[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 28 (Monday, March 8, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E315-E316]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     ADMINISTRATION PROPOSAL CUTS HOUSING LIFELINE FOR PEOPLE WITH 
                              DISABILITIES

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. BARNEY FRANK

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, March 8, 2004

  Mr. FRANK. Mr. Speaker, I was unhappy--although not surprised--to see 
the President's most recent assault on programs that provide housing 
for people in great need. The administration's 2005 budget proposal 
calling for deep cuts in the section 8 program will have many harmful 
effects if it is enacted, and among those who will be most damaged by 
it are people with disabilities.
  Recently, the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities Housing Task 
Force documented the great social harm that will result if we adopt the 
President's approach. This coalition, as Members can see by looking at 
the list of signatories of the document I am here inserting into the 
Record, broadly represents the major organizations in this country 
representing the needs of people with disabilities.
  To quote from this Consortium's conclusion,

       The CCD Housing Task Force strongly believes that the 
     Administration's Flexible Voucher Program proposal would 
     significantly erode housing assistance for the poorest people 
     with disabilities. We believe this proposal actually 
     undermines stated Administration disability policy goals 
     designed to promote community integration under the New 
     Freedom Initiative an end chronic homelessness.

  Mr. Speaker, the deeply flawed proposal the President has made to 
restrict section 8 housing vouchers will be one of the most important 
issues we will be debating in this Congress. No group has more to tell 
us about it than the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities and I 
ask that the very important position paper of the Consortium's Housing 
Task Force be printed here so that Members will have the benefit of it 
during this debate.

  Position Paper On the Administration's FY 2005 HUD Budget Proposal, 
                Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program


  Administration Proposal Would Cut Housing Lifeline for People with 
                              Disabilities

       The Bush Administration's FY 2005 HUD Budget proposal calls 
     for deep cuts in the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher 
     Program. The budget also would radically alter the 
     fundamental design of the program by converting it to a block 
     grant administered by Public Housing Agencies (PHAs) for the 
     benefit of higher income households. The Consortium for 
     Citizens with Disabilities Housing Task Force (CCD Housing 
     Task Force) is strongly opposed to the Administrations budget 
     proposal which would cut more than $1 billion from current 
     funding levels. We are also strongly opposed to the 
     Administration's ill-conceived proposal to convert the 
     program to the Flexible Voucher Program--a block-grant type 
     approach which would eliminate many of the critical 
     protections people with disabilities have under the current 
     Section 8 program.
       The CCD Housing Task Force is a coalition of national 
     disability organizations working to promote access to 
     affordable and accessible housing opportunities and community 
     supports for people with disabilities. People with 
     disabilities have the highest level unmet need for housing 
     assistance of any group eligible for federally subsidized 
     housing. In 2002, approximately 3.7 million non-elderly 
     people with disabilities relied solely on federal 
     Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits worth $545 per 
     month. Priced

[[Page E316]]

     Out in 2002 (published by the CCD Housing Task Force and the 
     Technical Assistance Collaborative) found that SSI recipients 
     on average would need to pay 105 percent of their monthly SSI 
     income to rent a modest one bedroom unit. The individuals 
     whom we represent, many of whom depend solely on SSI or other 
     disability benefits, are current participants in the Section 
     8 Housing Choice Voucher program or on Section 8 waiting 
     lists. The Section 8 voucher program is central to their 
     ability to have an opportunity to find affordable and 
     accessible housing in the community.


 Administration Proposal Would Seriously Harm People with Disabilities

       The CCD Housing Task Force strongly believes that the 
     Administration's Flexible Voucher Program proposal would 
     significantly erode housing assistance for the poorest people 
     with disabilities. We believe this proposal actually 
     undermines stated Administration disability policy goals 
     designed to promote community integration under the New 
     Freedom Initiative and end chronic homelessness.
       The Administration's proposal would cause serious harm to 
     people with disabilities in the following ways:
       Proposed reductions in funding of over $1 billion for FY 
     2005 would mean that at least 250,000 households, including 
     at least 50,000 households with disabilities, would lose 
     their Section 8 assistance within the next year;
       The Administration's Flexible Voucher Program proposal 
     would eliminate targeting to the lowest income households. 
     The federal targeting is a current Section 8 program 
     requirement that has helped people with disabilities to live 
     in the community. The new program could be used for 
     households up to 80 percent of median income and dedicated 
     exclusively to homeownership--closing the doors on many 
     people with disabilities.
       Under the Administration's Flexible Voucher Program, people 
     with disabilities could be required to pay much higher rents 
     than they can afford. Current rules limiting tenant rents to 
     30-40 percent of income would be eliminated.
       PHAs would be given incentives to assist higher income 
     households, a policy that would result in fewer people with 
     disabilities receiving vouchers.
       PHAs could establish time limits on voucher holders. When a 
     person's disability is permanent, their housing assistance 
     should not be time limited. A time limited voucher could 
     force people with disabilities back into nursing homes, 
     institutions and other restrictive settings, and homeless 
     shelters.
       Congress would no longer have the authority--as it has for 
     the past seven years--to target Section 8 vouchers for people 
     with disabilities who have lost housing due to elderly-only 
     policies. Over 50,000 people with currently funded disability 
     vouchers would be at-risk.
       Over the long term, the Administration's budget projections 
     for 2005-2009 clearly show further erosion in voucher 
     funding--putting more people with disabilities at-risk of 
     losing their Section 8 assistance. By 2009, Section 8 
     expenditures would be more than $4.6 billion below what the 
     Congressional Budget Office estimates would be needed to 
     maintain the program's current level of funding. The Center 
     for Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) projects that cuts of 
     this magnitude would mean that 600,000 vouchers--or 30 
     percent of the vouchers currently authorized--would be 
     eliminated.


