Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-2pzkn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-04T01:24:34.801Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Housing Vouchers: A Case Study of the Partisan Policy Cycle

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 January 2016

Jeremy Johnson
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Federal housing policy reveals an unexpected political cycle of Republican innovation and Democratic appropriation. The political trajectory of rental housing vouchers since their inception reveals a partisan policy cycle. Vouchers were originally proposed as a Republican alternative to Democratic public housing construction and slowly emerged as a viable component of housing policy in the United States. In the mid-1990s, a shift occurred in which Democrats embraced vouchers and Republicans retreated from their innovation. This article suggests a partisanship model of policy making that both challenges and supplements conventional models of the policy process.

Type
Articles
Information
Social Science History , Volume 40 , Issue 1 , Spring 2016 , pp. 63 - 91
Copyright
Copyright © Social Science History Association, 2016 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abt Associates, Inc. (1981) ”Participation and benefits in the urban Section 8 program: New construction and existing housing.” Office of Policy Development and Research Report. Cambridge, MA: HUD.Google Scholar
Abt Associates, Inc. (1990) “Recipient housing in the housing voucher and certificate programs.” Office of Policy Development and Research Report. Cambridge, MA: HUD.Google Scholar
Barnett, C. Lance (1979) “Expected and actual effects on housing allowances on housing prices.” Real Estate Economics: Journal of the American Real Estate and Urban Economics Institute 7 (3): 277–97.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baumgartner, Frank R., and Jones, Bryan D. (1993) Agendas and Instability in American Politics. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Beland, Daniel, and Wadden, Alex (2008) The Politics of Policy Change: Welfare, Medicare, and Social Security Reform in the United States. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press.Google Scholar
Black, Conrad (2007) Richard M. Nixon: A Life in Full. New York: Public Affairs.Google Scholar
Blakely, Steve (1985) “Housing panel agrees to trim authorization by $437 million.” CQ Weekly, June 8.Google Scholar
Blakely, Steve (1987) “Panel agrees to $17.3 billion housing development plan.” CQ Weekly, May 23.Google Scholar
Brauer, Carl M. (1986) Presidential Transitions: Eisenhower through Reagan. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Calhoun, Sally J. (1980) “Attacking the rent supplement program: HUD's attempt to achieve economic mixture among tenants.” Urban Law Annual: Journal of Urban and Contemporary Law 19: 255–67.Google Scholar
Cleveland Proclamation (1991) “The new American choice resolutions.” May 1, http://www.dlc.org/ndol_cid211html (accessed April 1, 2012).Google Scholar
Commonwealth of Massachusetts (1965) “Final report of the special commission on low-income housing created by chapter 107 of the resolves of 1964.” Boston: Wright and Potter Printing Co.Google Scholar
Confidential Memo (1970) “Donald Rumsfeld papers.” November 7. Papers.rumsfeld.com (accessed September 10, 2012).Google Scholar
Congressional Quarterly Almanac (1949).Google Scholar
Congressional Quarterly Weekly (1974) “Senate committee reports omnibus housing bill.” March 9: 621–25.Google Scholar
Congressional Quarterly Weekly (1986) “Major privatization proposals.” February 8: 232.Google Scholar
Congressional Quarterly Weekly (1994) “Space station bounces back with strong House vote.” July 2: 1803–4.Google Scholar
Congressional Record (1936) 74th Cong., 2nd sess. Vol. 80.Google Scholar
Congressional Record (1937a) 75th Cong., 1st sess. Vol. 81.Google Scholar
Congressional Record (1937b) 75th Cong., 1st sess. Vol. 81.Google Scholar
Congressional Record (1973a) 93rd Cong., 1st sess. Vol. 119.Google Scholar
Congressional Record (1973b) 93rd Cong., 1st sess. Vol. 119.Google Scholar
Congressional Record (1987) 100th Cong., 1st sess. Vol. 133.Google Scholar
Crenshaw, Albert B. (1983) “Vouchers hit: Vouchers meeting resistance on the hill.” The Washington Post, April 2.Google Scholar
