The House of Representatives unanimously approved a bill Tuesday that would reform a number of federal housing programs for lower income families, including government-subsidized housing and rural lending.
The Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act, which limits various housing programs provided by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Rural Housing Service, soared through the House in a 427-0 vote, reported The Daily Caller.
The measure would require public housing agencies to annually review the income of tenants, and those who are found to have income more than 120 percent of the median income for two consecutive years would be charged more or forced to move out of government housing. Families who had more than $100,000 in net assets would be disqualified from the public housing program, according to The Hill. It would also ensure that veterans are given fair access to housing and homeless assistance programs.
House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, who helped spearhead the bill along with author Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer, R-Mo., said the new provisions would "ensure the resources that are devoted to these housing programs are targeted to those who are most in need."
"This comprehensive, bipartisan legislation represents the first real reforms to the programs and processes at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the United States Department of Agriculture's Rural Housing Service (RHS) in decades," said Luetkemeyer. "The success of housing programs should not be judged by the number of federal dollars spent. Instead, we are looking outside the box to streamline HUD and RHS policies and eliminate duplicative programs and waste. The future of housing can and should look different and today, my colleagues and I stood together and passed what is the first step to changing our nation's housing policies."
In July 2015, HUD's inspector general released a report chastising the agency for allowing over 25,000 families to continue living in public housing, even though they made far more than the maximum allowed income, according to The Washington Post. As long as families meet the income requirement upon moving in to public housing, the law allows them to continue living there, even if income increases over the allowed amount. However, HUD announced Tuesday that it may end up evicting the over-income residents, reported UPI.
