Following his reelection victory in 2012 President Obama removed the bidding process from section 8 housing; instead Obama’s HUD initiated grants to their hand-selected organizations. After years of lost lawsuits the HUD bidding process is set to return.

WASHINGTON DC – […] Section 8 housing is a federal program that pays rental assistance to landlords to help low-income people acquire affordable housing.

Because HUD had problems administering the program, in 1995 it started to contract out the management of Section 8 housing units through a competitive bidding process. However, in March of 2012, HUD suddenly shifted away from the competitive bidding process, and began using funding mechanisms which were more like grants.

Contractors who had previously gained HUD’s business under the bidding process appealed to the Government Accountability Office in 2012, just months after HUD changed course. And by August of that year, the GAO ruled that HUD’s actions were “unreasonable and in disregard of applicable statutory guidance.”

Undeterred, HUD pressed forward with their choice, which then made them the target of a lawsuit. From that point, HUD lost an embarrassing string of rulings which culminated in the U.S. Supreme Court denying to hear an appeal from the agency in April of 2015.

Despite all those rulings, HUD didn’t budge. But the Trump administration is now set to return to the previous methods. (read more)