"By the US Department of Housing and Urban Development's own estimation, there are at least five million households that could use housing assistance but can't get it; we put the number at 10 million," NLIHC president Sheila Crowley tells GlobeSt.com. "So only 20% of those who need it get it." Waiting periods for the great number of those in need of vouchers can be up to 10 years in certain metropolitan areas. "This legislation prevents a massive retreat of the program--we've made no progress," Crowley explains. For the second year in a row now, no additional vouchers have been created. What makes the victory even less triumphant is the fact that the added funds are the result of a fluke, of sorts. "It's a one-time fix because of an anomaly in how the cost of the voucher program was calculated in 2003," adds Crowley. "It's an important victory, but a momentary one." The legislation now rests with the House and the Senate.
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