II 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 5004 

To authorize the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to provide 

funding to public housing agencies for the purpose of providing tenantbased assistance to individuals experiencing an economic crisis or natural 

disaster, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 10, 2020 

Mr. SCHATZ (for himself and Mr. VAN HOLLEN) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs 

A BILL 

To authorize the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to provide funding to public housing agencies for 

the purpose of providing tenant-based assistance to individuals experiencing an economic crisis or natural disaster, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Crisis Housing Act 

5 of 2020’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. CRISIS HOUSING ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title I of the United States Hous3 ing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437 et seq.) is amended by 

4 adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘SEC. 39. CRISIS HOUSING ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. 

6 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

7 ‘‘(1) AFFECTED AREA.—The term ‘affected 

8 area’ means— 

9 ‘‘(A) a State in which a trigger event oc10 curs; 

11 ‘‘(B) a county in which a trigger event oc12 curs; or 

13 ‘‘(C) an Indian tribal government that is 

14 subject to a trigger event. 

15 ‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘Adminis16 trator’ means the Administrator of the Federal 

17 Emergency Management Agency. 

18 ‘‘(3) COUNTY.—The term ‘county’ means a 

19 county, parish, or other equivalent county division, 

20 as defined by the Bureau of the Census. 

21 ‘‘(4) ELIGIBLE RECIPIENT.—The term ‘eligible 

22 recipient’ means a family— 

23 ‘‘(A)(i) that is a low-income family; or 

24 ‘‘(ii) that has been determined to re25 quire housing assistance by the Adminis26 trator under section 408(b) of the Robert 


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1 T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 

2 Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5174(b)); 

3 ‘‘(B)(i) that resides or is homeless in an 

4 affected area on a date that is on or not more 

5 than 7 days before the date on which a trigger 

6 event occurs in the affected area, regardless of 

7 whether the family resides or experiences home8 lessness in the affected area on the date on 

9 which the family applies for assistance under 

10 this section; or 

11 ‘‘(ii) that is governed by an Indian tribal 

12 government that is subject to a trigger event; 

13 and 

14 ‘‘(C) that, not later than 180 days after 

15 the date on which the trigger event described in 

16 subparagraph (B) occurs, submits an applica17 tion to a public housing agency for rental as18 sistance under this section. 

19 ‘‘(5) HOMELESS.—The term ‘homeless’ has the 

20 meaning given the term in section 103 of the 

21 McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 

22 U.S.C. 11302). 

23 ‘‘(6) INDIAN TRIBAL GOVERNMENT.—The term 

24 ‘Indian tribal government’ has the meaning given 

25 the term in section 102 of the Robert T. Stafford 


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1 Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 

2 U.S.C. 5122). 

3 ‘‘(7) RENTAL ASSISTANCE.—The term ‘rental 

4 assistance’ means tenant-based assistance that is au5 thorized under this section. 

6 ‘‘(8) RENTAL CONTRIBUTION.—The term ‘rent7 al contribution’ means a contribution of an eligible 

8 recipient towards the rental price of a housing unit 

9 paid for with rental assistance. 

10 ‘‘(9) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means any 

11 State of the United States, the District of Columbia, 

12 and any territory of the United States. 

13 ‘‘(10) TENANT-BASED ASSISTANCE.—The term 

14 ‘tenant-based assistance’ means housing assistance 

15 that allows an eligible recipient to— 

16 ‘‘(A) select a housing unit where the eligi17 ble recipient will be assisted under this section; 

18 and 

19 ‘‘(B) move to another housing unit and 

20 continue to receive assistance under this sec21 tion, as long as the eligible recipient complies 

22 with the requirements of this section. 

23 ‘‘(11) TRIBALLY DESIGNATED HOUSING ENTI24 TY.—The term ‘Tribally designated housing entity’ 

25 has the meaning given the term ‘tribally designated 


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1 housing entity’ in section 4 of the Native American 

2 Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act of 

3 1996 (25 U.S.C. 4103). 

