BOSTON -- U.S. housing officials are reopening the bidding on contracts to administer a key federal affordable housing program in Massachusetts.

The move comes after critics, including two congressmen, said the original contract would have shipped jobs out of state.

U.S. Reps. Barney Frank and John Olver protested after the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development initially awarded the contract for the Section 8 rental assistance program to Cambridge Housing Services LLC.

Frank and Olver said the company planned to subcontract much of the work to a Canadian firm.

HUD officials, pointing to a large number of complaints across the country, have decided to reopen the contracts in 42 states, including Massachusetts.

Attempts to contact Cambridge Housing Services were unsuccessful.

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