I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1841

To better assist lower income families to obtain decent, safe, and affordable 

housing through the conversion of the section 8 housing choice voucher 

program into a State-administered block grant. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 29, 2003

Mr. NEY (by request) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Financial Services 

A BILL

To better assist lower income families to obtain decent, safe, 

and affordable housing through the conversion of the 

section 8 housing choice voucher program into a Stateadministered block grant.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE AND TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Housing Assistance for Needy Families Act of 2003’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—

Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Findings and purposes. 

Sec. 3. Authority. 

Sec. 4. Definitions. 

Sec. 5. Planning and performance. 
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Sec. 6. Eligible families. 

Sec. 7. Eligible activities. 

Sec. 8. Amount of assistance. 

Sec. 9. Authorization, allocation and distribution of funds. 

Sec. 10. Environmental review. 

Sec. 11. Inspection of units. 

Sec. 12. Portability. 

Sec. 13. Compliance. 

Sec. 14. Effective date.

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 

2 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that—

3 (1) the section 8 tenant-based assistance pro4 gram now provides rental and homeownership assist5 ance to more than 1.8 million families; 

6 (2) despite this success, during the past several 

7 years, billions of dollars of funds appropriated for 

8 tenant-based assistance have remained unspent, and 

9 as a result, several hundred thousand families have 

10 not been provided housing assistance made available 

11 by Congress; 

12 (3) over 2,600 public housing agencies, half of 

13 which administer 250 or fewer vouchers, administer 

14 the tenant-based assistance program through direct 

15 contracts with the Secretary, and thus the Secretary 

16 must administer the program through rules and reg17 ulations that apply directly to more than 2,600 enti18 ties throughout the Nation; 

19 (4) this administrative structure has contrib20 uted to the development of regulatory and statutory 

21 measures that have made the tenant-based assist-
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1 ance program overly prescriptive and difficult to ad2 minister, with hundreds of pages of regulations and 

3 guidance; 

4 (5) the complexity of the tenant-based assist5 ance program, its inability to allow adequate timely 

6 adjustments to changing local markets, and its mul7 tiplicity of Federal directives, all have contributed to 

8 several hundred thousand families not being pro9 vided the housing assistance made available by Con10 gress; 

11 (6) the linkage between housing assistance and 

12 the government’s role in supporting self-sufficiency 

13 efforts for low-income families is critical, and this 

14 role is now largely carried out by the States under 

15 the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families pro16 gram and other programs; and 

17 (7) since assuming responsibility for the Tem18 porary Assistance for Needy Families program, and 

19 with respect to other initiatives, such as the One20 Stop Career Center system under the Workforce In21 vestment Act, States have shown that they can bring 

22 creative, effective administration to programs for as23 sistance to needy families. 
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1 (b) PURPOSES.—The purpose of this Act is to provide 

2 for housing assistance through a State-administered block 

3 grant, and thereby to—

4 (1) provide for the necessary program flexibility 

5 and oversight so that funds are used promptly and 

6 effectively to assist needy families; 

7 (2) facilitate greater program responsiveness to 

8 local markets and needs; 

9 (3) provide for administrative decision-making 

10 closer to the communities and families affected, by 

11 their elected officials; 

12 (4) provide for additional program flexibility to 

13 address local needs; 

14 (5) give States the authority to reallocate funds 

15 or take other actions necessary to ensure that pro16 gram funds are expended promptly and effectively; 

17 (6) improve government support of self-suffi18 ciency efforts by assisted families, by facilitating 

19 greater coordination with the Temporary Assistance 

20 for Needy Families program, programs under the 

21 Workforce Investment Act, and other Federal and 

22 State programs that promote self-sufficiency; 

23 (7) provide greater flexibility for addressing 

24 special needs of elderly and disabled families; and 
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1 (8) facilitate State and local efforts to reduce 

2 homelessness. 

3 SEC. 3. AUTHORITY. 

4 (a) The Secretary is authorized to make grants to 

5 States to provide tenant-based rental and homeownership 

6 housing assistance and to carry out activities related 

7 thereto in accordance with the provisions of this Act. 

8 (b) Subject to the availability of appropriations, each 

9 State receiving a grant under this Act shall, for fiscal 

10 years 2005 through 2009, provide tenant-based rental and 

11 homeownership housing assistance to no fewer than the 

12 average number of families served in such State during 

13 the 120 day period ending on September 30, 2004 by the 

14 Housing Choice Voucher program authorized under sec15 tion 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 

16 U.S.C. 1437f), including those families receiving enhanced 

17 voucher assistance authorized under such section 8. 

