Rental Housing: Information on Low-Income Veterans' Housing Conditions and Participation in HUD's Programs
Published: 2007-12-05T00:00:00

Fast Facts:

Highlights:
section_title: Why GAO Did This Study
paragraphs: Veterans returning from service in Iraq and Afghanistan could increase demand for affordable rental housing. Households with low incomes (80 percent or less of the area median income) generally are eligible to receive rental assistance from the Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) housing choice voucher, public housing, and project-based programs. However, because rental assistance is not an entitlement, not all who are eligible receive assistance. This testimony, based on a 2007 report, discusses (1) the income status and demographic and housing characteristics of veteran renter households, (2) how HUD's rental assistance programs treat veteran status (whether a person is a veteran or not) and whether they use a veteran's preference, and (3) the extent to which HUD's rental assistance programs served veterans in fiscal year 2005. The 2007 report discussed in this testimony made no recommendations.
section_title: What GAO Found
paragraphs: In 2005, an estimated 2.3 million veteran renter households had low incomes. The proportion of veteran renter households that were low income varied by state but did not fall below 41 percent. Further, an estimated 1.3 million, or about 56 percent of these low-income veteran households nationwide, had housing affordability problems--that is, rental costs exceeding 30 percent of household income (see map for state percentages). Compared with other (nonveteran) renter households, however, veterans were somewhat less likely to be low income or have housing affordability problems. HUD's major rental assistance programs are not required to take a household's veteran status into account when determining eligibility and calculating subsidy amounts, but eligible veterans can receive assistance. The majority of the 41 largest public housing agencies that administer the housing choice voucher or public housing programs had no veterans' preference for admission. The 13 largest performance-based contract administrators that oversaw most properties under project-based programs reported that owners generally did not adopt a veterans' preference. In fiscal year 2005, an estimated 11 percent of all eligible low-income veteran households (at least 250,000) received assistance, compared with 19 percent of nonveteran households. Although the reasons for the difference are unclear, factors such as differing levels of need for affordable housing among veteran and other households could influence the percentages.

section_title: Letter
paragraphs: I appreciate the opportunity to be here today to discuss our work on the  housing conditions of veterans with low incomes and their participation in  HUD’s rental assistance programs. As you know, disproportionately large  numbers of military veterans have appeared among the homeless  population in recent years, raising concerns about the incomes and  housing conditions of veterans who rent, rather than own, their homes.  According to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), on any given night  at least 194,000 veterans were homeless in fiscal year 2005—about one- third of the adult homeless population—and many veteran renters could  be on the verge of homelessness if they have low incomes or precarious  living conditions in overcrowded or substandard housing. The return of  more veterans from service in Iraq and Afghanistan—some with significant  physical and psychological challenges—could increase demand for  affordable housing with supportive services such as mental health and  substance abuse treatment.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is the primary  federal provider of rental housing assistance through its housing choice  voucher, public housing, and project-based programs. Vouchers assist  households in paying rent for units of their choice in the private market,  while public housing and project-based programs assist households by  subsidizing the rents of specifically designated units. These programs  generally serve low-income households—those with incomes that are 80  percent or less of their local area median incomes. However, because the  rental assistance programs are not entitlement programs—the extent of  assistance is limited by the amount of appropriated funds—not all renter  households that are eligible receive assistance. My testimony refers to  households that do not receive rental assistance as “unassisted.”
My statement is based on our August 2007 report, Rental Housing:  Information on Low-Income Veterans’ Housing Conditions and  Participation in HUD’s Programs. Specifically, my statement discusses (1)  the income status and demographic and housing characteristics of veteran  renter households; (2) how HUD’s rental assistance programs treat veteran  status (that is, whether a person is a veteran or not) and veteran-specific  benefits in determining eligibility and subsidy amounts; (3) the extent to  which public housing agencies and property owners—third parties who  administer rental assistance programs on HUD’s behalf—establish  veterans’ preferences in their administrative and tenant selection plans;  and (4) the extent to which HUD’s rental assistance programs served  veteran households in fiscal year 2005.
In preparing our recent report, we analyzed data from the Bureau of the  Census’ (Census) 2005 American Community Survey (ACS) on the income  status and demographic and housing characteristics of veteran  households. Using income categories established by HUD for calendar  year 2005, we estimated the number of veteran households in the ACS with  incomes that were low (80 percent or less of the area median income),  very low (50 percent or less of the area median income), and extremely  low (30 percent or less of the area median income). We also used  information on veteran households in ACS to describe certain  demographic characteristics, and the cost and quality of their housing. To  determine how HUD’s rental assistance programs treat a household’s  veteran status (that is, whether the household includes a veteran or not) in  determining eligibility and subsidy amounts, we reviewed HUD’s eligibility  policies and regulations on rental assistance programs and interviewed  officials from HUD and VA. To determine whether public housing agencies  and property owners participating in HUD’s programs have established a  veterans’ preference for households, we interviewed officials from the 41  largest agencies that administer the public housing program and/or the  voucher program, and from the 13 largest performance-based contract  administrators that oversee property management under project-based  rental assistance programs. Information on preferences, however, is not  statistically generalizable to the other public housing agencies and  property owners. Finally, to determine the extent to which HUD’s rental  assistance programs served veteran households in fiscal year 2005, we  matched data from HUD on program participants with data from VA on  living veterans and used these matched data to estimate the percentage of  low-income veteran renter households that received HUD assistance. For  all of our research objectives, we consulted with officials from various  housing and veteran groups. We conducted our work in Atlanta, Boston,  Chicago, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C., from March 2006 through  July 2007 in accordance with generally accepted government auditing  standards.
In brief, we found the following:  In 2005, an estimated 2.3 million veteran renter households, or about 53  percent of all veteran renter households nationwide, were low income  (their household incomes were 80 percent or less of their areas’ median  household incomes), and more than half of these low-income households  had problems affording their rent. The number of low-income veteran  renter households varied considerably by state, from a high of 236,000 in  California (representing 10 percent of all low-income veteran renters  nationwide) to less than 6,000 in Wyoming. While the percentages of renter  households that were low-income varied by state, in no state did the  proportion fall below 41 percent. In terms of demographic characteristics,  we found the following:    More than one-third of low-income veteran renter households included  a veteran who was elderly or had a disability.
An estimated 1.3 million, or about 56 percent of low-income veteran  renter households, had housing affordability problems—that is, their  rental costs exceeded 30 percent of their household incomes. The  extent of housing affordability problems varied significantly by state.  For example, Nevada had the highest percentage of low-income  veteran renters with affordability problems (about 70 percent), while  North Dakota had the lowest percentage (about 37 percent).
Nationally, a small percentage (less than 3 percent) of low-income  veteran renters lived in overcrowded or inadequate housing.
Finally, in general, veteran renter households were less likely to be low- income, have affordability problems, or live in overcrowded or inadequate  housing than were other (nonveteran) households.
HUD’s major rental assistance programs are not required to take a  household’s veteran status into account when determining eligibility and  calculating subsidy amounts, but eligible veterans can receive assistance.   HUD is not required to collect, and does not collect, any information that  identifies the veteran status of assisted households. When determining  income eligibility and subsidy amounts, HUD generally does not  distinguish between income sources that are specific to veterans, such as  VA-provided benefits, and other sources of income; rather, HUD takes into  account the type of income, such as whether it is recurring or not. Finally,  although HUD rental assistance programs generally do not target veterans,  HUD allocated about 1,800 vouchers in the early 1990s for placing formerly  homeless veterans with severe psychiatric or substance abuse disorders  into affordable rental housing, but usage of these vouchers has been  declining—as of the end of fiscal year 2006, about 1,000 vouchers  remained in use.
The majority of the 41 largest public housing agencies we contacted have  no veterans’ preference for admission to their public housing or voucher  programs, and all of the 13 largest performance-based contract  administrators we contacted told us that owners of project-based  properties that they oversee generally do not have a veterans’ preference.  Specifically, according to our interviews with 34 of the largest housing  agencies that administer public housing programs, 14 (about 41 percent)  offered a veterans’ preference in fiscal year 2006, and 13 of the 40 largest  agencies (about 33 percent) that administer the housing choice voucher  program offered a veterans’ preference. Officials from all of the 13 largest  contract administrators told us that owners of project-based properties  that they oversee generally do not employ a veterans’ preference when  selecting tenants.
