Protecting Rural Housing Act of 2020

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 8661 To address the housing needs in rural communities in the United States, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OCTOBER 23, 2020 Ms. FINKENAUER (for herself and Mr. RIGGLEMAN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services A BILL To address the housing needs in rural communities 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 ‘‘Protecting Rural 4 Housing Act of 2020’’. 5 SEC. 2. HUD REPORT ON ACTIONS TO ADDRESS LAND- 6 LORDS. 7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than the expiration of 8 the 12-month period beginning on the date of the enact- 9 ment of this Act, the Secretary of Housing and Urban 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:41 Nov 06, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8661.IH H8661 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 8661 IH Development shall submit a report to the Congress identi- 1 fying any legislative and regulatory actions and changes 2 needed to hold accountable and punish owners of housing 3 that is assisted under the housing choice voucher program 4 under section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 5 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)) who violate the requirements of such 6 program or operate in bad faith with respect to such re- 7 quirements. Such report shall include recommendations 8 regarding the circumstances under which such assistance 9 should be recovered from such owners. 10 (b) CONSULTATION.—In conducting any analysis for, 11 and preparing, the report required under subsection (a), 12 the Secretary shall consult with the Secretary of Agri- 13 culture, State and local governments, advocates for ten- 14 ants’ right, and public housing agencies. 15 SEC. 3. RURAL HOUSING RELIEF PILOT PROGRAM. 16 Title V of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 14) 17 is amended by inserting after section 538 (42 U.S.C. 18 1490p–2) the following new section: 19 ‘‘SEC. 539. RURAL HOUSING RELIEF PILOT PROGRAM. 20 ‘‘(a) AFFORDABLE HOUSING GRANTS.—The Sec- 21 retary may make grants under this section to eligible enti- 22 ties described in subsection (b) that primarily serve rural 23 areas for purposes described in subsection (c). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:21 Nov 07, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8661.IH H8661 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 8661 IH ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—The Secretary may make 1 grants under this subsection only to— 2 ‘‘(1) State or local governmental agencies or en- 3 tities; 4 ‘‘(2) Indian tribes; and 5 ‘‘(3) nonprofit entities. 6 ‘‘(c) ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES.—Amounts from a grant 7 under this Act may be used only to support or acquire 8 housing that is affordable to low-income families or to fi- 9 nance, assist, or otherwise benefit the development or re- 10 habilitation of such housing, including for— 11 ‘‘(1) costs of construction, development, reha- 12 bilitation, or acquisition of such housing, including 13 predevelopment costs; 14 ‘‘(2) costs of demolition of substandard hous- 15 ing, with or without development of replacement af- 16 fordable housing; 17 ‘‘(3) relocation of residents of substandard 18 housing or residents of housing during rehabilitation 19 of housing that is affordable to low-income families; 20 ‘‘(4) purchase of housing by or for low-income 21 families in rural areas; 22 ‘‘(5) construction, development, installation, or 23 rehabilitation of related infrastructure for housing 24 that is affordable to low-income families; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:21 Nov 07, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8661.IH H8661 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 8661 IH ‘‘(6) establishment of revolving loan funds to fi- 1 nance and assist carrying out other eligible activities 2 under this subsection; and 3 ‘‘(7) such other purposes as the Secretary may 4 provide. 5 ‘‘(d) COST-SHARING.— 6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para- 7 graph (2), the Secretary shall require each eligible 8 entity receiving a grant under this section to con- 9 tribute to the cost of activities to be carried out with 10 such grant amounts an amount that is equal to or 11 exceeding 10 percent of the total cost of such activi- 12 ties. In the case of eligible entities that are State 13 agencies or entities, such contributed amount shall 14 be derived from non-Federal sources. 15 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—Paragraph (1) shall not 16 apply in the case of any activities carried out with 17 grant amounts in any area with respect to which a 18 major disaster was declared by the President under 19 section 401 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 20 and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170) 21 during the 5-year period ending upon approval of 22 the application for a grant under this section to 23 carry out such activities, but not including the major 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:41 Nov 06, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8661.IH H8661 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 8661 IH disaster declared by reason of the novel coronavirus 1 (COVID-19). 2 ‘‘(e) REPORTS.—Not later than September 30, 2025, 3 the Secretary shall submit a report to the Congress de- 4 scribing the activities carried out with grants under this 5 section and evaluating the effectiveness of the program 6 under this section in developing and rehabilitating housing 7 that is affordable to low-income families. 8 ‘‘(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 9 is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary for 10 grants under this section $100,000,000 for fiscal year 11 2021, which amount shall remain available until Sep- 12 tember 30, 2024.’’. 13 SEC. 4. STUDY OF RHS HOME OWNERSHIP OUTREACH EF- 14 FORTS. 15 The Secretary of Agriculture shall conduct a study 16 to determine the efficacy and effectiveness of outreach and 17 education activities of the Rural Housing Service of the 18 Department of Agriculture regarding the programs of 19 such Service that assist families to achieve home owner- 20 ship, including the single family housing direct and guar- 21 anteed home loan programs under section 502 of the 22 Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1472). Not later than 23 the expiration of the 12-month period beginning on the 24 date of the enactment of this Act the Secretary shall sub- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:21 Nov 07, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8661.IH H8661 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 8661 IH mit a report to the Congress setting forth the findings of 1 such study. 2 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:41 Nov 06, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H8661.IH H8661 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS