Overview

• ProPublica obtained two unpublished HUD drafts that a HUD official said are under Office of Management and Budget review, and the department declined to comment.
• The first draft would let local housing authorities and private landlords impose work requirements of up to 40 hours per week and time limits as short as two years, though it would not mandate them nationally.
• The second draft would make most mixed-status families ineligible for assistance and require U.S. citizens applying for or receiving aid to submit documents proving citizenship, affecting an estimated 20,000 families including 16,000 with children.
• HUD’s internal analysis projects up to $370 million in added annual rental assistance costs and about $100 million for new verification systems, with the possibility of fewer vouchers issued or vacant units if funding is not increased.
• Experts warn as many as 4 million people could lose assistance under the envisioned changes, while the administration frames the effort as promoting self-sufficiency and advances it alongside a proposed 43% cut to HUD rental programs and DHS data-sharing on eligibility.