I 

★ 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5443 

To reform the housing choice voucher program under section 8 of the United 

States Housing Act of 1937. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 22, 2006 

Mr. NEY (for himself, Ms. WATERS, Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts, and Mr. 

SHAYS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services 

A BILL 

To reform the housing choice voucher program under section 

8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937. 

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 ‘‘Section 8 Voucher Re5 form Act of 2006’’. 

6 SEC. 2. INSPECTION OF DWELLING UNITS. 

7 Section 8(o)(8) of the United States Housing Act of 

8 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)(8)) is amended— 


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1 (1) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘subpara2 graph (D) of this paragraph and’’ before ‘‘paragraph 

3 (11)’’; 

4 (2) by redesignating subparagraphs (D) and 

5 (E) as subparagraphs (E) and (F), respectively; 

6 (3) by inserting after subparagraph (C) the fol7 lowing new subparagraph: 

8 ‘‘(D) EXCEPTIONS TO INITIAL INSPECTION

9 REQUIREMENT PRIOR TO OCCUPANCY.— 

10 ‘‘(i) RECENT INSPECTION UNDER

11 HOUSING CHOICE VOUCHER PROGRAM.—In 

12 the case of any dwelling unit that, within 

13 the 30-day period ending upon initial occu14 pancy by a family assisted under this sub15 section, was occupied by another family so 

16 assisted, an inspection pursuant to sub17 paragraph (A) shall not be required if such 

18 unit was inspected during the 12-month 

19 period ending upon such initial occupancy 

20 and was determined to comply with the 

21 housing quality standards under subpara22 graph (B). 

23 ‘‘(ii) RECENT INSPECTION UNDER

24 OTHER PROGRAMS.—In the case of any 

25 dwelling unit that, during the 12-month 


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1 period ending upon such initial occupancy, 

2 was inspected pursuant to requirements 

3 under a Federal, State, or local housing 

4 assistance program (including the HOME 

5 investment partnerships program under 

6 title II of the Cranston-Gonzalez National 

7 Affordable Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 12721 

8 et seq.)), an inspection pursuant to sub9 paragraph (A) shall not be required if— 

10 ‘‘(I) pursuant to such inspection, 

11 the dwelling unit was determined to 

12 meet the standards or requirements 

13 regarding housing quality or safety 

14 applicable to units assisted under such 

15 program; and 

16 ‘‘(II) the public housing agency 

17 certifies to the Secretary that such 

18 standards or requirements provide the 

19 same protection to occupants of dwell20 ing units meeting such standards or 

21 requirements as, or greater protection 

22 than, the housing quality standards 

23 under subparagraph (B). 

24 ‘‘(iii) CORRECTION OF NON-LIFE

25 THREATENING CONDITIONS.—In the case 


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1 of any dwelling unit that is determined, 

2 pursuant to an inspection under subpara3 graph (A), not to meet the housing quality 

4 standards under subparagraph (B), assist5 ance payments may be made for the unit 

6 notwithstanding subparagraph (C) if fail7 ure to meet such standards is a result only 

8 of non-life threatening conditions. A public 

9 housing agency making assistance pay10 ments pursuant to this clause for a dwell11 ing unit shall, upon the expiration of the 

12 30-day period beginning upon commence13 ment of the period for which such pay14 ments are made, suspend any assistance 

15 payments for the unit if any deficiency re16 sulting in noncompliance with the housing 

17 quality standards has not been corrected 

18 by such time, and may not resume such 

19 payments until each such deficiency has 

20 been corrected.’’; and 

21 (4) in subparagraph (E), as so redesignated by 

22 paragraph (2) of this section— 

23 (A) by striking ‘‘ANNUAL INSPECTIONS’’ 

24 and inserting ‘‘BIENNIAL INSPECTIONS’’; 


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1 (B) by striking ‘‘shall make an annual in2 spection of each assisted dwelling unit during 

3 the term of the housing assistance payments 

4 contract for the unit’’ and inserting ‘‘shall, for 

5 each assisted dwelling unit, make biennial in6 spections during the term of the housing assist7 ance payments contract for the unit’’; and 

8 (C) by inserting after the period at the end 

9 of the first sentence the following: ‘‘In the case 

10 of a dwelling unit described in clause (i) or (ii) 

11 of subparagraph (D), the first such annual in12 spection shall take place during the 2-year pe13 riod beginning upon the most recent inspection 

14 conducted with respect to the occupancy of the 

15 unit by the family previously residing in the 

16 unit.’’. 

