President Signs Bipartisan Bill Introduced by Senator Hassan to Offer Greater Choice and Mobility in Housing Assistance

WASHINGTON – President Trump has signed bipartisan legislation introduced by Senator Maggie Hassan and others to incentivize greater choice and mobility in the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)’s Housing Choice Voucher Program. The legislation was included as part of the larger government funding bill that the President recently signed.

Evidence shows that Housing Choice Vouchers currently fail to meet their mobility goals. The Housing Choice Voucher Mobility Demonstration Act (S. 291), that was also introduced by Senators Todd Young (R-IN), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), and Roy Blunt (R-MO), authorizes a demonstration to help families receiving housing vouchers move to areas with greater opportunities.

“People shouldn’t be held back from pursuing a job opportunity because their housing assistance is limited to a particular area,” Senator Hassan said. “This bipartisan legislation will give people more flexibility to work hard and succeed, and I am pleased that the President signed this commonsense legislation into law.”

The Housing Choice Voucher Mobility Demonstration Act requires public housing authorities (PHAs) to submit a regional housing mobility plan detailing how the proposed group will assist families in moving to higher opportunity areas. It authorizes HUD to award demonstration program funds on a competitive basis and prioritize regional collaborations among PHAs that have high concentrations of voucher holders in low-opportunity neighborhoods and an adequate number of moderately-priced rental units in higher-opportunity areas, an existing high-performing Family Self Sufficiency program, or a strong regional collaboration including one or more small housing agencies, among other factors.

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