HAVENS Act

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3326 To amend title 38, United States Code, to establish a pilot program to build tiny homes for homeless veterans, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 15, 2023 Mr. KILMER (for himself, Ms. MACE, Mr. KEATING, Ms. LEE of California, and Ms. TITUS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs A BILL To amend title 38, United States Code, to establish a pilot program to build tiny homes for homeless veterans, 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 America’s 4 Veterans and Ensuring they have Needed Services Act’’ 5 or the ‘‘HAVENS Act’’. 6 SEC. 2. PILOT PROGRAM ON TINY HOMES FOR HOMELESS 7 VETERANS. 8 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:20 May 27, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3326.IH H3326 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3326 IH (1) In 2009, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs 1 announced a plan to end veteran homelessness by 2 the end of fiscal year 2015. 3 (2) While the Department of Veterans Affairs 4 did not reach such goal, the Department continues 5 to focus on reducing the number of veterans experi- 6 encing homelessness. 7 (3) As of January 2020, the Department of 8 Housing and Urban Development estimated there to 9 be 37,252 homeless veterans. 10 (4) At the start of January 2020, 21 out of 11 every 10,000 veterans in the United States were ex- 12 periencing homelessness. 13 (5) Veterans constitute about six percent of the 14 population of the United States but eight percent of 15 the country’s homeless population. 16 (6) Factors related to homelessness among vet- 17 erans include post-traumatic stress disorder, social 18 isolation, unemployment, and substance abuse. 19 (7) Individual housing units improve personal 20 safety for veterans and reduce risks associated with 21 close quarters living in a shelter. 22 (b) PILOT PROGRAM.— 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:20 May 27, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3326.IH H3326 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3326 IH (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Subchapter VII of chap- 1 ter 20 of title 38, United States Code, is amended 2 by adding at the end the following new section: 3 ‘‘§ 2068. Pilot program on tiny homes for homeless 4 veterans. 5 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall carry 6 out a pilot program (in this section referred to as the ‘Pro- 7 gram’) to make grants to facilitate the creation of five vil- 8 lages of tiny homes— 9 ‘‘(1) across the United States with associated 10 supportive services to allow veterans to live in the 11 homes, maintain social connections with each other, 12 learn skills, and receive critical counseling; and 13 ‘‘(2) in a manner that ensures the homes are 14 energy efficient with low carbon footprints. 15 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—(1) The Secretary may 16 award a grant under the Program to any entity eligible 17 for grants under section 2011 of this title, including— 18 ‘‘(A) a non-profit organization described in sec- 19 tion 501(c)(3) or section 501(c)(19) of the Internal 20 Revenue Code of 1986; and 21 ‘‘(B) a State or local government. 22 ‘‘(2) To be eligible for a grant under the Program, 23 an entity specified in paragraph (1) shall submit to the 24 Secretary an application at such time, in such form, and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:20 May 27, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3326.IH H3326 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3326 IH containing such information as the Secretary determines 1 appropriate. 2 ‘‘(c) ELIGIBLE USES.—A recipient of a grant award- 3 ed under the Program shall use grant funds for the fol- 4 lowing: 5 ‘‘(1) Construction of the village. 6 ‘‘(2) Supportive job skills services. 7 ‘‘(3) Supportive counseling services, located in 8 the village or in the local community with transpor- 9 tation to the community provided to the veterans, in- 10 cluding— 11 ‘‘(A) case management services (pursuant 12 to section 2022 of this title); 13 ‘‘(B) financial management; 14 ‘‘(C) counseling for addiction issues; 15 ‘‘(D) educational opportunities; 16 ‘‘(E) anger management; and 17 ‘‘(F) career and employment resources. 18 ‘‘(4) Any other use the Secretary determines 19 appropriate. 20 ‘‘(d) NOTICE.—The Secretary shall publish a Notice 21 of Funding Opportunity on the internet website 22 Grants.gov, or such successor website, for the Program. 23 ‘‘(e) PREFERENCE.—In awarding grants under the 24 Program, the Secretary shall give preference to an entity 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:20 May 27, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3326.IH H3326 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3326 IH described in subsection (b)(1) that proposes to carry out 1 the project facilitated with grant funds to create LEED- 2 certified units, including by using mass timber. 