17 SEC. 3. RENT REFORM AND INCOME REVIEWS. 

18 (a) RENT FOR PUBLIC HOUSING AND SECTION 8 

19 PROGRAMS.—Section 3 of the United States Housing Act 

20 of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437a(a)) is amended— 

21 (1) in subsection (a)— 

22 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

23 (i) by inserting ‘‘LOW-INCOME OCCU24 PANCY REQUIREMENT AND RENTAL PAY25 MENTS.—’’ after ‘‘(1)’’; 


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1 (ii) by striking the second sentence; 

2 (iii) in subparagraph (A), by inserting 

3 ‘‘or’’ after the semicolon 

4 (iv) by striking subparagraph (B); 

5 and 

6 (v) by redesignating subparagraph (C) 

7 as subparagraph (B); and 

8 (B) by adding at the end the following new 

9 paragraphs: 

10 ‘‘(6) REVIEWS OF FAMILY INCOME.— 

11 ‘‘(A) FREQUENCY.—Reviews of family in12 come for purposes of this section shall be 

13 made— 

14 ‘‘(i) in the case of all families, upon 

15 the initial provision of housing assistance 

16 for the family; 

17 ‘‘(ii) annually thereafter, except as 

18 provided in subparagraph (B)(i); 

19 ‘‘(iii) upon the request of the family, 

20 at any time the annual income of the fam21 ily decreases by $1,500 or more; and 

22 ‘‘(iv) at any time the annual income 

23 of the family increases by $1,500 or more, 

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1 come of a family shall not be considered 

2 for purposes of this clause. 

3 ‘‘(B) FIXED-INCOME FAMILIES.— 

4 ‘‘(i) SELF CERTIFICATION AND 3-YEAR

5 REVIEW.—In the case of any family de6 scribed in clause (ii), after the initial re7 view of the family’s income pursuant to 

8 subparagraph (A)(i), the public housing 

9 agency shall not be required to conduct a 

10 review of the family’s income pursuant to 

11 subparagraph (A)(ii) for any year for 

12 which such family certifies, in accordance 

13 with such requirements as the Secretary 

14 shall establish, that the income of the fam15 ily meets the requirements of clause (ii) of 

16 this subparagraph, except that the public 

17 housing agency shall conduct a review of 

18 each such family’s income not less than 

19 once every 3 years. 

20 ‘‘(ii) ELIGIBLE FAMILIES.—A family 

21 described in this clause is a family who has 

22 an income, as of the most recent review 

23 pursuant to subparagraph (A) or clause (i) 

24 of this subparagraph, of which 90 percent 


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1 or more consists of fixed income, as such 

2 term is defined in clause (ii). 

3 ‘‘(iii) FIXED INCOME.—For purposes 

4 of this subparagraph, the term ‘fixed in5 come’ includes income from— 

6 ‘‘(I) the supplemental security in7 come program under title XVI of the 

8 Social Security Act, including supple9 mentary payments pursuant to an 

10 agreement for Federal administration 

11 under section 1616(a) of the Social 

12 Security Act and payments pursuant 

13 to an agreement entered into under 

14 section 212(b) of Public Law 93–66; 

15 ‘‘(II) Social Security payments; 

16 ‘‘(III) Federal, State, local and 

17 private pension plans; and 

18 ‘‘(IV) other periodic payments re19 ceived from annuities, insurance poli20 cies, retirement funds, disability or 

21 death benefits, and other similar types 

22 of periodic receipts. 

23 ‘‘(C) IN GENERAL.—Reviews of family in24 come for purposes of this section shall be sub25 ject to the provisions of section 904 of the 


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1 Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance 

2 Amendments Act of 1988. 

3 ‘‘(7) CALCULATION OF INCOME.— 

4 ‘‘(A) USE OF PRIOR YEAR’S INCOME.—Ex5 cept as otherwise provided in this paragraph, in 

6 determining the income of a family for a year, 

7 a public housing agency may use the income of 

8 the family as determined by the agency for the 

9 prior year, taking into consideration any rede10 termination of income during such prior year 

11 pursuant to clause (iii) or (iv) of paragraph 

12 (6)(A). 

13 ‘‘(B) EARNED INCOME.—For purposes of 

14 this section, the earned income of a family for 

15 a year shall be the amount of earned income of 

16 the family in the prior year minus an amount 

17 equal to 10 percent of such prior year’s earned 

18 income, except that the income of a family for 

19 purposes of section 16 (relating to eligibility for 

20 assisted housing and income mix) shall be de21 termined without regard to any reduction under 

22 this subparagraph. 

