IB 

Union Calendar No. 300 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 3700 

[Report No. 114–397] 

To provide housing opportunities in the United States through modernization 

of various housing programs, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 7, 2015 

Mr. LUETKEMEYER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Financial Services 

JANUARY 28, 2016 

Additional sponsors: Mr. CLEAVER, Mr. SHERMAN, Mr. PITTENGER, Mr. 

PEARCE, Mr. ROTHFUS, Mr. CAPUANO, Mr. BARR, Mr. POSEY, Mr. SESSIONS, Mr. RIBBLE, and Mr. MCHENRY

JANUARY 28, 2016 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 

House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on October 7, 2015] 


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A BILL 

To provide housing opportunities in the United States 

through modernization of various housing programs, and 

for other purposes. 


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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 AND TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act of 

6 2015’’. 

7 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

8 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents. 

TITLE I—SECTION 8 RENTAL ASSISTANCE AND PUBLIC HOUSING 

Sec. 101. Inspection of dwelling units. 

Sec. 102. Income reviews. 

Sec. 103. Limitation on public housing tenancy for over-income families. 

Sec. 104. Limitation on eligibility for assistance based on assets. 

Sec. 105. Units owned by public housing agencies. 

Sec. 106. PHA project-based assistance. 

Sec. 107. Establishment of fair market rent. 

Sec. 108. Collection of utility data. 

Sec. 109. Public housing Capital and Operating Funds. 

Sec. 110. Family unification program for children aging out of foster care. 

TITLE II—RURAL HOUSING 

Sec. 201. Delegation of guaranteed rural housing loan approval. 

TITLE III—FHA MORTGAGE INSURANCE FOR CONDOMINIUMS 

Sec. 301. Modification of FHA requirements for mortgage insurance for condominiums. 

TITLE IV—HOUSING REFORMS FOR THE HOMELESS AND FOR 

VETERANS 

Sec. 401. Definition of geographic area for Continuum of Care Program. 

Sec. 402. Inclusion of public housing agencies and local redevelopment authorities 

in emergency solutions grants. 

Sec. 403. Special assistant for Veterans Affairs in the Department of Housing 

and Urban Development. 

Sec. 404. Annual supplemental report on veterans homelessness. 

TITLE V—MISCELLANEOUS 

Sec. 501. Inclusion of Disaster Housing Assistance Program in certain fraud and 

abuse prevention measures. 


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Sec. 502. Energy efficiency requirements under Self-Help Homeownership Opportunity program. 

Sec. 503. Data exchange standardization for improved interoperability. 

1 TITLE I—SECTION 8 RENTAL AS2 SISTANCE AND PUBLIC HOUS3 ING 

4 SEC. 101. INSPECTION OF DWELLING UNITS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 8(o)(8) of the United States 

6 Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)(8)) is amended— 

7 (1) by striking subparagraph (A) and inserting 

8 the following new subparagraph: 

9 ‘‘(A) INITIAL INSPECTION.— 

10 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—For each dwelling 

11 unit for which a housing assistance pay12 ment contract is established under this sub13 section, the public housing agency (or other 

14 entity pursuant to paragraph (11)) shall 

15 inspect the unit before any assistance pay16 ment is made to determine whether the 

17 dwelling unit meets the housing quality 

18 standards under subparagraph (B), except 

19 as provided in clause (ii) or (iii) of this 

20 subparagraph. 

21 ‘‘(ii) CORRECTION OF NON-LIFE22 THREATENING CONDITIONS.—In the case of 

23 any dwelling unit that is determined, pur24 suant to an inspection under clause (i), not 


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1 to meet the housing quality standards under 

2 subparagraph (B), assistance payments 

3 may be made for the unit notwithstanding 

4 subparagraph (C) if failure to meet such 

5 standards is a result only of non-life-threat6 ening conditions, as such conditions are es7 tablished by the Secretary. A public housing 

8 agency making assistance payments pursu9 ant to this clause for a dwelling unit shall, 

10 30 days after the beginning of the period for 

11 which such payments are made, withhold 

12 any assistance payments for the unit if any 

13 deficiency resulting in noncompliance with 

14 the housing quality standards has not been 

15 corrected by such time. The public housing 

16 agency shall recommence assistance pay17 ments when such deficiency has been cor18 rected, and may use any payments withheld 

19 to make assistance payments relating to the 

20 period during which payments were with21 held. 

22 ‘‘(iii) USE OF ALTERNATIVE INSPEC23 TION METHOD FOR INTERIM PERIOD.—In 

24 the case of any property that within the 

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1 ments of an inspection that qualifies as an 

2 alternative inspection method pursuant to 

3 subparagraph (E), a public housing agency 

4 may authorize occupancy before the inspec5 tion under clause (i) has been completed, 

6 and may make assistance payments retro7 active to the beginning of the lease term 

8 after the unit has been determined pursuant 

9 to an inspection under clause (i) to meet the 

10 housing quality standards under subpara11 graph (B). This clause may not be con12 strued to exempt any dwelling unit from 

13 compliance with the requirements of sub14 paragraph (D).’’; 

15 (2) by redesignating subparagraph (G) as sub16 paragraph (H); and 

17 (3) by inserting after subparagraph (F) the fol18 lowing new subparagraph: 

19 ‘‘(G) ENFORCEMENT OF HOUSING QUALITY

20 STANDARDS.— 

21 ‘‘(i) DETERMINATION OF NONCOMPLI22 ANCE.—A dwelling unit that is covered by 

23 a housing assistance payments contract 

24 under this subsection shall be considered, for 

25 purposes of subparagraphs (D) and (F), to 


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1 be in noncompliance with the housing qual2 ity standards under subparagraph (B) if— 