Low-income veteran households were less likely to receive HUD rental  assistance than other low-income households (that is, nonveteran  households). Specifically, of all low-income veteran households, an  estimated 11 percent received HUD rental assistance in fiscal year 2005,  whereas an estimated 19 percent of other low-income households received  assistance. Although the reasons for the difference are unclear, based on  our analyses and discussions with HUD officials, various factors could  influence the percentage of eligible veteran households that receive HUD  rental assistance—for example, different levels of need for affordable  housing among veteran and other households and public housing agencies’  and property owners’ use of veterans’ preference. In fiscal year 2005, at  least 250,000 low-income veteran households received rental assistance  under HUD’s programs—representing about 6 percent of all households  that received such assistance. Compared with other (nonveteran) assisted  households, veteran assisted households were as likely to be elderly but  were more likely to have a disability.
subsections: section_title: Background
paragraphs: According to Census data, in 2005 an estimated 21.9 million households, or  20 percent of the 111.1 million households nationwide, were “veteran  households”—that is, they had at least one member who was a military  veteran. Most veteran households—about 80 percent—owned their own  homes, a significantly higher percentage than was the case for other  (nonveteran) households (about 64 percent). About 4.3 million veteran  households rented their homes. Census data also show that renter  households were more likely to be low-income than were owner-occupied  households; in 2005, about 66 percent of renter households were low- income while 32 percent of homeowners were low-income.
VA, through a variety of programs, provides federal assistance to veterans  who are homeless, and also provides homeownership assistance, but does  not provide rental assistance. One of the agency’s largest programs for  homeless veterans is the Homeless Providers Grant and Per Diem  program, which provides funding to nonprofit and public agencies to help  temporarily shelter veterans. VA also administers eight other programs for  outreach and treatment of homeless veterans. In addition to its  homelessness programs, VA provides a variety of programs, services, and  benefits to veterans and their families.
HUD provides rental housing assistance through three major programs— housing choice voucher, public housing, and project-based. In fiscal year  2005, these programs provided rental assistance to about 4.8 million  households and paid about $28 billion in rental subsidies. These three  programs generally serve low-income households—that is, households  with incomes less than or equal to 80 percent of their local area median  incomes. Most of these programs have targets for households with  extremely low incomes—30 percent or less of their area median incomes.  HUD-assisted households generally pay 30 percent of their monthly  income, after certain adjustments, toward their unit’s rent.  HUD pays the  difference between the household’s contribution and the unit’s rent (under  the voucher and project-based programs) and the difference between the  public housing agencies’ operating costs and rental receipts for public  housing.
section_title: More Than Half of Low-Income Veteran Renter Households Had Housing Affordability Problems
paragraphs: According to our analysis of ACS data, of the 4.3 million veteran  households that rented their homes, an estimated 2.3 million, or about 53  percent were low-income in 2005. As shown in table 1, the largest share of  these 2.3 million households was concentrated in the highest low-income  category—that is, 50.1 to 80 percent of the area median income—with  somewhat smaller shares in the two lower categories. The table also  shows that other renter households (that is, households without a veteran  member) were even more likely to be low-income than veteran renter  households.
The estimated numbers of low-income veteran renter households in 2005  varied greatly by state, from some 236,000 in California—the most of any  state—to less than 6,000 in each of 3 states—Delaware, Vermont, and  Wyoming.  The percentages of veteran renter households that were low- income in 2005 also varied considerably by state, from about 65 percent in  Michigan to about 41 percent in Virginia. Further details on how these  figures varied by state, including maps, can be found in appendix I. In  addition, a significant proportion of low-income veteran renter households  included a veteran who was elderly or had a disability.  Specifically, an  estimated 816,000 (36 percent of these veteran households) had at least  one veteran who was elderly (that is, 62 years of age or older); and 887,000  (39 percent) had at least one veteran member with a disability.
subsections: section_title: More Than Half of Low- Income Veteran Renters Had Problems Affording Their Rents
paragraphs: According to our analysis of ACS data, an estimated 1.3 million low- income veteran households, or about 56 percent of the approximate 2.3  million such households, had rents that exceeded 30 percent of their  household income in 2005 (see table 2). These veteran renter households  had what HUD terms “moderate” or “severe” problems affording their  rent. Specifically, about 31 percent of low-income veteran renter  households had moderate affordability problems, and about 26 percent  had severe affordability problems. The remainder either paid 30 percent or  less of their household income in rent, reported zero income, or did not  pay cash rent. In comparison, a higher proportion of other low-income  renter households had moderate or severe housing affordability problems.
