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This bill would change how housing choice vouchers work when a family uses a voucher outside the area of the local housing agency that first gave it to them. It would require certain public housing agencies that have unused funding to take responsibility for these “port-in” vouchers, instead of leaving the costs with the original agency for a long time. The goal is to make it easier for families to use vouchers in other places, including areas with limited housing options, while also setting a time limit on how long the original agency can be billed.
- It applies to public housing agencies that use less than 95% of the housing funds available to them in a given year.
- When a family uses a voucher in another agency’s area, that local agency must say whether it will either take over the voucher with its own money or bill the original agency.
- If the local agency bills the original agency, it can do so for no more than 12 months from the date billing starts.
- The local agency must also make the housing assistance payments for the family under an existing agreement with the federal government.
Official Summaries
Rural Housing Accessibility Act
This bill requires a public housing agency (PHA) that uses less than 95% of its budget authority in a given year to accept a housing choice voucher from a family that received the voucher from an agency in a different jurisdiction. The PHA that accepts the voucher (1) must make assistance payments to the family under an annual contributions contract, and (2) may not bill the initial PHA for the assistance payments for more than 12 months.
Current Full Text
[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1091 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1091
To require certain public housing agencies to absorb port-in housing
choice vouchers, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 24, 2025
Ms. Ernst (for herself and Mr. Grassley) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing,
and Urban Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require certain public housing agencies to absorb port-in housing
choice vouchers, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Rural Housing Accessibility Act''.
SEC. 2. REQUIRING CERTAIN PUBLIC HOUSING AGENCIES TO ABSORB PORT-IN
VOUCHERS AND LIMITING BILLING INITIAL PUBLIC HOUSING
AGENCIES BEYOND 12 MONTHS.
Section 8(o) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C.
1437f(o)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(23) Portability of vouchers.--
``(A) Definitions.--In this paragraph--
``(i) the term `covered public housing
agency' means a public housing agency that, in
a given fiscal year, utilizes less than 95
percent of the budget authority available to
the public housing agency;
``(ii) the term `initial public housing
agency' has the meaning given the term `initial
PHA' in section 982.4 of title 24, Code of
Federal Regulations, or any successor
regulation; and
``(iii) the term `portable family' means a
family holding a voucher under this subsection
that seeks to rent a dwelling unit outside of
the jurisdiction of the initial public housing
agency.
``(B) Requirement.--A covered public housing agency
that has jurisdiction over the area in which a portable
family is seeking to use the voucher received from an
initial public housing agency--
``(i) shall notify the initial public
housing agency whether the covered public
housing agency will--
``(I) absorb the voucher by using
funds of the covered public housing
agency; or
``(II) bill the initial public
housing agency for a period of not more
than 12 months;
``(ii) shall make assistance payments to
the portable family under an annual
contributions contract entered into between the
covered public housing agency and the
Secretary; and
``(iii) may not bill the initial public
housing agency for the assistance payments
described in clause (ii) for a period of more
than 12 months beginning on the effective date
of the initial billing.''.
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