Davies, Richard O. (1964) “Mr. Republican turns socialist: Robert A. Taft and public housing.” Ohio History 73: 135–43.Google Scholar
Davis, Joseph, and Smith, Susan (1983) “54.4 billion HUD bill passed after test of new rider rules.” CQ Weekly, June 4.Google Scholar
DeParle, Jason (1996) “Slamming the door.” The New York Times, October 20.Google Scholar
Ellickson, Robert (1990) “The homelessness muddle.” The Public Interest.Google Scholar
Ford, Gerald (1974) “Signing statement—S. 3066—Housing and Community Development Act of 1974.” Box 1 WHCF Housing: 8/9/1974–12/31/75, Folder HS Housing: 8/9/74–8/30/74. Ford Archives.Google Scholar
Friedman, Lawrence M., and Krier, James E. (1968) “A new lease on life: Section 23 housing and the poor.” University of Pennsylvania Law Review 116 (4): 611–47.Google Scholar
Gilmour, John B. (1995) Strategic Disagreement: Stalemate in American Politics. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press.Google Scholar
Harper, Edwin L. (n.d.) “Harper, Edwin L.: Files.” Box 4 File OA 11264, Reports for the President Elect—Cabinet Briefings—HUD, folder 2. Simi Valley, CA: Reagan Archives Center.Google Scholar
Hartman, Chester W. (1975) Housing and Social Policy. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.Google Scholar
Hays, R. Allen (1995) The Federal Government and Urban Housing: Ideology and Change in Public Policy. Albany: SUNY.Google Scholar
House Ways and Means Committee (2000) “Background material and data on programs within the jurisdiction of the Committee on Ways and Means,” in The 2000 Green Book of the House Ways and Means Committee. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.Google Scholar
Housing and Community Development Act (1974) Section 8, 42 U.S.C 1437 f.Google Scholar
Housing and Urban Development (1974) “Housing in the seventies: A report of the national housing policy review.” Washington, DC.: HUD.Google Scholar
Housing and Urban Development (2013 [1978]) “A summary report of current findings from the experimental housing allowance program,” in Jon Pynoos, Robert Schafer, and Chester W. Hartman (eds.) Housing and Urban Development Act (1965) Section 23, 42 U.S.C. 142 1B (Supp.1).Google Scholar
Hartmann (eds.) Housing Urban America, 2nd ed. Piscataway, NJ: Aldine Transaction.Google Scholar
Hartmann (2000) “Section 8 tenant-based housing assistance: A look back after 30 years.” Washington, DC: HUD.Google Scholar
Hullin, Todd (1975) “Dear Senator McClain, October 24.” Box 1 WHCF HS: Housing 8/9/74–12/31/75, Folder HS: 9/1/75–12/31/75. Ford Archives.Google Scholar
Hunt, D. Bradford (2005) “Was the 1937 U.S. Housing Act a pyrrhic victory?” Journal of Planning History 4 (3): 195–221.Google Scholar
Jones, Charles O. (1977) An Introduction to the Study of Public Policy, 2nd ed. North Scituate, MA: Duxbury Press.Google Scholar
Karol, David (2009) Party Position Change in American Politics. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Katz, Jeffrey L. (1993) “Regarding two Henrys.” CQ Weekly, October 23.Google Scholar
Kingdon, John (2010) Agendas, Alternatives, and Public Policies. New York: Pearson.Google Scholar
Kolb, Charles (1994) White House Daze: The Unmaking of Domestic Policy in the Bush Years. New York: Free Press.Google Scholar
Kotz, Nick (1970) “White House orders OEO to cut next budget by 50%.” The Washington Post, October 13.Google Scholar
Kuntz, Phil (1988) “Space station survives money-tight HUD bills.” CQ Weekly, June 25.Google Scholar
Kurtz, Howard (1983) “Congress revises housing program for poor to reduce costs.” The Washington Post, November 24.Google Scholar
Leger, Mireille, and Kennedy, Stephen D. (1990) Final comprehensive report of the freestanding housing voucher demonstration. Vol. 1. Cambridge, MA: Abt Associates Inc.Google Scholar
Lemann, Nicholas (1994) “The myth of community development.” The New York Times, January 9.Google Scholar
Lieberman, Robert C. (2002) “Ideas, institutions, and political order: Explaining political change.” American Political Science Review 96 (4): 697–712.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lilley, William III, and Clark, Thomas (1972) “Urban report/increased costs, scandals, social ills plague low-income housing programs.” National Journal, July 1: 1075–83.Google Scholar
