Carson plan would raise rent for millions living in public housing

WASHINGTON — Millions of families living in federally subsidized public housing would pay more for rent under a proposal unveiled Wednesday by Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson.

The proposal would have to be approved by Congress, where it could touch off a debate over how best to support some of the country’s poorest and most vulnerable families. Democrats will likely put up fierce resistance and some members of the Republican majority will be reluctant to embrace it ahead of midterm elections in the fall.

Dubbed the Make Affordable Housing Work Act, the plan would raise the rent paid by public housing residents to 35 percent from 30 percent of household income and eliminate all deductions that could lower that number. These rents would now be evaluated every three years instead of annually. Elderly and disabled tenants, who constitute more than half of the 4.7 million public housing families, would be exempted.

Carson said the changes are necessary to bring more money into the system and revamp an antiquated model.

“The way we calculate the level of assistance to our families is archaic and has perverse consequences, like discouraging these residents from earning more income,” Carson said. “It’s clear from a budget perspective and from a human standpoint that this is not sustainable.”

Jack Cooper, executive director of the Massachusetts Union of Public Housing Tenants, called the proposal “a war on low-income people.”