23 ‘‘(C) INFLATIONARY ADJUSTMENT FOR

24 FIXED INCOME FAMILIES.—If, for any year, a 

25 public housing agency determines the income 


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1 for any family described in paragraph (6)(ii), or 

2 the amount of fixed income of any other family, 

3 based on the prior year’s income or fixed in4 come, respectively, pursuant to subparagraph 

5 (A), such prior year’s income or fixed income, 

6 respectively, shall be adjusted by applying an 

7 inflationary factor as the Secretary shall, by 

8 regulation, establish. 

9 ‘‘(D) OTHER INCOME.—If, for any year, a 

10 public housing agency determines the income 

11 for any family based on the prior year’s income, 

12 with respect to prior year calculations of types 

13 of income not subject to subparagraph (B), a 

14 public housing agency may make other adjust15 ments as it considers appropriate to reflect cur16 rent income. 

17 ‘‘(E) SAFE HARBOR.—A public housing 

18 agency may, to the extent such information is 

19 available to the public housing agency, deter20 mine the family’s income for purposes of this 

21 section based on timely income determinations 

22 made for purposes of other means-tested Fed23 eral public assistance programs (including the 

24 program for block grants to States for tem25 porary assistance for needy families under part 


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1 A of title IV of the Social Security Act, a pro2 gram for medicaid assistance under a State 

3 plan approved under title XIX of the Social Se4 curity Act, and the food stamp program as de5 fined in section 3(h) of the Food Stamp Act of 

6 1977). 

7 ‘‘(F) PHA COMPLIANCE.—A public hous8 ing agency may not be considered to fail to 

9 comply with this paragraph or paragraph (6) 

10 due solely to any de minimus errors made by 

11 the agency in calculating family incomes.’’; 

12 (2) by striking subsections (d) and (e); and 

13 (3) by redesignating subsection (f) as sub14 section (d). 

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

16 Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437a(b)) is amended— 

17 (1) by striking paragraph (4) and inserting the 

18 following new paragraph: 

19 ‘‘(4) INCOME.—The term ‘income’ means, with 

20 respect to a family, income received from all sources 

21 by each member of the household who is 18 years 

22 of age or older, as determined in accordance with 

23 criteria prescribed by the Secretary, in consultation 

24 with the Secretary of Agriculture, subject to the fol25 lowing requirements: 


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1 ‘‘(A) INCLUDED AMOUNTS.—Such term in2 cludes recurring gifts and receipts, actual in3 come from assets, and profit or loss from a 

4 business. 

5 ‘‘(B) EXCLUDED AMOUNTS.—Such term 

6 does not include any imputed return on assets. 

7 ‘‘(C) EARNED INCOME OF STUDENTS.— 

8 Such term does not include earned income of 

9 any dependent earned during any period that 

10 such dependent is attending school on a full11 time basis. 

12 ‘‘(D) OTHER EXCLUSIONS.—Such term 

13 shall not include other exclusions from income 

14 as are established by the Secretary or any 

15 amount required by Federal law to be excluded 

16 from consideration as income. The Secretary 

17 may not require a public housing agency to 

18 maintain records of any amounts excluded from 

19 income pursuant to this subparagraph.’’; and 

20 (2) in paragraph (5)— 

21 (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph 

22 (A), by striking ‘‘income exclusions’’ and insert23 ing ‘‘deductions from income’’; and 

24 (B) by striking subparagraphs (A) and (B) 

25 and inserting the following: 


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1 ‘‘(A) ELDERLY AND DISABLED FAMI2 LIES.—$750 in the case of any family that is 

3 an elderly family or a disabled family. 

4 ‘‘(B) DEPENDENTS.—In the case of any 

5 family that includes a member or members who 

6 are dependents (as such term is defined in sec7 tion 152 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 

8 (26 U.S.C. 152)) and resides in the household, 

9 $500 for each such member. 

10 ‘‘(C) HEALTH AND MEDICAL EXPENSES.— 

11 In the case of any elderly or disabled family, 

12 the amount, if any, by which the sum of any 

13 unreimbursed medical and health care expenses 

14 and reasonable attendant care and auxiliary ap15 paratus expenses for any person with disabil16 ities exceeds 10 percent of the family’s income. 

17 The Secretary shall annually adjust the amounts of 

18 the exclusions under subparagraphs (A) and (B), as 

19 such amounts may have been previously adjusted, by 

20 applying an inflationary factor as the Secretary 

21 shall, by regulation, establish. If the dollar amount 

22 of any such exclusion determined for any year by ap23 plying such inflationary factor is not a multiple of 

24 $25, the Secretary shall round such amount to the 

25 next lowest multiple of $25.’’. 


