Housing Is a Human Right Act of 2021

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3772 To address root causes of homelessness, meet the needs of community mem- bers experiencing harms from homelessness, transition communities to- wards providing housing for all, end penalization of homelessness, and ensure full democratic participation and inclusion of persons experiencing homelessness, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 8, 2021 Ms. JAYAPAL (for herself, Ms. MENG, Ms. PRESSLEY, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. CHU, Ms. OMAR, Mr. BOWMAN, Mr. MCGOVERN, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Ms. NORTON, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Ms. BUSH, Mr. GARCI´A of Illinois, Mr. TORRES of New York, Ms. TLAIB, Ms. LEE of California, and Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committees on House Administration, the Judiciary, Education and Labor, and Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the juris- diction of the committee concerned A BILL To address root causes of homelessness, meet the needs of community members experiencing harms from home- lessness, transition communities towards providing hous- ing for all, end penalization of homelessness, and ensure full democratic participation and inclusion of persons experiencing homelessness, 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 23:08 Jul 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3772.IH H3772 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3772 IH SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 1 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 2 ‘‘Housing Is a Human Right Act of 2021’’. 3 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 4 this Act is as follows: 5 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Definitions. TITLE I—SUPPORTED ALTERNATIVES TO PENALIZATION OF PERSONS EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS Sec. 101. Grant authorization. Sec. 102. Application. Sec. 103. Use of funds. Sec. 104. Authorization of appropriations. TITLE II—INVESTING IN INFRASTRUCTURE TO ADDRESS BASIC HUMAN NEEDS Sec. 201. CDBG Plus program. Sec. 202. Library pilot grants. Sec. 203. Use of unutilized and underutilized public buildings and real property to assist the homeless. TITLE III—INVESTING IN COMMUNITY STABILITY AND WELL- BEING Sec. 301. Treatment of revenue generated. Sec. 302. Emergency solutions grant program. Sec. 303. Continuum of care grant program. Sec. 304. Federal Emergency Management Agency emergency food and shelter grant program. Sec. 305. Requirements. Sec. 306. GAO study of requirements regarding participation and involvement of homeless individuals. TITLE IV—ACCESS TO VOTING Sec. 401. Study of factors adversely affecting ability of homeless and housing- unstable individuals to vote. Sec. 402. Grants to facilitate voting by homeless and housing-unstable individ- uals. TITLE V—ACCESS TO PERSONAL DOCUMENTS Sec. 501. Access to certain essential documents. TITLE VI—UNITED STATES INTERAGENCY COUNCIL ON HOMELESSNESS Sec. 601. Permanent authorization. Sec. 602. Functions. VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:08 Jul 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\H3772.IH H3772 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3772 IH Sec. 603. Advisory board. Sec. 604. Director. Sec. 605. Conforming amendment. TITLE VII—REVENUE RELATED TO HOUSING SPECULATION AND DISPLACEMENT Sec. 601. Amendments to the tax code. SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 1 For purposes of this Act, the following definitions 2 shall apply: 3 (1) AT RISK OF HOMELESSNESS.—The term 4 ‘‘at risk of homelessness’’ means, with respect to an 5 individual or family, that the individual or family— 6 (A) has an annual income that is less than 7 30 percent of median family income for the 8 area, as determined by the Secretary; 9 (B) does not have sufficient resources or 10 support networks, including family, friends, 11 faith-based organizations, and other social net- 12 works, immediately available to prevent the in- 13 dividual or family from moving to an emergency 14 shelter or other place described in paragraph 15 (3)(A) of this subsection; and 16 (C)(i) has moved because of economic 17 hardship two or more times during the 60 days 18 immediately preceding the application for home- 19 lessness prevention assistance under this Act; 20 (ii) is living in the home of another be- 21 cause of economic hardship; 22 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:08 Jul 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3772.IH H3772 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3772 IH (iii) has been notified in writing that their 1 right to occupy their current housing or living 2 situation will be terminated within 21 days of 3 the date of application for assistance under this 4 Act; 5 (iv) lives in a hotel or motel and the cost 6 of the hotel or motel stay is not paid by chari- 7 table organizations or by Federal, State, or 8 local government programs for low-income indi- 9 viduals; 10 (v) lives in a single-room occupancy or effi- 11 ciency apartment unit in which there reside 12 more than two persons, or lives in a larger 13 housing unit in which there reside more than 14 1.5 people per room, as defined by the United 15 States Census Bureau; 16 (vi) is exiting a publicly funded institution, 17 or system of care, including health-care facili- 18 ties, mental health facilities, foster care and 19 other youth facilities, and correction programs 20 and institutions; or 21 (vii) otherwise lives in housing that has 22 characteristics associated with instability and 23 an increased risk of homelessness, including 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:08 Jul 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3772.IH H3772 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3772 IH those characteristics identified in the approved 1 consolidated plan for the applicable jurisdiction. 2 (2) COST-BURDENED.—The term ‘‘cost-bur- 3 dened’’ means, with respect to an individual or fam- 4 ily, that the individual or family— 5 (A) spends more than 22 percent of their 6 income on rent, or other housing-related costs, 7 including property taxes, utility bills, and mort- 8 gage payments, or both; or 9 (B) otherwise compromises other basic 10 needs in order to pay for housing. 11 (3) GOVERNMENTAL UNIT; MUNICIPALITY.— 12 The terms ‘‘governmental unit’’ and ‘‘municipality’’ 13 have the meanings given such terms in section 101 14 of title 31, United States Code. 15 (4) HOMELESS.—The term ‘‘homeless’’ means, 16 with respect to an individual or family— 17 (A) an individual or family who lacks a 18 fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime resi- 19 dence; 20 (B) an individual or family with a primary 21 nighttime residence that is a public or private 22 place not designed for or ordinarily used as a 23 regular sleeping accommodation for human 24 beings, including a car, park, abandoned build- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:08 Jul 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3772.IH H3772 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 3772 IH ing, bus or train station, airport, or camping 1 ground; 2 (C) an individual or family living in a su- 3 pervised publicly or privately operated shelter 4 designated to provide temporary living arrange- 5 ments (including hotels and motels paid for by 6 Federal, State, or local government programs 7 for low-income individuals or by charitable or- 8 ganizations, congregate shelters, and transi- 9 tional housing); 10 (D) an individual who resided in a shelter 11 or place not meant for human habitation and 12 who is exiting an institution where he or she 13 temporarily resided; and 14 (E) an individual or family who will immi- 15 nently lose their housing, including housing 16 they own, rent, or live in without paying rent, 17 are sharing with others, and rooms in hotels or 18 motels not paid for by Federal, State, or local 19 government programs for low-income individ- 20 uals or by charitable organizations. 21 (5) HOUSING FIRST.—The term ‘‘Housing 22 First’’ means, with respect to addressing homeless- 23 ness, an approach to quickly and successfully con- 24 nect individuals and families experiencing homeless- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:08 Jul 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3772.IH H3772 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 3772 IH ness to permanent and affordable housing opportuni- 1 ties and appropriate services without preconditions 2 and low or no barriers to entry, including barriers 3 relating to sobriety, treatment, work requirements, 4 and service participation requirements. 5 (6) HOUSING-UNSTABLE.— 6 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘housing-un- 7 stable’’ means, with respect to an individual or 8 family that the individual or family— 9 (i) lacks a fixed, regular, and ade- 10 quate nighttime residence; 11 (ii) shares housing with other persons 12 due to loss of housing or economic hard- 13 ship; 14 (iii) lives in hotels or motels, trailer 15 parks, or campgrounds due to lack of al- 16 ternative arrangements; 17 (iv) is awaiting foster care placement; 18 (v) lives in substandard housing; 19 (vi) is a child of migrant worker; 20 (vii) has moved more than three times 21 in the past year due to economic insta- 22 bility; 23 (viii) would be unable to pay for hous- 24 ing if their income decreased by $100 or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:08 Jul 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3772.IH H3772 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 3772 IH more or if they experienced a financial 1 hardship; 2 (ix) is paying for housing or shelter 3 with labor or sex; 4 (x) has housing that is dependent on 5 their employer; 6 (xi) is exiting from incarceration (in- 7 cluding pre-trial and pre-conviction deten- 8 tion; immigration detention; and juvenile 9 detention) or who will be exiting from in- 10 carceration (including conditional release 11 on bail or parole) in the next six months, 12 or, with respect to youth, who is or has 13 been held in the custody of the Office of 14 Refugee Resettlement of the Department 15 of Health and Human Services; 16 (xii) has an income that does not ex- 17 ceed 50 percent of median income for the 18 area in which they reside; 19 (xiii) has a primary income that is 20 fixed and derived solely from Federal or 21 State benefits; or 22 (xiv) is a survivor of domestic violence 23 or trafficking residing with a perpetrator 24 of domestic violence or trafficking. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:08 Jul 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3772.IH H3772 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 3772 IH (B) INCLUDED POPULATIONS.—Such term 1 includes an individual or family who is— 2 (i) at risk of homelessness, as such 3 term in defined in this subsection; 4 (ii) not consistently or safely housed, 5 including individuals and families at immi- 6 nent risk of eviction, who are couch-hop- 7 ping, have had to move into the dwelling 8 unit of another individual or family; or 9 (iii) homeless in a rural area. 10 (7) JUSTICE SYSTEM-INVOLVED.—The term 11 ‘‘justice system-involved’’ includes persons who are 12 or have been incarcerated or held in municipal, 13 State, or Federal jails, prisons, juvenile facilities, or 14 other types of detention facilities, who have been 15 held in pre-trial or post-conviction detention, who 16 have an arrest or conviction regardless of whether 17 they were detained or incarcerated, who have been 18 held in immigration detention, or, with respect to 19 youth, who are or have been held in the custody of 20 the Office of Refugee Resettlement of the Depart- 21 ment of Health and Human Services. 22 (8) PENALIZE HOMELESSNESS.—The term ‘‘pe- 23 nalize homelessness’’ means to impose, by a govern- 24 mental unit, criminal or civil penalties on persons 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:08 Jul 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3772.IH H3772 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 3772 IH who are homeless or housing unstable in a manner 1 that is related to those persons’ engagement in nec- 2 essary human activities, including sleeping, resting, 3 and eating. 4 (9) PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING.—The 5 term ‘‘permanent supportive housing’’ means hous- 6 ing that provides— 7 (A) indefinite leasing or rental assistance; 8 and 9 (B) non-mandatory, culturally competent 10 supportive services to assist persons to achieve 11 housing stability and maintain their health and 12 well-being. 13 (10) POPULATION AT HIGHER RISK OF HOME- 14 LESSNESS.— 15 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘population 16 at higher risk of homelessness’’ means a group 17 of persons that is defined by a common char- 18 acteristic and that has been found to experience 19 homelessness, housing instability, or to be cost- 20 burdened at a rate higher than that of the gen- 21 eral public. 22 (B) HIGHER RATE.—Information that may 23 be used in demonstrating such a higher rate in- 24 cludes data generated by the Federal Govern- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:08 Jul 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3772.IH H3772 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 3772 IH ment, by State or municipal governments, by 1 peer-reviewed research, and by organizations 2 having expertise in working with or advocating 3 on behalf of homeless, housing unstable, or 4 cost-burdened groups. 5 (C) INCLUDED POPULATIONS.—Such term 6 shall include populations for which such higher 7 rate has already been demonstrated, including 8 Asian, Black, Latino, Native American, Native 9 Hawaiian, Pacific Islander and other commu- 10 nities of color; persons with disabilities, includ- 11 ing mental health disabilities, elderly persons, 12 foster and former foster youth; LGBTQ per- 13 sons, gender non-binary and gender non-con- 14 forming persons, justice system-involved per- 15 sons, and veterans. 16 TITLE I—SUPPORTED ALTER- 17 NATIVES TO PENALIZATION 18 OF PERSONS EXPERIENCING 19 HOMELESSNESS 20 SEC. 101. GRANT AUTHORIZATION. 21 The Attorney General is authorized to make grants 22 to States, units of local government, public and commu- 23 nity defender systems, and nonprofit organizations to cre- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:08 Jul 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3772.IH H3772 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 3772 IH ate or expand alternatives to penalizing homelessness (as 1 such term is defined in section 2 of this Act). 2 SEC. 102. APPLICATION. 3 (a) IN GENERAL.—An entity seeking a grant under 4 this title shall submit to the Attorney General an applica- 5 tion at such time, in such manner, and containin [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]