PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · Aug 2, 2012
Family Self-Sufficiency Act - Amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 to revise the purpose of the Family-Self-Sufficiency (FSS) program to include the use of both low-income housing assistance under Section 8 of such Act (as in current law) and public housing capital and operating funds under Section 9 in order to enable eligible families to achieve economic independence and self-sufficiency.
Eliminates the budget allocation reserved for public housing agency (PHA) incentive awards.
Prescribes and/or revises eligibility requirements for families to participate in local FSS programs and for the eligible entities to administer them.
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
Makes the owner or sponsor of a multifamily property receiving rental assistance under Section 8, as well as a PHA, an eligible entity for administering a local FSS program.
Revises the scope of supportive services provided through a local FSS program under a contract of participation between an eligible entity and a leaseholder receiving assistance under Sections 8 or 9 to include: (1) education for attainment of a GED, (2) education in pursuit of a post-secondary degree or certification, (3) health and mental health services as needed, (4) homeownership education and assistance, and (5) financial literacy. Removes training in homemaking and parenting skills from the list of authorized supportive services.
Revises requirements for and limitations on rent increases. Requires an eligible entity to place in an interest-bearing escrow account, for each participating family, an amount equal to any increase in rent the family pays. Requires payment of the escrow account funds to the family after the end of the contract of participation, unless the family fails to qualify to receive it.
Modifies requirements for the establishment of fees for costs incurred by eligible entities administering FSS programs.
Authorizes owners of privately-owned properties, under specified conditions, voluntarily to make local FSS programs available to their tenants by entering into cooperative agreements with local PHAs administering FSS programs.
People & committees
Sen. Reed, Jack [D-RI] · D–RI
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S5987-5988)
Introduced in Senate
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.
Source last updated: Aug 14, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
AI Conversation Starters
Choose a perspective, copy a prompt, and paste it into your preferred AI. Each prompt includes the bill version and available official source links, and asks for counterarguments as well as supporting evidence.
Analyze S.3513 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.
Examine S.3513 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.
Examine S.3513 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.
Examine S.3513 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.