Housing and Urban Development: Public and Assisted Housing Reform
(Testimony, 10/13/95, GAO/T-RCED-96-22).

GAO discussed issues surrounding the proposed consolidation and reform
of federal public and assisted housing programs. GAO noted that: (1) the
proposed legislation seeks significant changes to several fundamental
policies that could strengthen the long-term viability of public housing
programs; (2) the proposed changes would incorporate sufficient
flexibility for housing authorities to deal with the condition of their
physical stock, its market value, and the availability of other
affordable housing and to determine the cost-effectiveness of retaining
public housing versus a certificate program on an individual basis; (3)
the transition period needs to be sufficiently long to allow housing
authorities to change their tenant income mix and reduce their need for
operating subsidies; (4) the merger of the section 8 voucher and
certificate programs would result in significant benefits by simplifying
program administration and enhancing equity among assisted families; (5)
the Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) resources could
be severely stretched by the trouble housing authorities it currently
oversees, particularly if it takes over more of them; (6) an
accreditation system may be more effective in assessing housing
authorities' performance than the current HUD evaluation program; and
(7) integrating public housing into the larger community will depend on
interaction between housing authorities and local governments and public
housing residents' isolation from the community.

--------------------------- Indexing Terms -----------------------------

 REPORTNUM:  T-RCED-96-22
     TITLE:  Housing and Urban Development: Public and Assisted Housing 
             Reform
      DATE:  10/13/95
   SUBJECT:  Community development
             Public housing
             Proposed legislation
             Rent policies
             Cost control
             Disadvantaged persons
             Housing programs
             Cost effectiveness analysis
             Subsidies
IDENTIFIER:  HUD Public Housing Management Assessment Program
             Chicago (IL)
             East St. Louis (IL)
             Detroit (MI)
             United States Housing Act of 1995
             HUD Empowerment Zones and Enterprise Communities Program
             HUD Section 8 Certificate Program
             HUD Section 8 Voucher Program
             HUD Reinvention Blueprint
             
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