3 ‘‘(I) the public housing agency or 

4 an inspector authorized by the State or 

5 unit of local government determines 

6 upon inspection of the unit that the 

7 unit fails to comply with such stand8 ards; 

9 ‘‘(II) the agency or inspector noti10 fies the owner of the unit in writing of 

11 such failure to comply; and 

12 ‘‘(III) the failure to comply is not 

13 corrected— 

14 ‘‘(aa) in the case of any such 

15 failure that is a result of life16 threatening conditions, within 24 

17 hours after such notice has been 

18 provided; and 

19 ‘‘(bb) in the case of any such 

20 failure that is a result of non-life21 threatening conditions, within 30 

22 days after such notice has been 

23 provided or such other reasonable 

24 longer period as the public hous25 ing agency may establish. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) WITHHOLDING OF ASSISTANCE

2 AMOUNTS DURING CORRECTION.—The pub3 lic housing agency may withhold assistance 

4 amounts under this subsection with respect 

5 to a dwelling unit for which a notice pursu6 ant to clause (i)(II), of failure to comply 

7 with housing quality standards under sub8 paragraph (B) as determined pursuant to 

9 an inspection conducted under subpara10 graph (D) or (F), has been provided. If the 

11 unit is brought into compliance with such 

12 housing quality standards during the peri13 ods referred to in clause (i)(III), the public 

14 housing agency shall recommence assistance 

15 payments and may use any amounts with16 held during the correction period to make 

17 assistance payments relating to the period 

18 during which payments were withheld. 

19 ‘‘(iii) ABATEMENT OF ASSISTANCE

20 AMOUNTS.—The public housing agency shall 

21 abate all of the assistance amounts under 

22 this subsection with respect to a dwelling 

23 unit that is determined, pursuant to clause 

24 (i) of this subparagraph, to be in non25 compliance with housing quality standards 


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1 under subparagraph (B). Upon completion 

2 of repairs by the public housing agency or 

3 the owner sufficient so that the dwelling 

4 unit complies with such housing quality 

5 standards, the agency shall recommence 

6 payments under the housing assistance pay7 ments contract to the owner of the dwelling 

8 unit. 

9 ‘‘(iv) NOTIFICATION.—If a public hous10 ing agency providing assistance under this 

11 subsection abates rental assistance pay12 ments pursuant to clause (iii) with respect 

13 to a dwelling unit, the agency shall, upon 

14 commencement of such abatement— 

15 ‘‘(I) notify the tenant and the 

16 owner of the dwelling unit that— 

17 ‘‘(aa) such abatement has 

18 commenced; and 

19 ‘‘(bb) if the dwelling unit is 

20 not brought into compliance with 

21 housing quality standards within 

22 60 days after the effective date of 

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1 cy may establish, the tenant will 

2 have to move; and 

3 ‘‘(II) issue the tenant the nec4 essary forms to allow the tenant to 

5 move to another dwelling unit and 

6 transfer the rental assistance to that 

7 unit. 

8 ‘‘(v) PROTECTION OF TENANTS.—An 

9 owner of a dwelling unit may not terminate 

10 the tenancy of any tenant because of the 

11 withholding or abatement of assistance pur12 suant to this subparagraph. During the pe13 riod that assistance is abated pursuant to 

14 this subparagraph, the tenant may termi15 nate the tenancy by notifying the owner. 

16 ‘‘(vi) TERMINATION OF LEASE OR AS17 SISTANCE PAYMENTS CONTRACT.—If assist18 ance amounts under this section for a dwell19 ing unit are abated pursuant to clause (iii) 

20 and the owner does not correct the non21 compliance within 60 days after the effec22 tive date of the determination of noncompli23 ance under clause (i), or such other reason24 able longer period as the public housing 

25 agency may establish, the agency shall terVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:35 Jan 28, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3700.RH H3700

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1 minate the housing assistance payments 

2 contract for the dwelling unit. 

3 ‘‘(vii) RELOCATION.— 

4 ‘‘(I) LEASE OF NEW UNIT.—The 

5 agency shall provide the family resid6 ing in such a dwelling unit a period of 

7 90 days or such longer period as the 

8 public housing agency determines is 

9 reasonably necessary to lease a new 

10 unit, beginning upon termination of 

11 the contract, to lease a new residence 

12 with tenant-based rental assistance 

13 under this section. 

14 ‘‘(II) AVAILABILITY OF PUBLIC

15 HOUSING UNITS.—If the family is un16 able to lease such a new residence dur17 ing such period, the public housing 

18 agency shall, at the option of the fam19 ily, provide such family a preference 

20 for occupancy in a dwelling unit of 

21 public housing that is owned or oper22 ated by the agency that first becomes 

23 available for occupancy after the expi24 ration of such period. 


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1 ‘‘(III) ASSISTANCE IN FINDING

2 UNIT.—The public housing agency may 

3 provide assistance to the family in 

4 finding a new residence, including use 

5 of up to two months of any assistance 

6 amounts withheld or abated pursuant 

7 to clause (ii) or (iii), respectively, for 

8 costs directly associated with relocation 

9 of the family to a new residence, which 

10 shall include security deposits as nec11 essary and may include reimburse12 ments for reasonable moving expenses 

13 incurred by the household, as estab14 lished by the Secretary. The agency 

15 may require that a family receiving 

16 assistance for a security deposit shall 

17 remit, to the extent of such assistance, 

18 the amount of any security deposit re19 funds made by the owner of the dwell20 ing unit for which the lease was termi21 nated. 