            people with disabilities need section 8 vouchers

       People with disabilities have the highest level of unmet 
     need for housing assistance of any group eligible for 
     federally subsidized housing. The CCD Housing Task Force 
     estimates that more than 3 million people with disabilities 
     receiving SSI do not currently receive any housing assistance 
     from HUD. The current Section 8 program is literally a 
     ``lifeline'' for people with disabilities who rely on SSI, as 
     well as other low income people with disabilities who simply 
     cannot afford the cost of rental housing. Section 8 Vouchers 
     are needed by people with disabilities who have been 
     negatively affected by the loss of housing opportunities 
     because of federal ``elderly only'' housing policies. Over 
     500,000 units of HUD public and assisted housing have 
     ``elderly only'' policies, and more units are being 
     designated ``elderly only'' every day.


                 the administration's flawed rationale

       The Administration's proposal and their statements 
     defending it are seriously flawed. The CCD Housing Task Force 
     urges Members of Congress to treat this proposal with the 
     same degree of skepticism and concern as it treated last 
     year's Housing Assistance for Needy Families (HANF) proposal. 
     One senior HUD official's public statement, that the current 
     program's income-targeting requirements should be eliminated 
     because they are not needed, can be rebutted by the fact that 
     over 3 million people with disabilities below 30 percent of 
     median income still do not receive federal housing assistance 
     .
       HUD officials state that converting the current voucher 
     program to a block grant is needed to control the programs 
     ``upward spiral in costs over the past two years''. This 
     statement is also misleading. HUD's failure to produce 
     accurate data and projections on Section 8 program costs 
     cannot be used to imply that Section 8 program spending is 
     ``out of control''. The rising costs in the Section 8 program 
     during the past few years are due in part to improved PHA 
     voucher utilization--as urged by the Congress--and leasing of 
     new vouchers authorized from 1999-2002. Other cost factors 
     include the escalating rental market of the late 1990s (which 
     has now stabilized) and higher subsidy levels needed by 
     households who have recently lost employment. CBPP's analysis 
     projects that spending for the voucher program for FY 2005 
     will grow by only 1.6 percent, which is lower than the rate 
     of inflation.


                               conclusion

       The current Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program is the 
     most important federal housing resource to address the 
     housing needs of those with low incomes. We believe that 
     Congress should maintain its responsibility to protect people 
     with disabilities who receive or need Section 8 assistance. 
     The CCD Housing Task Force urges Congress to fully fund the 
     Section 8 voucher program in FY 2005, which means a $600 
     million increase over FY 2004 appropriation levels.
       We also urge Congress to reject the Administration's 
     Flexible Voucher Program proposal. This proposal is nothing 
     more than another attempt by the Administration to achieve 
     what they could not achieve in Congress last year, when 
     bipartisan opposition to the HANF block grant proposal 
     ensured its failure. We believe that Congress should continue 
     to have the direct authority to ensure adequate funding for 
     the program and to make decisions on how the Section 8 
     program is utilized.
       HUD's role in administering the Section 8 program and 
     monitoring the use of vouchers by PHAs is critically 
     important. HUD should be held responsible for devoting the 
     necessary resources to carry out these responsibilities 
     successfully. Many of the current problems with the Section 8 
     program can be attributed to HUD's mismanagement--including 
     long-standing mismanagement of over 50,000 vouchers targeted 
     to people with disabilities. Most importantly, the Section 8 
     program should continue to be targeted to addressing the most 
     critical housing needs in our country today--those of 
     extremely low-income people including people with 
     disabilities.
     CCD Housing Task Force
     American Association of People with Disabilities
     American Association on Mental Retardation
     American Network of Community Options and Resources
     Association of University Centers on Disabilities
     Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law
     Brain Injury Association of America
     Easter Seals
     Epilepsy Foundation
     International Association of Psychosocial Rehabilitation 
         Services
     National Alliance for the Mentally Ill
     National Alliance to End Homelessness
     National Association of Protection and Advocacy Systems
     National Mental Health Association
     Paralyzed Veterans of America
     Spina Bifida Association of America
     The Arc of the United States
     United Cerebral Palsy
     United Spinal Association (formerly Eastern Paralyzed 
         Veterans Association)

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