The extent of housing affordability problems among low-income veteran  renter households varied significantly by state in 2005 (see fig. 1). The  median percentage of low-income veteran renters with affordability  problems nationwide was 54 percent. California and Nevada had the  highest proportions of affordability problems among low-income veteran  renter households—about 68 and 70 percent, respectively. North Dakota  and Nebraska had the smallest—about 37 and 41 percent, respectively.
section_title: Small Percentage of Low- Income Veteran Renter Households Lived in Overcrowded or Inadequate Housing
paragraphs: A relatively small percentage of veteran households lived in overcrowded  or inadequate housing in 2005. Specifically, an estimated 73,000, or 3  percent, of low-income veteran renter households lived in overcrowded  housing—housing with more than one person per room—and less than  18,000, or about 1 percent, lived in severely overcrowded housing— housing with more than one and a half persons per room. In contrast, an  estimated 1.5 million, or 7 percent, of other low-income renter households  lived in overcrowded housing, and about 423,000, or 2 percent, lived in  severely overcrowded housing.
Finally, ACS data indicate that a very small share of low-income veteran  renters lived in inadequate housing. ACS provides very limited information  about the quality of the housing unit; the survey classifies a unit as  inadequate if it lacks complete plumbing or kitchen facilities, or both. In  2005, an estimated 53,000, or 2 percent, of low-income veteran renter  households lived in inadequate housing. In comparison, an estimated  334,000, or 2 percent, of other households lived in inadequate housing.
section_title: HUD Rental Assistance Programs Do Not Take Veteran Status into Account When Determining Eligibility or Subsidy Amounts
paragraphs: HUD’s major rental assistance programs are not required to take a  household’s veteran status into account when determining eligibility and  calculating subsidy amounts. (Consequently, HUD does not collect any  information that identifies the veteran status of assisted households.) As  with other households, veterans can benefit from HUD rental assistance  provided that they meet all of the programs’ income and other eligibility  criteria. For example, assisted households must meet U.S. citizenship  requirements and, for some of the rental assistance programs, HUD’s  criteria for an elderly household or a household with a disability.
When determining income eligibility and subsidy amounts, HUD generally  does not distinguish between income sources that are specific to veterans,  such as VA-provided benefits, and other types of income. HUD policies  define household income as the anticipated gross annual income of the  household, which includes income from all sources received by the family  head, spouse, and each additional family member who is 18 years of age or  older. Specifically, annual income includes, but is not limited to, wages  and salaries, periodic amounts from pensions or death benefits, and  unemployment and disability compensation. HUD policies identify 39  separate income sources and benefits that are excluded when determining  eligibility and subsidy amounts. These exclusions relate to income that is  nonrecurring or sporadic in nature, health care benefits, student financial  aid, and assistance from certain employment training and economic self- sufficiency programs.
We found that, based on HUD’s policies on income exclusions, most types  of income and benefits that veteran households receive from VA would be  excluded when determining eligibility for HUD’s programs and subsidy  amounts. Many of the excluded benefits relate to payments that veteran  households receive under certain economic self-sufficiency programs or  nonrecurring payments such as insurance claims. Of the benefits included,  most are associated with recurring or regular sources of income, such as  disability compensation, pensions, and survivor death benefits.
Of the 39 exclusions, we found that two income exclusions specifically  applied to certain veteran households but, according to HUD, these  exclusions are rarely used. These income exclusions are (1) payments  made to Vietnam War-era veterans from the Agent Orange Settlement  Fund and (2) payments to children of Vietnam War-era veterans who  suffer from spina bifida. The two exclusions are identified in federal  statutes that are separate from those authorizing the three major rental  assistance programs.
HUD does provide rental assistance vouchers specifically to veterans  under a small program called the Housing and Urban Development- Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing program (HUD-VASH). Established in  1992, HUD-VASH is jointly funded by HUD and VA and offers homeless  veterans an opportunity to obtain permanent housing, as well as ongoing  case management and supportive services. HUD allocated these special  vouchers to selected public housing agencies that had applied for funding,  and VA was responsible for identifying participants based on specific  eligibility criteria, including the veteran’s need for treatment of a mental  illness or substance abuse disorder. Under the HUD-VASH initiative, HUD  allocated 1,753 vouchers from fiscal years 1992 through 1994. HUD funded  these vouchers for 5 years and, if a veteran left the program during this  period, the housing agency had to reissue the voucher to another eligible  veteran. According to VA officials, after the 5-year period ended, housing  agencies had the option of continuing to use their allocation of vouchers  for HUD-VASH, or could discontinue participation whenever a veteran left  the program (that is, the housing agency would not provide the voucher to  another eligible veteran upon turnover). VA stated that after the 5-year  period ended, many housing agencies decided not to continue in HUD- VASH after assisted veterans left the program; instead, housing agencies  exercised the option of providing these vouchers to other households  under the housing choice voucher program. As a result, the number of  veterans that receive HUD-VASH vouchers has declined. Based on  information from VA, about 1,000 veterans were in the program as of the  end of fiscal year 2006, and absent any policy changes, this number is  likely to decline to 400 because housing agencies responsible for more  than 600 vouchers have decided not to continue providing these vouchers  to other veterans as existing participants leave the program.
