Wednesday, November 17, 2004

Housing Alert: Congress and the Bush Administration Consider Major Changes to Section 8 Program
An alert at the NAMI web site - "House and Senate negotiators this week are considering major changes to the Section 8 rental voucher program as part of final deliberations on the FY 2005 budget for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Thse changes could include adoption of major portions of the Bush Administration's “Flexible Voucher” plan to convert Section 8 to a capped block grant program and create disincentives to prevent local housing agencies from targeting rental assistance to extremely low-income households – especially people with mental illnesses who are on Supplemental Security Income (SSI). ... Advocates are strongly encouraged to contact members of Congress and urge them to support provisions in the Senate version of the FY 2005 VA-HUD Appropriations bill..." The page also includes a link to background information.