Ending Homelessness Act of 2019

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2613 To provide a path to end homelessness in the United States, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES OCTOBER 16, 2019 Mr. SCHUMER (for Ms. HARRIS (for herself, Ms. HIRONO, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, and Ms. KLOBUCHAR)) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs A BILL To provide a path to end homelessness in the United States, 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 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Ending Homelessness 4 Act of 2019’’. 5 SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds that— 7 (1) although the United States has experienced 8 a reduction in veteran homelessness after a surge of 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:19 Oct 21, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2613.IS S2613 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 2613 IS new Federal funding targeted to homeless veterans 1 starting in fiscal year 2008, major progress towards 2 the national goals for ending homelessness in the 3 United States has virtually stalled in the absence of 4 increased funding; 5 (2) according to the point-in-time count con- 6 ducted by the Department of Housing and Urban 7 Development in 2016, 549,928 people were experi- 8 encing homelessness in the United States on any 9 given night during that year, including more than 10 120,000 children; 11 (3) homelessness in many communities has 12 reached crisis proportions, and some cities have de- 13 clared that homelessness has reached a state of 14 emergency; and 15 (4) the Federal Government must renew its 16 commitment to the national goals to end homeless- 17 ness. 18 SEC. 3. DEFINITION. 19 In this Act, the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Sec- 20 retary of Housing and Urban Development. 21 SEC. 4. EMERGENCY RELIEF FUNDING. 22 Title IV of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance 23 Act (42 U.S.C. 11360 et seq.) is amended— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:19 Oct 21, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2613.IS S2613 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 2613 IS (1) by redesignating section 491 (42 U.S.C. 1 11408) as section 441; 2 (2) by redesignating section 592 (42 U.S.C. 3 11408a) as section 442; and 4 (3) by adding at the end the following: 5 ‘‘Subtitle E—5-Year Path To End 6 Homelessness 7 ‘‘SEC. 451. EMERGENCY RELIEF FUNDING. 8 ‘‘(a) DIRECT APPROPRIATIONS.—There is appro- 9 priated to the Secretary, out of any money in the Treasury 10 not otherwise appropriated, $1,000,000,000 for each of 11 fiscal years 2020 through 2024, to remain available until 12 expended, for emergency relief grants under this section 13 to address the unmet needs of homeless populations in ju- 14 risdictions with the highest need. 15 ‘‘(b) FORMULA GRANTS.— 16 ‘‘(1) ALLOCATION.—Amounts appropriated 17 under subsection (a) for a fiscal year shall be allo- 18 cated among collaborative applicants that comply 19 with section 402, in accordance with the funding for- 20 mula established under paragraph (2) of this sub- 21 section. 22 ‘‘(2) FORMULA.—The Secretary shall, in con- 23 sultation with the United States Interagency Council 24 on Homelessness, establish a formula for allocating 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:19 Oct 21, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2613.IS S2613 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 2613 IS grant amounts under this section to address the 1 unmet needs of homeless populations in jurisdictions 2 with the highest need, using the best currently avail- 3 able data that targets need based on key structural 4 determinants of homelessness in the geographic area 5 represented by a collaborative applicant, which shall 6 include data providing accurate counts of— 7 ‘‘(A) the poverty rate; 8 ‘‘(B) shortages of affordable housing for 9 low-income families, very low-income families, 10 and extremely low-income families, as those 11 terms are defined in section 3(b)(2) of the 12 United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 13 1437a(b)(2)); 14 ‘‘(C) the number of overcrowded housing 15 units; 16 ‘‘(D) the number of— 17 ‘‘(i) unsheltered homeless individuals; 18 and 19 ‘‘(ii) chronically homeless individuals; 20 and 21 ‘‘(E) any other factors that the Secretary 22 considers appropriate. 23 ‘‘(3) GRANTS.—For each fiscal year for which 24 amounts are appropriated under subsection (a) or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:19 Oct 21, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2613.IS S2613 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 2613 IS otherwise made available under this section, and for 1 each collaborative applicant for which an amount is 2 allocated using the formula established under para- 3 graph (2) of this subsection, the Secretary shall 4 make a grant to the collaborative applicant in the 5 amount allocated. 6 ‘‘(4) TIMING.— 7 ‘‘(A) FORMULA TO BE DEVISED SWIFT- 8 LY.