Emergency Resident Protection Act of 1999

Summary: Emergency Resident Protection Act of 1999 - Amends the Multifamily Assisted Housing Reform and Affordability Act of 1997 to provide enhanced vouchers for residents of projects with expiring contracts under section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937.  Authorizes specified appropriations. 
Sets forth expiring contract renewal rates based upon comparable market rents. 
Authorizes interest reduction payments for project mortgage refinancing. 
Amends the National Housing Act to authorize project owners under the rental and cooperative housing program to retain excess income.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Emergency Resident Protection Act of 
1999''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--The Congress finds that--
            (1) there exists throughout the United States a need for 
        decent, safe and affordable housing;
            (2) affordable housing is critical to the well-being of 
        vulnerable families, particularly seniors and persons with 
        disabilities;
            (3) an unprecedented number of contracts for Federal rental 
        assistance are expiring now and will expire in the near future, 
        including contracts covering 2,384,000 units in fiscal year 
        2000 alone;
            (4) a growing number of private owners of affordable 
        housing developments are choosing to not renew their subsidy 
        contracts with the Federal government;
            (5) in cases where assistance contracts are not renewed, 
        rent levels in the affected developments may rise dramatically;
            (6) an overwhelming majority of residents in these 
        developments are seniors or persons with disabilities and have 
        little or no means of paying additional rent from personal 
        income, effectively forcing them to move from what have been 
        their homes for almost a quarter of a century; and
            (7) the Federal Government should use all appropriate means 
        to ensure that those least able to provide for themselves enjoy 
        the protection and welfare of the people of the United States.
    (b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to protect vulnerable 
residents of affordable housing, particularly seniors and persons with 
disabilities, and to help provide those residents with peace of mind 
and security for living--
            (1) by providing greater rental assistance flexibility to 
        ensure that vulnerable populations are not forced to move from 
        their homes when rent levels rise; and
            (2) where appropriate, by encouraging private owners of 
        affordable housing developments to continue serving low-income 
        families by allowing such housing providers greater flexibility 
        for refinancing and by ensuring more effective administration 
        by the Federal Government of rental assistance contract 
        renegotiations.

SEC. 3. ENHANCED VOUCHERS FOR RESIDENTS OF PROJECTS WITH EXPIRING 
              CONTRACTS.