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1 (c) HOUSING CHOICE VOUCHER PROGRAM.—Section 

2 8(o)(2) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 

3 U.S.C. 1437f(o)(2)) is amended— 

4 (1) in subparagraph (A)— 

5 (A) by striking clause (ii); and 

6 (B) by redesignating clause (iii) as clause 

7 (ii); and 

8 (2) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘, (ii), and 

9 (iii)’’ and inserting ‘‘and (ii)’’. 

10 (d) ENHANCED VOUCHER PROGRAM.—Section 

11 8(t)(1)(D) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 

12 U.S.C. 1437f(t)(1)(D)) is amended by striking ‘‘income’’ 

13 and inserting ‘‘annual adjusted income’’. 

14 (e) HOMEOWNERSHIP PROGRAM.—Section 8(y)(2) of 

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

16 1437f(y)(2)) is amended— 

17 (1) in subparagraph (A)— 

18 (A) by striking clause (ii); and 

19 (B) by redesignating clause (iii) as clause 

20 (ii); and 

21 (2) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘, (ii), and 

22 (iii)’’ and inserting ‘‘and (ii)’’. 

23 (f) EFFECTIVE DATE AND TRANSITION.—The 

24 amendments made by this section shall apply with respect 

25 to fiscal year 2008 and fiscal years thereafter. 


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1 SEC. 4. TARGETING VOUCHERS TO LOW-INCOME WORKING 

2 FAMILIES. 

3 Section 16(b)(1) of the United States Housing Act 

4 of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437n(b)(1)) is amended by inserting 

5 after ‘‘do not exceed’’ the following: ‘‘the higher of (A) 

6 the poverty line (as such term is defined in section 673 

7 of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981 (42 

8 U.S.C. 9902), including any revision required by such sec9 tion) applicable to a family of the size involved, or (B)’’. 

10 SEC. 5. MOVING TO WORK PROGRAM. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title I of the United States Hous12 ing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437 et seq.) is amended by 

13 adding at the end the following new section: 

14 ‘‘SEC. 36. MOVING TO WORK PROGRAM. 

15 ‘‘(a) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the program es16 tablished under this section are— 

17 ‘‘(1) to give incentives to families to become 

18 self-sufficient; 

19 ‘‘(2) to give public housing agencies and the 

20 Secretary flexibility to develop approaches for pro21 viding and administering housing assistance that 

22 achieve greater cost-effectiveness in Federal expendi23 tures; 

24 ‘‘(3) to increase housing opportunities for low25 income families; 


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1 ‘‘(4) to reduce administrative burdens on public 

2 housing agencies in providing housing assistance; 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(5) to allow Federal resources to be more ef5 fectively utilized at the local level. 

6 ‘‘(b) PROGRAM AUTHORITY.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry 

8 out a Moving to Work Program (in this section re9 ferred to as the ‘program’), in which public housing 

10 agencies selected under subsection (c) may partici11 pate. 

12 ‘‘(2) USE OF ASSISTANCE.—Under the pro13 gram, a public housing agency— 

14 ‘‘(A) may combine operating assistance 

15 provided under section 9(e), modernization as16 sistance provided under section 9(d), and assist17 ance provided under section 8 for voucher pro18 gram, to provide housing assistance for low-in19 come families, and services to facilitate the 

20 transition to work; and 

21 ‘‘(B) shall continue to assist substantially 

22 the same total number of eligible low-income 

23 families as would have been served had the 

24 amounts not be combined. 

25 ‘‘(3) AUTHORITY OF SECRETARY.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) WAIVER.—Notwithstanding any other 

2 provision of law, except as provided in sub3 section (f), the Secretary may waive any provi4 sion of this Act with respect to assistance under 

5 the program. 

6 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL POWERS.—The Sec7 retary may, as the Secretary determines appro8 priate to further the purposes of this section— 

9 ‘‘(i) provide streamlined procedures 

10 including procurement procedures; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) subject to paragraph (2), provide 

12 for immediate implementation of such pro13 cedures. 

14 ‘‘(c) SELECTION.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall select 

16 public housing agencies to participate in the pro17 gram. The Secretary shall provide for agencies to 

18 submit applications, in such form as prescribed by 

19 the Secretary, for selection for participation in the 

20 program. 

21 ‘‘(2) SELECTION CRITERIA.—In selecting 

22 among applications by public housing agencies to 

23 participate in the program, the Secretary shall take 

24 into consideration the extent to which such public 


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1 housing agency meets such criteria as the Secretary 

2 shall establish, including— 

3 ‘‘(A) a demonstrated capacity by the public 

4 housing agency to develop and manage a suc5 cessful program; 

6 ‘‘(B) demonstrated compliance by the 

7 agency with statutes and regulations applicable 

8 to Department of Housing and Urban Develop9 ment programs in which the public housing 

10 agency participates or has participated; 

11 ‘‘(C) commitment by the agency of non12 Federal resources, including resources from the 

13 local community; and 

14 ‘‘(D) demonstrated commitment, by units 

15 of local government serving the areas within 

16 which the public housing agency administers its 

17 program, on removing regulatory barriers to af18 fordable housing. 

