Burlington Housing Authority plans to yank scores of Section 8 rental assistance vouchers in anticipation of budget cuts by Congress, despite the housing crisis that has led to hundreds living in tents in the Queen City. The drastic step by the local housing authority will hamper efforts to reduce homelessness in Chittenden County, which has surged in recent years. In fact, it will likely make the problem worse. This week, the housing authority suspended Section 8 vouchers for about 70 individuals and families who had been issued a voucher but had not yet found an apartment to lease, executive director Steven Murray said. But that step alone won’t be enough to offset what the housing authority expects could be a multimillion dollar budget shortfall in 2025, so the agency is preparing to take more extreme measures, as well. The housing authority will more aggressively move to revoke vouchers from tenants using them to pay rent when they violate terms of the program, Murray said. “There will be no second chances this year,” he said. People wait months or years to claim a Housing Choice Voucher, as the federal aid is also called. The vouchers, the primary form of federal rental assistance, typically require tenants to pay 30 percent of their income toward rent; the government covers the remainder. Recipients can rent from private landlords, nonprofits or local housing authorities. More than 9,000 apartments across Vermont are rented using Section 8 subsidies, according to federal data. The vouchers can be a ticket out of homelessness for some. The subsidies help others climb out of poverty by ensuring housing costs remain in proportion to their income. Burlington Housing Authority is reacting to a letter from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development that advised local housing authorities across the country to prepare for a 2.5 percent budget reduction next year, Murray said. The estimate was based upon an early proposal in the U.S. Senate. Congress has yet to take up the budget and likely won’t do so until the spring. Burlington Housing Authority immediately began pulling vouchers that weren't yet in use rather than wait for final budget figures. That’s because each subsidy is paid monthly to landlords, Murray said: Dropping one voucher in January, for instance, could save as much money as dropping two vouchers in July. Still, the housing authority expects to drop roughly 260 vouchers from the 2,400 or…