Homeless Veterans CREDIT Act

IIB 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1257 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 16, 2021 Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs AN ACT To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to conduct a study on the effect of financial and credit counseling for homeless veterans and veterans experiencing housing instability, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:19 Jun 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1257.RFS H1257 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 HR 1257 RFS SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Homeless Veterans 2 Credit Repair, Enhancement, and Debt Improvement for 3 Tomorrow Act’’ or the ‘‘Homeless Veterans CREDIT 4 Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. STUDY ON FINANCIAL AND CREDIT COUNSELING. 6 (a) STUDY REQUIRED.—The Secretary of Veterans 7 Affairs shall conduct a comprehensive study on— 8 (1) the use of and variation of financial and 9 credit counseling services available for homeless vet- 10 erans and veterans experiencing housing instability; 11 (2) barriers to accessing financial and credit 12 counseling for such veterans; and 13 (3) the ability to evaluate and assess the poten- 14 tial effects of financial and credit counseling for 15 such veterans with respect to housing, employment, 16 income, and other outcomes the Secretary deter- 17 mines appropriate. 18 (b) METHODOLOGY.—In conducting the study under 19 subsection (a), the Secretary shall— 20 (1) survey— 21 (A) homeless veterans and veterans experi- 22 encing housing instability who are enrolled in 23 the Supportive Services for Veterans Families 24 program; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:19 Jun 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1257.RFS H1257 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 HR 1257 RFS (B) such veterans who do not seek or re- 1 ceive the care or services under such program 2 or a similar program; 3 (C) grantees of the Supportive Services for 4 Veterans Families program; 5 (D) financial and credit counselors; and 6 (E) persons who are subject matter experts 7 regarding the use of financial and credit coun- 8 seling services that the Secretary determines 9 appropriate; and 10 (2) administer the survey to a representative 11 sample of homeless veterans and veterans experi- 12 encing housing instability in areas with high veteran 13 homelessness. 14 (c) USE AND VARIATION OF SERVICES.—In con- 15 ducting the study under subsection (a)(1), the Secretary 16 shall— 17 (1) use data from the Supportive Services for 18 Veterans Families program and other data collected 19 by the Department of Veterans Affairs, data col- 20 lected by other departments or agencies of the Fed- 21 eral Government, and data collected by nongovern- 22 mental entities to compare the use of and variation 23 of financial and credit counseling services available 24 for homeless veterans and veterans experiencing 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:19 Jun 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1257.RFS H1257 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 HR 1257 RFS housing instability and such use and variation for 1 other individuals; and 2 (2) assess such services made available through 3 the Supportive Services for Veterans Families pro- 4 gram, including with respect to the types, modes of 5 delivery, duration, consistency, and quality, of such 6 services. 7 (d) BARRIERS TO COUNSELING.—In conducting the 8 study under subsection (a)(2), the Secretary shall conduct 9 research on the effects of the following perceived barriers 10 to financial and credit counseling for homeless veterans 11 and veterans experiencing housing instability surveyed in 12 the study: 13 (1) The cost of financial and credit counseling 14 services. 15 (2) The perceived stigma associated with seek- 16 ing financial and credit counseling assistance. 17 (3) The effect of driving distance or availability 18 of other forms of transportation to the nearest facil- 19 ity that received a grant under the Supportive Serv- 20 ices for Veterans Families program. 21 (4) The availability of child care. 22 (5) The comprehension of eligibility require- 23 ments for, and the scope of services available under, 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:19 Jun 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1257.RFS H1257 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 HR 1257 RFS the Supportive Services for Veterans Families pro- 1 gram. 2 (6) The effectiveness of outreach for the serv- 3 ices available to such veterans under the Supportive 4 Services for Veterans Families program. 5 (7) The location and operating hours of facili- 6 ties that provide services to such veterans under the 7 Supportive Services for Veterans Families program. 8 (8) The COVID–19 pandemic and other health 9 related issues. 10 (9) Such other significant barriers as the Sec- 11 retary considers appropriate. 12 (e) EVALUATION AND ASSESSMENT OF EFFECTS OF 13 COUNSELING.— 14 (1) EFFECTS.—In conducting the study under 15 subsection (a)(3), the Secretary shall conduct re- 16 search on the ability to evaluate and assess the po- 17 tential effects of financial and credit counseling serv- 18 ices on homeless veterans and veterans experiencing 19 housing instability with respect to the following: 20 (A) The effects of such services on employ- 21 ment by comparing the veterans who received 22 such services and the veterans who did not re- 23 ceive such services. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:19 Jun 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1257.RFS H1257 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 HR 1257 RFS (B) The effects of such services on housing 1 status by comparing the veterans who received 2 such services and the veterans who did not re- 3 ceive such services. 4 (C) The effects of such services on income 5 by comparing the veterans who received such 6 services and the veterans who did not receive 7 such services. 8 (D) The effects of such services on credit 9 score by comparing the veterans who received 10 such services and the veterans who did not re- 11 ceive such services. 12 (E) The effects of such services on other 13 outcomes the Secretary determines appropriate. 14 (2) DATA AND RECOMMENDATIONS.—In car- 15 rying out paragraph (1), the Secretary shall— 16 (A) determine the relevant data that is 17 available to the Secretary and determine the 18 confidence of the Secretary with respect to ac- 19 cessing any additional data the Secretary may 20 require; and 21 (B) provide recommendations regarding 22 the optimal research or evaluation design that 23 would generate the greatest insights and value. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:19 Jun 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1257.RFS H1257 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 HR 1257 RFS (f) DISCHARGE BY CONTRACT.—The Secretary may 1 seek to enter into a contract with a qualified independent 2 entity or organization to carry out the study and research 3 required under this section, including such an entity or 4 organization that is able to access credit scores, data 5 maintained by the Internal Revenue Service, and other 6 date beneficial to studying income. 7 (g) MANDATORY REVIEW OF DATA BY CERTAIN 8 ELEMENTS OF DEPARTMENT.— 9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall ensure 10 that the head of each element of the Department of 11 Veterans Affairs specified in paragraph (2) reviews 12 the results of the study conducted under subsection 13 (a). The head of each such element shall submit to 14 the Deputy Under Secretary for Health for Oper- 15 ations and Management the findings of the head 16 with respect to the study, including recommenda- 17 tions regarding what data the Secretary should col- 18 lect from grantees under the Supportive Services for 19 Veterans Families program. 20 (2) SPECIFIED ELEMENTS.—The elements of 21 the Department of Veterans Affairs specified in this 22 paragraph are the following: 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:19 Jun 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1257.RFS H1257 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 HR 1257 RFS (A) The Advisory Committee on Homeless 1 Veterans established under section 2066 of title 2 38, United States Code. 3 (B) The Advisory Committee on Women 4 Veterans established under section 542 of title 5 38, United States Code. 6 (C) The Advisory Committee on Minority 7 Veterans established under section 544 of title 8 38, United States Code. 9 (D) The Homeless Programs Office of the 10 Veterans Health Administration. 11 (E) The Office of Tribal Government Rela- 12 tions of the Department. 13 (h) REPORTS.— 14 (1) INTERIM REPORT.—Not later than one year 15 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec- 16 retary shall submit to Congress an interim report on 17 the study under subsection (a). 18 (2) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than 30 months 19 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec- 20 retary shall submit to Congress a report on the 21 study under subsection (a). The report shall in- 22 clude— 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:19 Jun 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1257.RFS H1257 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 HR 1257 RFS (A) the findings of the head of each ele- 1 ment of the Department specified under sub- 2 section (g)(2); and 3 (B) recommendations for such administra- 4 tive and legislative action as the Secretary con- 5 siders appropriate. 6 (i) DEFINITION.—In this section: 7 (1) The term ‘‘homeless veterans and veterans 8 experiencing housing instability’’ means veterans 9 who are homeless (as that term is defined in sub- 10 section (a) or (b) of section 103 of the McKinney– 11 Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11302)). 12 (2) The term ‘‘Supportive Services for Veterans 13 Families program’’ means the program established 14 pursuant to section 2044 of title 38, United States 15 Code. 16 SEC. 3. TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS. 17 (a) TITLE 38, UNITED STATES CODE.—Title 38, 18 United States Code, is amended as follows: 19 (1) In section 1786(d), as added by section 20 3006 of the Johnny Isakson and David P. Roe, 21 M.D. Veterans Health Care and Benefits Improve- 22 ment Act of 2020 (Public Law 116–315), by strik- 23 ing paragraph (3). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:19 Jun 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1257.RFS H1257 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 HR 1257 RFS (2) In section 3673(f), as added by section 1 1023 of such Act, by striking paragraph (3). 2 (b) JOHNNY ISAKSON AND DAVID P. ROE, M.D. VET- 3 ERANS HEALTH CARE AND BENEFITS IMPROVEMENT ACT 4 OF 2020.—The Johnny Isakson and David P. Roe, M.D. 5 Veterans Health Care and Benefits Improvement Act of 6 2020 (Public Law 116–315) is amended as follows: 7 (1) In section 3010— 8 (A) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘The 9 Secretary’’ and inserting ‘‘Subject to the avail- 10 ability of appropriations for such purpose, the 11 Secretary’’; and 12 (B) by striking subsection (h). 13 (2) In section 4201(a), by adding at the end 14 the following new paragraph: 15 ‘‘(3) USE OF AUTHORITY.—The Secretary shall 16 ensure that paragraph (1) is carried out in accord- 17 ance with established procedures for 18 reprogrammings or transfers, including with respect 19 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:19 Jun 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1257.RFS H1257 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 HR 1257 RFS to presenting a request for a reprogramming of 1 funds.’’. 2 Passed the House of Representatives June 15, 2021. Attest: CHERYL L. JOHNSON, Clerk. 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