Congress statutorily authorized HUD-VASH as part of the Homeless  Veterans Comprehensive Assistance Act of 2001. Under the act, Congress  also authorized HUD to allocate 500 vouchers each fiscal year from 2003  through 2006—a total of 2,000 additional vouchers. In December 2006,  Congress extended this authorization through fiscal year 2011—allocating  an additional 2,500 vouchers or 500 each year. However, HUD has not  requested, and Congress has not appropriated, funds for any of the  vouchers authorized from fiscal years 2003 through 2007.
section_title: Most Contacted Housing Agencies and Owners of Project- Based Properties Did Not Offer Veterans’ Preference for Admission to HUD’s Rental Assistance Programs
paragraphs: Currently, HUD’s policies give public housing agencies and owners of  project-based properties the discretion to establish preferences for certain  groups when selecting households for housing assistance. Preferences  affect only the order of applicants on a waiting list for assistance; they do  not determine eligibility for housing assistance. Before 1998, federal law  required housing agencies and property owners to offer a preference to  eligible applicants to their subsidized housing programs who (1) had been  involuntarily displaced, (2) were living in substandard housing, or (3) were  paying more than half their income for rent. Public housing agencies were  required by law to allocate at least 50 percent of their public housing units  and 90 percent of their housing choice vouchers to applicants who met  these criteria. Similarly, project-based owners had to allocate 70 percent  of their units to newly admitted households that met these criteria. The  Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act of 1998 (QHWRA) gave more  flexibility to housing agencies and project-based property owners to  administer their programs, in part by eliminating the mandated housing  preferences. Although it gave housing agencies and owners more  flexibility, QHWRA required that public housing agencies and owners  target assistance to extremely low-income households.
Under QHWRA, housing agencies and owners of project-based properties  may, but are not required to, establish preferences to better direct  resources to those with the greatest housing needs in their areas. Public  housing agencies can select applicants on the basis of local preferences  provided that their process is consistent with their administrative plan.  HUD policy requires housing agencies to specify their preferences in their  administrative plans, and HUD reviews these preferences to ensure that  they conform to nondiscrimination and equal employment opportunity  requirements. Similarly, HUD policy allows owners of project-based  properties to establish preferences as long as the preferences are specified  in their written tenant selection plans. While HUD requires housing  agencies and property owners to disclose their preferences in their  administrative or tenant selection plans, HUD officials said the department  does not compile or systematically track this information because public  housing agencies and property owners are not required to have  preferences.
Most of the 41 public housing agencies we contacted used a preference  system for admission to their public housing and housing choice voucher  programs, but less than half offered a veterans’ preference. As shown in  table 3, of the 34 largest housing agencies that administered the public  housing program, 29 established preferences for admission to the program  and 14 used a veterans’ preference. Similarly, of the 40 housing agencies  that administered the housing choice voucher program, 34 used admission  preferences, and 13 employed a preference for veterans. According to  public housing agency officials, the most common preferences used for  both programs were for working families, individuals who were unable to  work because of age or disability, and individuals who had been  involuntarily displaced or were homeless. Of course, veterans could  benefit from these admission preferences if they met the criteria.
Some of the public housing agencies we contacted offered veterans’  preferences because their states required them to do so. Other housing  agency officials told us they offered a veterans’ preference because they  believed it was important to serve the needs of low-income veterans since  they had done so much for the well-being of others. Public housing  agencies that we contacted that did not offer a veterans’ preference gave  various reasons for their decisions. Some officials told us that the housing  agency did not need a veterans’ preference because veteran applicants  generally qualified under other preference categories, such as elderly or  disabled. One housing agency official we contacted said a veterans’  preference was not needed because of the relatively small number of  veterans in the community.
