Testimony: Barbara Sard Before the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity

Publication Date: March 2007

Publisher: Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (Washington, D.C.)

Author(s): Barbara Sard

Research Area: Social conditions

Keywords: Economic projections; Section 8; Housing assistance; Low-income housing

Type: Report

Abstract:

The Section 8 voucher program is the nation’s largest low-income housing program. It has proven effective in reducing homelessness and severe housing costs burdens, and improving housing and neighborhood quality and family well-being. As with any government program, the voucher program needs to evolve over time, as circumstances change and lessons are learned. Nine years have passed since the 1998 enactment of the Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act (QHWRA), the last major authorizing legislation affecting the voucher program. The Section 8 Voucher Reform Act (SEVRA) represents a timely, balanced, carefully-crafted effort to improve certain aspects of the voucher program, while at the same time leaving in place the core characteristics that have underpinned the program’s success.