Press Releases

Washington, D.C. - 3/11/2025… Last week, Reps. Mike Lawler (NY-17) and Emanuel Cleaver, II (MO-05), Ranking Member of the Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance, introduced the bipartisan Choice in Affordable Housing Act to improve the federal government’s largest rental assistance program. 

The bill would make it easier to access Housing Choice Vouchers (HCV) – often referred to as Section 8 vouchers – and attract and retain landlords to participate in the program. As a result, eligible low-income families will have greater housing options and improved access to high-opportunity neighborhoods. The bill has also been introduced in the U.S. Senate by Senators Chris Coons (D-DE) and Kevin Cramer (D-ND). This bill was initially introduced in the 117th Congress.

“In New York, especially in the Hudson Valley, skyrocketing housing costs have made it harder for working families to find affordable housing. This bill takes a common-sense approach—cutting red tape, giving landlords more incentive to participate, and expanding housing options for those who need it most. By making the Housing Choice Voucher program work better, we’re helping families find stable housing while ensuring property owners have the support they need to stay in the program. I’m glad to work with colleagues on both sides of the aisle to get this done,” said Congressman Mike Lawler (NY-17).

“The greatest threat to our economic recovery is the housing affordability crisis that is holding back hardworking families in communities across the country,” said Congressman Cleaver (MO-05). “To ensure working-class families have access to affordable housing options, it is imperative that Congress work to remove burdensome barriers within the Housing Choice Voucher Program that limit landlord participation and where vouchers can be utilized. The Choice in Affordable Housing Act will implement long overdue reforms to the HCV program to increase the number of landlords offering units in the private rental market, while also providing low-income families greater access to housing options in higher-opportunity areas. That’s a win for everyone involved, and I’ll keep working with Rep. Lawler, along with Senator Coons and Cramer, until our bipartisan bill is signed into law.”

“As County Executive and County Council President, I saw firsthand the life-changing impact that a safe, affordable home had for Delawareans families,” said Senator Coons (D-DE). “Families in the first state and across the nation need better options when they are looking for a home, and landlords need support to be able to bring their properties into the Section 8 market. This bill is a huge step forward towards those goals so more Americans in every corner of our country can feel at home.”

“Increases in housing costs mean millions of renters struggle to find affordable places to live,” said Senator Cramer (D-ND). “The success of the Housing Choice Voucher program is contingent on landlords providing adequate housing options. Herschel Lashkowitz’s legacy of affordable housing advocacy lives on through this commonsense bill by boosting the supply of options for renters to use their vouchers.”

“The National Apartment Association (NAA) and our more than 95,000 members understand the vital role of the housing choice voucher program in addressing America's housing crisis. We support the Choice Act, which addresses many challenges our members encounter, and are ready to collaborate with Congress to reform the program. We appreciate the leadership of Senators Cramer and Coons, as well as Representatives Lawler and Cleaver, in introducing this crucial legislation,” said Bob Pinnegar, President & CEO, National Apartment Association.

In addition to Representatives Cleaver and Lawler, the bill is also cosponsored by Representatives Casten (D-IL), Gooden (R-TX), Lynch (D-MA), and Ciscomani (R-AZ). 

The HCV program at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) helps more than 5 million low-income people, including the elderly and people with disabilities, afford safe and decent housing in the private rental market. More than two-thirds of those households are headed by a person of color. Administered by local Public Housing Agencies (PHAs), families that receive a voucher pay 30% of household income toward rent and utilities while the PHA pays the landlord the remaining rent. HCVs increase housing stability, reduce homelessness, and each year lift more than 1 million people out of poverty.

The HCV program relies on private-market landlords to accept vouchers. Because the number of participating landlords has declined in recent years, voucher holders experience a difficult housing search process with fewer options. 

To increase voucher holders’ housing choices and improve access to high-opportunity areas, the Choice in Affordable Housing Act would:

• Provide $500 million to create the Herschel Lashkowitz Housing Partnership Fund. Named after the longtime Fargo, North Dakota, mayor who was an advocate for affordable housing, the funds would be distributed for: 
  • PHAs to offer a signing bonus to a landlord with a unit in a low-poverty area;
  • PHAs to provide security deposit assistance, so that tenants can better afford to meet required deposits and landlords are assured greater protection against damages;
  • HUD to provide a bonus to PHAs that retain a dedicated landlord liaison on staff; and
  • Other uses as determined by the PHA and approved by the Secretary to recruit and retain landlords.
• Use neighborhood-specific data to set rents fairly. The bill would require HUD to expand its 2016 rule requiring the use of Small Area Fair Market Rents to calculate fair rents in certain metro areas.
• Reduce inspection delays. Units in buildings financed by other federal housing programs would meet the voucher inspection if the unit has been inspected in the past year. New landlords could also request a pre-inspection from a PHA prior to selecting a voucher-holder.
• Refocus HUD’s evaluation of housing agencies. The bill would encourage HUD to reform its annual evaluation of PHAs to promote an increase in the diversity of neighborhoods where vouchers are used. The bill also requires HUD to report to Congress annually on the effects of the bill.

The Choice in Affordable Housing Act has been endorsed by the National Affordable Housing Management Association, the National Low Income Housing Coalition, the National Housing Law Project, Habitat for Humanity International, the National Association of Realtors, the National Association of Home Builders, Enterprise Community Partners, the National Association of Residential Property Managers, the National Leased Housing Association, the Institute of Real Estate Management, the National Rental Home Council, the Poverty & Race Research Action Council, RESULTS Education Fund, the Bipartisan Policy Center, the National Multifamily Housing Council, the National Apartment Association, the Council for Affordable and Rural Housing, and the Building Owners and Managers Association.

Congressman Lawler is one of the most bipartisan members of Congress and represents New York's 17th Congressional District, which is just north of New York City and contains all or parts of Rockland, Putnam, Dutchess, and Westchester Counties.

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A copy of the full text can be found HERE.