22 ‘‘(viii) TENANT-CAUSED DAMAGES.—If 

23 a public housing agency determines that 

24 any damage to a dwelling unit that results 

25 in a failure of the dwelling unit to comply 


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1 with housing quality standards under sub2 paragraph (B), other than any damage re3 sulting from ordinary use, was caused by 

4 the tenant, any member of the tenant’s 

5 household, or any guest or other person 

6 under the tenant’s control, the agency may 

7 waive the applicability of this subpara8 graph, except that this clause shall not ex9 onerate a tenant from any liability other10 wise existing under applicable law for dam11 ages to the premises caused by such tenant. 

12 ‘‘(ix) APPLICABILITY.—This subpara13 graph shall apply to any dwelling unit for 

14 which a housing assistance payments con15 tract is entered into or renewed after the 

16 date of the effectiveness of the regulations 

17 implementing this subparagraph.’’. 

18 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The Secretary of Housing and 

19 Urban Development shall issue notice or regulations to im20 plement subsection (a) of this section and such subsection 

21 shall take effect upon such issuance. 

22 SEC. 102. INCOME REVIEWS. 

23 (a) INCOME REVIEWS FOR PUBLIC HOUSING AND SEC24 TION 8 PROGRAMS.—Section 3 of the United States Hous25 ing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437a) is amended— 


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1 (1) in subsection (a)— 

2 (A) in the second sentence of paragraph (1), 

3 by striking ‘‘at least annually’’ and inserting 

4 ‘‘pursuant to paragraph (6)’’; and 

5 (B) by adding at the end the following new 

6 paragraphs: 

7 ‘‘(6) REVIEWS OF FAMILY INCOME.— 

8 ‘‘(A) FREQUENCY.—Reviews of family in9 come for purposes of this section shall be made— 

10 ‘‘(i) in the case of all families, upon 

11 the initial provision of housing assistance 

12 for the family; 

13 ‘‘(ii) annually thereafter, except as 

14 provided in paragraph (1) with respect to 

15 fixed-income families; 

16 ‘‘(iii) upon the request of the family, at 

17 any time the income or deductions (under 

18 subsection (b)(5)) of the family change by 

19 an amount that is estimated to result in a 

20 decrease of 10 percent (or such lower 

21 amount as the Secretary may, by notice, es22 tablish, or permit the public housing agency 

23 or owner to establish) or more in annual 

24 adjusted income; and 


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1 ‘‘(iv) at any time the income or deduc2 tions (under subsection (b)(5)) of the family 

3 change by an amount that is estimated to 

4 result in an increase of 10 percent or more 

5 in annual adjusted income, or such other 

6 amount as the Secretary may by notice es7 tablish, except that any increase in the 

8 earned income of a family shall not be con9 sidered for purposes of this clause (except 

10 that earned income may be considered if the 

11 increase corresponds to previous decreases 

12 under clause (iii)), except that a public 

13 housing agency or owner may elect not to 

14 conduct such review in the last three months 

15 of a certification period. 

16 ‘‘(B) IN GENERAL.—Reviews of family in17 come for purposes of this section shall be subject 

18 to the provisions of section 904 of the Stewart B. 

19 McKinney Homeless Assistance Amendments Act 

20 of 1988 (42 U.S.C. 3544). 

21 ‘‘(7) CALCULATION OF INCOME.— 

22 ‘‘(A) USE OF CURRENT YEAR INCOME.—In 

23 determining family income for initial occupancy 

24 or provision of housing assistance pursuant to 

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1 views pursuant to clause (iii) or (iv) of such 

2 paragraph, a public housing agency or owner 

3 shall use the income of the family as estimated 

4 by the agency or owner for the upcoming year. 

5 ‘‘(B) USE OF PRIOR YEAR INCOME.—In de6 termining family income for annual reviews 

7 pursuant to paragraph (6)(A)(ii), a public hous8 ing agency or owner shall, except as otherwise 

9 provided in this paragraph and paragraph (1), 

10 use the income of the family as determined by 

11 the agency or owner for the preceding year, tak12 ing into consideration any redetermination of 

13 income during such prior year pursuant to 

14 clause (iii) or (iv) of paragraph (6)(A). 

15 ‘‘(C) OTHER INCOME.—In determining the 

16 income for any family based on the prior year’s 

17 income, with respect to prior year calculations of 

18 income not subject to subparagraph (B), a public 

19 housing agency or owner may make other adjust20 ments as it considers appropriate to reflect cur21 rent income. 

22 ‘‘(D) SAFE HARBOR.—A public housing 

23 agency or owner may, to the extent such infor24 mation is available to the public housing agency 

25 or owner, determine the family’s income prior to 


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1 the application of any deductions based on time2 ly income determinations made for purposes of 

3 other means-tested Federal public assistance pro4 grams (including the program for block grants to 

5 States for temporary assistance for needy fami6 lies under part A of title IV of the Social Secu7 rity Act, a program for Medicaid assistance 

8 under a State plan approved under title XIX of 

9 the Social Security Act, and the supplemental 

10 nutrition assistance program (as such term is 

11 defined in section 3 of the Food and Nutrition 

12 Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2012))). The Secretary 

13 shall, in consultation with other appropriate 

14 Federal agencies, develop procedures to enable 

15 public housing agencies and owners to have ac16 cess to such income determinations made by 

17 other means-tested Federal programs that the 

18 Secretary determines to have comparable reli19 ability. Exchanges of such information shall be 

20 subject to the same limitations and tenant pro21 tections provided under section 904 of the Stew22 art B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act 

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1 ments of section 303(i) of the Social Security Act 

2 (42 U.S.C. 503(i)). 

3 ‘‘(E) PHA AND OWNER COMPLIANCE.—A 

4 public housing agency or owner may not be con5 sidered to fail to comply with this paragraph or 

6 paragraph (6) due solely to any de minimis er7 rors made by the agency or owner in calculating 

8 family incomes.’’; 

9 (2) by striking subsections (d) and (e); and 

10 (3) by redesignating subsection (f) as subsection 

11 (d). 

