I 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5490 

To reform the program for rental assistance under section 8 of the United 

States Housing Act of 1937, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 26, 2008 

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

Committee on Financial Services 

A BILL 

To reform the program for rental assistance under section 

8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937, 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 ‘‘Section 8 Reform, Re5 sponsibility, and Accountability Act of 2007’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PROHIBITION OF SECTION 8 RENTAL ASSISTANCE 

7 FOR FELONS AND ILLEGAL ALIENS. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 8 of the United States 

9 Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f) is amended by 

10 inserting after subsection (i) the following new subsection: 


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1 ‘‘(j) PROHIBITION OF ASSISTANCE FOR FELONS.— 

2 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, assistance 

3 under this section (including tenant- and project-based as4 sistance) may not be provided for any family that includes 

5 an individual who— 

6 ‘‘(1) at any time, has been convicted of a felony 

7 under any State or Federal law; or 

8 ‘‘(2) is unlawfully present in the United 

9 States.’’. 

10 (b) APPLICABILITY.—The amendment made by sub11 section (a) shall apply beginning upon the expiration of 

12 the 24-month period that begins on the date of the enact13 ment of this Act. 

14 SEC. 3. 5-YEAR TIME LIMITATION ON SECTION 8 RENTAL 

15 ASSISTANCE. 

16 Section 16 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 

17 (42 U.S.C. 1437n) is amended by adding at the end the 

18 following new subsection: 

19 ‘‘(g) 5-YEAR TIME LIMITATION ON SECTION 8 AS20 SISTANCE.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise pro22 vided in this subsection and notwithstanding any 

23 other provision of this Act, assistance under section 

24 8 may not be provided on behalf of any family that 

25 includes a member who has previously been provided 


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1 such assistance for 60 months (whether or not con2 secutive) or longer. 

3 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION FOR ELDERLY AND DISABLED

4 FAMILIES.—In determining the number of months 

5 for which an individual has been provided assistance 

6 under section 8, for purposes of paragraph (1), a 

7 public housing agency shall disregard any month 

8 during which such individual was a member of a dis9 abled or elderly family so assisted. 

10 ‘‘(3) APPLICABILITY.— 

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—This subsection shall 

12 apply beginning upon the expiration of the 24- 

13 month period that begins on the date of the en14 actment of the Section 8 Reform, Responsi15 bility, and Accountability Act of 2007. 

16 ‘‘(B) TREATMENT OF ASSISTANCE BEFORE

17 EFFECTIVE DATE OF LIMITATION.—Except as 

18 provided in subparagraph (C), any months that 

19 commenced before the expiration of such period 

20 shall be considered for purposes of determining, 

21 pursuant to paragraph (1), the number of 

22 months for which an individual has been pro23 vided assistance under section 8. 

24 ‘‘(C) TWO-YEAR SAFE HARBOR AFTER EF25 FECTIVE DATE.—For purposes of paragraph 


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1 (1), the maximum number of months that com2 menced before the expiration of such 24-month 

3 period that any individual may be considered to 

4 have been provided assistance under section 8, 

5 shall be 36.’’. 

6 SEC. 4. WORK REQUIREMENTS FOR SECTION 8 RENTAL AS7 SISTANCE. 

8 Section 16 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 

9 (42 U.S.C. 1437n), as amended by the preceding provi10 sions of this Act, is further amendment by adding at the 

11 end the following new subsection: 

12 ‘‘(h) WORK REQUIREMENT FOR ASSISTED FAMILIES

13 RECEIVING SECTION 8 ASSISTANCE.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in this 

15 subsection and notwithstanding any other provision 

16 of this Act, assistance under section 8 may not be 

17 provided on behalf of any family, unless each mem18 ber of the family who is 18 years of age or older per19 forms not fewer than 20 hours of work activities (as 

20 such term is defined in section 407(d) of the Social 

21 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 607(d))) per week. 

22 ‘‘(2) EXEMPTIONS.—The Secretary of Housing 

23 and Urban Development shall provide an exemption 

24 from the applicability of paragraph (1) for any indi25 vidual family member who— 


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1 ‘‘(A) is 62 years of age or older; 

2 ‘‘(B) is a blind or disabled individual, as 

3 defined under section 216(i)(1) or 1614 of the 

4 Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 416(i)(1); 

5 1382c), and who is unable to comply with this 

6 section, or is a primary caretaker of such indi7 vidual; 

8 ‘‘(C) meets the requirements for being ex9 empted from having to engage in a work activ10 ity under the State program funded under part 

11 A of title IV of the Social Security Act (42 

12 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) or under any other welfare 

13 program of the State in which the public hous14 ing agency administering rental assistance de15 scribed in paragraph (1) is located, including a 

16 State-administered welfare-to-work program; 

17 ‘‘(D) is in a family receiving assistance 

18 under a State program funded under part A of 

19 title IV of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

20 601 et seq.) or under any other welfare pro21 gram of the State in which the public housing 

22 agency administering such rental assistance is 

23 located, including a State-administered welfare24 to-work program, and has not been found by 


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1 the State or other administering entity to be in 

2 noncompliance with such program; or 

3 ‘‘(E) is a single custodial parent caring for 

4 a child who has not attained 6 years of age, 

5 and the individual proves that the individual 

6 has a demonstrated inability (as determined by 

7 the State) to obtain needed child care, for one 

8 or more of the following reasons: 

9 ‘‘(i) Unavailability of appropriate 

10 child care within a reasonable distance 

11 from the individual’s home or work site. 

