PUPP Act of 2023

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3957 To authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to make grants to modify and upgrade structures to serve as interim and permanent housing to accom- modate unhoused individuals with pets, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 9, 2023 Mr. CROW (for himself, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Ms. MACE, and Mr. SCHIFF) intro- duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agri- culture, and in addition to the Committee on Financial Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the com- mittee concerned A BILL To authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to make grants to modify and upgrade structures to serve as interim and permanent housing to accommodate unhoused indi- viduals with pets, 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 ‘‘Providing for 4 Unhoused People with Pets Act of 2023’’ or the ‘‘PUPP 5 Act of 2023’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:15 Jul 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3957.IH H3957 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3957 IH SEC. 2. GRANT PROGRAM FOR UPGRADING STRUCTURES 1 TO SERVE AS INTERIM AND PERMANENT 2 HOUSING TO ACCOMMODATE UNHOUSED IN- 3 DIVIDUALS WITH PETS. 4 (a) AUTHORITY.—The Secretary of Agriculture, act- 5 ing in direct consultation with the Secretary of Housing 6 and Urban Development, may carry out a program under 7 this section to make grants to eligible entities for pro- 8 viding interim and permanent housing that accommodates 9 homeless persons, and homeless families, who have pets. 10 (b) USE.—Amounts from a grant under this section 11 may be used only for— 12 (1) costs of acquiring, renovating, rehabili- 13 tating, re-purposing, retrofitting, or constructing a 14 property to be used as interim or permanent housing 15 that accommodates homeless persons, and homeless 16 families, who have pets; 17 (2) pet-related costs of operating such housing 18 as provided in this section; and 19 (3) costs of training staff and volunteers associ- 20 ated with such housing in basic pet care, including 21 nutrition, behavioral training, and health mainte- 22 nance. 23 (c) REQUIREMENTS.—Interim or permanent housing 24 assisted with amounts from a grant under this Act shall 25 comply with the following requirements: 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:15 Jul 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3957.IH H3957 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3957 IH (1) SERVICES.— 1 (A) SUPPORTIVE SERVICES.—Appropriate 2 supportive services, including mental health, 3 employment, substance use disorder, and 4 wellness services, shall be made available to oc- 5 cupants of the housing. 6 (B) VETERINARY SERVICES.—Basic veteri- 7 nary care and behavioral support for pets, in- 8 cluding spay and neuter, basic wellness exami- 9 nations, vaccinations, dental care, heartworm 10 treatment and prevention, flea and tick treat- 11 ment and prevention, and basic medical proce- 12 dures, shall be made available for pets of occu- 13 pants of the housing. 14 (C) LOCATION.—Services required under 15 this paragraph shall be made available on-site 16 in such housing, except that services that can- 17 not be furnished on-site may be made available 18 off-site, but only if direct linkage to transpor- 19 tation services is made available to occupants to 20 access such services. 21 (2) ANIMAL HOUSING.—The housing shall pro- 22 vide accommodations for pets of occupants of the 23 housing that are appropriate for the layout and type 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:15 Jul 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3957.IH H3957 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3957 IH of the interim or permanent housing, which may in- 1 clude crates and kennels. 2 (3) COORDINATION.—The manager of the hous- 3 ing shall— 4 (A) coordinate with public services and law 5 enforcement agencies to provide services and 6 safety for the housing, as the Secretary shall 7 require; 8 (B) coordinate with local veterinary service 9 and animal care providers to provide care for 10 pets that accompany occupants of the housing; 11 and 12 (C) in making occupancy available in the 13 housing, coordinate with the administrative en- 14 tity for the Continuum of Care under subtitle 15 C of title IV of the McKinney-Vento Homeless 16 Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11381 et seq.) for 17 the area in which the housing is located. 18 (d) APPLICATIONS; PLAN.— 19 (1) APPLICATION.—The Secretary shall provide 20 for eligible entities to submit applications for grants 21 under this section and shall require such applica- 22 tions to include a plan under paragraph (2). 23 (2) PLAN.