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House General & Housing committee backs letter urging $5 million voucher contingency fund in BAA
Summary
Witnesses told the House Committee on General & Housing that a one‑time $5 million contingency fund in the Budget Adjustment Act is needed to prevent Housing Choice Voucher terminations amid federal funding shortfalls; committee members agreed to send a letter to Appropriations and asked for follow‑up reporting.
The House Committee on General and Housing on Jan. 15 heard testimony supporting a $5 million one‑time voucher contingency fund in the Budget Adjustment Act to prevent involuntary terminations of households served by the Housing Choice Voucher program.
Kathleen Burke, executive director of the Vermont State Housing Authority, told the committee that federal voucher funding is “chronically underfunded and unpredictable” and that without state assistance in 2026 public housing authorities (PHAs) will likely be forced to terminate assistance to comply with federal spending caps. Burke asked the committee to support a $5,000,000 contingency fund administered by the Agency of Administration to be accessed by PHAs as needed; any unused funds would revert to the general fund.
Burke and other witnesses described how HUD’s renewal formula (rebenchmarking) makes next year’s funding dependent on actual spending this year. If PHAs cannot lease vouchers because HUD has placed them in shortfall status, the number of…
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