According to all of the performance-based contract administrators we  contacted, owners of project-based properties that they oversee generally  did not employ a veterans’ preference when selecting tenants. Ten of the  13 largest contract administrators told us, based on their review of  property owners’ tenant selection plans, that owners of project-based  properties generally did not employ preferences for any specific  population. Officials from the remaining three contract administrators  said they were aware of some property owners offering preferences to  individuals who had been involuntarily displaced, working families, or  those unable to work because of age or disability. However, all the  contract administrators we contacted either said that property owners did  not use preferences or agreed that the use of preferences, including a  veterans’ preference, among owners of properties with project-based  assistance was limited. HUD officials to whom we spoke also stated, based  on their experience with tenant selection plans, that the use of preferences  at project-based properties likely was infrequent.
section_title: At Least 250,000 Veteran Households Received HUD Rental Assistance, but Veterans Were Less Likely to Receive Such Assistance Than Other Low-Income Households
paragraphs: Low-income veteran renter households were less likely to receive HUD  rental assistance than other households. As shown in table 4, of the total  2.3 million veteran renter households with low incomes, about 250,000 (or  11 percent) received HUD assistance. In comparison, of the 22 million  other renter households with low incomes, 4.1 million (about 19 percent)  received HUD assistance. (As noted previously, although HUD is the  largest provider of federal rental housing assistance to low-income  households, it is not the sole source of such assistance. Thus, these  percentages likely understate the actual share of all eligible veteran renter  households that receive federal rental assistance.)
The reasons why other households were nearly twice as likely as veteran  households to receive HUD assistance are unclear. However, based on our  analyses and discussions with agency officials, we identified some  potential explanations. For example:    As previously noted, although a significant proportion of low-income  veteran households face affordability problems, an even larger  proportion of other (nonveteran) households face more severe  affordability problems. Thus, the level of veteran demand for rental  assistance may be lower than that of nonveteran households.
Also as previously noted, HUD rental assistance programs do not take  veteran status into account when determining eligibility, and most  public housing agencies and property owners do not offer veterans’  preferences. As a result, these policy decisions likely focus resources  on other types of low-income households with housing needs.
Although low-income households generally are eligible to receive  rental assistance from HUD’s three programs, statutory requirements  mandate that a certain percentage of new program participants must be  extremely low income. These targeting requirements may lead to a  higher share of HUD rental assistance going to nonveteran households  because veteran households generally are less likely to fall within the  extremely low-income category.
The estimated 250,000 veteran households that received HUD rental  assistance in 2005 constituted about 6 percent of all HUD-assisted  households. The housing choice voucher program served the largest  number of veteran households, followed by the project-based program,  and public housing (see fig. 3). However, a slightly higher proportion of  veteran households participated in the public housing program (6.9  percent) than participated in the voucher (5.7 percent) and project-based  (5.2 percent) programs.
We found some similarities in the demographic characteristics of veterans  and other assisted households we analyzed. For example:    Compared with other assisted households, HUD-assisted veteran  households were as likely to be elderly. Specifically, in fiscal year 2005,  about 75,000, or 30 percent, of assisted veteran households were  elderly, and about 1.3 million, or 31 percent, of other assisted  households were elderly.
HUD-assisted veteran households were more likely to have a disability.
In fiscal year 2005, HUD provided assistance to about 88,000 veteran  households with a disability, or about 34 percent of assisted veteran  households. In comparison, 1.2 million or 28 percent of other assisted  households had a disability.
Our August 2007 report contains additional information on the  demographic and income characteristics of veteran and nonveteran  households, as well as the extent to which HUD programs take veteran  status into account when determining eligibility and subsidy amounts.
Madam Chairwoman, this concludes my prepared statement. I would be  happy to answer any questions at this time.
section_title: Contact and Acknowledgement
paragraphs: For further information on this testimony, please contact David G. Wood  at (202) 512-8678 or woodd@gao.gov. Contact points from our Office of  Congressional Relations may be found on the last page of this statement.  Individuals making key contributions to this testimony included Marianne  Anderson, Michelle Bowsky, Daniel Garcia-Diaz, John T. McGrail,  Josephine Perez, and Rose Schuville.
section_title: Appendix I: Numbers and Percentages of Low-Income Veteran Renter Households by State
paragraphs: The estimated numbers of low-income veteran renter households in 2005  varied greatly by state, as shown in figure 4. The estimated median number  of low-income veteran renters in any state was about 34,000. California  had significantly more low-income veteran renter households than any  other state—more than 236,000, or about 10 percent of all such households  nationwide—followed by Texas with about 142,000, and New York with  about 135,000. The states with the smallest number of low-income veteran  households were Vermont, Delaware, and Wyoming with less than 6,000  each.
As shown in figure 5, the percentages of veteran renter households that  were low-income in 2005 also varied considerably by state. Michigan had  the highest percentage—about 65 percent of its veteran renter households  were low income, while Virginia had the lowest—about 41 percent.