Low-income advocates and others say planned cuts to a federal housing subsidy program will hurt Vermont families. The cuts are part of the budget that President Bush signed into law earlier this year. They go into effect in October.
Advocates and others are asking the federal government to reconsider the cuts. John Hall, commissioner of Vermont’s Department of Housing and Community Affairs, says the cuts will increase homelessness in Vermont. Hall says the cuts would reduce Vermont’s Section Eight housing voucher program by 12 percent. More than 6,000 Vermont families live in apartments or houses subsidized by the Section 8 program.