4 ‘‘(12) TRIGGER EVENT.—The term ‘trigger 

5 event’ means— 

6 ‘‘(A) with respect to a State— 

7 ‘‘(i) an increase in the 6-month mov8 ing average of the unemployment rate in 

9 the State that is not less than 0.5 percent10 age points greater than the lowest unem11 ployment rate in the State during the 12- 

12 month period preceding the date of the in13 crease; or 

14 ‘‘(ii) a major disaster under which as15 sistance is authorized under section 408 of 

16 the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 

17 Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 

18 5174) in counties in which a majority of 

19 the residents of the State reside; 

20 ‘‘(B) with respect to a county, a major dis21 aster under which assistance is authorized for 

22 individuals in the county under section 408 of 

23 the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 

24 Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5174); 

25 and 


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1 ‘‘(C) with respect to an Indian tribal gov2 ernment— 

3 ‘‘(i) an event described in subpara4 graph (A) that occurs within a State in 

5 which the Indian tribal government is lo6 cated; 

7 ‘‘(ii) an event described in subpara8 graph (B) that occurs within a county in 

9 which the Indian tribal government is lo10 cated; 

11 ‘‘(iii) an increase in the 6-month mov12 ing average of the unemployment rate of 

13 the individuals governed by the Indian 

14 tribal government that is not less than 0.5 

15 percentage points greater than the lowest 

16 unemployment rate of the individuals gov17 erned by the Indian tribal government dur18 ing the 12-month period preceding the 

19 date of the increase; or 

20 ‘‘(iv) a major disaster under which as21 sistance is authorized for individuals gov22 erned by the Indian tribal government 

23 under section 408 of the Robert T. Staf24 ford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assist25 ance Act (42 U.S.C. 5174). 


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1 ‘‘(b) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.— 

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall provide 

3 funding to public housing agencies that provide rent4 al assistance to eligible recipients under this section 

5 in accordance with this subsection. 

6 ‘‘(2) ACCEPTANCE OF APPLICATIONS.—A public 

7 housing agency may begin to accept applications for 

8 rental assistance on the date on which the Secretary 

9 provides notice to the public housing agency under 

10 subsection (h)(2). 

11 ‘‘(3) CONFIRMATION OF ELIGIBILITY.—Not 

12 later than 30 days after the date on which a public 

13 housing agency receives an application for rental as14 sistance from an individual— 

15 ‘‘(A) the public housing agency shall co16 ordinate with the Secretary to determine wheth17 er the individual qualifies as an eligible recipi18 ent; and 

19 ‘‘(B) the Secretary shall confirm the deter20 mination made under subparagraph (A). 

21 ‘‘(4) ISSUING OF RENTAL ASSISTANCE.—For 

22 each individual who applies to a public housing 

23 agency that is confirmed as an eligible recipient 

24 under paragraph (3)— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the Secretary shall guarantee pay2 ment to the public housing agency for the cost 

3 of rental assistance and the administrative fees 

4 established under subsection (f); and 

5 ‘‘(B) the public housing agency shall issue 

6 rental assistance to the eligible recipient. 

7 ‘‘(5) PRIORITY IN THE CASE OF A MAJOR DIS8 ASTER.—In issuing rental assistance under para9 graph (4)(B), an eligible public housing agency shall 

10 prioritize the eligible recipients described in sub11 section (a)(4)(A)(ii). 

12 ‘‘(6) INCREMENTAL INCREASE IN RENTAL CON13 TRIBUTION.— 

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may re15 quire that the rental contribution of an eligible 

16 recipient receiving rental assistance incremen17 tally increases beginning on the date that is 1 

18 year after the date on which the first rental 

19 payment on a housing unit using the rental as20 sistance occurs. 

21 ‘‘(B) FREQUENCY.—An increase described 

22 in subparagraph (A) may occur not more fre23 quently than quarterly. 

24 ‘‘(C) AMOUNTS.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) FIRST INCREASE.—The first in2 crease described in subparagraph (A) shall 

3 be in an amount that ensures that an eligi4 ble recipient contributes not more than 30 

5 percent of the adjusted income of the eligi6 ble recipient towards a rental unit. 

7 ‘‘(ii) FINAL INCREASE.—The final in8 crease described in subparagraph (A) shall 

9 be in an amount that ensures that an eligi10 ble recipient contributes not more than 40 

11 percent of the adjusted income of the eligi12 ble recipient towards a rental unit. 

13 ‘‘(D) DECREASE.—At any time, the Sec14 retary may reduce a rental contribution of an 

15 eligible recipient receiving rental assistance if 

16 the adjusted income of the eligible recipient de17 creases suddenly. 

18 ‘‘(E) LIMIT.—An eligible recipient may not 

19 be required to contribute more than 40 percent 

20 of the adjusted income of the eligible recipient 

21 towards a rental unit paid for with rental as22 sistance. 

23 ‘‘(7) TRIBALLY DESIGNATED HOUSING ENTI24 TIES.—In the case of an eligible recipient that is eli25 gible as a result of a trigger event described in subVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:03 Dec 18, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5004.IS S5004

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1 section (a)(12)(C), a Tribally designated housing en2 tity may be considered a public housing agency for 

3 the purpose of this section. 

4 ‘‘(8) REASONABLE RENT.—The rental price for 

5 a housing unit paid for with rental assistance shall 

6 be reasonable in comparison with rents charged for 

7 comparable housing units in the private, unassisted 

8 local market of the area in which the housing unit 

9 is located. 

10 ‘‘(c) HOUSING COUNSELING AND SUPPORT.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, through 

12 agreements with public housing agencies issuing 

13 rental assistance, shall provide housing counseling 

14 services to eligible recipients receiving rental assist15 ance. 

16 ‘‘(2) SERVICES.—The housing counseling serv17 ices provided under this subsection shall include as18 sisting an eligible recipient find housing— 

19 ‘‘(A) with the rental assistance; and 

20 ‘‘(B) after the expiration of the rental as21 sistance. 

22 ‘‘(3) ADDITIONAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary 

23 may provide funding to public housing agencies for 

24 the purpose of paying for utility and security deposVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:03 Dec 18, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5004.IS S5004

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1 its that are necessary in order for eligible recipients 

2 to secure housing with rental assistance. 

3 ‘‘(4) NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS.—A public 

4 housing agency may enter into an agreement with a 

5 community nonprofit organization to deliver housing 

6 counseling services under this subsection. 

7 ‘‘(d) TIMELINE FOR RENTAL ASSISTANCE.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Rental assistance shall ex9 pire on the date that is 2 years after the date on 

10 which the first rental payment on a housing unit 

11 using the rental assistance occurs. 

12 ‘‘(2) EXTENSION.—The Secretary shall extend 

13 the validity of rental assistance expiring under para14 graph (1) for 1 additional year if— 

15 ‘‘(A) in the case of rental assistance of an 

16 eligible recipient that receives the rental assist17 ance as a result of a trigger event that is an in18 crease in the 6-month moving average of the 

19 unemployment rate of an affected area, on the 

20 date that is 2 years after the date on which the 

21 trigger event occurred, the unemployment rate 

22 of the affected area is not less than 2 percent23 age points greater than it was on the date on 

24 which the trigger event occurred; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) in the case of rental assistance of an 

2 eligible recipient that receives the rental assist3 ance as a result of a trigger event occurring in 

4 an affected area that is a major disaster under 

5 which assistance is authorized under section 

6 408 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 

7 and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 

8 5174), the Governor of the State in which the 

9 affected area is located, in consultation with the 

10 Administrator, if appropriate— 

11 ‘‘(i) requests the extension; and 

12 ‘‘(ii) determines that the housing in 

13 the affected area that is available to low14 income families has not recovered from the 

15 trigger event. 

16 ‘‘(3) ADDITIONAL TRIGGER EVENT.—If an eligi17 ble recipient receiving rental assistance as a result of 

18 a trigger event resides in an affected area on or not 

19 more than 7 days before the date on which an addi20 tional trigger event occurs, or if an eligible recipient 

21 receiving rental assistance as a result of a trigger 

22 event is governed by an Indian tribal government 

23 that is subject to an additional trigger event, the 

24 Secretary shall— 


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1 ‘‘(A) extend the validity of the rental as2 sistance until the date that is 2 years after the 

3 date of the additional trigger event; and 

4 ‘‘(B) extend the validity of the rental as5 sistance for 1 additional year if the additional 

6 trigger event meets the requirements of a trig7 ger event under subparagraph (A) or (B) of 

8 paragraph (2). 