12 ‘‘(ii) Unavailability or unsuitability of 

13 informal child care by a relative or under 

14 other arrangements. 

15 ‘‘(iii) Unavailability of appropriate 

16 and affordable formal child care arrange17 ments. 

18 ‘‘(3) ADMINISTRATION.—A public housing 

19 agency providing rental assistance described in para20 graph (1) may administer the work activities re21 quirement under this subsection directly, through a 

22 resident organization, or through a contractor hav23 ing experience in administering work activities pro24 grams within the service area of the public housing 


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1 agency. The Secretary may establish qualifications 

2 for such organizations and contractors. 

3 ‘‘(4) PARTICIPATION OF NONPROFIT EMPLOY4 MENT AND WORK DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATIONS.— 

5 In administering this subsection, each public housing 

6 agency shall provide for the active participation of 

7 nonprofit employment assistance and training orga8 nizations and nonprofit work development organiza9 tions in assisting families receiving rental assistance 

10 under section 8, in accordance with such require11 ments as the Secretary shall establish. 

12 ‘‘(5) APPLICABILITY.—This subsection shall 

13 apply beginning upon the expiration of the 24-month 

14 period that begins on the date of the enactment of 

15 the Section 8 Reform, Responsibility, and Account16 ability Act of 2007.’’. 

17 SEC. 5. PREFERENCE FOR PROVIDING SECTION 8 RENTAL 

18 ASSISTANCE TO VETERANS. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 8 of the United States 

20 Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f) is amended— 

21 (1) in subsection (d)(1)(A)— 

22 (A) by inserting after ‘‘except that’’ the 

23 following: ‘‘each public housing agency shall 

24 give preference to families that include a mem25 ber who is a veteran as such term is defined in 


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1 section 101 of title 38, United States Code) 

2 who will reside in the dwelling unit assisted, 

3 and except that’’; and 

4 (B) by inserting after ‘‘local preferences,’’ 

5 the following: ‘‘which shall be subordinate to 

6 the preference for veterans and shall be’’; and 

7 (2) in subsection (o)— 

8 (A) in paragraph (6)(A)— 

9 (i) in clause (ii)— 

10 (I) by striking ‘‘this subpara11 graph’’ and inserting ‘‘clause (ii)’’; 

12 and 

13 (II) by inserting before the pe14 riod at the end the following: ‘‘, and 

15 shall be subordinate to the preference 

16 established under clause (i)’’; 

17 (ii) by redesignating clauses (i) and 

18 (ii) (as so amended) as clauses (ii) and 

19 (iii), respectively; and 

20 (iii) by inserting before clause (ii) (as 

21 so redesignated by clause (ii) of this sub22 paragraph) the following new clause: 

23 ‘‘(i) REQUIRED PREFERENCE FOR

24 VETERANS.—In making tenant-based as25 sistance under this subsection available on 


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1 behalf of eligible families, each public hous2 ing agency shall give preference to families 

3 that include a member who is a veteran (as 

4 such term is defined in section 101 of title 

5 38, United States Code) who will reside in 

6 the dwelling unit assisted.’’; and 

7 (B) in paragraph (13)(J)— 

8 (i) by striking ‘‘The agency’’ and in9 serting the following: ‘‘In selecting families 

10 to receive project-based assistance pursu11 ant to this paragraph, the agency shall 

12 give preference to families that include a 

13 member who is a veteran (as such term is 

14 defined in section 101 of title 38, United 

15 States Code) who will reside in the unit. In 

16 addition, the agency’’; and 

17 (ii) by inserting after ‘‘section 5A’’ 

18 the following: ‘‘, except that any such pref19 erences established pursuant to this sen20 tence shall be subordinate to the pref21 erence established by the preceding sen22 tence.’’. 

23 (b) APPLICABILITY.—The amendments made by sub24 section (a) shall apply beginning upon the date of the en25 actment of this Act. 


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1 SEC. 6. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS REGARDING THE MOV2 ING TO WORK PROGRAM. 

3 It is the sense of the Congress that the Moving to 

4 Work demonstration program of the Department of Hous5 ing and Urban Development under section 204 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) should be expanded to 

9 include significantly more public housing agencies. 

10 SEC. 7. USE OF UNSPENT HOUSING ASSISTANCE PAYMENTS 

11 CONTRACT AMOUNTS FOR COMPLIANCE 

12 MEASURES. 

13 Amounts provided by the Secretary of Housing and 

14 Urban Development to a public housing agency under an 

15 annual contributions contract for rental assistance under 

16 section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 

17 U.S.C. 1437f) that remain unused for housing assistance 

18 payments contracts may be used by such agency for ac19 tions— 

20 (1) to monitor compliance of owners of housing 

21 assisted under such section and tenants of such 

22 housing with all laws and regulations relating to 

23 such assistance; and 

24 (2) to enforce violations of such laws and regu25 lations. 


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1 SEC. 8. PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OF PHA PLANS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 5A of the United States 

3 Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437c–1) is amended by 

4 adding at the end the following new subsection: 

5 ‘‘(m) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OF PLAN.—Each public 

6 housing agency that has a public housing agency plan ap7 proved under this section shall make the approved plan 

8 (and any approved modifications and amendments to such 

9 plan) publicly available for inspection during regular busi10 ness hours at the offices of the agency and in electronic 

11 form by means of the World Wide Web.’’. 

12 (b) APPLICABILITY.—Subsection (m) of section 5A of 

13 the United States Housing Act of 1937, as added by the 

14 amendment made by subsection (a), shall apply beginning 

15 upon the date of the enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


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