    Section 524 of the Multifamily Assisted Housing Reform and 
Affordability Act of 1997 (42 U.S.C. 1437f note) is amended by adding 
at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(b) Enhanced Vouchers Upon Contract Expiration.--In the case of 
contracts for assistance under section 8 referred to in subsection (a) 
of this section that are not renewed under subsection (a) (or any other 
authority), the following provisions shall apply:
            ``(1) In general.--To the extent that amounts for 
        assistance under this subsection are provided in advance in 
        appropriation Acts, upon the date of the expiration of the 
        contract for project-based assistance for a covered project, 
        the Secretary--
                    ``(A) shall make enhanced voucher assistance under 
                this subsection available on behalf of each covered 
                resident of a covered project; and
                    ``(B) may make enhanced voucher assistance under 
                this section available on behalf of any other low-
                income family who, upon the date of such expiration, is 
                residing in an assisted dwelling unit in a covered 
                project that is located in a low-vacancy area.
            ``(2) Enhanced assistance.--Enhanced voucher assistance 
        under this subsection for a family shall be voucher assistance 
        under section 8(o) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 
        U.S.C. 1437f(o)), except that under such enhanced voucher 
        assistance--
                    ``(A) if the assisted family elects to remain in 
                the covered project in which the family was residing on 
                the date of the expiration of such contract and the 
                rent for such unit exceeds the applicable payment 
                standard established pursuant to section 8(o) for the 
                unit, the amount of rental assistance provided on 
                behalf of family shall be determined using a payment 
                standard that is equal to the rent for the dwelling 
                unit, subject to paragraph (10)(A) of such section 
                8(o); and
                    ``(B) if the assisted family elects to move from 
                such covered project, subparagraph (A) of this 
                paragraph shall not apply and the payment standard for 
                the dwelling unit occupied by the family shall be 
                determined in accordance with section 8(o).
            ``(3) Definitions.--For purposes of this subsection, the 
        following definitions shall apply:
                    ``(A) Assisted dwelling unit.--The term `assisted 
                dwelling unit' means a dwelling unit that--
                            ``(i) is in a covered project; and
                            ``(ii) is covered by rental assistance 
                        provided under the contract for project-based 
                        assistance for the covered project.
                    ``(B) Covered project.--The term `covered project' 
                means any housing that--
                            ``(i) consists of more than 4 dwelling 
                        units;
                            ``(ii) is covered in whole or in part by a 
                        contract for project-based assistance under--
                                    ``(I) the new construction or 
                                substantial rehabilitation program 
                                under section 8(b)(2) of the United 
                                States Housing Act of 1937 (as in 
                                effect before October 1, 1983),
                                    ``(II) the property disposition 
                                program under section 8(b) of the 
                                United States Housing Act of 1937,
                                    ``(III) the moderate rehabilitation 
                                program under section 8(e)(2) of the 
                                United States Housing Act of 1937 (as 
                                in effect before October 1, 1991);
                                    ``(IV) the loan management 
                                assistance program under section 8 of 
                                the United States Housing Act of 1937,
                                    ``(V) section 23 of the United 
                                States Housing Act of 1937 (as in 
                                effect before January 1, 1975),
                                    ``(VI) the rent supplement program 
                                under section 101 of the Housing and 
                                Urban Development Act of 1965, or
                                    ``(VII) section 8 of the United 
                                States Housing Act of 1937, following 
                                conversion from assistance under 
                                section 101 of the Housing and Urban 
                                Development Act of 1965,
                        which contract will (under its own terms) 
                        expire during the period consisting of fiscal 
                        years 2000 through 2004; and
                            ``(iii) is not housing for which residents 
                        are eligible for enhanced voucher assistance as 
                        provided under the `Preserving Existing Housing 
                        Investment' account in the Departments of 
                        Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban 
                        Development, and Independent Agencies 
                        Appropriations Act, 1997 (Public Law 104-204; 
                        110 Stat. 2884), pursuant to such provision or 
                        any other subsequently enacted provision of 
                        law.
                    ``(C) Covered resident.--The term `covered 
                resident' means a family who--
                            ``(i) is an elderly family or a disabled 
                        family (as such terms are defined in section 
                        3(b) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 
                        (42 U.S.C. 1437a(b)); and
                            ``(ii) upon the date of the expiration of 
                        the contract for project-based assistance for a 
                        covered project, is residing in an assisted 
                        dwelling unit in the covered project.
                    ``(D) Low-vacancy area.--The term `low-vacancy 
                area' means an area that, in the determination of the 
                Secretary, has an inadequate supply of habitable, 
                affordable housing for low-income families using 
                tenant-based assistance.
            ``(4) Authorization of appropriations.--There are 
        authorized to be appropriated for each of fiscal years 2000, 
2001, 2002, 2003, and 2004 such sums as may be necessary for enhanced 
voucher assistance under this subsection.''.

SEC. 4. RENEWAL OF SECTION 8 CONTRACTS.

    (a) In General.--Paragraph (1) of section 524(a) of the Multifamily 
Assisted Housing Reform and Affordability Act of 1997 (42 U.S.C. 1437f 
note) is amended--
            (1) in the first sentence, by striking `` at rent levels 
        that do not exceed comparable market rents for the market 
        area''; and
            (2) in the last sentence, by striking the period at the end 
        and inserting the following: ``and, in the case of expiring 
        contracts, if provided shall be provided at rent levels that 
        are--
                    ``(A) equal to 90 percent of comparable market 
                rents for the market area, in the case of a project 
                having rent levels under the expiring contract that do 
                not exceed 90 percent of such comparable market rents;
                    ``(B) equal to the existing rents under the 
                expiring contract, in the case of a project having rent 
                levels under the expiring contract that exceed 90 
                percent of comparable market rents for the market area 
                but do not exceed such comparable market rents; and
                    ``(C) equal to comparable market rents for the 
                market area, in the case of a project that is not 
                eligible for mortgage restructuring under this title 
                and has rent levels under the expiring contract that 
                exceed such comparable market rents.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--Section 524(a)(2) of the Multifamily 
Assisted Housing Reform and Affordability Act of 1997 (42 U.S.C. 1437f 
note) is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (C), by inserting ``and'' after the 
        semicolon at the end;
            (2) in subparagraph (D), by striking ``; and'' and 
        inserting a period; and
            (3) by striking subparagraph (E).

SEC. 5. ELIGIBLE PURPOSES OF INTEREST REDUCTION PAYMENT GRANTS.

    (a) Eligible Purposes.--Section 236(s)(3) of the National Housing 
Act (12 U.S.C. 1715z-1(s)(3)) is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``and'' at the end:
            (2) in subparagraph (C), by striking the period at the end 
        and inserting ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
                    ``(D) refinancing of the mortgage on the project.''

SEC. 6. RETENTION OF EXCESS INCOME FOR SECTION 236 PROJECTS.

    The last sentence of section 236(g) of the National Housing Act (12 
U.S.C. 1715z-1(g)) is amended by striking ``an owner of a project'' and 
all that follows through ``subsection (b),'' and inserting ``the 
project owner''.