—Not later than 60 days after the date of 9 enactment of this section, the Secretary shall 10 establish the funding formula required under 11 paragraph (2). 12 ‘‘(B) INITIAL DISTRIBUTION.—Not later 13 than 30 days after the date on which the Sec- 14 retary establishes the formula required under 15 paragraph (2), the Secretary shall distribute 16 amounts appropriated under subsection (a) or 17 otherwise made available under this section for 18 fiscal year 2020. 19 ‘‘(c) USE OF GRANTS.— 20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraphs (2) 21 through (4), a collaborative applicant that receives a 22 grant under this section may use the grant amounts 23 only for eligible activities under section 415, 423, or 24 441(b). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:19 Oct 21, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2613.IS S2613 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 2613 IS ‘‘(2) PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING RE- 1 QUIREMENT.— 2 ‘‘(A) REQUIREMENT.—Except as provided 3 in subparagraph (B), a collaborative applicant 4 that receives a grant under this section shall 5 use not less than 75 percent of the grant 6 amount for permanent supportive housing, in- 7 cluding capital costs, rental subsidies, and serv- 8 ices. 9 ‘‘(B) EXEMPTION.— 10 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary 11 shall exempt a collaborative applicant from 12 the requirement under subparagraph (A) if 13 the applicant demonstrates, in accordance 14 with any standards and procedures estab- 15 lished by the Secretary, that— 16 ‘‘(I) chronic homelessness has 17 been functionally eliminated in the ge- 18 ographic area served by the applicant; 19 or 20 ‘‘(II) the permanent supportive 21 housing under development in the geo- 22 graphic area served by the applicant 23 will be sufficient to functionally elimi- 24 nate chronic homelessness once the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:19 Oct 21, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2613.IS S2613 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 2613 IS permanent supportive housing is avail- 1 able for occupancy. 2 ‘‘(ii) TIMING.—Not later than 60 days 3 after the Secretary receives a request for 4 an exemption under clause (i), the Sec- 5 retary shall make a determination regard- 6 ing the request. 7 ‘‘(3) LIMITATION ON USE FOR ADMINISTRATIVE 8 EXPENSES.—Not more than 5 percent of the total 9 amount of a grant provided under this section to a 10 collaborative applicant may be used for costs of ad- 11 ministration. 12 ‘‘(4) HOUSING FIRST REQUIREMENT.—The Sec- 13 retary shall ensure that a collaborative applicant 14 that receives a grant under this section is imple- 15 menting, to the extent possible, and will use the 16 grant amounts in accordance with, a Housing First 17 model for assistance for homeless individuals. 18 ‘‘(d) RENEWAL FUNDING.—Expiring contracts for 19 leasing, rental assistance, or permanent housing shall be 20 treated, for purposes of section 429, as expiring contracts 21 referred to in subsection (a) of that section. 22 ‘‘(e) REPORTING TO CONGRESS.— 23 ‘‘(1) INITIAL REPORT.—Not later than Sep- 24 tember 1, 2020, the Secretary and the United States 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:19 Oct 21, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2613.IS S2613 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 2613 IS Interagency Council on Homelessness shall submit a 1 report that describes the design and implementation 2 of the grant program under this section, including 3 the formula required under subsection (b)(2), to— 4 ‘‘(A) the Committee on Banking, Housing, 5 and Urban Affairs of the Senate; 6 ‘‘(B) the Committee on Appropriations of 7 the Senate; 8 ‘‘(C) the Committee on Financial Services 9 of the House of Representatives; and 10 ‘‘(D) the Committee on Appropriations of 11 the House of Representatives. 12 ‘‘(2) SEMIANNUAL STATUS REPORTS.— 13 ‘‘(A) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—The Sec- 14 retary and the United States Interagency Coun- 15 cil on Homelessness shall submit a semiannual 16 report to the committees specified in paragraph 17 (1) that describes the operation of the grant 18 program under this section during the pre- 19 ceding 6 months, including— 20 ‘‘(i) identification of the grants made; 21 and 22 ‘‘(ii) a description of the activities 23 funded with grant amounts. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:19 Oct 21, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2613.IS S2613 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 2613 IS ‘‘(B) COLLECTION OF INFORMATION BY 1 SECRETARY.—The Secretary shall require a col- 2 laborative applicant that receives a grant under 3 this section to submit any information to the 4 Secretary that is necessary for the Secretary to 5 comply with the reporting requirement under 6 subparagraph (A). 7 ‘‘SEC. 452. SPECIAL PURPOSE VOUCHERS. 8 ‘‘(a) DIRECT APPROPRIATION.