Lowi, Theodore J. (1979) The End of Liberalism: The Second Republic of the United States, 2nd ed. New York: Norton.Google Scholar
Mariano, Ann (1987) “Variations found in housing costs under 2 programs.” The Washington Post, July 25.Google Scholar
Mayo, Stephen K., Mansfield, Shirley, Warner, David, and Zwetchkenbaum, Richard (1980) “Housing allowance and demand experiment: Housing allowances and other rental housing assistance programs—A comparison based on the housing allowance demand experiment part 2: Cost and efficiency.” Cambridge, MA: Abt Associates.Google Scholar
McCarthy, Joseph (1948) “Letter to the Hon. Rep. Ralph Gamble, Chair.” Box 654, Folder: Housing 1948. February 10. Robert A. Taft Papers.Google Scholar
McKenna, William F., Hills, Carla Anderson, and the United States President's Commission on Housing (1982) “The report of the President's Commission on Housing.” Office of Policy Development and Research Report. Washington, DC: HUD.Google Scholar
Meese, Edward (n.d.) Collection Meese, Edward Files. Box 32, File OA 11833, HUD Secretary Samuel R. Pierce Jr. “HUD Chief Pierce” from Wall Street Journal. Reagan Archives Center.Google Scholar
Nixon, Richard (1973a) “State of the Union message on community development.” American Presidency Project. March 8, www.presidency.ucsb.edu (accessed March 18, 2012).Google Scholar
Nixon, Richard (1973b) “Special message to the Congress proposing legislation and outlining administration action to deal with federal housing policy.” American Presidency Project. September 19, www.presidency.ucsb.edu (accessed March 18, 2012).Google Scholar
Nixon Presidential Materials Staff (1970) “White House central files.” Subject Files: HS [Housing] Box 1, Folder: [Ex] HS 10/1/70–2/31/701 of 2. Nixon Archives Center.Google Scholar
Nixon Presidential Materials Staff (1972) “Staff members and office files: John D. Ehrlichman.” Notes of Meetings with President, 1969–73, Box 13, File 9. Nixon Archives Center.Google Scholar
Office of Management and Budget (1989) “Budget of the United States government, fiscal 1989, p. 1-M1.” Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.Google Scholar
Olsen, Edgar O., and Ludwig, Jens (2013) “Performance and legacy of housing policies,” in Bailey, Martha J. and Danziger, Sheldon (eds.) Legacies on the War on Poverty. New York: Russell Sage.Google Scholar
Olsen, Edgar O., and Moffitt, Robert, eds. (2003) Housing Programs for Low-Income Households: Means Tested Transfer Programs in the U.S. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Orlebeke, Charles J. (2000) “The evolution of low-income housing policy, 1949–1999.” Housing Policy Debate 11 (2): 489–520.Google Scholar
Patterson, James T. (1972) Mr. Republican: A Biography of Robert A. Taft. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.Google Scholar
Peabody, Malcolm (1970) “Funding the people.” The Washington Monthly 2 (2): 61–66.Google Scholar
Pierson, Paul (2000) “Increasing returns, path dependence, and the study of politics.” American Political Science Review 94 (2): 251–67.Google Scholar
Prasad, Monica (2012) “The popular origins of neoliberalism in the Reagan tax cut of 1981.” Journal of Policy History 24 (3): 351–83.Google Scholar
President's Advisory Committee on Government Housing Policies and Programs (1953) “Recommendations on government housing policies and programs.” Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.Google Scholar
President's Committee on Urban Housing (1968) “The report of the president's Committee on Urban Housing: A decent home.” Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.Google Scholar
Radford, Gail (1996) Modern Housing for America: Policy Struggles in the New Deal Era. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Reagan, Ronald (1981) “Executive Order 12310—President's Commission on Housing.” Public Papers of President Reagan, June 16: 528–29.Google Scholar
Riker, William H. (1986) The Art of Political Manipulation. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Romney, George (1970) “To Henry C. Cashen II, March 17.” Box 14, Folder: White House Miscellaneous. George Romney Papers.Google Scholar
Romney, George (1972a) “Memorandum to the president, January 6.” Romney, George Post Gubernatorial Career, Box 14, Folder: Ehrlichman and President 1972. George Romney Papers.Google Scholar