9 ‘‘(4) ELIMINATION.—The Secretary may re10 quire a public housing agency to invalidate rental as11 sistance of an eligible recipient that— 

12 ‘‘(A) selects a housing unit with the rental 

13 assistance with a rental price that violates sub14 section (b)(7); or 

15 ‘‘(B) relinquishes the rental assistance. 

16 ‘‘(5) RENTAL ASSISTANCE TIED TO RECIPI17 ENT.—An eligible recipient may not transfer rental 

18 assistance to any other person. 

19 ‘‘(e) OTHER RENTAL ASSISTANCE.— 

20 ‘‘(1) PROHIBITION ON DUPLICATE ASSIST21 ANCE.—An eligible recipient who receives other ten22 ant-based assistance under section 8 may not receive 

23 rental assistance under this section. 

24 ‘‘(2) WAITLIST FOR OTHER RENTAL ASSIST25 ANCE.—With respect to an eligible recipient of rentVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:03 Dec 18, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5004.IS S5004

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1 al assistance who is on a waitlist for other tenant2 based assistance under section 8(o)— 

3 ‘‘(A) the place or preference status on that 

4 waitlist of the eligible recipient may not be 

5 changed as a result of the receipt of a rental 

6 assistance; and 

7 ‘‘(B) if the other tenant-based assistance 

8 becomes available to the eligible recipient— 

9 ‘‘(i) the eligible recipient may elect to 

10 use that other tenant-based assistance; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) if the eligible recipient makes an 

12 election under clause (i), the rental assist13 ance under this section shall be eliminated. 

14 ‘‘(f) ADMINISTRATIVE FEES.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consulta16 tion with public housing agencies and professional 

17 associations of public housing agencies, shall estab18 lish fees to pay public housing agencies for the costs 

19 of— 

20 ‘‘(A) administering rental assistance; and 

21 ‘‘(B) providing the housing counseling and 

22 support services required under subsection (c). 

23 ‘‘(2) CONSIDERATION OF OTHER ADMINISTRA24 TIVE FEES.—In establishing the administrative fees 


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1 required under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall 

2 consider— 

3 ‘‘(A) the administrative fees established 

4 under section 8(q); and 

5 ‘‘(B) any administrative fees established to 

6 support public housing agencies under— 

7 ‘‘(i) an interagency agreement be8 tween the Administrator and the Secretary 

9 to ensure the implementation of a Disaster 

10 Housing Assistance Program under section 

11 408 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Re12 lief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 

13 U.S.C. 5174) relating to hurricanes Gus14 tav, Ike, Katrina, Rita, or Sandy; or 

15 ‘‘(ii) any other interagency agreement 

16 with a similar purpose to the interagency 

17 agreement described in clause (i). 

18 ‘‘(3) RELOCATING FAMILIES.—The Secretary 

19 shall ensure that, with respect to an eligible recipi20 ent that moves to a dwelling unit under section 8(r) 

21 that is located in an area over which the public 

22 housing agency that issues rental assistance to the 

23 eligible recipient does not have jurisdiction, the pub24 lic housing agency that has jurisdiction over the 

25 dwelling unit receives the appropriate amount of adVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:03 Dec 18, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5004.IS S5004

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1 ministrative fees under this subsection on account of 

2 the eligible recipient. 

3 ‘‘(g) COORDINATION.—The Commissioner of the Bu4 reau of Labor Statistics shall coordinate with the Assist5 ant Secretary of Indian Affairs to develop reliable unem6 ployment measures for American Indian, Native Alaskan, 

7 and Native Hawaiian communities in order to understand 

8 when the requirements for a trigger event under sub9 section (a)(12)(C)(ii) are met. 

10 ‘‘(h) NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS.— 

11 ‘‘(1) NOTIFICATIONS TO SECRETARY.— 

12 ‘‘(A) ADMINISTRATOR.—On the date on 

13 which a trigger event occurs that is a major 

14 disaster under which assistance is authorized 

15 under section 408 of the Robert T. Stafford 

16 Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 

17 (42 U.S.C. 5174), the Administrator shall no18 tify the Secretary of— 

19 ‘‘(i) the trigger event; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) the affected area in which the 

21 trigger event occurs. 

22 ‘‘(B) SECRETARY OF LABOR.—On the date 

23 on which a trigger event occurs that is an in24 crease in the 6-month moving average of the 


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1 unemployment rate of an affected area, the Sec2 retary of Labor shall notify the Secretary of— 

3 ‘‘(i) the trigger event; and 

4 ‘‘(ii) the affected area in which the 

5 trigger event occurs. 

6 ‘‘(2) NOTIFICATION BY SECRETARY.—Not later 

7 than 14 days after the date on which a trigger event 

8 occurs, the Secretary, in coordination with the Ad9 ministrator, if appropriate, shall notify public hous10 ing agencies, the affected area in which the trigger 

11 event occurs, Congress, and the public of— 

12 ‘‘(A) the trigger event; and 

13 ‘‘(B) the availability of rental assistance 

14 for eligible recipients under this section. 

15 ‘‘(i) DUPLICATION OF BENEFITS.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible recipient receiv17 ing rental assistance may not concurrently receive 

18 any other Federal, State, territorial, local, or Tribal 

19 housing assistance, including housing assistance 

20 under section 408 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster 

21 Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 

22 5174). 

23 ‘‘(2) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall es24 tablish regulations to prevent the concurrent receipt 

25 of assistance under paragraph (1). 


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1 ‘‘(j) REGULATIONS.— 

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 months 

3 after the date of enactment of this section, the Sec4 retary, in coordination with the Administrator, shall 

5 promulgate regulations to implement this section. 

6 ‘‘(2) SECTION 8(O) REGULATIONS.—In issuing 

7 the regulations required under paragraph (1), the 

8 Secretary may make a regulation that is applicable 

9 to section 8(o) applicable to this section, including 

10 any regulation relating to the elimination of tenant11 based assistance for a family that commits fraud in 

12 order to receive the tenant-based assistance. 

13 ‘‘(k) APPROPRIATIONS.—Out of any money in the 

14 Treasury of the United States not otherwise appropriated, 

15 there are appropriated to the Department of Housing and 

16 Urban Development such sums as may be necessary to 

17 carry out this section. 

18 ‘‘(l) EMERGENCY DESIGNATION.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The amounts provided by 

20 this section are designated as an emergency require21 ment pursuant to section 4(g) of the Statutory Pay22 As-You-Go Act of 2010 (2 U.S.C. 933(g)). 

23 ‘‘(2) DESIGNATION IN SENATE.—In the Senate, 

24 this section is designated as an emergency require25 ment pursuant to section 4112(a) of H. Con. Res. 


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1 71 (115th Congress), the concurrent resolution on 

2 the budget for fiscal year 2018.’’. 

3 (b) DEFINITION OF PUBLIC HOUSING AGENCY.— 

4 Section 3(b)(6)(B) of the United States Housing Act of 

5 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437a(b)(6)(B)) is amended— 

6 (1) by striking the paragraph heading and in7 serting ‘‘SECTION 8 OR SECTION 39 PROGRAM’’; and 

8 (2) in the matter preceding clause (i), by insert9 ing ‘‘or section 39’’ after ‘‘section 8’’. 

10 (c) PORTABILITY.—Section 8(r) of the United States 

11 Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(r)) is amended— 

12 (1) in paragraph (1) by inserting ‘‘or section 

13 39’’ after ‘‘subsection (o)’’; 

14 (2) in paragraph (3), by inserting ‘‘or section 

15 39’’ after ‘‘subsection (o)’’ each place it appears; 

16 and 

17 (3) in paragraph (5)— 

18 (A) by inserting ‘‘or section 39’’ after 

19 ‘‘under the tenant-based assistance program’’ 

20 each place it appears; and 

21 (B) by inserting ‘‘or section 39, as applica22 ble,’’ after ‘‘section 8 program’’. 

Æ 


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