Housing Waiver Flexibility Act of 2020

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 6867 To provide necessary flexibility under programs for federally assisted housing to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 14, 2020 Mr. GONZALEZ of Texas introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services A BILL To provide necessary flexibility under programs for federally assisted housing to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, 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 ‘‘Housing Waiver Flexi- 4 bility Act of 2020’’. 5 SEC. 2. HOUSING TRUST FUND. 6 (a) WAIVER AUTHORITY.—The Secretary of Housing 7 and Urban Development may waive, or specify alternative 8 requirements for, any provision of any statute or regula- 9 tion that the Secretary administers in connection with the 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:52 Jun 04, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6867.IH H6867 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 6867 IH use of amounts made available from the Housing Trust 1 Fund established pursuant to section 1338 of the Federal 2 Housing Enterprises Financial Safety and Soundness Act 3 of 1992 (12 U.S.C. 4568) (except for requirements related 4 to fair housing, nondiscrimination, labor standards, and 5 the environment), upon a finding by the Secretary that 6 any such waivers or alternative requirements are nec- 7 essary for the safe and effective administration of such 8 amounts to prevent, prepare for, and respond to 9 coronavirus (COVID-19). 10 (b) RETROACTIVE APPLICABILITY.—Any such waiv- 11 ers shall be deemed to be effective as of the date a State 12 or eligible recipient of amounts from a State allocation of 13 such amounts began preparing for coronavirus and shall 14 apply to the amounts made available from the Housing 15 Trust Fund before, on, and after the date of the enact- 16 ment of this Act. 17 SEC. 3. ASSISTANCE FOR SELF-HELP HOUSING PROVIDERS. 18 (a) WAIVER AUTHORITY.—The Secretary of Housing 19 and Urban Development may waive, or specify alternative 20 requirements for, any provision of any statute or regula- 21 tion that the Secretary administers in connection with the 22 program for self-help housing assistance under section 11 23 of the Housing Opportunity Program Extension Act of 24 1996 (42 U.S.C. 12805 note) (except for requirements re- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:52 Jun 04, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6867.IH H6867 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 6867 IH lated to fair housing, nondiscrimination, labor standards, 1 and the environment), upon a finding by the Secretary 2 that any such waivers or alternative requirements are nec- 3 essary for the safe and effective administration of such 4 amounts to prevent, prepare for, and respond to 5 coronavirus (COVID-19). 6 (b) RETROACTIVE APPLICABILITY.—Any such waiv- 7 ers and alternative requirements shall be deemed to be ef- 8 fective as of the date an organization or consortia who 9 is a recipient of amounts under the program referred to 10 in subsection (a) began preparing for coronavirus and 11 shall apply to the amounts made available under such pro- 12 gram before, on, and after the date of the enactment of 13 this Act. 14 SEC. 4. CHOICE NEIGHBORHOODS INITIATIVE. 15 Any amounts made available in the Consolidated and 16 Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2013 (Public 17 Law 113–6) for the heading ‘‘Department of Housing and 18 Urban Development—Public and Indian Housing—Choice 19 Neighborhoods Initiative’’ shall remain available for the 20 purpose of paying obligations incurred prior to the expira- 21 tion of such amounts through September 30, 2021. 22 SEC. 5. CONTINUUM OF CARE PROGRAM. 23 Due to the emergency relating to the Coronavirus 24 Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the Notice of Fund- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:52 Jun 04, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6867.IH H6867 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 6867 IH ing Availability (NOFA) for fiscal year 2020 for the Con- 1 tinuum of Care program under subtitle C of title IV of 2 the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 3 11381 et seq.) shall have no force or effect and the Sec- 4 retary of Housing and Urban Development shall distribute 5 amounts made available for such fiscal year for such pro- 6 gram based on the results of the competition for amounts 7 made available for such program for fiscal year 2019 8 (FR–6300–25), except that grant amounts may be ad- 9 justed to account for changes in fair market rents. 10 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:52 Jun 04, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H6867.IH H6867 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS