Moving to Work Expansion Bill Introduced

On June 12, Reps. Steve Stivers, R-Ohio, and Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, members of the House Committee on Financial Services, introduced H.R. 4868, a bill to expand by ten the number of public housing agencies (PHAs) that may participate in HUD’s Moving to Work (MTW) demonstration.

MTW is a demonstration program for PHAs that provides them the opportunity to design and test innovative, locally designed strategies that use federal dollars more efficiently, help residents find employment and become self-sufficient, and increase housing choices for low-income families. MTW gives PHAs exemptions from many existing public housing and voucher rules and more flexibility with how they use their federal funds. MTW PHAs are expected to use the opportunities presented by MTW to inform HUD about ways to better address local community needs.

There are currently 39 PHAs in the MTW demonstration. To be eligible for one of the proposed new MTW slots, a PHA must administer a combined total of more than 10,000 public housing units and housing vouchers. The 10 new agencies would be required to submit data specified by HUD “to ensure that the effects of policy changes in the demonstration programs carried out by such agencies can be measured.” The bill was referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.