H.R. 5793 would allow the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to establish a demonstration program to encourage participants in the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program to move to areas with lower rates of poverty. Families with young children would have a higher priority for participation in the program. Households that participate in the demonstration could receive assistance such as counseling and payments for security deposits.
H.R. 5793 does not specify the number of households that should participate in the demonstration nor does it authorize a funding level; consequently, the amount that would be spent on the program is uncertain. For purposes of this estimate, CBO assumes that the bill would authorize a one-time appropriation to be spent over a 5-year demonstration period. Using the amount allocated in H.R. 6072 (the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, as reported by the House Committee on Appropriations on June 12, 2018) for that demonstration project, CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 5793 would cost about $50 million over the 2019-2023 period, assuming appropriation of the necessary amounts.
Enacting the bill would not affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply.
CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 5793 would not increase net direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2029.
H.R. 5793 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
