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HR 5490 110th Congress House

Section 8 Reform, Responsibility, and Accountability Act of 2007

Official title: To reform the program for rental assistance under section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937, and for other purposes.

Introduced: March 13, 2008 See on congress.gov
Housing and Community Development Armed Forces and National SecurityCrime and Law EnforcementDisabledElectronic government information
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Ex-offendersGovernment Operations and PoliticsGovernment publicityHousing authoritiesHousing for the agedHousing for the disabledHousing subsidiesIllegal aliensImmigrationLabor and EmploymentPlanningPublic housingRental housingScience, Technology, CommunicationsSocial WelfareVeterans' benefitsWelfare eligibilityWelfare work participation
This bill died when the 110th Congress ended
It never became law before the 110th Congress (2007–2008) adjourned, and bills don't carry over to the next Congress. It would have to be reintroduced. You can still save it for reference, but it won't receive updates.
 Everywhere this bill has been 2 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Feb 26, 2008
Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.
Feb 26, 2008
Introduced in House
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 Latest action February 26, 2008

Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.

 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Section 8 Reform, Responsibility, and Accountability Act of 2007 - Amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 to prohibit section 8 rental assistance (including tenant- and project-based assistance) from being provided to any family that includes a convicted felon or illegal alien.

Places a five-year limitation on section 8 rental assistance, disregarding any month during which such individual was a member of a disabled or elderly family so assisted.

Prohibits such assistance on behalf of any family, unless each member of the family who is 18 years of age or older performs at least 20 hours of work activities per week.

Requires the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to exempt from such prohibition any individual family member who meets certain requirements.

Requires a public housing agency (PHA), in providing such housing assistance, to give preference to families that include a member who is a veteran that will reside in the dwelling unit.

Expresses the sense of Congress that the HUD Moving to Work demonstration program under the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 1996 should be expanded to include significantly more PHAs.

Authorizes the use of unspent section 8 housing assistance payments for section 8 compliance measures.

Requires approved PHA plans, including modifications and amendments, to be made public at the PHA's office and in electronic form on the World Wide Web.

 Bill text 1 version

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 1
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APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). H.R. 5490: Section 8 Reform, Responsibility, and Accountability Act of 2007. 110th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/110-HR-5490/
MLA
"H.R. 5490: Section 8 Reform, Responsibility, and Accountability Act of 2007." 110th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/110-HR-5490/.
Bluebook (legal)
H.R. 5490, 110th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/110-HR-5490/.
Markdown link
[H.R. 5490: Section 8 Reform, Responsibility, and Accountability Act of 2007](https://openamerica.io/bill/110-HR-5490/)
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