FYI: Congress has stepped up in the eleventh hour to boost the proposed funding for next year’s Section 8 program, averting the possibility that there would not be enough money to fund even existing vouchers, let alone offer new ones. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, House and Senate negotiators agreed last week to pump an additional $1 billion into the program. All year, housing activists and House Democrats have been trying to add money to what the White House requested and the House passed early on. They said tens of thousands would lose their housing subsidy at the proposed funding level. Even with the higher funding level negotiators have now agreed to, NLIHC argues the demand still far outpaces supply, pointing to years-long waiting lists for Section 8 vouchers in several cities, including New York City. [12/5/03]