James M. Jeffords: “We have all heard of the war on poverty, but I fear that 40 years after that war began, there is a new war afoot, a war…”

“We have all heard of the war on poverty, but I fear that 40 years after that war began, there is a new war afoot, a war on people in poverty. And the latest assault in this war threatens to leave thousands of people homeless. I am speaking about the Bush administration's plan to make substantial changes in the way our Government helps our poorest citizens secure housing. It is not hyperbole, in my view, to say that this change to the Section 8 voucher program could have disastrous effects. Section 8, administered by the department of Housing and Urban Development, helps nearly 2 million poor families and disabled citizens pay for housing with vouchers that have traditionally covered the full cost of their rent. But under the rule change, the reimbursements will no longer cover the full costs. As a result, housing authorities around the country will have to cut back on the number of vouchers they offer. For fiscal year 2005, the President's request shortchanges all housing vouchers now in use by $1.6 billion and could result in further cuts in the years ahead. This request would also remove key provisions of the Section 8 program that protect families with the lowest incomes, such as maintaining rent payments at 30 percent of a resident's income. In my home state of Vermont, there are 6,080 authorized vouchers available this year, but Vermont stands to lose 740 of these by next year with the rule change.”