12 (b) CERTIFICATION REGARDING HARDSHIP EXCEP13 TION TO MINIMUM MONTHLY RENT.—Not later than the ex14 piration of the 6-month period beginning on the date of the 

15 enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Housing and Urban 

16 Development shall submit to the Congress a certification 

17 that the hardship and tenant protection provisions in clause 

18 (i) of section 3(a)(3)(B) of the United States Housing Act 

19 of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437a(a)(3)(B)(i)) are being enforced 

20 at such time and that the Secretary will continue to provide 

21 due consideration to the hardship circumstances of persons 

22 assisted under relevant programs of this Act. 

23 (c) INCOME; ADJUSTED INCOME.—Section 3(b) of the 

24 United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437a(b)) 


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1 is amended by striking paragraphs (4) and (5) and insert2 ing the following new paragraphs: 

3 ‘‘(4) INCOME.—The term ‘income’ means, with 

4 respect to a family, income received from all sources 

5 by each member of the household who is 18 years of 

6 age or older or is the head of household or spouse of 

7 the head of the household, plus unearned income by 

8 or on behalf of each dependent who is less than 18 

9 years of age, as determined in accordance with cri10 teria prescribed by the Secretary, in consultation with 

11 the Secretary of Agriculture, subject to the following 

12 requirements: 

13 ‘‘(A) INCLUDED AMOUNTS.—Such term in14 cludes recurring gifts and receipts, actual income 

15 from assets, and profit or loss from a business. 

16 ‘‘(B) EXCLUDED AMOUNTS.—Such term 

17 does not include— 

18 ‘‘(i) any imputed return on assets, ex19 cept to the extent that net family assets ex20 ceed $50,000, except that such amount (as it 

21 may have been previously adjusted) shall be 

22 adjusted for inflation annually by the Sec23 retary in accordance with an inflationary 

24 index selected by the Secretary; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) any amounts that would be eligi2 ble for exclusion under section 1613(a)(7) of 

3 the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

4 1382b(a)(7)); 

5 ‘‘(iii) deferred disability benefits from 

6 the Department of Veterans Affairs that are 

7 received in a lump sum amount or in pro8 spective monthly amounts; 

9 ‘‘(iv) any expenses related to aid and 

10 attendance under section 1521 of title 38, 

11 United States Code, to veterans who are in 

12 need of regular aid and attendance; and 

13 ‘‘(v) exclusions from income as estab14 lished by the Secretary by regulation or no15 tice, or any amount required by Federal 

16 law to be excluded from consideration as in17 come. 

18 ‘‘(C) EARNED INCOME OF STUDENTS.—Such 

19 term does not include— 

20 ‘‘(i) earned income, up to an amount 

21 as the Secretary may by regulation estab22 lish, of any dependent earned during any 

23 period that such dependent is attending 

24 school or vocational training on a full-time 

25 basis; or 


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1 ‘‘(ii) any grant-in-aid or scholarship 

2 amounts related to such attendance used— 

3 ‘‘(I) for the cost of tuition or 

4 books; or 

5 ‘‘(II) in such amounts as the Sec6 retary may allow, for the cost of room 

7 and board. 

8 ‘‘(D) EDUCATIONAL SAVINGS ACCOUNTS.— 

9 Income shall be determined without regard to 

10 any amounts in or from, or any benefits from, 

11 any Coverdell education savings account under 

12 section 530 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 

13 or any qualified tuition program under section 

14 529 of such Code. 

15 ‘‘(E) RECORDKEEPING.—The Secretary 

16 may not require a public housing agency or 

17 owner to maintain records of any amounts ex18 cluded from income pursuant to this subpara19 graph. 

20 ‘‘(5) ADJUSTED INCOME.—The term ‘adjusted in21 come’ means, with respect to a family, the amount (as 

22 determined by the public housing agency or owner) of 

23 the income of the members of the family residing in 

24 a dwelling unit or the persons on a lease, after any 

25 deductions from income as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(A) ELDERLY AND DISABLED FAMILIES.— 

2 $525 in the case of any family that is an elderly 

3 family or a disabled family. 

4 ‘‘(B) DEPENDENTS.—In the case of any 

5 family, $525 for each member who— 

6 ‘‘(i) is less than 18 years of age or at7 tending school or vocational training on a 

8 full-time basis; or 

9 ‘‘(ii) is a person who is 18 years of age 

10 or older, resides in the household, and is 

11 certified as disabled and unable to work by 

12 the public housing agency of jurisdiction. 

13 ‘‘(C) CHILD CARE.—The amount, if any, 

14 that exceeds 5 percent of annual family income 

15 that is used to pay for unreimbursed child care 

16 expenses, which shall include child care for pre17 school-age children, for before- and after-care for 

18 children in school, and for other child care nec19 essary to enable a member of the family to be 

20 employed or further his or her education. 

21 ‘‘(D) HEALTH AND MEDICAL EXPENSES.— 

22 The amount, if any, by which 10 percent of an23 nual family income is exceeded by the sum of— 


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1 ‘‘(i) in the case of any elderly or dis2 abled family, any unreimbursed health and 

3 medical care expenses; and 

4 ‘‘(ii) any unreimbursed reasonable at5 tendant care and auxiliary apparatus ex6 penses for each handicapped member of the 

7 family, if determined necessary by the pub8 lic housing agency or owner to enable any 

9 member of such family to be employed. 

10 The Secretary shall, by regulation, provide hard11 ship exemptions to the requirements of this sub12 paragraph and subparagraph (C) for impacted 

13 families who demonstrate an inability to pay 

14 calculated rents because of financial hardship. 

