March 22, 2000 The Administrations FY 2001 Proposal to Expand
Modestly the Number of Section 8 Housing Vouchers In each of the
last two years, Congress has appropriated funds to expand
modestly the Section 8 housing voucher program. For fiscal year
1999, Congress funded 50,000 new vouchers to help families make
the transition from welfare to work. For fiscal year 2000,
Congress funded 60,000 new vouchers to help meet needs that
state and local housing agencies identify.(1) For FY 2001, the
Administration has proposed 120,000 new Section 8 housing
vouchers. This paper briefly addresses a number of questions
regarding this proposal. What is the Section 8 Housing Voucher
Program? The Section 8 housing voucher program helps low-income
families secure decent and affordable rental housing by
subsidizing the housing costs of apartments they locate in the
private market. Families with housing vouchers generally pay
between 30 percent and 40 percent of their income for rent and
utilities, with the housing voucher subs