Washington, DC – Today Congresswoman Dina Titus (NV-01) and Congressman Ruben Gallego (AZ-03) introduced the Housing Vouchers Fairness Act to increase the number of vouchers allocated to states such as Nevada and Arizona to lower housing costs.

"The number of Affordable Housing Choice Vouchers has lagged behind the increased demand in our fastest growing cities. We must tackle housing costs on all fronts to ensure access to safe affordable housing. This bill directs HUD to provide funding for additional vouchers to the 25 fastest growing metropolitan areas of 100,000 people or more, including those here in Southern Nevada. I will continue working to ensure housing is treated as a right, not a privilege," said Rep. Titus.

“Far too many Arizonans can’t afford housing because outdated federal housing laws disproportionally benefit East Coast cities. That’s not right,” Rep. Gallego said. “My bill corrects this historic shortfall to lower costs for everyday Arizonans and increase affordable housing.”

“Safe and affordable housing is foundational for strong families and strong communities. The housing choice voucher program is proven to be a meaningful way to ensure that all families have access to decent housing. Increasing access to vouchers in fast-growing and high-cost markets ensures that working families do not have to struggle to provide this basic need for their children or elderly loved ones.  SNRHA supports efforts to infuse additional vouchers into communities, like Southern Nevada, where the cost of housing is rising faster than average wages. SNRHA commends Representative Titus, and other members of our federal delegation for moving this important piece of legislation forward on behalf of families in Southern Nevada,” said Lewis Jordan, Executive Director of the Southern Nevada Regional Housing Authority. 

"This initiative is a necessary first step to provide more funds to Nevadans looking for safe and attainable housing," said Robin Lee, executive director for the Nevada State Apartment Association. "Population growth, inflation and other economic factors have left many Nevadans in a situation where they are unable to maintain housing and there has not been additional assistance available to them. We applaud and support the efforts by Representative Titus and will continue to work with our leaders to further improve the HUD program."

In a letter of support, Nevada Housing Coalition executive director Maurice Page said, “This funding is critically needed to correct longstanding geographic inequities in the Housing Choice Voucher Program, especially in fast-growing areas such as Southern Nevada. For too long, the formula used to distribute housing assistance has not adequately accounted for the rapid population growth and the escalating cost of living in certain regions. This discrepancy has resulted in an uneven distribution of resources that fails to meet the actual needs of many Americans, leaving vulnerable populations in burgeoning areas without the support they desperately need to secure stable, affordable housing. 

“Southern Nevada has seen a significant increase in its population over the past decade, yet the funding for housing vouchers has not kept pace. This has exacerbated housing insecurity and homelessness, issues that the community is struggling to address without adequate federal support. The proposed bill represents a crucial step forward in our ongoing efforts to ensure that every American has access to safe, affordable housing. By working together to correct these longstanding inequities, we can help build a more inclusive and equitable future for all.”


Background

HUD’s Housing Choice Voucher program does not meet Nevada’s housing supply challenge because the number of available vouchers has not sufficiently kept pace with the state’s growing population. Currently, the federal formulas that allocate vouchers are based on outdated population calculations dating back to the 20th century.

Clark County, NV, with a population of 2.3 million, has just over 12,500 vouchers available for residents. The city of Chicago, with a population of 2.6 million, has 47,000 vouchers, nearly four times the amount. From 2012 to 2022, Clark County's population increased by 333,341 (16.75%), according to the US Census Bureau. There is currently a waitlist of 27,000 applicants for vouchers in Southern Nevada.  

The Housing Vouchers Fairness Act corrects this disparity by authorizing an additional $2 billion in funding for HUD for the Housing Choice Voucher program to ensure the public housing authorities that represent the country’s 25 fastest-growing areas with a population of over 100,000 have the resources they need to procure enough vouchers to meet the needs of their population. 

Click here for a one-pager of the legislation.

Click here to see text of the legislation.