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September 21, 1999
Honorable James T. Walsh
Chairman
U.S. House of Representatives
Subcommittee on VA/HUD
and Independent Agencies
H-143 Capitol
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Chairman Walsh:
As you know, PHADA represents the professional administrators of more than 1,700 public housing agencies from all over the United States. I am writing to stress PHADA's priorities in the upcoming House-Senate conference committee on the FY 2000 HUD appropriations bill.
PHADA's highest priority remains full funding of the operating subsidy at $3.2 billion. We further recommend $3 billion for the capital fund, $310 million for the drug elimination account and the renewal of all expiring Section 8 contracts. We urge you to appropriate these amounts when your panel and its Senate counterpart meet to craft a final spending bill.
PHADA's governing Board of Trustees has also asked me to clarify our position in relation to incremental Section 8 assistance. While the association recognizes the need for such units, we cannot support this proposal until existing public housing needs (as reflected in the preceding recommended funding levels) are addressed.
PHADA's position on incremental assistance is based on several factors. First, HUD itself observes in recent position statements that 150,000 public housing units could fall into serious disrepair if not adequately funded in FY 2000. Second, as the Senate VA/HUD panel points out in its committee report, the annual cost of Section 8 outlays is now approaching $20 billion. The report rightly goes on to note that "the costs of including new incremental vouchers will become an additional annual competing cost against other budget priorities," resulting in more possible "robbing Peter to pay Paul" scenarios in the future. Moreover, under the administration's budget proposal and the Senate VA/HUD bill, more than $4 billion in Section 8 renewals is "forward funded" to FY 2001, meaning Congress will be even more hard-pressed to renew existing contracts when they come due next year and beyond.
Again, we urge the House and Senate to adequately fund public housing programs in the upcoming conference committee. Please do not hesitate to contact me should you have any questions concerning our position.
Sincerely,
Timothy G. Kaiser
Executive Director | 