19 ‘‘(3) LIMITATION ON TOTAL NUMBER OF AGEN20 CIES PARTICIPATING.—Notwithstanding any other 

21 provision of law, the aggregate number of public 

22 housing agencies participating, at any single time, in 

23 the program under this section or in the moving to 

24 work demonstration program under section 204 of 

25 the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing 


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1 and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies 

2 Appropriations Act, 1996 (42 U.S.C. 1437f note) (in 

3 this subsection referred to as the ‘demonstration 

4 program’) may not exceed 40. 

5 ‘‘(4) TERM OF PARTICIPATION.— 

6 ‘‘(A) 3-YEAR TERM.—A public housing 

7 agency may participate in the program for a pe8 riod of 3 years pursuant to selection by the Sec9 retary. 

10 ‘‘(B) REAPPLICATION FOR CONTINUED

11 PARTICIPATION.— Upon the expiration (pursu12 ant to initial selection or reapplication under 

13 this subparagraph) of the period of participa14 tion of an agency in the program, the agency 

15 may reapply for selection for participation in 

16 the program and the Secretary shall select such 

17 agency for an additional 3-year period unless 

18 such agency fails to comply with the perform19 ance standards established by the Secretary 

20 pursuant to subsection (h)(3). 

21 ‘‘(5) EFFECT ON AGENCIES CURRENTLY PAR22 TICIPATING IN DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM.—Subject 

23 to such procedures and requirements as the Sec24 retary may establish, a public housing agency that, 


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1 as on the date of the enactment of this Act, is par2 ticipating in the demonstration program— 

3 ‘‘(A) may apply, in accordance with the re4 quirements of this section, for participation in 

5 program under this section— 

6 ‘‘(i) at any time before the expiration 

7 of the period of its participation in such 

8 demonstration, if the agency opts out of 

9 the demonstration program; or 

10 ‘‘(ii) upon the expiration of the period 

11 of participation of such agency in the dem12 onstration program; and 

13 ‘‘(B) upon such application, shall be treat14 ed, for purposes of selection for participation, 

15 as an agency reapplying under paragraph 

16 (4)(B). 

17 ‘‘(d) ELIGIBILITY FOR SELECTION.—A public hous18 ing agency shall be eligible for selection to participate in 

19 the program only if such public housing agency— 

20 ‘‘(1) is designated, at the time of submission of 

21 an application for participation, as a high performer 

22 under the applicable assessment systems that evalu23 ate the performance of a public housing agency, if 

24 any, with respect to its public housing and voucher 

25 programs; and 


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1 ‘‘(2)(A) manages at least 500 units of public 

2 housing pursuant to contracts for annual contribu3 tions; or 

4 ‘‘(B) administers at least 500 vouchers for as5 sistance under section 8. 

6 ‘‘(e) PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.—A public housing 

7 agency that is administering a program pursuant to this 

8 section shall, as a condition of continued participation in 

9 the program— 

10 ‘‘(1) consult with representatives of the commu11 nity that represent a broad range of the various in12 terests that are affected by the program; 

13 ‘‘(2) target, for purposes of the program, not 

14 fewer than 90 percent of families authorized in the 

15 program under this section to receive assistance, 

16 who have gross incomes that do not exceed 60 per17 cent of the median income for the area, as deter18 mined by the Secretary, with adjustments for small19 er or larger families; 

20 ‘‘(3) establish a reasonable rent policy which is 

21 designed to encourage employment and self-suffi22 ciency by participating families; 

23 ‘‘(4) provide such assurances, as the Secretary 

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1 gram meets housing standards established or ap2 proved by the Secretary; and 

3 ‘‘(5) provide such additional information as de4 termined by the Secretary. 

5 ‘‘(f) APPLICABILITY OF SECTION 18 PROVISIONS.— 

6 Section 18 shall continue to apply to public housing not7 withstanding any use of the housing under the program. 

8 ‘‘(g) EFFECT ON SECTION 8 AND OPERATING SUB9 SIDIES ALLOCATIONS.—The amount of assistance received 

10 under section 8 or section 9 by a public housing agency 

11 participating in the program shall, subject to appropria12 tions, not be affected by its participation in the program. 

