displaced families that had been receiving HUD assistance when Katrina hit.

The majority of displaced families, however, did not receive HUD assistance before the storm. To serve these families, some PHAs have allowed otherwiseeligible families displaced by the hurricane to jump ahead of other families who were already on their local waiting lists. Other PHAs have considered adopting such a policy, but have decided that the need is too great in their own communities. The demand for vouchers nationwide is greater than the supply; thus few existing vouchers are available to new families. Advocates from across the political spectrum have called for the creation of new vouchers for displaced families. They claim that vouchers are more cost-efficient, provide more family choice, and can avoid many of the problems associated with such policies as the temporary provision of trailers. Some Members of Congress have introduced bills to authorize and fund new vouchers (S. 1637, S. 1765 and S. 1766), or to make changes to the current program (H.R. 3894), but none has been enacted.

In lieu of vouchers, the Administration so far has chosen to provide families with cash grants and trailers. FEMA has also paid for hotel rooms for displaced families, although those payments for many families will end on January 7, 2006. Some cities developed their own voucher programs with the expectation of FEMA reimbursement, although FEMA announced it will cease reimbursements on March 1, 2006. This report will be updated.