— 9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is appropriated to 10 the Secretary, out of any money in the Treasury not 11 otherwise appropriated, $500,000,000 for each of 12 fiscal years 2020 through 2024, to remain available 13 until expended, which shall be used in accordance 14 with paragraphs (2) and (3). 15 ‘‘(2) RENTAL ASSISTANCE.—Except as provided 16 in paragraph (3), the Secretary shall use amounts 17 appropriated under paragraph (1) for incremental 18 rental voucher assistance under section 8(o) of the 19 United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 20 1437f(o)) for individuals and families who are home- 21 less (as defined in section 103 of this Act), which 22 shall be in addition to incremental rental voucher as- 23 sistance provided under that section pursuant to re- 24 newal of expiring contracts for such assistance. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:19 Oct 21, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2613.IS S2613 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 2613 IS ‘‘(3) ADMINISTRATIVE FEES.— 1 ‘‘(A) CAP.—The Secretary may use not 2 more than 10 percent of amounts appropriated 3 for a fiscal year under paragraph (1) for ad- 4 ministrative fees under section 8(q) of the 5 United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 6 1437f(q)). 7 ‘‘(B) POLICIES AND PROCEDURES.—The 8 Secretary shall establish policies and procedures 9 to provide the fees described in subparagraph 10 (A) to the extent necessary to assist homeless 11 individuals and families on whose behalf rental 12 assistance is provided to find and maintain suit- 13 able housing. 14 ‘‘(b) ALLOCATION.—The Secretary shall make assist- 15 ance provided under this section available to public hous- 16 ing agencies based on— 17 ‘‘(1) geographical need for the assistance by 18 homeless individuals and families, as identified by 19 the Secretary; 20 ‘‘(2) the administrative performance of public 21 housing agencies; and 22 ‘‘(3) other factors as specified by the Secretary. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:19 Oct 21, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2613.IS S2613 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 2613 IS ‘‘(c) AVAILABILITY.—Assistance made available 1 under this section shall continue to remain available only 2 for homeless individuals and families upon turnover. 3 ‘‘(d) RENEWAL FUNDING.—Renewal of expiring con- 4 tracts for rental assistance provided under subsection (a) 5 and for administrative fees under that subsection shall, 6 to the extent provided in appropriation Acts, be funded 7 under the section 8 tenant-based rental assistance ac- 8 count. 9 ‘‘(e) WAIVER AUTHORITY.— 10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary finds that 11 a waiver or alternative requirement is necessary to 12 ensure that homeless individuals and families can 13 obtain housing using rental assistance made avail- 14 able under this section, the Secretary may waive, or 15 specify alternative requirements for, any provision of 16 any statute or regulation that the Secretary admin- 17 isters in connection with the use of funds made 18 available under this section (except for requirements 19 related to fair housing, nondiscrimination, labor 20 standards, and the environment) that relates to 21 screening of applicants for assistance, admission of 22 applicants, and selection of tenants. 23 ‘‘(2) DUTY OF PUBLIC HOUSING AGENCIES.— 24 The Secretary shall require public housing agencies 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:19 Oct 21, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2613.IS S2613 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 2613 IS receiving rental assistance funding made available 1 under this section to take all reasonable actions to 2 help assisted individuals and families avoid subse- 3 quent homelessness. 4 ‘‘SEC. 453. OUTREACH FUNDING. 5 ‘‘(a) DIRECT APPROPRIATION.—There is appro- 6 priated to the Secretary, out of any money in the Treasury 7 not otherwise appropriated, $100,000,000 for each of fis- 8 cal years 2022 through 2024, to remain available until ex- 9 pended, for grants under this section to provide outreach 10 and coordinate services for individuals and families who 11 are homeless or formerly homeless. 12 ‘‘(b) GRANTS.— 13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall make 14 grants under this section on a competitive basis only 15 to collaborative applicants that comply with section 16 402. 17 ‘‘(2) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this 18 section, the Secretary shall give priority to collabo- 19 rative applicants that submit plans to make innova- 20 tive and effective use of staff funded with grant 21 amounts in accordance with subsection (c). 22 ‘‘(c) USE OF GRANTS.—A collaborative applicant 23 that receives a grant under this section may use the grant 24 amounts only for providing case managers, social workers, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:19 Oct 21, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS [Text truncated for display. 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