13 ‘‘(h) EVALUATION OF PERFORMANCE.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall con15 duct detailed evaluations of all public housing agen16 cies participating in the program under this section 

17 and all agencies participating in the moving to work 

18 demonstration referred to in subsection (c)(3)— 

19 ‘‘(A) to determine the level of success of 

20 each public housing agency in achieving the 

21 purposes of the program under subsection (a); 

22 and 

23 ‘‘(B) to identify program models that can 

24 be replicated by other agencies to achieve such 

25 success. 


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1 ‘‘(2) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall assess 

2 the performance of a public housing agency in the 

3 program under this section and in the moving to 

4 work demonstration program referred to in sub5 section (c)(3). Subject to paragraph (3) of this sub6 section, such assessment— 

7 ‘‘(A) may be conducted, only during the 

8 period ending January 1, 2008, using the appli9 cable assessment systems that evaluate the per10 formance of a public housing agency with re11 spect to its public housing and voucher pro12 grams, including section 6(j); or 

13 ‘‘(B) except as provided in subparagraph 

14 (A), shall be conducted under such assessment 

15 systems as shall be designed by the Secretary to 

16 evaluate the program under this section. 

17 ‘‘(3) PERFORMANCE STANDARDS.— 

18 ‘‘(A) ISSUANCE OF RULES.—The Secretary 

19 shall, for the purposes of designing and imple20 menting performance standards for public hous21 ing agencies participating in the program under 

22 this section and agencies participating in the 

23 moving to work demonstration program re24 ferred to in subsection (c)(3), issue a proposed 


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1 rule and a final rule implementing performance 

2 standards under this section. 

3 ‘‘(B) TIMING.—The final rule required 

4 under subparagraph (A) shall be issued not 

5 later than 24 months after the date of enact6 ment of the Section 8 Voucher Reform Act of 

7 2006. 

8 ‘‘(C) STANDARDS.—Performance stand9 ards issued by the Secretary under subpara10 graph (A) may include— 

11 ‘‘(i) a baseline performance level 

12 against which public housing agencies may 

13 be rated; and 

14 ‘‘(ii) standards for— 

15 ‘‘(I) moving assisted low-income 

16 families to economic self-sufficiency; 

17 ‘‘(II) reducing the per-family cost 

18 of providing housing assistance; 

19 ‘‘(III) expanding housing choices 

20 for low-income families; 

21 ‘‘(IV) improving program man22 agement; 

23 ‘‘(V) increasing the number of 

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1 fordable rental housing opportunities, 

2 for low-income families; and 

3 ‘‘(VI) any other performance 

4 goals that the Secretary may estab5 lish. 

6 ‘‘(i) RECORDKEEPING, REPORTS, AND AUDITS.— 

7 ‘‘(1) RECORDKEEPING.—Each public housing 

8 agency participating in the program shall keep such 

9 records as the Secretary may prescribe as reasonably 

10 necessary to disclose the amounts and the disposi11 tion of amounts under the program, to ensure com12 pliance with the requirements of this section, and to 

13 measure performance. 

14 ‘‘(2) REPORTS.—Each such agency partici15 pating in the program shall submit to the Secretary 

16 a report, or series of reports, in a form and at a 

17 time specified by the Secretary. 

18 ‘‘(3) ACCESS TO DOCUMENTS BY SECRETARY.— 

19 The Secretary shall have access for the purpose of 

20 audit and examination to any books, documents, pa21 pers, and records that are pertinent to assistance in 

22 connection with, and the requirements of, this sec23 tion. 

24 ‘‘(4) ACCESS TO DOCUMENTS BY THE COMP25 TROLLER GENERAL.—The Comptroller General of 


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1 the United States, or any of the duly authorized rep2 resentatives of the Comptroller General, shall have 

3 access for the purpose of audit and examination to 

4 any books, documents, papers, and records that are 

5 pertinent to assistance in connection with, and the 

6 requirements of, this section. 

7 ‘‘(5) REPORTS REGARDING EVALUATIONS.— 

8 ‘‘(A) TO SECRETARY.—The Secretary shall 

9 require each public housing agency partici10 pating in the program under this section and 

11 each agency participating in the moving to work 

12 demonstration program referred to in sub13 section (c)(3) to submit annually to the Sec14 retary such information as the Secretary con15 siders appropriate to permit the Secretary to 

16 evaluate (pursuant to subsection (h)) the per17 formance and success of the agency in achieving 

18 the purposes of the demonstration. 

19 ‘‘(B) TO CONGRESS.—The Secretary shall 

20 submit a report to the Congress not less than 

21 annually evaluating the programs of all public 

22 housing agencies participating in the program 

23 under this section and all agencies participating 

24 in the moving to work demonstration program 

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1 port shall include findings and recommenda2 tions for any appropriate legislative action.’’. 