Romney, George (1972b) “Memorandum to the president, August 10.” Romney, George Post Gubernatorial Career, Box 14, Folder: Ehrlichman and President 1972. George Romney Papers.Google Scholar
Romney, George (1972c) “Memorandum to the president, December 28.” Romney, George Post-Gubernatorial Career, Box 14, Folder: Ehrlichman and President 1972. George Romney Papers.Google Scholar
Rothman, Robert (1984a) “Bill sets 58.4 billion for HUD and agencies.” CQ Weekly, May 26.Google Scholar
Rothman, Robert (1984b) “Vouchers shift thrust of housing policy.” CQ Weekly, June 2.Google Scholar
Schultze, Charles L. (1977) The Public Use of Private Interest. Washington, DC: Brookings.Google Scholar
Schwartz, Alex, Sullivan, Robert M., and Patterson, Kelly, eds. (2011) The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, Fair and Affordable Housing in the U.S.: Trends, Outcomes, Future Directions. Boston: Brill.Google Scholar
Shalala, Donna E. (1978) “Remarks prepared for delivery by Donna E. Shalala.” October 9. Box: Human Resources Prioleau, Box 6, Folder: Experimental Housing Allowance Program. Jimmy Carter Papers.Google Scholar
Smith, Rogers, Shapiro, Ian, Skowronek, Stephen, and Galvin, Daniel, eds. (2006) Which Comes First: The Ideas or the Institutions? Rethinking Political Institutions: The Art of the State. New York: New York University Press.Google Scholar
Smith, Susan (1983) “President signs $55.79 billion HUD measure.” CQ Weekly, July 16.Google Scholar
Solomon, Arthur P., and Fenton, Chester G. (1974) “The nation's first experience with housing allowances: The Kansas City demonstrations.” Land Economics 50 (3): 213–23.Google Scholar
Stansfield, Rochelle L. (1995) “Vouching for the poor.” The National Journal, May 6.Google Scholar
Struyk, Raymond J., and Bendick, Marc Jr., eds. (1981) Housing Vouchers for the Poor: Lessons from a National Experiment. Washington, DC: The Urban Institute.Google Scholar
Taft, Robert A. (1946) “The Housing Problems.” Box 650, Folder: Housing 1946. Robert A. Taft Papers.Google Scholar
Taft, Robert A. (1948) “Untitled Strategy Memo.” Box 653, Folder: Housing 1948. Robert A. Taft Papers.Google Scholar
United Press International (1973) “Proxmire attacks plan on housing.” The Washington Post, August 28.Google Scholar
US Congress (1935) Senate. Committee on Education and Labor, “Slum and low-rent public housing: Hearings on S. 2392.”Google Scholar
US Congress (1965a) House. H.R. 6501.Google Scholar
US Congress (1965b) House. Subcommittee on Housing. Hearings on H.R. 5840 and Related Bills.Google Scholar
US Congress (1965c) Senate. Subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Banking and Currency. Hearings on S. 1354 and Other Pending Bills.Google Scholar
US Congress (1970) Senate. Subcommittee on Housing and Urban Affairs. Hearings on Bills Related to Housing and Urban Development.Google Scholar
US Congress (1973a) Senate. Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs. Hearings on Administration's 1973 Housing Proposals.Google Scholar
US Congress (1973b) House. Subcommittee on Housing. Hearings on Housing and Community Development Legislation.Google Scholar
US Congress (1976) House. Subcommittee on HUD—Independent Agencies Hearings Part 6: Department of Housing and Urban Development.Google Scholar
US Congress (1987) House. “To amend in the nature of a substitute HR 4, housing and community development, to reduce total authorization for the Housing/Community Development Bill By $1.7 billion to $14.2 billion.” H.Amdt. 195, June 10.Google Scholar
US Congress (1995) House. “HUD reinvention: From blueprint to action.” Hearing before the Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity of the Committee on Banking and Financial Services, April 6.Google Scholar
von Hoffman, Alexander (1996) “High ambitions: The past and future of American low-income housing policy.” Housing Policy Debate 7 (3): 423–46.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
von Hoffman, Alexander (2012) “History lesson for today's housing policy: The politics of low-income housing.” Housing Policy Debate 22 (3): 321–76.Google Scholar
Zuckman, Jill (1990) “Little aid is expected despite growing need.” CQ Weekly, April 28.Google Scholar