Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Scott Turner has proposed new work requirements for subsidized housing.
A HUD press release says the new rule will “provide all public housing authorities and Section 8 project-based rental assistance owners flexibility to implement work requirements and time limits for non-elderly, non-disabled work-capable adults in HUD-funded housing.”
The proposed rule has attracted criticism from the left, but both Turner and Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders — the veritable originator of the work requirements idea — are out with a Fox News column explaining why the proposed rule is, in fact, the right thing.
Encouraging dependence is not caring for our neighbors.
HUD’s proposed rule to allow public housing authorities to implement work requirements and time limits for able-bodied, able-minded people is compassionate common sense. pic.twitter.com/6blQykzLon
— Scott Turner (@SecretaryTurner) March 10, 2026
The column begins with some hard facts.
“[A]lmost half of non-elderly, able-bodied households getting support from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) didn’t have a single person working in 2024,” Turners and Sanders write. “It’s time for a change.”
“We got here because well-intentioned federal policies drifted away from their original purpose, leaving many people stuck in subsidized housing for years, sometimes decades, while millions of families sit on waiting lists with no help at all,” they continue.
The column then turns toward the solution, which is pursuing policies that “encourage work, self-sufficiency, and upward mobility.”
The column notes that Arkansas became the first state to pursue housing work requirements in 2023, only to be rebuffed because of national housing rules: “Without HUD’s proposed rule, Arkansas is unable to enforce the law on the books.”
“Federal housing assistance, as currently structured, disincentivizes work and leads to a long national waitlist for housing assistance for those who need a hand up,” Turner and Sanders note.
The two continue their column by citing a number of facts about HUD welfare recipients, such as the fact that “[c]apable adults receiving assistance are staying longer and longer on welfare,” and the fact that “nearly 90% of able-bodied Section 8 voucher recipients will spend more than five years in subsidized housing.”
Turner and Sanders point out, in fact, that it’s not at all “uncommon for multiple generations of a family to live in subsidized housing over decades.”
Housing Secretary Scott Turner says that 50% of everyone on subsidized housing stays there for more than 15 years
Half the people receiving discounted housing have made it their career to be on government benefits
New work requirements and time limits are beginning pic.twitter.com/LltdnW3Zch
— Wall Street Apes (@WallStreetApes) March 1, 2026
“We must break this hopeless cycle,” the two write. “There is extensive real-world evidence supporting work requirements and/or time limits on public housing benefits. Across the country, nearly 40 Moving to Work housing agencies have tested work requirements or time limits, showing America that these programs can change lives.”
Turner and Sanders continue by estimating that HUD’s new proposed rule would “move” anywhere from 19,000 to 79,000 families out of subsidized housing within the first year, thus “opening doors for new families in need.”
“This is a win-win situation,” the two argue. “The families leaving assistance will earn more, contribute more to their own rent and stand on firmer financial ground, while the families finally getting assistance will receive the help they’ve been waiting on for years.”
The cycle of dependency has gone on long enough.
Arkansas is partnering with @SecretaryTurner to finally take it on by restoring a commonsense standard: housing assistance should be a bridge to self-sufficiency.https://t.co/UtmHjvKtao
— Sarah Huckabee Sanders (@SarahHuckabee) March 9, 2026
The two also raise the issue of dignity, explaining that “work is a pathway to meaning, independence, and stability.”
“Study after study shows that prolonged unemployment erodes well-being, worsens health, decreases life expectancy, and harms children’s prospects,” the two note. “By contrast, when adults work, families are healthier, communities are stronger, and futures are brighter.”
“A rising tide lifts all boats We believe in the potential of our fellow Americans. By restoring federal rental assistance to its intended role as temporary support, we can help more American families build brighter lives and better futures,” their column concludes.
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.
V. Saxena is a staff writer with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University. Saxena also contributes to BizPac Review.
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