3 (b) PROHIBITION OF EXTENSION OF, AND SELEC4 TION OF ADDITIONAL AGENCIES FOR, PARTICIPATION IN

5 DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM.—Section 204(d) of the De6 partments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban 

7 Development, and Independent Agencies Appropriations 

8 Act, 1996 (42 U.S.C. 1437f note) is amended by adding 

9 after the period at the end the following: ‘‘After the date 

10 of the enactment of the Section 8 Voucher Reform Act 

11 of 2006, the Secretary may not extend the period of par12 ticipation, in effect on such date of enactment, of any pub13 lic housing agency, or select any public housing agency 

14 for participation, in the demonstration under this sec15 tion.’’. 

16 (c) GAO REPORT.—Not later than 12 months after 

17 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller 

18 General of the United States shall submit a report to the 

19 Congress on the extent to which the public housing agen20 cies participating in the Moving to Work program under 

21 section 36 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 and 

22 the agencies participating in the moving to work dem23 onstration program under section 204 of the Departments 

24 of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, 

25 and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 1996, are 


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1 meeting the goals and purposes of such programs, includ2 ing the purposes under subsection (a) of such section 36 

3 and the goals identified in section (h)(3)(C)(ii) of such 

4 section 36. 

5 SEC. 6. VOUCHER RENEWAL FUNDING. 

6 Section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 

7 (42 U.S.C. 1437f) is amended by striking subsection (dd) 

8 and inserting the following new subsection: 

9 ‘‘(dd) TENANT-BASED VOUCHERS.— 

10 ‘‘(1) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

11 There are authorized to be appropriated, for each of 

12 fiscal years 2007 through 2011, such sums as may 

13 be necessary for tenant-based assistance under sub14 section (o) for the following purposes: 

15 ‘‘(A) To renew all expiring annual con16 tributions contracts for tenant-based rental as17 sistance. 

18 ‘‘(B) To provide tenant-based rental assist19 ance for— 

20 ‘‘(i) relocation and replacement of 

21 housing units that are demolished or dis22 posed of pursuant to the Omnibus Consoli23 dated Rescissions and Appropriations Act 

24 of 1996 (Public Law 104–134); 


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1 ‘‘(ii) conversion of section 23 projects 

2 to assistance under this section; 

3 ‘‘(iii) the family unification program 

4 under subsection (x) of this section; 

5 ‘‘(iv) relocation of witnesses in con6 nection with efforts to combat crime in 

7 public and assisted housing pursuant to a 

8 request from a law enforcement or pros9 ecution agency; 

10 ‘‘(v) enhanced vouchers authorized 

11 under subsection (t) of this section; 

12 ‘‘(vi) vouchers in connection with the 

13 HOPE VI program under section 24; 

14 ‘‘(vii) demolition or disposition of pub15 lic housing units pursuant to section 18 of 

16 the United States Housing Act of 1937 

17 (42 U.S.C. 1437p); 

18 ‘‘(viii) mandatory and voluntary con19 versions of public housing to vouchers, pur20 suant to sections 33 and 22 of the United 

21 States Housing Act of 1937, respectively 

22 (42 U.S.C. 1437z–5, 1437t); 

23 ‘‘(ix) vouchers necessary to comply 

24 with a consent decree or court order; 


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1 ‘‘(x) vouchers transferred from an2 other public housing agency; and 

3 ‘‘(xi) tenant protection assistance, in4 cluding replacement and relocation assist5 ance. 

6 ‘‘(2) ALLOCATION OF RENEWAL FUNDING

7 AMONG PUBLIC HOUSING AGENCIES.— 

8 ‘‘(A) From amounts appropriated for each 

9 year pursuant to paragraph (1)(A), the Sec10 retary shall provide renewal funding for each 

11 public housing agency— 

12 ‘‘(i) based on leasing and costs from 

13 the prior year, as adjusted by an annual 

14 adjustment factor to be established by the 

15 Secretary; 

16 ‘‘(ii) by making any adjustments nec17 essary to provide for the first-time renewal 

18 of vouchers funded under paragraph 

19 (1)(B); and 

20 ‘‘(iii) by making such other adjust21 ments as the Secretary considers appro22 priate. 

23 ‘‘(B) LEASING AND COST DATA.—For pur24 poses of subparagraph (A)(i), leasing and cost 

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1 ennially by using the average for the calendar 

2 year that, at the time of such calculation, is the 

3 most recently completed calendar year for which 

4 the Secretary determines data is available, sub5 stantially verifiable, and complete. Such leasing 

6 data shall be adjusted to include vouchers that 

7 were set aside under a commitment to provide 

8 project-based assistance under subsection 

9 (o)(13). 

