President Donald Trump has proposed a ‘skinny’ budget that includes cutting Federal government rental assistance by 40% – essentially ending the Section 8 voucher program.
Trump proposes sending that money to individual states that can then “design their own rental assistance programs based on their unique needs and preferences.
In its request the White House called the current system of federal rental assistance “dysfunctional”
The proposal would also impose a two-year cap on rental assistance for able-bodied adults, sending a bigger share of the money to the elderly and disabled.
In addition, the budget includes $25 million in housing grants for young people aging out of foster care.
HUD Secretary Scott Turner said that rental assistance programs have become “too bloated and bureaucratic to efficiently function” and praised the restructuring of the aid programs.
The budget has to be approved by congress, but lawmakers are under pressure to cut excessive and wasteful spending from the federal government.
With states taking control of the rental programs, they have the ability make sure the same number of people are covered, giving the states more flexibility on how they can use the money.
Another part of Trump’s budget includes a shift on how homelessness funding is allocated, giving the money directly to the states rather than thousands of local nonprofits.
