WASHINGTON, D.C. – Recent declines in the number of landlords participating in the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program, also known as Section 8 vouchers, have made it more difficult for renters to find housing.  

U.S. Senators Kevin Cramer, member of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Development, and Chris Coons (D-DE), introduced their Choice in Affordable Housing Act today to help expand the HCV program. U.S. Representatives Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO-05) and Mike Lawler (R-NY-17) introduced the bill in the House of Representatives.

The bill includes funding to create the Herschel Lashkowitz Housing Partnership Fund, named after the former state senator, Fargo mayor, and affordable housing advocate, Herschel Lashkowitz. It will improve the federal government’s largest rental assistance program by attracting and retaining participating landlords. Additionally, it increases funding to the Tribal Department of Housing and Urban Development Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing program, uses neighborhood-specific data to set rents fairly, reduces inspection delays, and refocuses HUD’s evaluation of housing agencies. Together, these changes reduce barriers to low-income housing. 

“Increases in housing costs mean millions of renters struggle to find affordable places to live,” said Cramer. “The success of the Housing Choice Voucher program is contingent on landlords providing adequate housing options. Herschel Lashkowitz’s legacy of affordable housing advocacy lives on through this commonsense bill by boosting the supply of options for renters to use their vouchers.”

“As County Executive and County Council President, I saw firsthand the life-changing impact that a safe, affordable home had for Delawareans families,” said Coons. “Families in the first state and across the nation need better options when they are looking for a home, and landlords need support to be able to bring their properties into the Section 8 market. This bill is a huge step forward towards those goals so more Americans in every corner of our country can feel at home.”

This bill is endorsed by National Affordable Housing Management Association, National Low Income Housing Coalition, National Housing Law Project, Habitat for Humanity International, National Association of Realtors, National Association of Home Builders, Enterprise Community Partners, National Association of Residential Property Managers, National Leased Housing Association, Institute of Real Estate Management, National Rental Home Council, the Poverty & Race Research Action Council, RESULTS Education Fund, the Bipartisan Policy Center, the National Multifamily Housing Council, the National Apartment Association, the Council for Affordable and Rural Housing, and the Building Owners and Managers Association.

Cosponsors of the bill include U.S. Senators John Curtis (R-UT), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Tina Smith (D-MN), Raphael Warnock (D-GA).

Click here for bill text.