15 Such regulations shall include a requirement to 

16 notify tenants regarding any changes to the de17 termination of adjusted income pursuant to such 

18 subparagraphs based on the determination of the 

19 family’s claim of financial hardship exemptions 

20 required by the preceding sentence. Such regula21 tions shall be promulgated in consultation with 

22 tenant organizations, industry participants, and 

23 the Secretary of Health and Human Services, 

24 with an adequate comment period provided for 

25 interested parties. 


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1 ‘‘(E) PERMISSIVE DEDUCTIONS.—Such ad2 ditional deductions as a public housing agency 

3 may, at its discretion, establish, except that the 

4 Secretary shall establish procedures to ensure 

5 that such deductions do not materially increase 

6 Federal expenditures. 

7 The Secretary shall annually calculate the amounts of 

8 the deductions under subparagraphs (A) and (B), as 

9 such amounts may have been previously calculated, 

10 by applying an inflationary factor as the Secretary 

11 shall, by regulation, establish, except that the actual 

12 deduction determined for each year shall be estab13 lished by rounding such amount to the next lowest 

14 multiple of $25.’’. 

15 (d) HOUSING CHOICE VOUCHER PROGRAM.—Section 

16 8(o) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 

17 1437f(o)) is amended— 

18 (1) in paragraph (1)(D), by inserting before the 

19 period at the end the following: ‘‘, except that a public 

20 housing agency may establish a payment standard of 

21 not more than 120 percent of the fair market rent 

22 where necessary as a reasonable accommodation for a 

23 person with a disability, without approval of the Sec24 retary. A public housing agency may use a payment 

25 standard that is greater than 120 percent of the fair 


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1 market rent as a reasonable accommodation for a per2 son with a disability, but only with the approval of 

3 the Secretary. In connection with the use of any in4 creased payment standard established or approved 

5 pursuant to either of the preceding two sentences as 

6 a reasonable accommodation for a person with a dis7 ability, the Secretary may not establish additional re8 quirements regarding the amount of adjusted income 

9 paid by such person for rent’’; and 

10 (2) in paragraph (5)— 

11 (A) in the paragraph heading, by striking 

12 ‘‘ANNUAL REVIEW’’ and inserting ‘‘REVIEWS’’; 

13 (B) in subparagraph (A)— 

14 (i) by striking ‘‘the provisions of’’ and 

15 inserting ‘‘paragraphs (1), (6), and (7) of 

16 section 3(a) and to’’; and 

17 (ii) by striking ‘‘and shall be con18 ducted’’ and all that follows through the end 

19 of the subparagraph and inserting a period; 

20 and 

21 (C) in subparagraph (B), by striking the 

22 second sentence. 

23 (e) ENHANCED VOUCHER PROGRAM.—Section 

24 8(t)(1)(D) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 

25 U.S.C. 1437f(t)(1)(D)) is amended by striking ‘‘income’’ 


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1 each place such term appears and inserting ‘‘annual ad2 justed income’’. 

3 (f) PROJECT-BASED HOUSING.—Paragraph (3) of sec4 tion 8(c) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 

5 U.S.C. 1437f(c)(3)) is amended by striking the last sentence. 

6 (g) IMPACT ON PUBLIC HOUSING REVENUES.— 

7 (1) ADJUSTMENTS TO OPERATING FORMULA.—If 

8 the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development de9 termines that the application of subsections (a) 

10 through (e) of this section results in a material and 

11 disproportionate reduction in the rental income of 

12 certain public housing agencies during the first year 

13 in which such subsections are implemented, the Sec14 retary may make appropriate adjustments in the for15 mula income for such year of those agencies experi16 encing such a reduction. 

17 (2) HUD REPORTS ON REVENUE AND COST IM18 PACT.—In each of the first two years after the first 

19 year in which subsections (a) through (e) are imple20 mented, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Devel21 opment shall submit a report to Congress identifying 

22 and calculating the impact of changes made by such 

23 subsections and section 104 of this Act on the revenues 

24 and costs of operating public housing units, the 

25 voucher program for rental assistance under section 8 


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1 of the United States Housing Act of 1937, and the 

2 program under such section 8 for project-based rental 

3 assistance. If such report identifies a material reduc4 tion in the net income of public housing agencies na5 tionwide or a material increase in the costs of fund6 ing the voucher program or the project-based assist7 ance program, the Secretary shall include in such re8 port recommendations for legislative changes to reduce 

9 or eliminate such a reduction. 

10 (h) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The Secretary of Housing and 

11 Urban Development shall issue notice or regulations to im12 plement this section and this section shall take effect after 

13 such issuance, except that this section may only take effect 

14 upon the commencement of a calendar year. 

15 SEC. 103. LIMITATION ON PUBLIC HOUSING TENANCY FOR 

16 OVER-INCOME FAMILIES. 

17 Subsection (a) of section 16 of the United States Hous18 ing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437n(a)) is amended by adding 

19 at the end the following new paragraph: 

20 ‘‘(5) LIMITATIONS ON TENANCY FOR OVER-IN21 COME FAMILIES.— 

22 ‘‘(A) LIMITATIONS.—Except as provided in 

23 subparagraph (D), in the case of any family re24 siding in a dwelling unit of public housing 

25 whose income for the most recent two consecutive 


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1 years, as determined pursuant to income reviews 

2 conducted pursuant to section 3(a)(6), has ex3 ceeded the applicable income limitation under 

4 subparagraph (C), the public housing agency 

5 shall— 

6 ‘‘(i) notwithstanding any other provi7 sion of this Act, charge such family as 

8 monthly rent for the unit occupied by such 

9 family an amount equal to the greater of— 

10 ‘‘(I) the applicable fair market 

11 rental established under section 8(c) for 

12 a dwelling unit in the same market 

13 area of the same size; or 

14 ‘‘(II) the amount of the monthly 

15 subsidy provided under this Act for the 

16 dwelling unit, which shall include any 

17 amounts from the Operating Fund and 

18 Capital Fund under section 9 used for 

19 the unit, as determined by the agency 

20 in accordance with regulations that the 

21 Secretary shall issue to carry out this 

22 subclause; or 

23 ‘‘(ii) terminate the tenancy of such 

24 family in public housing not later than 6 


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1 months after the income determination de2 scribed in subparagraph (A). 