18 (c) The chief executive officer of any State may, in 

19 any fiscal year, after receiving a grant under this Act for 

20 such fiscal year, designate any agency or instrumentality 

21 of the State to act on behalf of the State with regard to 

22 the provisions of this Act.

23 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

24 (a) The term ‘‘State’’ shall include the several States, 

25 the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto 
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1 Rico, the territories and possessions of the United States, 

2 and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. 

3 (b) The term ‘‘gross monthly income’’ shall include 

4 income from all sources of each member of the household, 

5 as determined in accordance with criteria prescribed by 

6 the State. 

7 (c) The terms ‘‘elderly families’’, ‘‘disabled families’’, 

8 and ‘‘Secretary’’ used in this Act shall have the definitions 

9 accorded such terms by the United States Housing Act 

10 of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437 et seq.). 

11 (d) The term ‘‘tenant-based rental housing assist12 ance’’ means assistance that provides for the eligible fam13 ily to select suitable housing and to move to other suitable 

14 housing. 

15 SEC. 5. PLANNING AND PERFORMANCE. 

16 (a) STATE PLAN.—Prior to the receipt in any fiscal 

17 year of a grant under this Act, the State shall, as part 

18 of its comprehensive housing affordability strategy (or any 

19 consolidated plan incorporating such strategy) under sec20 tion 105 of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable 

21 Housing Act, set forth quantifiable objectives related to 

22 performance measures established by the Secretary under 

23 subsection (b). 

24 (b) PERFORMANCE STANDARDS.—The Secretary 

25 shall establish performance standards for States receiving 
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1 grants under this section as the Secretary determines to 

2 be appropriate, including budget utilization, financial 

3 management, number of families served, quality of hous4 ing, reduction of homelessness (including homelessness 

5 among veterans), improved living conditions for elderly 

6 and disabled families, the effectiveness of voucher assist7 ance in helping families move toward homeownership and 

8 self-sufficiency, and the extent to which State or local gov9 ernments remove barriers to affordable housing. 

10 (c) PERFORMANCE REPORT.—

11 (1) The Secretary shall require each State to 

12 submit to the Secretary, at a time and in a form de13 termined by the Secretary, a performance evaluation 

14 and report to be made available to the public con15 cerning the progress it has made in carrying out its 

16 plan under subsection (a) and in meeting annual nu17 merical performance targets consistent with the per18 formance standards established under subsection 

19 (b). Included in the report shall be: 

20 (A) the number of families and individuals 

21 receiving tenant-based rental and homeowner22 ship housing assistance under the State pro23 gram including the number of families with 

24 children, elderly families, and disabled families. 

25 For each family, information on income, 
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1 sources of income, and changes in income and 

2 employment status; 

3 (B) the total dollar value of housing assist4 ance received by all families; 

5 (C) amounts spent on administrative fees; 

6 (D) information about the neighborhood 

7 poverty rates in which families reside; and 

8 (E) other information on the use of Fed9 eral assistance as the Secretary may prescribe. 

10 (2) SUFFICIENCY OF REPORT.—If a State fails 

11 to submit a report satisfactory to the Secretary in 

12 a timely manner, the Secretary may take any nec13 essary compliance actions authorized under section 

14 13(b) of this Act. 

15 (d) ALTERNATIVE ADMINISTRATION.—

16 (1) In fiscal year 2005 and any fiscal years 

17 thereafter, if any State has not demonstrated to the 

18 satisfaction of the Secretary that it has the capacity 

19 to adequately administer grant amounts under this 

20 Act, the Secretary shall determine how to carry out 

21 such program in any such State, which may include 

22 administration of such program by one or more pub23 lic housing agencies or other entities. 

24 (2) If, pursuant to paragraph (1), grant 

25 amounts under this Act are administered by one or 
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1 more public housing agencies or other entities, all 

2 provisions under this Act which would otherwise be 

3 applicable to States administering funds under this 

4 Act shall be applicable instead to such public hous5 ing agencies or other entities. 

6 SEC. 6. ELIGIBLE FAMILIES. 

7 (a) INITIAL ELIGIBILITY.—

8 (1) To be eligible to receive tenant-based rental 

9 and homeownership housing assistance under this 

10 Act, a family that is not assisted under section 8 of 

11 the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 

12 1437f) shall have an income that does not exceed 80 

13 percent of the median income for the area, as deter14 mined by the Secretary with adjustments for smaller 

15 or larger families, except that the Secretary may es16 tablish income ceilings higher than 80 percent of the 

17 median for the area for elderly and disabled families. 

18 (2) NEW ADMISSIONS.—Of the families eligible 

19 to receive assistance pursuant to subsection (a) and 

20 initially receiving such assistance under this Act, not 

21 less than 75 percent of such new admissions in each 

22 State in any fiscal year shall have incomes that do 

23 not exceed 30 percent of the area median income, as 

24 determined by the Secretary with adjustments for 

25 smaller or larger families. If States are prevented 
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1 from achieving this requirement and proof is pro2 vided that this target cannot be met, then States 

3 may submit waiver requests to the Secretary for ad4 ditional income targeting flexibility for new admis5 sions, however, the Secretary may grant such waiv6 ers only to the extent that not less than 55 percent 

7 of new admissions in each State in any fiscal year 

8 shall have incomes that do not exceed 30 percent of 

9 the area median income. 

10 (b) CONTINUED ELIGIBILITY.—Subject to subsection 

11 (d), continued eligibility for housing assistance pursuant 

12 to this Act shall be determined in accordance with stand13 ards established by or for the State in which the family 

14 resides. 

15 (c) PREFERENCES.—Each State receiving a grant 

16 pursuant to this Act may establish a system for making 

17 housing assistance pursuant to this Act available on behalf 

18 of eligible families that provides preference for such assist19 ance to eligible families having certain characteristics, in20 cluding working families; families already receiving assist21 ance under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families 

22 program; individuals at risk of chronic homelessness; fami23 lies affected by the conversion, sale, or demolition of public

24 housing projects; families leaving structures receiving 

25 project-based assistance under section 8(o)(13) of the 
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1 United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 

2 1437f(o)(13)); and to veterans of the Armed Forces of the 

3 United States, especially to homeless veterans. 

4 (d) GRANDFATHERING PROVISION.—

5 (1) Any family that is receiving tenant-based 

6 assistance under section 8 of the United States 

7 Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f) shall, for 

8 fiscal years 2005 through 2009, continue to receive 

9 such assistance subject to the terms and conditions 

10 of such Act, from amounts made available pursuant 

11 to section 9(c) of this Act. Any family that is receiv12 ing homeownership, project-based certificate, or 

13 project-based voucher assistance under such section 

14 8 shall continue to receive such assistance subject to 

15 the terms and conditions of such Act, from amounts 

16 made available pursuant to section 9(c) of this Act. 

17 (2) If the grant received by the State pursuant 

18 to this Act is insufficient to fund all currently as19 sisted families pursuant to paragraph (1) in the 

20 amounts specified under current program require21 ments, the State shall make every effort to continue 

22 to provide assistance to the greatest extent possible 

23 to the same number of assisted families in the State. 

24 (e) ANNUAL REVIEW OF FAMILY INCOME.—Each 

25 State administering a housing assistance grant pursuant 
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1 to this Act shall, not less frequently than annually, con2 duct a review of the family income of each family receiving 

3 such assistance, except that the State shall review the in4 come of elderly families not less frequently than every 

5 three years. 

6 SEC. 7. ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES. 

7 Activities assisted under this Act may include only—

8 (1) tenant-based rental housing assistance; 

9 (2) homeownership assistance for first-time 

10 homebuyers, including monthly homeownership as11 sistance and downpayment assistance as defined in 

12 section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 

13 (42 U.S.C. 1437f); 

14 (3) costs of administering grant amounts under 

15 this Act, except that such costs shall not exceed 10 

16 percent of grant amounts provided to the State; and 

17 (4) other activities, as specified by the Sec18 retary, in support of tenant-based rental housing 

19 and homeownership assistance activities authorized 

20 under this section. 

21 SEC. 8. AMOUNT OF ASSISTANCE. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsections (b), (c), 

23 and (d), any monthly assistance payment for a family re24 ceiving housing assistance pursuant to this Act shall be 

25 determined by the State administering such assistance. 
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1 Except as provided in subsection (b), no family residing 

2 in a dwelling unit that is assisted with grant amounts 

3 under this Act will be required at the time of initial leasing 

4 to pay more than 30 percent of such family’s gross month5 ly income as rent for such dwelling unit (including the 

6 amount allowed for tenant-paid utilities), or as home7 ownership expenses, where applicable. Families may 

8 choose to pay more to secure better quality housing. 

9 (b) MINIMUM RENTAL AMOUNT.—Notwithstanding 

10 subsection (a) of this section, States shall establish a min11 imum monthly rental amount of $50 per month. Notwith12 standing the preceding sentence, a hardship exemption 

13 may be granted on a case-by-case basis as determined by 

14 the State. 

15 (c) RENT REASONABLENESS.—The rent for dwelling 

16 units assisted under this Act shall be reasonable and ap17 propriate in comparison with rents charged for non-luxury 

18 dwelling units in the private, unassisted local market. 

19 (d) MAXIMUM SUBSIDY.—States shall establish max20 imum subsidy levels for housing assistance under this Act 

21 that are reasonable and appropriate for the market area. 

22 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION, ALLOCATION AND DISTRIBUTION 

23 OF FUNDS. 

24 (a) The Secretary shall allocate amounts made avail25 able in an appropriations Act as follows: 
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1 (1) ALLOCATIONS FOR FISCAL YEARS 2004 AND

2 2005.—

3 (A) For fiscal year 2004, to public housing 

4 agencies under section 8 of the United States 

5 Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f), except 

6 that the Secretary may reallocate to a State, 

7 from public housing agencies in the same State, 

8 any amounts made available under such section 

9 8 that are not being utilized by the end of the 

10 fiscal year. 

11 (B) In fiscal year 2005, the Secretary shall 

12 allocate to each State an amount that bears the 

13 same ratio to the total amount available for as14 sistance under this Act for such fiscal year that 

15 the amount allocated in fiscal year 2004 to pub16 lic housing agencies within the State bears to 

17 the total amount made available under this Act 

18 for fiscal year 2004. 

19 (2) BASE ALLOCATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2006

20 AND SUBSEQUENT FISCAL YEARS.—

21 (A) The Secretary shall, by regulation 

22 issued not later than 12 months after the date

23 of enactment of this Act, establish a formula 

24 to provide for allocating amounts available for 
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1 fiscal year 2006 and subsequent fiscal years for 

2 block grants to States under this Act. 

3 (B) In establishing the formula, the Sec4 retary shall consider factors reflecting the need 

5 of low-income families in each State, including 

6 the following factors: 

7 (i) The number of families receiving 

8 housing assistance under this Act in each 

9 State; 

10 (ii) the extent of poverty within the 

11 State; 

12 (iii) the cost of housing in the State 

13 or areas of the State; 

14 (iv) the performance of the State in 

15 administering grant amounts under this 

16 Act; 

17 (v) the extent to which the State has 

18 available any funds previously appropriated 

19 under this Act; and 

20 (vi) other objectively measurable con21 ditions as the Secretary may specify. 

22 (C) Subject to subparagraph (D), for fiscal 

23 years 2006 through 2009, the formula shall 

24 provide that—
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1 (i) for a fiscal year in which the 

2 amount appropriated for block grants 

3 under this Act is equal to or greater than 

4 the amount appropriated in fiscal year 

5 2005, the Secretary shall provide each 

6 State with an allocation that is no less 

7 than the allocation that the State received 

8 in fiscal year 2005 adjusted for changes in 

9 housing costs in the preceding year and for 

10 the State’s performance in using funds and 

11 executing the program; or 

12 (ii) for a fiscal year in which the total 

13 amount made available to States for assist14 ance under this Act is less than the total 

15 amount made available to States for fiscal 

16 year 2005, the amount provided to each 

17 State for such fiscal year shall not be less 

18 than the amount that bears the same ratio 

19 to the total amount available for assistance 

20 under this Act for such fiscal year that the 

21 amount provided to the State for fiscal 

22 year 2005 bears to the total amount made 

23 available to States for fiscal year 2005 ad24 justed for changes in housing costs in the 

25 preceding year and for the State’s per-
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1 formance in using funds and executing the 

2 program. 

3 (D) Beginning in fiscal year 2005, any 

4 amounts made available by a time determined 

5 by the Secretary for housing assistance to any 

6 State that exceed the amounts being utilized for 

7 housing assistance by the end of the fiscal year 

8 shall be identified and shall be retained by the 

9 State. In calculating the amount of assistance 

10 to allocate to such State in the following fiscal 

11 year, the Secretary shall reduce the amount 

12 that would otherwise be allocated to such State 

13 pursuant to this paragraph by the identified 

14 amounts. In such following fiscal year, subject 

15 to the availability of appropriated amounts, in 

16 addition to amounts provided under the for17 mula, the Secretary shall allocate an amount at 

18 least equal to the total amount of the reduc19 tions in assistance made in such fiscal year pur20 suant to this subparagraph to those States that 

21 have exceeded, as determined by the Secretary, 

22 the performance standards established by the 

23 Secretary under section 5(b). 

24 (b) Subject to the availability of appropriations, the 

25 Secretary shall allocate additional amounts to each State 
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1 for tenant-protection assistance as authorized by section 

2 8(t) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 

3 1437f(t)) in fiscal year 2005 and each fiscal year there4 after based on the number of eligible tenants previously 

5 receiving such assistance in that State. 

6 (c) There are authorized to be appropriated such 

7 sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 2004 

8 through 2009. 

9 SEC. 10. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW. 

10 For purposes of environmental review, a grant under 

11 this Act shall be treated as assistance for a special project 

12 that is subject to section 305(c) of the Multifamily Hous13 ing Property Disposition Reform Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C. 

14 3547), and shall be subject to the regulations issued by 

15 the Secretary to implement such section. 

16 SEC. 11. INSPECTION OF UNITS. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall require with 

18 respect to any dwelling unit assisted pursuant to this Act 

19 that the State administering housing assistance pursuant 

20 to this Act inspect the unit before any assistance payment 

21 may be made to determine whether the dwelling unit

22 meets the housing quality standards under subsection (b). 

23 Such dwelling unit must meet such standards before any 

24 assistance payment is made. 
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1 (b) HOUSING QUALITY STANDARDS.— All dwelling 

2 units in a State assisted under this Act shall meet all ap3 plicable State and local housing quality standards and 

4 code requirements, and if there are no such standards or 

5 code requirements, the housing shall meet the housing 

6 quality standards established by the Secretary. 

7 (c) INSPECTIONS.—Each State administering hous8 ing assistance under this Act shall ensure that all occupied 

9 dwelling units in such State assisted pursuant to this Act 

10 are maintained in accordance with the standards described 

11 under subsection (b). Every dwelling unit in the State as12 sisted pursuant to this Act shall be inspected not less than 

13 once every three years. 

14 (d) CORRECTIVE ACTIONS.—No assistance payment 

15 may be made pursuant to this Act for a dwelling unit, 

16 which fails to meet the standards under subsection (b). 

17 SEC. 12. PORTABILITY. 

18 (a) Any family receiving housing assistance pursuant 

19 to this Act shall receive such assistance to rent an eligible 

20 dwelling unit within any State in which a program is being 

21 administered under this Act. 

22 (b) Assistance for any family moving pursuant to 

23 subsection (a) shall be administered in accordance with 

24 the provisions established pursuant to this Act in the State 

25 to which the family moves. 
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1 SEC. 13. COMPLIANCE. 

2 (a) COMPLIANCE MONITORING.—The Secretary may 

3 make such reviews and audits as may be necessary or ap4 propriate to determine whether the State has carried out 

5 the housing assistance activities and objectives set forth 

6 in its plan under section 5(a) in a timely or effective man7 ner, whether it has carried out those activities and objec8 tives, including certifications, in accordance with the re9 quirements of this Act and other applicable laws, whether 

10 it has the capacity to continue to undertake these activities 

11 in a timely and effective manner, and whether it has met 

12 the performance standards established by the Secretary 

13 pursuant to section 5(b). 

14 (b) COMPLIANCE ACTIONS.—In addition to any other 

15 actions authorized under this or any other Act, if the Sec16 retary finds after reasonable notice and opportunity for 

17 a hearing that a State receiving a grant under this Act 

18 has failed to comply substantially with any provision of 

19 this Act, including any performance standard established 

20 by the Secretary pursuant to this Act, and until the Sec21 retary is satisfied that there is no longer any such failure 

22 to comply, the Secretary may—

23 (1) terminate grant payments under this Act to 

24 the State and provide for alternative administration 

25 of such grant amounts; 
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1 (2) withhold from the State amounts from the 

2 total allocation that would otherwise be available to 

3 the State under this Act; 

4 (3) reduce the amount of future grants to the 

5 State by an amount equal to the amount of such 

6 grants that were not expended in accordance with 

7 this Act; 

8 (4) limit the availability of grant amounts pro9 vided to the State to programs and activities under 

10 this Act not affected by such failure to comply; 

11 (5) withhold from the State other amounts allo12 cated for the State under other programs adminis13 tered by the Secretary; 

14 (6) refer the matter to the Attorney General of 

15 the United States with a recommendation that an 

16 appropriate civil action be instituted; or 

17 (7) order other corrective action with respect to 

18 the State. 

19 SEC. 14. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

20 The provisions of this Act shall take effect on the 

21 date of the enactment of this Act.

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