—A plan under this paragraph 24 shall— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:15 Jul 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3957.IH H3957 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3957 IH (A) identify existing housing, shelters, or 1 unused structures or land within the area 2 served by the eligible entity submitting the ap- 3 plication that will be used for providing the 4 housing to be assisted under subsection (b) with 5 amounts from a grant under this section; 6 (B) identify the extent of need, in the area 7 of such housing, shelters, structures, or land 8 identified, for interim or permanent housing for 9 homeless persons with pets; 10 (C) identify partnering veterinary service 11 and animal care providers that will provide care 12 for pets that accompany occupants of the hous- 13 ing and any partnering animal welfare organi- 14 zation; 15 (D) include such assurances as the Sec- 16 retary considers necessary to ensure that such 17 housing will be provided using grant amounts, 18 that such housing will accommodate homeless 19 persons, and homeless families, who have pets, 20 and that such housing will comply with the re- 21 quirements under subsection (c); and 22 (E) provide for targeted outreach to indi- 23 viduals experiencing homelessness within the 24 area served by the eligible entity receiving a 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:15 Jul 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3957.IH H3957 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 3957 IH grant under this section to inform such individ- 1 uals regarding the availability of the housing 2 assisted with grant amounts. 3 (3) SELECTION.—The Secretary shall select ap- 4 plications to be awarded such grants on a competi- 5 tive basis, based on criteria that the Secretary shall 6 establish. 7 (e) REPORTS.—Each eligible entity that receives a 8 grant under this section for a fiscal year shall submit a 9 report to the Secretary, not later than 90 days after the 10 end of the fiscal year for which the grant was made, that 11 shall include the following information: 12 (1) A description of the activities undertaken by 13 the eligible entity using such grant amounts. 14 (2) Identification of the costs of each of the 15 services provided in connection with the housing as- 16 sisted with such grant amounts. 17 (3) An assessment of the effectiveness of the 18 program grants under this section and any rec- 19 ommendations for improving the program. 20 (f) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section, the 21 following definitions shall apply: 22 (1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.— 23 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘eligible enti- 24 ty’’ means— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:15 Jul 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3957.IH H3957 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 3957 IH (i) a unit of general local government; 1 (ii) a nonprofit organization; and 2 (iii) an entity providing housing or 3 shelters for homeless persons. 4 (B) LIMITATION.—Such term does not in- 5 clude an animal wellness or welfare organiza- 6 tion or an animal shelter, except that this sub- 7 paragraph may not be construed to prevent any 8 such organization or shelter from partnering 9 with an eligible entity to provide interim or per- 10 manent housing assisted with amounts from a 11 grant under this Act. 12 (2) HOMELESS.—The term ‘‘homeless’’ has the 13 meaning given such term in section 103 of the 14 McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 15 U.S.C. 11302). 16 (3) INTERIM HOUSING.—The term ‘‘interim 17 housing’’ means any housing or shelter that does not 18 provide permanent housing. Such term includes 19 transitional housing (as such term is defined in such 20 section 401) and emergency shelters (as such term 21 is defined in section 321 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 22 13351)). 23 (4) PERMANENT HOUSING.—The term ‘‘perma- 24 nent housing’’ has the meaning given such term in 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:15 Jul 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3957.IH H3957 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 3957 IH section 401 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assist- 1 ance Act (42 U.S.C. 11360). 2 (5) PET.—The term ‘‘pet’’ means any domes- 3 ticated animal that is normally maintained as a com- 4 panion or pet animal near the owner or person who 5 cares for the animal, such as a domestic dog (includ- 6 ing a service dog), domestic cat, ferret, gerbil, 7 mouse, rat, guinea pig, rabbit, hamster, or bird. 8 (6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 9 the Secretary of Agriculture. 10 (7) UNIT OF GENERAL LOCAL GOVERNMENT.— 11 The term ‘‘unit of general local government’’ has the 12 meaning given such term in the first sentence of 13 paragraph (1) of section 102(a) of the Housing and 14 Community Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 15 5302(a)(1)). 16 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 17 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 18 $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2024 through 2028. 19 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:15 Jul 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3957.IH H3957 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS