Ending Homelessness Act of 2019

IB Union Calendar No. 101 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1856 [Report No. 116–137, Part I] To provide a path to end homelessness in the United States, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 25, 2019 Ms. WATERS (for herself, Mr. SCHIFF, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mr. GREEN of Texas, Mr. LAWSON of Florida, Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ, Ms. ADAMS, Ms. ESHOO, Ms. PRESSLEY, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mr. FOSTER, Mrs. CARO- LYN B. MALONEY of New York, Mr. CRIST, Mr. DAVID SCOTT of Geor- gia, Mr. HECK, Mr. CASE, Ms. NORTON, Mr. CUMMINGS, Ms. MENG, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mr. MEEKS, Mr. ROUDA, Ms. OMAR, Mr. HIMES, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. MCNERNEY, Mr. GARCI´A of Illinois, Mr. LEWIS, Mr. VARGAS, Ms. CASTOR of Florida, Ms. HILL of California, Ms. DEAN, Ms. KAPTUR, Mrs. TORRES of California, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Mr. WELCH, Ms. TLAIB, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mr. LYNCH, Mr. COHEN, Ms. BONAMICI, Ms. GARCIA of Texas, Ms. GABBARD, Mr. GONZALEZ of Texas, Mr. CLAY, and Ms. CLARKE of New York) introduced the fol- lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committee on the Budget, for a period to be subse- quently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned JULY 5, 2019 Reported from the Committee on Financial Services with an amendment [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] JULY 5, 2019 Committee on the Budget discharged; committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed [For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on March 25, 2019] VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:36 Jul 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H1856.RH H1856 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 1856 RH A BILL To provide a path to end homelessness in the United States, and for other purposes. VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:36 Jul 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H1856.RH H1856 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 1856 RH Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Ending Homelessness 4 Act of 2019’’. 5 SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS. 6 The Congress finds that— 7 (1) although the United States has experienced a 8 reduction in veteran homelessness after a surge of new 9 Federal funding targeted to homeless veterans starting 10 in fiscal year 2008, major progress towards the na- 11 tional goals for ending homelessness in our Nation 12 has virtually stalled in the absence of increased fund- 13 ing; 14 (2) according to the Department of Housing and 15 Urban Development’s 2018 point-in-time count, there 16 were 552,830 people experiencing homelessness in the 17 United States on any given night, including nearly 18 160,000 children and youth; 19 (3) homelessness in many communities has 20 reached crisis proportions and some cities have de- 21 clared that homelessness has reached a state of emer- 22 gency; and 23 (4) the Federal Government must renew its com- 24 mitment to the national goals to end homelessness. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:36 Jul 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H1856.RH H1856 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 1856 RH SEC. 3. FUNDING TO ADDRESS UNMET NEEDS. 1 Title IV of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance 2 Act (42 U.S.C. 11360 et seq) is amended— 3 (1) by redesignating section 491 (42 U.S.C. 4 11408; relating to rural housing stability grant pro- 5 gram) as section 441; 6 (2) by redesignating section 592 (42 U.S.C. 7 11408a; relating to use of FMHA inventory for tran- 8 sitional housing for homeless persons and for turnkey 9 housing) as section 442; and 10 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub- 11 title: 12 ‘‘Subtitle E—5-Year Path to End 13 Homelessness 14 ‘‘SEC. 451. FUNDING TO ADDRESS UNMET NEEDS. 15 ‘‘(a) DIRECT APPROPRIATIONS.—There is appro- 16 priated out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise 17 appropriated for each of fiscal years 2020 through 2024, 18 $1,000,000,000, to remain available until expended, for 19 emergency relief grants under this section to address the 20 unmet needs of homeless populations in jurisdictions with 21 the highest need. 22 ‘‘(b) FORMULA GRANTS.— 23 ‘‘(1) ALLOCATION.—Amounts appropriated 24 under subsection (a) for a fiscal year shall be allo- 25 cated among collaborative applicants that comply 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:36 Jul 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H1856.RH H1856 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 1856 RH with section 402, in accordance with the funding for- 1 mula established under paragraph (2) of this sub- 2 section. 3 ‘‘(2) FORMULA.—The Secretary shall, in con- 4 sultation with the United States Interagency Council 5 on Homeless, establish a formula for allocating grant 6 amounts under this section to address the unmet 7 needs of homeless populations in jurisdictions with 8 the highest need, using the best currently available 9 data that targets need based on key structural deter- 10 minants of homelessness in the geographic area rep- 11 resented by a collaborative applicant, which shall in- 12 clude data providing accurate counts of— 13 ‘‘(A) the poverty rate in the geographic area 14 represented by the collaborative applicant; 15 ‘‘(B) shortages of affordable housing for low- 16 , very low-, and extremely low-income households 17 in the geographic area represented by the collabo- 18 rative applicant; 19 ‘‘(C) the number of overcrowded housing 20 units in the geographic area represented by the 21 collaborative applicant; 22 ‘‘(D) the number of unsheltered homeless in- 23 dividuals and the number of chronically homeless 24 individuals; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:36 Jul 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H1856.RH H1856 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •HR 1856 RH ‘‘(E) any other factors that the Secretary 1 considers appropriate. 2 The formula shall provide priority to collaborative 3 applicants for which the local governments, within the 4 area served by the applicant, have adopted local poli- 5 cies, such as through zoning and regulation, that le- 6 verage the private sector’s participation to provide 7 housing that is reserved and affordable to low-, very 8 low-, and extremely low-income households, as defined 9 by the Secretary, for a minimum term of 15 years. 10 The Secretary shall establish by regulation the process 11 and manner that local governments will be evaluated. 12 The Secretary shall ensure that local governments are 13 not incentivized or otherwise rewarded for elimi- 14 nating or undermining the intent of zoning regula- 15 tions or other regulations or policies that establish 16 fair wages for laborers, ensure health and safety of 17 buildings for residents and the general public, protect 18 fair housing, establish environmental protections, es- 19 tablish standards for resiliency, prevent tenant dis- 20 placement, or any other requirements that the Sec- 21 retary determines it is in the public interest to pre- 22 serve. 23 ‘‘(3) GRANTS.—For each fiscal year for which 24 amounts are made available under subsection (a), the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:36 Jul 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H1856.RH H1856 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •HR 1856 RH Secretary shall make a grant to each collaborative ap- 1 plicant for which an amount is allocated pursuant to 2 application of the formula established pursuant to 3 paragraph (2) of this subsection in an amount that 4 is equal to the formula amount determined for such 5 collaborative applicant. 6 ‘‘(4) TIMING.—The funding formula required 7 under paragraph (2) shall be established by regula- 8 tions issued, after notice and opportunity for public 9 comment, not later than 6 months after the date of 10 enactment of this section. 11 ‘‘(c) USE OF GRANTS.— 12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraphs (2) 13 through (4), a collaborative applicant that receives a 14 grant under this section may use such grant amounts 15 only for eligible activities under section 415, 423, or 16 441(b). 17 ‘‘(2) PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING RE- 18 QUIREMENT.— 19 ‘‘(A) REQUIREMENT.—Except as provided 20 in subparagraph (B), each collaborative appli- 21 cant that receives a grant under this section 22 shall use not less than 75 percent of such grant 23 amount for permanent supportive housing, in- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:36 Jul 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H1856.RH H1856 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •HR 1856 RH cluding capital costs, rental subsidies, and serv- 1 ices. 2 ‘‘(B) EXEMPTION.—The Secretary shall ex- 3 empt a collaborative applicant from the applica- 4 bility of the requirement under subparagraph 5 (A) if the applicant demonstrates, in accordance 6 with such standards and procedures as the Sec- 7 retary shall establish, that— 8 ‘‘(i) chronic homelessness has been 9 functionally eliminated in the geographic 10 area served by the applicant; or 11 ‘‘(ii) the permanent supportive housing 12 under development in the geographic area 13 served by the applicant is sufficient to func- 14 tionally eliminate chronic homelessness once 15 such units are available for occupancy. 16 The Secretary shall consider and make a deter- 17 mination regarding each request for an exemp- 18 tion under this subparagraph not later than 60 19 days after receipt of such request. 20 ‘‘(3) LIMITATION ON USE FOR ADMINISTRATIVE 21 EXPENSES.—Not more than 5 percent of the total 22 amount of any grant under this section to a collabo- 23 rative applicant may be used for costs of administra- 24 tion. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:36 Jul 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H1856.RH H1856 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •HR 1856 RH ‘‘(4) HOUSING FIRST REQUIREMENT.—The Sec- 1 retary shall ensure that each collaborative applicant 2 that receives a grant under this section is imple- 3 menting, to the extent possible, and will use such 4 grant amounts in accordance with, a Housing First 5 model for assistance for homeless persons. 6 ‘‘(d) RENEWAL FUNDING.—Expiring contracts for 7 leasing, rental assistance, or permanent housing shall be 8 treated, for purposes of section 429, as expiring contracts 9 referred to in subsection (a) of such section. 10 ‘‘(e) REPORTING TO CONGRESS.— 11 ‘‘(1) ANNUAL REPORTS.—Not later than the ex- 12 piration of the 12-month period beginning upon the 13 first allocation of amounts made after the date of the 14 enactment of this Act pursuant to subsection (b)(1), 15 and annually thereafter, the Secretary and the United 16 States Interagency Council on Homelessness shall sub- 17 mit a report to the Committees on Financial Services 18 and Appropriations of the House of Representatives 19 and the Committees on Banking, Housing, and 20 Urban Affairs and Appropriations of the Senate pro- 21 viding detailed information regarding the grants 22 made under this section during the preceding year, 23 the activities funded with such grant amounts, and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:36 Jul 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H1856.RH H1856 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •HR 1856 RH the impact of such activities on the communities 1 where such activities took place. 2 ‘‘(2) COLLECTION OF INFORMATION BY SEC- 3 RETARY.—The Secretary shall require each collabo- 4 rative applicant that receives a grant under this sec- 5 tion to submit such information to the Secretary as 6 may be necessary for the Secretary to comply with the 7 reporting requirement under paragraph (1). 8 ‘‘SEC. 452. SPECIAL PURPOSE VOUCHERS. 9 ‘‘(a) DIRECT APPROPRIATION.—There is appropriated 10 out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appro- 11 priated for each of fiscal years 2020 through 2024, 12 $500,000,000, to remain available until expended, which 13 shall be used as follows: 14 ‘‘(1) RENTAL ASSISTANCE.—Except as provided 15 in paragraph (2), such amount shall be used for in- 16 cremental assistance for rental assistance under sec- 17 tion 8(o) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 18 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)) for persons and households who 19 are homeless (as such term is defined in section 103 20 (42 U.S.C. 11302)), which assistance shall be in addi- 21 tion to such assistance provided pursuant to renewal 22 of expiring contracts for such assistance. 23 ‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATIVE FEES.—The Secretary 24 may use not more than 10 percent of such amounts 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:36 Jul 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H1856.RH H1856 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •HR 1856 RH provided for each fiscal year for administrative fees 1 under 8(q) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 2 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(q)). The Secretary shall establish 3 policies and procedures to provide such fees to the ex- 4 tent necessary to assist homeless persons and families 5 on whose behalf rental assistance is provided to find 6 and maintain suitable housing. 7 ‘‘(b) ALLOCATION.—The Secretary shall make assist- 8 ance provided under this section available to public housing 9 agencies based on geographical need for such assistance by 10 homeless persons and households, as identified by the Sec- 11 retary, public housing agency administrative performance, 12 and other factors as specified by the Secretary. In allocating 13 assistance among public housing agencies, the Secretary 14 shall provide priority to agencies having jurisdictions in 15 which the local governments within such jurisdictions have 16 adopted local policies, such as through zoning and regula- 17 tion, that leverage the private sector’s participation to pro- 18 vide housing that is reserved and affordable to low-, very 19 low-, and extremely low-income households, as determined 20 by the Secretary, for a minimum term of 15 years. The 21 Secretary shall establish by regulation the process and man- 22 ner that local governments will be evaluated. The Secretary 23 shall ensure that local governments are not incentivized or 24 otherwise rewarded for eliminating or undermining the in- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:36 Jul 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H1856.RH H1856 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 •HR 1856 RH tent of zoning regulations or other regulations or policies 1 that establish fair wages for laborers, ensure health and 2 safety of buildings for residents and the general public, pro- 3 tect fair housing, establish environmental protections, estab- 4 lish standards for resiliency, prevent tenant disp [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]