Some were homeless before the storm—about these people little is known. First, what was the effect of the hurricane on existing voucher holders in the damaged regions? This report also reviews the forms of assistance FEMA has provided to displaced families in lieu of Section 8 vouchers. The demand for vouchers is greater than the supply. More than 2,000 PHAs participate in the program, and each receives an allocation of the more than 2 million vouchers currently authorized and funded by Congress. Some PHAs in the path of the storm temporarily ceased operations, including the Housing Authority of New Orleans (HANO) and the Housing Authority of the City of Slidell. KDHAP and the Disaster Voucher Program

On September 24, 2005, the Secretaries of HUD and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced a new initiative for HUD-assisted families displaced by Hurricane Katrina. The Katrina Disaster Housing Assistance Program (KDHAP) was funded by DHS through its sub-agency, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)—but was administered by HUD. 109-148 ) transferred $390 million from FEMA's Disaster Relief Fund to HUD's Section 8 tenant-based rental assistance account for Katrina rental assistance. Those families who evacuated and began receiving assistance under regular portability procedures prior to the announcement of KDHAP could have chosen to transfer to KDHAP or stay within the rules of the current voucher program. For HUD-assisted families without Section 8 vouchers (for example, families who had lived in public housing before the storm), if their previous housing is not rebuilt, then the family is to receive a voucher. Displaced families could apply for existing HUD assistance, including Section 8 vouchers, if they were otherwise eligible; however, in most communities, waiting lists for vouchers are very long—in some cases up to 10 years. Prioritizing displaced families may also have budget implications. Given that many displaced families were very poor before the storm and many were at least temporarily unemployed after the storm, they may have qualified for larger subsidies than a PHA's typical caseload. Several PHAs chose to prioritize evacuees; others considered making changes but ultimately decided not to; and still others did not consider changes, given the need in their own communities. 3894 ). H.R. Creation of New Vouchers

After Hurricane Katrina struck, housing policy advocates and analysts from across the political spectrum called for the creation of additional Section 8 vouchers to help house the hundreds of thousands of displaced families. DHAP

In July 2007, HUD and FEMA entered into an Interagency Agreement through which FEMA will transfer responsibility for ongoing housing assistance for families displaced by Katrina to HUD. According to the FEMA notice in the Federal Register announcing the agreement,
Due to the severity of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) expertise in assisting families with long-term housing needs through its existing infrastructure of Public Housing Agencies (PHAs), the President determined that housing assistance should be transitioned to HUD to address this continuing need. The nation's largest housing program for the poor, the Section 8 voucher program, played a minor role in aiding displaced families, despite calls for its use from across the political spectrum. To serve other displaced families, FEMA developed a number of interim policies, ranging from the provision of trailers to the awarding of cash grants. Whether these findings and recommendations will mean that vouchers will play a larger role in future disasters is yet to be determined.
Hundreds of thousands of families were displaced from their homes by Hurricane Katrina. Many of the displaced families lacked economic means before the storm; others may have become disadvantaged because of the storm. The role of the federal government in helping to meet both the short- and long-term housing needs of displaced families remains under debate within the Administration, in Congress, and in the news media, and questions persist regarding the appropriate role of the nation's largest housing assistance program for the poor—the Section 8 voucher program—in the wake of the storm. This report focuses on three questions: What impact did the hurricane have on existing voucher holders? To what degree did the program serve displaced families who had not previously received a voucher? And should the program play a larger role in serving displaced families in the future?
The voucher program played a minor role in serving the overall population of affected families. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) focused primarily on serving the estimated 44,000 displaced families who had already received HUD assistance or were homeless before the storm. Initially, Public Housing Authorities (PHAs) in other parts of the country were encouraged to give these families priority for existing vouchers. Later, HUD and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced a new Katrina Disaster Housing Assistance Program (KDHAP). Under KDHAP, FEMA funded HUD to provide vouchers to displaced, HUD-assisted families. Most recently, a supplemental funding measure transferred funding for KDHAP from FEMA to HUD's Section 8 tenant-based rental assistance account. HUD renamed the program the Disaster Voucher Program (DVP).
The majority of displaced families, however, did not receive HUD assistance before the storm. To serve these families, some PHAs allowed otherwise-eligible families displaced by the hurricane to jump to the top of local waiting lists. Other PHAs considered adopting such a policy, but decided that the need was too great in their own communities. The demand for vouchers nationwide is greater than the supply; thus few existing vouchers are available to new families. Advocates from across the political spectrum called for the creation of new vouchers for displaced families. They claimed that vouchers are more cost-efficient, provide more family choice, and can avoid many of the problems associated with such policies as the temporary provision of trailers. Some Members of Congress introduced bills in the 109th Congress to authorize and fund new vouchers (S. 1637, S. 1765 and S. 1766), or to make changes to the current program (H.R. 3894), but none were enacted.
In lieu of vouchers, the Administration chose to provide families with short term stays in motel rooms, cash grants, and trailers through FEMA. This approach came under criticism, and Administration reviews post-Katrina have recommended major changes to the way housing assistance is provided, including transferring temporary housing responsibilities to HUD. In July 2007, HUD and FEMA entered into an Interagency Agreement to transfer responsibility for ongoing housing assistance for Katrina evacuees from FEMA to HUD. This report may be updated, as necessary.