3 ‘‘(B) NOTICE.—In the case of any family 

4 residing in a dwelling unit of public housing 

5 whose income for a year has exceeded the appli6 cable income limitation under subparagraph (C), 

7 upon the conclusion of such year the public hous8 ing agency shall provide written notice to such 

9 family of the requirements under subparagraph 

10 (A). 

11 ‘‘(C) INCOME LIMITATION.—The income 

12 limitation under this subparagraph shall be 120 

13 percent of the median income for the area, as de14 termined by the Secretary with adjustments for 

15 smaller and larger families, except that the Sec16 retary may establish income limitations higher 

17 or lower than 120 percent of such median income 

18 on the basis of the Secretary’s findings that such 

19 variations are necessary because of prevailing 

20 levels of construction costs, or unusually high or 

21 low family incomes, vacancy rates, or rental 

22 costs. 

23 ‘‘(D) EXCEPTION.—Subparagraph (A) shall 

24 not apply to a family occupying a dwelling unit 


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1 in public housing pursuant to paragraph (5) of 

2 section 3(a) (42 U.S.C. 1437a(a)(5)). 

3 ‘‘(E) REPORTS ON OVER-INCOME FAMILIES

4 AND WAITING LISTS.—The Secretary shall re5 quire that each public housing agency shall— 

6 ‘‘(i) submit a report annually, in a 

7 format required by the Secretary, that 

8 specifies— 

9 ‘‘(I) the number of families resid10 ing, as of the end of the year for which 

11 the report is submitted, in public hous12 ing administered by the agency who 

13 had incomes exceeding the applicable 

14 income limitation under subparagraph 

15 (C); and 

16 ‘‘(II) the number of families, as of 

17 the end of such year, on the waiting 

18 lists for admission to public housing 

19 projects of the agency; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) make the information reported 

21 pursuant to clause (i) publicly available.’’. 


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1 SEC. 104. LIMITATION ON ELIGIBILITY FOR ASSISTANCE 

2 BASED ON ASSETS. 

3 Section 16 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 

4 (42 U.S.C. 1437n) is amended by inserting after subsection 

5 (d) the following new subsection: 

6 ‘‘(e) ELIGIBILITY FOR ASSISTANCE BASED ON AS7 SETS.— 

8 ‘‘(1) LIMITATION ON ASSETS.—Subject to para9 graph (3) and notwithstanding any other provision of 

10 this Act, a dwelling unit assisted under this Act may 

11 not be rented and assistance under this Act may not 

12 be provided, either initially or at each recertification 

13 of family income, to any family— 

14 ‘‘(A) whose net family assets exceed 

15 $100,000, as such amount is adjusted annually 

16 by applying an inflationary factor as the Sec17 retary considers appropriate; or 

18 ‘‘(B) who has a present ownership interest 

19 in, a legal right to reside in, and the effective 

20 legal authority to sell, real property that is suit21 able for occupancy by the family as a residence, 

22 except that the prohibition under this subpara23 graph shall not apply to— 

24 ‘‘(i) any property for which the family 

25 is receiving assistance under subsection (y) 

26 or (o)(12) of section 8 of this Act; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) any person that is a victim of do2 mestic violence; or 

3 ‘‘(iii) any family that is offering such 

4 property for sale. 

5 ‘‘(2) NET FAMILY ASSETS.— 

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this 

7 subsection, the term ‘net family assets’ means, 

8 for all members of the household, the net cash 

9 value of all assets after deducting reasonable 

10 costs that would be incurred in disposing of real 

11 property, savings, stocks, bonds, and other forms 

12 of capital investment. Such term does not in13 clude interests in Indian trust land, equity in 

14 property for which the family is receiving assist15 ance under subsection (y) or (o)(12) of section 8, 

16 equity accounts in homeownership programs of 

17 the Department of Housing and Urban Develop18 ment, or Family Self Sufficiency accounts. 

19 ‘‘(B) EXCLUSIONS.—Such term does not in20 clude— 

21 ‘‘(i) the value of personal property, ex22 cept for items of personal property of sig23 nificant value, as the Secretary may estab24 lish or the public housing agency may de25 termine; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the value of any retirement ac2 count; 

3 ‘‘(iii) real property for which the fam4 ily does not have the effective legal author5 ity necessary to sell such property; 

6 ‘‘(iv) any amounts recovered in any 

7 civil action or settlement based on a claim 

8 of malpractice, negligence, or other breach of 

9 duty owed to a member of the family and 

10 arising out of law, that resulted in a mem11 ber of the family being disabled; 

12 ‘‘(v) the value of any Coverdell edu13 cation savings account under section 530 of 

14 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 or any 

15 qualified tuition program under section 529 

16 of such Code; and 

17 ‘‘(vi) such other exclusions as the Sec18 retary may establish. 

19 ‘‘(C) TRUST FUNDS.—In cases in which a 

20 trust fund has been established and the trust is 

21 not revocable by, or under the control of, any 

22 member of the family or household, the value of 

23 the trust fund shall not be considered an asset of 

24 a family if the fund continues to be held in trust. 

