As outlined in the budget, funds dedicated to the program more commonly known as Section 8 would be $1.6 billion less than what is required to finance all existing housing vouchers, which could lead to the loss of approximately 250,000 vouchers next year. And the ramifications would reach way beyond FY 2005. Proposed cuts would be as much as 40% over the next five years, leaving a dearth of 800,000 vouchers by 2009. However, the Bush Administration defends the reductions, noting that alterations to the program would allow the government to serve the same number of families in need.

"The issue now is whether or not Congress will buy it," NLIHC president Sheila Crowley tells GlobeSt.com. "We're mounting a full-fledged campaign to make sure congressional members know what a serious and radical proposal this is, and the adverse effects it would have on the constituents in the communities they serve." NLIHC concludes that the plan, which would lead to a basic "starving out" of the program over time, constitutes the biggest hit to low-income housing under the Bush Administration. And the planned program reforms, NLIHC explains, would remove resident protections that have been in place for years; protections such as those that ensure the vouchers serve those who most need them, and that a reasonable amount is charged for housing.