The Evolution of Funding Policy in the Housing Choice Voucher Program

Barbara Sard
Housing Policy Consultant

Concerns about Housing Choice Voucher program funding often center around whether the U.S. Congress will provide sufficient funding to cover vouchers currently in use or increase the number of families benefiting from rental subsidies. These issues are important, and Congress has frequently failed on both measures. Indeed, only about 1 million more families received housing voucher assistance in 2023 than 30 years earlier, and most of that increase replaced other types of rental assistance. Efforts to limit the overall amount of federal spending drove the reduction in new vouchers and major changes in funding policy that are the focus of this article. Congress shifted from multiyear to annual funding of housing vouchers in the mid-1990s. Aware of the challenges this shift posed for local program administration, Congress required the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to negotiate a new renewal funding rule with stakeholders but then overrode most of the rule’s key components. As a result, more than 250,000 vouchers are no longer funded, about one in four public housing agencies lack the funding reserves necessary to withstand unpredictable changes in program costs, and the program is more challenging to manage. The article concludes with recommendations to better achieve the program’s goals and serve more people.