Letter: HUD’s proposed reforms will help

Monday, April 5, 2004 | 9:25 a.m.

Your March 30 editorial ("Homelessness First?") about the budget proposed by President Bush for the Housing and Urban Development was misinformed.

The piece questioned reforms to the Housing Choice Voucher Program, also known as Section 8. Today, 1.9 million families are supported and at least as many families will continue to be served. Our proposed reforms will help families move out of assisted housing and on to self-sufficiency. In this way, we will reduce the amount of time families spend on waiting lists for Section 8 housing.

Reforms will enable us to better manage program costs that are threatening to spiral out of control. For instance, a November 2003 article in the New York Times listed 10 cities that had significant rent decreases over the last two years -- yet rents subsidized under the current Section 8 voucher program increased in every instance. Under our new proposal, local housing administrators will be able to adjust their subsidized voucher rents to follow -- not lead -- the market, which will enable at least as many, if not more families to be served.

The Section 8 program has expanded under the Bush administration; nearly three-quarters of the HUD budget -- more than $23 billion -- is dedicated to meeting the housing needs of low-income individuals and families. However, it is time to implement a more efficient and effective program to better serve the millions of Americans enrolled and the countless others waiting for housing assistance.

MICHAEL LIU Washington, D.C.

Editor's note: Michael Liu, of the Housing and Urban Development Department, is assistant secretary of public and Indian housing.