3 ‘‘(f) REPORTING.—(1) During each year beginning in 4 the second year after being awarded a grant, each grantee 5 shall submit to the Department a report on the activities 6 of the grantee under the Program during the calendar 7 year preceding the report, including the following: 8 ‘‘(A) The degree to which the grantee made 9 progress toward meeting the long-term goals and ob- 10 jectives described in the application of the grantee 11 and the performance by the grantee of the covered 12 benchmarks described in the application. 13 ‘‘(B) The demographic data of veterans partici- 14 pating in the Program. 15 ‘‘(C) The details regarding the progress of such 16 veterans toward achieving the ability to maintain 17 housing and live independently, increasing skill levels 18 and income, and obtaining greater self-determina- 19 tion. 20 ‘‘(D) Any other matter the Secretary deter- 21 mines appropriate. 22 ‘‘(2) During the fourth year of the Program, the Sec- 23 retary shall submit to the Committees on Appropriations 24 and Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and House of Rep- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:20 May 27, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3326.IH H3326 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 3326 IH resentatives a report comparing the outcomes of grantees 1 under the Program to the outcomes of grantees under 2 other grant programs that do not contain individual homes 3 and a community center with supportive services, includ- 4 ing the following: 5 ‘‘(A) The average amount of time a veteran 6 stayed in a tiny home. 7 ‘‘(B) The percentage of veterans who exit the 8 village to permanent housing. 9 ‘‘(C) The percentage of veterans who exit the 10 village with competitive employment. 11 ‘‘(D) The percentage of veterans who have a 12 negative exit from the village. 13 ‘‘(E) Any other matter the Secretary deter- 14 minates appropriate. 15 ‘‘(g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Of the 16 amounts authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary 17 for grants under section 2011 of this title for each of fiscal 18 years 2023 through 2028, $20,000,000 may be used to 19 carry out the program. 20 ‘‘(h) SUNSET.—The Secretary may not award a grant 21 under the Program after the day that is six years after 22 the date of the enactment of the HAVENS Act. 23 ‘‘(i) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:20 May 27, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3326.IH H3326 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 3326 IH ‘‘(1) The term ‘community center’ means a 1 building of approximately 2,000 square feet where 2 the veterans can gather for socialization and to re- 3 ceive supportive services. 4 ‘‘(2) The term ‘mass timber’ means any of the 5 following: 6 ‘‘(A) Cross-laminated timber. 7 ‘‘(B) Nail-laminated timber. 8 ‘‘(C) Glue-laminated timber. 9 ‘‘(D) Laminated strand lumber. 10 ‘‘(E) Laminated veneer lumber. 11 ‘‘(3) The term ‘negative exit’, with respect to a 12 veteran participating in the Program, means an in- 13 stance under which a veteran leaves the Program be- 14 cause such veteran violated the rules of the Program 15 (excluding exits because of threatened or actual vio- 16 lence to self or others), failed to comply with the re- 17 quirements of the Program, or left the Program 18 without consulting staff. 19 ‘‘(4) The term ‘State’ means each State of the 20 United States, the District of Columbia, each com- 21 monwealth, territory or possession of the United 22 States, and each federally recognized Indian Tribe. 23 ‘‘(5) The term ‘tiny home’ means an individual 24 housing unit for one person of approximately 240 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:20 May 27, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3326.IH H3326 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 3326 IH square feet or an individual housing unit for a fam- 1 ily of approximately 340 square feet. 2 ‘‘(6) The term ‘village’ means the community of 3 tiny homes and the community center.’’. 4 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of con- 5 tents at the beginning of chapter 20 of such title is 6 amended by inserting after the item relating to sec- 7 tion 2067 the following new item: 8 ‘‘Sec. 2068. Pilot program on tiny homes for homeless veterans.’’. (c) IMPLEMENTATION.—The Secretary shall carry 9 out section 2068 of such title, as added by subsection (b), 10 not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of 11 this section. 12 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:20 May 27, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3326.IH H3326 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS