I

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 2957

To authorize public housing agencies to establish policies regarding the

amount of rent paid by tenants of public housing units and units assisted

under section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 that create

incentives for family self-sufficiency, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

AUGUST 6, 1993

Mr. KNOLLENBERG introduced the following bill; which was referred to the

Committee on Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs

A BILL

To authorize public housing agencies to establish policies

regarding the amount of rent paid by tenants of public

housing units and units assisted under section 8 of the

United States Housing Act of 1937 that create incentives

for family self-sufficiency, and for other purposes.

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.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Rent Reform and

5 Empowerment Act’’.
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1 SEC. 2. DETERMINATION OF INCOME AND RENT CHARGES

2 FOR SECTION 8 AND PUBLIC HOUSING PRO3 GRAMS.

4 (a) EXCLUSION OF INCOME TAXES AND FICA TAX

5 FROM INCOME.—Section 3(b)(5) of the United States

6 Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437a(b)(5)) is amend7 ed—

8 (1) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) through

9 (G) as subparagraphs (B) through (H), respectively;

10 and

11 (2) by inserting before subparagraph (B) (as so

12 redesignated by paragraph (1) of this section) the

13 following new subparagraph:

14 ‘‘(A) the amount of any Federal, State,

15 and local income taxes paid by members of the

16 family and the amount paid by members of the

17 family for the taxes imposed under section 3101

18 and 3201(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of

19 1986;’’.

20 (b) OPTION TO EXCLUDE EARNED INCOME.—Section

21 3(b)(5) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42

22 U.S.C. 1437a(b)(5)) is amended by adding at the end the

23 following new flush sentence:

24 ‘‘At the option of a public housing agency, the agency may

25 (for all families residing in housing assisted by the agency

26 under this Act) exclude from consideration as income for
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1 purposes of determining any limitation on the amount of

2 rent paid by a family, all or part of any increases in the

3 earned income of a family that results from the employ4 ment of a previously unemployed family member; except

5 that such increases in earned income may be excluded only

6 during the 5-year period beginning on the employment of

7 the family member.’’.

8 (c) OPTION TO ESTABLISH CEILING RENTS.—Sec9 tion 3(a) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42

10 U.S.C. 1437a(a)) is amended by adding at the end the

11 following new paragraph:

12 ‘‘(3) CEILING RENT OPTION.—At the option of a

13 public housing agency, the agency may provide that rental

14 charges be determined as follows:

15 ‘‘(A) PUBLIC HOUSING AND CERTIFICATES.—

16 Notwithstanding paragraph (1), each family residing

17 in housing assisted by the agency under this Act

18 (other than units assisted under section 8(o) or (y))

19 shall pay as monthly rent for the dwelling unit the

20 lesser of—

21 ‘‘(i) the amount determined under para22 graph (1); or

23 ‘‘(ii) 75 percent of—
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1 ‘‘(I) the fair market rental for the

2 unit, in the case of units assisted under

3 section 8(b); and

4 ‘‘(II) the fair market rental estab5 lished for comparable units in the market

6 area in which the dwelling unit is located,

7 in the case of public housing dwelling

8 units.

9 ‘‘(B) VOUCHERS.—Notwithstanding section

10 8(o)(2), for each family residing in housing assisted

11 by the agency under section 8(o), the monthly assist12 ance payment for the family shall be the amount by

13 which the payment standard for the area exceeds the

14 lesser of—

15 ‘‘(i) 30 percent of the family’s monthly ad16 justed income; or

17 ‘‘(ii) 75 percent of the monthly payment

18 standard.’’.

19 (d) OPTION TO FREEZE RENTAL PAYMENTS.—Sec20 tion 3(a) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42

21 U.S.C. 1437a(a)), as amended by subsection (b), is fur22 ther amended by adding at the end the following new para23 graph:

24 ‘‘(4) OPTION TO FREEZE RENTAL PAYMENTS.—At

25 the option of a public housing agency, the agency may pro-
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1 vide that, with respect only to families that the agency

2 has determined are engaged in activities that promote eco3 nomic independence and self-sufficiency—

4 ‘‘(A) notwithstanding paragraph (1), each such

5 family shall pay as rent for a dwelling unit assisted

6 by the agency under section 8(b) and for a public

7 housing dwelling unit of the agency, during the pe8 riod in which the family continuously occupies any

9 units assisted under this Act, the sum of—

10 ‘‘(i) the amount payable as rent by such

11 family under paragraph (1) upon initial occu12 pancy during such period in an assisted unit;

13 and

14 ‘‘(ii) the amount determined by the public

15 housing agency to be attributable to any in16 crease in the cost of the dwelling unit for such

17 family that occurs after such initial occupancy,

18 including any increases in the cost of the unit

19 resulting from inflation, increased maintenance

20 or operating costs, and occupancy of a more ex21 pensive assisted unit; and

22 ‘‘(B) notwithstanding section 8(o)(2), for each

23 such family residing in housing assisted by the agen24 cy under section 8(o), the monthly assistance pay25 ment for the family during the period in which the
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1 family continuously occupies any units assisted

2 under this Act shall be the amount by which the

3 payment standard for the area exceeds the sum of—

4 ‘‘(i) 30 percent of the family’s monthly ad5 justed income upon initial occupancy during

6 such period in an assisted unit; and

7 ‘‘(ii) the amount determined by the public

8 housing agency to be attributable to any in9 crease in the cost of the dwelling unit for such

10 family that occurs after such initial occupancy,

11 including any increases in the cost of the unit

12 resulting from inflation, increased maintenance

13 or operating costs, and occupancy of a more ex14 pensive assisted unit.’’.

15 (e) APPLICABILITY TO INDIAN HOUSING.—In accord16 ance with section 201(b)(2) of the United States Housing

17 Act of 1937, the provisions of this section shall apply to

18 public housing developed or operated pursuant to a con19 tract between the Secretary and an Indian housing author20 ity.

21 SEC. 3. PUBLIC HOUSING AUTHORITY MARKET RENT DEM22 ONSTRATION.

23 (a) AUTHORITY.—At the request of a public housing

24 agency or resident management corporation, the Secretary

25 of Housing and Urban Development may authorize the
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1 agency or corporation to carry out a demonstration pro2 gram under this section to determine the feasibility and

3 desirability of providing public housing agencies and resi4 dent management corporations the authority to establish

5 policies for the operation, maintenance, management, and

6 development (including modernization) of public housing

7 projects administered by the agency, without regard to the

8 requirements under the United States Housing Act of

9 1937 applicable to public housing. In establishing such

10 policies, public housing agencies and resident management

11 corporations shall be subject to the provisions of any appli12 cable State and local laws.

13 (b) REQUIRED FINDINGS.—The Secretary may au14 thorize a public housing agency or resident management

15 corporation to carry out a demonstration program under

16 this section only if the Secretary determines, with respect

17 to the particular demonstration program, that—

18 (1) the program is likely to assist in promoting

19 the objectives of the United States Housing Act of

20 1937, encourage resident empowerment, and reduce

21 poverty in public housing by improving the means by

22 which economic self-sufficiency may be achieved;

23 (2) the program, taken as a whole, will not re24 sult in higher costs to the Federal Government than

25 would be incurred absent the program;
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1 (3) the results of the program will be evaluated

2 and reported to the Secretary by independent enti3 ties;

4 (4) no fewer very low-income families will be as5 sisted under the program than would otherwise have

6 been assisted; and

7 (5) the program is consistent with the Fair

8 Housing Act, title VI of the Civil Rights Act of

9 1964, section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973,

10 and the Age Discrimination Act of 1975.

11 (c) EXCEPTIONS TO PROVISIONS OF UNITED STATES

12 HOUSING ACT OF 1937.—

13 (1) MANDATORY.—Notwithstanding any other

14 provision of law, during the period of the demonstra15 tion program (pursuant to subsection (i)) section

16 3(a) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (re17 lating to rental amounts for dwelling units in public

18 housing projects), sections 3(b)(4) and (5) of such

19 Act (relating to determination of income and ad20 justed income), and section 16 of such Act (relating

21 to income eligibility) shall not apply to any public

22 housing projects involved in a demonstration pro23 gram under this section or any families residing in

24 such projects. Each public housing authority and

25 resident management corporation carrying out a
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1 demonstration program under this section shall es2 tablish rents for dwelling units in projects involved

3 in the demonstration program at the discretion of

4 the agency or corporation.

5 (2) DISCRETIONARY.—The Secretary may ex6 empt a public housing agency or resident manage7 ment corporation carrying out a demonstration pro8 gram under this section from any other require9 ments of the United States Housing Act of 1937,

10 and modify the requirements of such sections and

11 other provisions with respect to such agencies, that

12 the Secretary determines are not consistent with the

13 purposes of a demonstration program.

14 (d) INCOME ELIGIBILITY.—Not less than 30 percent

15 of the total number of dwelling units in public housing

16 projects involved in a demonstration program carried out

17 under this section by a public housing agency or resident

18 management corporation shall be available for leasing only

19 to very low-income families.

20 (e) EFFECT ON OPERATING SUBSIDIES.—Notwith21 standing any requirement pursuant to section 9 of the

22 United States Housing Act of 1937, the amount of annual

23 contributions provided for a fiscal year under such section

24 to any public housing agency or resident management cor25 poration carrying out a demonstration program in such
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1 fiscal year may not exceed the amount of such annual con2 tributions provided under such section to the agency or

3 corporation for the last fiscal year concluding before the

4 commencement of the demonstration program by the

5 agency or corporation, as adjusted for inflation (as deter6 mined by the Secretary).

