WHEREAS, mayors are committed to ensuring affordable housing opportunities for low-income families and individuals, including the elderly and disabled, in our nation’s cities; and

WHEREAS, the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program (HCV), administered by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), provides proven affordable housing choices for our nation’s low-income families and individuals; and

WHEREAS, mayors and cities are confronted with decreasing affordable housing options to provide for our nation’s most atrisk populations, including the elderly and disabled; and

WHEREAS, recent federal allocations have been inadequate to fully fund every voucher allocated to our cities; and

WHEREAS, the State and Local Housing Flexibility Act of 2005 has recently been introduced in the House and Senate to reform the Section 8 Program; and

WHEREAS, reform of the Section 8 Program should be considered in the context of full and adequate funding for vouchers currently allocated to our cities and other jurisdictions; and

WHEREAS, local public housing agencies should be granted the opportunity to design and implement innovative, locally designed housing and self-sufficiency strategies for low-income families as demonstrated by the Moving To Work program; and

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED the U.S. Conference of Mayors urges Congress to provide full and adequate funding for the Section 8 HCV Program and to provide for enhanced program flexibility and simplification to help local Housing Authorities accomplish the maximum benefit and serve the largest number of individuals possible with the funds made available; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the U.S. Conference of Mayors will work with Congress to evaluate the impact of any reform proposals to ensure that low-income populations, the elderly and disabled served by Section 8 continue to receive decent, safe and affordable housing.