25 Any income distributed from the trust fund shall 


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1 be considered income for purposes of section 3(b) 

2 and any calculations of annual family income, 

3 except in the case of medical expenses for a 

4 minor. 

5 ‘‘(3) SELF-CERTIFICATION.— 

6 ‘‘(A) NET FAMILY ASSETS.—A public hous7 ing agency or owner may determine the net as8 sets of a family, for purposes of this section, 

9 based on a certification by the family that the 

10 net assets of such family do not exceed $50,000, 

11 as such amount is adjusted annually by apply12 ing an inflationary factor as the Secretary con13 siders appropriate. 

14 ‘‘(B) NO CURRENT REAL PROPERTY OWNER15 SHIP.—A public housing agency or owner may 

16 determine compliance with paragraph (1)(B) 

17 based on a certification by the family that such 

18 family does not have any current ownership in19 terest in any real property at the time the agen20 cy or owner reviews the family’s income. 

21 ‘‘(C) STANDARDIZED FORMS.—The Sec22 retary may develop standardized forms for the 

23 certifications referred to in subparagraphs (A) 

24 and (B). 


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1 ‘‘(4) COMPLIANCE FOR PUBLIC HOUSING DWELL2 ING UNITS.—When recertifying family income with 

3 respect to families residing in public housing dwelling 

4 units, a public housing agency may, in the discretion 

5 of the agency and only pursuant to a policy that is 

6 set forth in the public housing agency plan under sec7 tion 5A for the agency, choose not to enforce the limi8 tation under paragraph (1). 

9 ‘‘(5) ENFORCEMENT.—When recertifying the in10 come of a family residing in a dwelling unit assisted 

11 under this Act, a public housing agency or owner 

12 may choose not to enforce the limitation under para13 graph (1) or may establish exceptions to such limita14 tion based on eligibility criteria, but only pursuant 

15 to a policy that is set forth in the public housing 

16 agency plan under section 5A for the agency or under 

17 a policy adopted by the owner. Eligibility criteria for 

18 establishing exceptions may provide for separate 

19 treatment based on family type and may be based on 

20 different factors, such as age, disability, income, the 

21 ability of the family to find suitable alternative hous22 ing, and whether supportive services are being pro23 vided. 

24 ‘‘(6) AUTHORITY TO DELAY EVICTIONS.—In the 

25 case of a family residing in a dwelling unit assisted 


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1 under this Act who does not comply with the limita2 tion under paragraph (1), the public housing agency 

3 or project owner may delay eviction or termination of 

4 the family based on such noncompliance for a period 

5 of not more than 6 months.’’. 

6 SEC. 105. UNITS OWNED BY PUBLIC HOUSING AGENCIES. 

7 Paragraph (11) of section 8(o) of the United States 

8 Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)(11)) is amend9 ed— 

10 (1) by striking ‘‘(11) LEASING OF UNITS OWNED

11 BY PHA.—If’’ and inserting the following: 

12 ‘‘(11) LEASING OF UNITS OWNED BY PHA.— 

13 ‘‘(A) INSPECTIONS AND RENT DETERMINA14 TIONS.—If’’; and 

15 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub16 paragraph: 

17 ‘‘(B) UNITS OWNED BY PHA.—For purposes 

18 of this subsection, the term ‘owned by a public 

19 housing agency’ means, with respect to a dwell20 ing unit, that the dwelling unit is in a project 

21 that is owned by such agency, by an entity whol22 ly controlled by such agency, or by a limited li23 ability company or limited partnership in which 

24 such agency (or an entity wholly controlled by 

25 such agency) holds a controlling interest in the 


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1 managing member or general partner. A dwell2 ing unit shall not be deemed to be owned by a 

3 public housing agency for purposes of this sub4 section because the agency holds a fee interest as 

5 ground lessor in the property on which the unit 

6 is situated, holds a security interest under a 

7 mortgage or deed of trust on the unit, or holds 

8 a non-controlling interest in an entity which 

9 owns the unit or in the managing member or 

10 general partner of an entity which owns the 

11 unit.’’. 

12 SEC. 106. PHA PROJECT-BASED ASSISTANCE. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (13) of section 8(o) of 

14 the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 

15 1437f(o)(13)) is amended— 

16 (1) by striking ‘‘structure’’ each place such term 

17 appears and inserting ‘‘project’’; 

18 (2) by striking subparagraph (B) and inserting 

19 the following new subparagraph: 

20 ‘‘(B) PERCENTAGE LIMITATION.— 

21 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clause 

22 (ii), a public housing agency may use for 

23 project-based assistance under this para24 graph not more than 20 percent of the au25 thorized units for the agency. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) EXCEPTION.—A public housing 

2 agency may use up to an additional 10 per3 cent of the authorized units for the agency 

4 for project-based assistance under this para5 graph, to provide units that house individ6 uals and families that meet the definition of 

7 homeless under section 103 of the McKin8 ney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 

9 U.S.C. 11302), that house families with vet10 erans, that provide supportive housing to 

11 persons with disabilities or elderly persons, 

12 or that are located in areas where vouchers 

13 under this subsection are difficult to use, as 

14 specified in subparagraph (D)(ii)(II). Any 

15 units of project-based assistance that are at16 tached to units previously subject to feder17 ally required rent restrictions or receiving 

18 another type of long-term housing subsidy 

19 provided by the Secretary shall not count 

20 toward the percentage limitation under 

21 clause (i) of this subparagraph. The Sec22 retary may, by regulation, establish addi23 tional categories for the exception under this 

24 clause.’’; 


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1 (3) by striking subparagraph (D) and inserting 

2 the following new subparagraph: 

3 ‘‘(D) INCOME-MIXING REQUIREMENT.— 

4 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided 

5 in clause (ii), not more than the greater of 

6 25 dwelling units or 25 percent of the dwell7 ing units in any project may be assisted 

8 under a housing assistance payment con9 tract for project-based assistance pursuant 

10 to this paragraph. For purposes of this sub11 paragraph, the term ‘project’ means a single 

12 building, multiple contiguous buildings, or 

13 multiple buildings on contiguous parcels of 

14 land. 