7 (f) TREATMENT OF FAMILIES UNABLE TO PAY

8 RENTAL CHARGES IN PUBLIC HOUSING.—

9 (1) AUTHORITY TO PROVIDE SECTION 8 ASSIST10 ANCE.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law,

11 in connection with carrying out a demonstration pro12 gram under this section a public housing agency

13 may provide assistance under section 8 of the United

14 States Housing Act of 1937 (to the extent sufficient

15 amounts for such assistance are available to such

16 agency) on behalf of any family that (A) resides in

17 a dwelling unit in a public housing project involved

18 in the demonstration program upon the commence19 ment of the demonstration, (B) is otherwise eligible

20 for such assistance, and (C) under section 3(a)(1) of

21 such Act would pay as rent for a dwelling unit as22 sisted under such section an amount that is less

23 than the rental charge for the public housing dwell24 ing unit under the demonstration program. Any such

25 assistance provided for such family shall be subject
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1 to the provisions of section 3(a)(1) or 8(o) of such

2 Act, as applicable.

3 (2) USE.—Such assistance may be used in con4 nection with the rental of a public housing dwelling

5 unit or any other dwelling unit eligible for rental

6 using such assistance.

7 (3) PREFERENCE.—Notwithstanding any other

8 provision of law, a public housing agency carrying

9 out a demonstration program under this section may

10 give preference in providing assistance under such

11 section 8 to families described in paragraph (1) of

12 this subsection.

13 (g) SCOPE OF DEMONSTRATIONS.—In authorizing

14 public housing agencies and resident management cor15 porations to carry out demonstration programs under this

16 section, the Secretary shall provide that the demonstration

17 is carried out with respect to one or more specific public

18 housing projects.

19 (h) NUMBER OF DEMONSTRATIONS.—The Secretary

20 may authorize not more than 50 public housing agencies

21 or resident management corporations to carry out dem22 onstration programs under this section.

23 (i) DURATION.—A public housing agency or resident

24 management corporation authorized to carry out a dem25 onstration program under this section may carry out the
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1 demonstration for a period, determined by the agency or

2 corporation, of not more than 5 years.

3 (j) LIMITATION.—The number and duration of dem4 onstration programs authorized by the Secretary may not

5 exceed the number and duration necessary to achieve the

6 objectives of this section.

7 (k) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.—In authorizing a

8 demonstration program under this section, the Secretary

9 may impose such requirements on the program as the Sec10 retary considers to be appropriate to further its purposes.

11 (l) REPORTS.—

12 (1) TO SECRETARY.—Each public housing

13 agency and resident management corporation carry14 ing out a demonstration program under this section

15 shall submit a report to the Secretary regarding the

16 demonstration for each year in which the demonstra17 tion is carried out, as shall be required by the Sec18 retary.

19 (2) TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 6 years

20 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec21 retary shall submit a report to the Congress describ22 ing and evaluating the demonstration programs car23 ried out under this section.

24 (m) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section:
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1 (1) PUBLIC HOUSING.—The terms ‘‘public

2 housing’’ and ‘‘project’’ have the meanings given

3 such terms in section 3(b) of the United States

4 Housing Act of 1937.

5 (2) PUBLIC HOUSING AGENCY.—The terms

6 ‘‘public housing agency’’ and ‘‘agency’’ have the

7 meanings given the term ‘‘public housing agency’’ in

8 section 3(b) of the United States Housing Act of

9 1937.

10 (3) RESIDENT MANAGEMENT CORPORATION.—

11 The terms ‘‘resident management corporation’’ and

12 ‘‘corporation’’ mean a resident management corpora13 tion established in accordance with requirements of

14 the Secretary under section 20 of the United States

15 Housing Act of 1937.

16 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means

17 the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.

18 (5) VERY LOW-INCOME FAMILIES.—The term

19 ‘‘very low-income families’’ has the meaning given

20 the term in section 3(b) of the United States Hous21 ing Act of 1937.

22 (n) APPLICABILITY TO INDIAN HOUSING.—In ac23 cordance with section 201(b)(2) of the United States

24 Housing Act of 1937, the provisions of this section shall

25 apply to public housing developed or operated pursuant
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1 to a contract between the Secretary and an Indian housing

2 authority.

3 SEC. 4. REGULATIONS.

4 The Secretary may issue any regulations necessary

5 to carry out this Act and the amendments made by this

6 Act.

7 SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE.

8 This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall

9 take effect on October 1, 1993.

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