November 15, 2004


The Honorable Christopher Bond            The Honorable Barbara Mikulski
Committee on Appropriations                Committee on Appropriations
U. S. Senate                                        U.S. Senate
Washington, DC  20510                         Washington, DC  20510

Dear Senators:

On behalf of the National Housing Conference, I am writing to urge you to fully fund the FY 2005 HUD appropriations bill. NHC is concerned with the potential effects of funding cuts to HUD housing and community development programs. Housing and community development programs are critical to fighting homelessness and providing Americans with safe, decent and affordable places to live. Decreasing HUD funding will put millions of Americans at risk of homelessness and will greatly impede community development activities that spur growth and create jobs in our communities.

We are particularly concerned about the funding for the Section 8 voucher program, a program that provides affordable housing opportunities for very low-income families in this country. We strongly urge you to provide adequate funding to support all authorized housing vouchers that can be used and to require HUD to distribute the funds to housing agencies in a way that cover the real costs of each agency’s vouchers. The House FY 2005 HUD appropriations bill adequately funds the Section 8 voucher program, but maintains the capability for the continuation of the budget based voucher renewal policy, a harmful funding system.  The Senate bill addresses some of the funding policy problems; however stronger language must be included to prevent further cuts.

Additionally, other vital programs such as Section 202, homeless assistance, CDBG, HOME and HOPE VI that help keep many Americans housed and communities strong are at grave risk with HUD funding reductions.  While the Senate bill funds HUD at an adequate level, the House appropriation bill cut every housing and community development program by approximately 4%. These cuts damage the effectiveness and efficiency of housing and community development programs.

HUD housing and community development programs are critical to families and communities across the country. Insufficient funding of these programs means putting many American families at risk of homelessness and hampering the growth of our communities. 

In closing, we ask that you:

• Support housing and community development funding levels equal to those found in the Senate bill for all programs;
• Support adequate funding to renew all project- and tenant-based vouchers;
• Do not adopt voucher proposals that will result in higher rents for families and fewer families being served by the voucher program;
• Implement an actual cost voucher renewal method as used in FY 2003 which effectively funded the Section 8 housing choice voucher.

NHC appreciates the opportunity to submit these comments and hope that you take into consideration the importance of maintaining such vital programs.  If further information would be helpful, please feel free to contact me.

Sincerely,





Conrad E. Egan
President and CEO