Expanding access to housing vouchers could cut poverty
The Section 8 voucher program is the nation’s largest form of rental assistance and a powerful anti-poverty tool for those who receive it, but because of funding restrictions only about a quarter of households that are eligible receive them. During the 2020 Presidential campaign, President Biden proposed transforming Section 8 vouchers into an entitlement program so that all who are eligible for a voucher could receive one. This fact sheet details the potential anti-poverty impacts of such an expansion of the program, with national and state-level results. We also break down our national results by race and ethnicity, age, disability status, and metro versus non-metro areas for individuals living in poverty and deep poverty.
Related: In prior work, we detailed the poverty impacts of combining expanded vouchers with expanded refundable tax credits (including the Child Tax Credit).
Suggested Citation:
Center on Poverty and Social Policy, Columbia University. 2021. "The Anti-Poverty Impact of Expanding Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers." Poverty and Social Policy Fact Sheet. www.povertycenter.columbia.edu/publication/2021/section-8-housing-expansion-poverty-impact