Section 8 Budget Needs

GAO reviewed the Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) budgetary needs for expiring section 8 certificate and voucher contracts for fiscal year (FY) 1993. GAO found that: (1) at the three HUD field offices reviewed, HUD estimated that it will need $237.8 million to renew expiring tenant-based section 8 certificate and voucher contracts; (2) the HUD estimate for tenant-based certificate and voucher contracts did not include the $16.4 million in budget authority needed to renew contracts for FY 1993, but did include $8.6 million in budget authority for contracts that are not due to be renewed in FY 1993; and (3) the estimates differed because HUD field offices and HUD quality control procedures did not identify contracts that are due to be renewed in FY 1993 and because databases used to supplement information supplied by field offices contained incorrect information.