10 ‘‘(C) MOVING TO WORK.—Notwithstanding 

11 subparagraphs (A) and (B), each public hous12 ing agency participating at any time in the 

13 moving to work demonstration under section 

14 204 of the Departments of Veterans Affairs 

15 and Housing and Urban Development, and 

16 Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 1996 

17 (42 U.S.C. 1437f note) or in the Moving to 

18 Work program under section 36 of this Act 

19 shall be funded pursuant to its agreement 

20 under such program and shall be subject to any 

21 pro rata adjustment made under subparagraph 

22 (D). 

23 ‘‘(D) PRO RATA ALLOCATION.— 

24 ‘‘(i) INSUFFICIENT FUNDS.—To the 

25 extent that amounts made available for a 


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1 fiscal year are not sufficient to provide 

2 each public housing agency with the full al3 location for the agency determined pursu4 ant to subparagraphs (A) and (C), the 

5 Secretary shall reduce such allocation for 

6 each agency on a pro rata basis, except 

7 that renewal funding of enhanced vouchers 

8 under section 8(t) shall not be subject to 

9 such proration. 

10 ‘‘(ii) EXCESS FUNDS.—To the extent 

11 that amounts made available for a fiscal 

12 year exceed the amount necessary to pro13 vide each housing agency with the full allo14 cation for the agency determined pursuant 

15 to subparagraphs (A) and (C), such excess 

16 amounts shall be used for the purposes 

17 specified in subparagraphs (B) and (C) of 

18 paragraph (4). 

19 ‘‘(3) ADVANCES.— 

20 ‘‘(A) AUTHORITY.—During the last 3 

21 months of each calendar year, the Secretary 

22 shall provide amounts to any public housing 

23 agency, at the request of the agency, in an 

24 amount up to two percent of the allocation for 

25 the agency for such calendar year. 


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1 ‘‘(B) USE.—Amounts advanced under sub2 paragraph (A) may be used to pay for addi3 tional voucher costs, including costs related to 

4 temporary overleasing. 

5 ‘‘(C) REPAYMENT.—Amounts advanced 

6 under subparagraph (A) in a calendar year 

7 shall be repaid to the Secretary in the subse8 quent calendar year by reducing the amounts 

9 made available for such agency for such subse10 quent calendar year pursuant to allocation 

11 under paragraph (2) by an amount equal to the 

12 amount so advanced to the agency. 

13 ‘‘(4) RECAPTURE.— 

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

15 recapture, from amounts provided under the 

16 annual contributions contract for a public hous17 ing agency for a calendar year, all amounts al18 located under paragraph (2) that are unused by 

19 the agency at the end of each calendar year. 

20 ‘‘(B) REALLOCATION.—Not later than May 

21 1 of each calendar year, the Secretary shall— 

22 ‘‘(i) calculate the aggregate unused 

23 amounts for the preceding year recaptured 

24 pursuant to subparagraph (A); 


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1 ‘‘(ii) set aside and make available 

2 such amounts as the Secretary considers 

3 appropriate to reimburse public housing 

4 agencies for increased costs related to port5 ability and family self-sufficiency activities 

6 during such year; and 

7 ‘‘(iii) reallocate all remaining amounts 

8 among public housing agencies that, in the 

9 preceding year, used at least 99 percent of 

10 amounts allocated under paragraph (2) for 

11 the agency and leased fewer than the num12 ber of vouchers authorized for the agency; 

13 except that the Secretary may establish 

14 priority for allocation of such amounts to 

15 public housing agencies that leased fewer 

16 vouchers in such preceding year than in 

17 the 12-month period ending April 1, 2004. 

18 ‘‘(C) USE.—Amounts reallocated to a pub19 lic housing agency pursuant to subparagraph 

20 (B)(iii) may be used only to increase voucher 

21 leasing rates to the level authorized for the 

22 agency.’’. 


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1 SEC. 7. SECTION 8 HOMEOWNERSHIP DOWNPAYMENT PRO2 GRAM. 

3 Section 8(y)(7) of the United States Housing Act of 

4 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(y)(7)) is amended by striking sub5 paragraph (A) and inserting the following new subpara6 graph: 

7 ‘‘(A) AUTHORITY.—A public housing agen8 cy may, in lieu of providing monthly assistance 

9 payments under this subsection on behalf of a 

10 family eligible for such assistance and at the 

11 discretion of the public housing agency, provide 

12 assistance for the family in the form of a single 

13 grant to be used only as a contribution toward 

14 the downpayment required in connection with 

15 the purchase of a dwelling.’’. 

Æ 


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