15 ‘‘(ii) EXCEPTIONS.— 

16 ‘‘(I) CERTAIN FAMILIES.—The 

17 limitation under clause (i) shall not 

18 apply to dwelling units assisted under 

19 a contract that are exclusively made 

20 available to elderly families or to 

21 households eligible for supportive serv22 ices that are made available to the as23 sisted residents of the project, accord24 ing to standards for such services the 

25 Secretary may establish. 


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1 ‘‘(II) CERTAIN AREAS.—With re2 spect to areas in which tenant-based 

3 vouchers for assistance under this sub4 section are difficult to use, as deter5 mined by the Secretary, and with re6 spect to census tracts with a poverty 

7 rate of 20 percent or less, clause (i) 

8 shall be applied by substituting ‘40 

9 percent’ for ‘25 percent’, and the Sec10 retary may, by regulation, establish 

11 additional conditions. 

12 ‘‘(III) CERTAIN CONTRACTS.—The 

13 limitation under clause (i) shall not 

14 apply with respect to contracts or re15 newal of contracts under which a 

16 greater percentage of the dwelling units 

17 in a project were assisted under a 

18 housing assistance payment contract 

19 for project-based assistance pursuant to 

20 this paragraph on the date of the en21 actment of the Housing Opportunity 

22 Through Modernization Act of 2015. 

23 ‘‘(IV) CERTAIN PROPERTIES.— 

24 Any units of project-based assistance 

25 under this paragraph that are attached 


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1 to units previously subject to federally 

2 required rent restrictions or receiving 

3 other project-based assistance provided 

4 by the Secretary shall not count to5 ward the percentage limitation im6 posed by this subparagraph (D). 

7 ‘‘(iii) ADDITIONAL MONITORING AND

8 OVERSIGHT REQUIREMENTS.—The Sec9 retary may establish additional require10 ments for monitoring and oversight of 

11 projects in which more than 40 percent of 

12 the dwelling units are assisted under a 

13 housing assistance payment contract for 

14 project-based assistance pursuant to this 

15 paragraph.’’; 

16 (4) by striking subparagraph (F) and inserting 

17 the following new subparagraph: 

18 ‘‘(F) CONTRACT TERM.— 

19 ‘‘(i) TERM.—A housing assistance pay20 ment contract pursuant to this paragraph 

21 between a public housing agency and the 

22 owner of a project may have a term of up 

23 to 20 years, subject to— 

24 ‘‘(I) the availability of sufficient 

25 appropriated funds for the purpose of 


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1 renewing expiring contracts for assist2 ance payments, as provided in appro3 priation Acts and in the agency’s an4 nual contributions contract with the 

5 Secretary, provided that in the event of 

6 insufficient appropriated funds, pay7 ments due under contracts under this 

8 paragraph shall take priority if other 

9 cost-saving measures that do not re10 quire the termination of an existing 

11 contract are available to the agency; 

12 and 

13 ‘‘(II) compliance with the inspec14 tion requirements under paragraph 

15 (8), except that the agency shall not be 

16 required to make biennial inspections 

17 of each assisted unit in the develop18 ment. 

19 ‘‘(ii) ADDITION OF ELIGIBLE UNITS.— 

20 Subject to the limitations of subparagraphs 

21 (B) and (D), the agency and the owner may 

22 add eligible units within the same project to 

23 a housing assistance payments contract at 

24 any time during the term thereof without 


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1 being subject to any additional competitive 

2 selection procedures. 

3 ‘‘(iii) HOUSING UNDER CONSTRUCTION

4 OR RECENTLY CONSTRUCTED.—An agency 

5 may enter into a housing assistance pay6 ments contract with an owner for any unit 

7 that does not qualify as existing housing 

8 and is under construction or recently has 

9 been constructed whether or not the agency 

10 has executed an agreement to enter into a 

11 contract with the owner, provided that the 

12 owner demonstrates compliance with appli13 cable requirements prior to execution of the 

14 housing assistance payments contract. This 

15 clause shall not subject a housing assistance 

16 payments contract for existing housing 

17 under this paragraph to such requirements 

18 or otherwise limit the extent to which a unit 

19 may be assisted as existing housing. 

20 ‘‘(iv) ADDITIONAL CONDITIONS.—The 

21 contract may specify additional conditions, 

22 including with respect to continuation, ter23 mination, or expiration, and shall specify 

24 that upon termination or expiration of the 

25 contract without extension, each assisted 


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1 family may elect to use its assistance under 

2 this subsection to remain in the same 

3 project if its unit complies with the inspec4 tion requirements under paragraph (8), the 

5 rent for the unit is reasonable as required 

6 by paragraph (10)(A), and the family pays 

7 its required share of the rent and the 

8 amount, if any, by which the unit rent (in9 cluding the amount allowed for tenant-based 

10 utilities) exceeds the applicable payment 

11 standard.’’; 

12 (5) in subparagraph (G), by striking ‘‘15 years’’ 

13 and inserting ‘‘20 years’’; 

14 (6) by striking subparagraph (I) and inserting 

15 the following new subparagraph: 

16 ‘‘(I) RENT ADJUSTMENTS.—A housing as17 sistance payments contract pursuant to this 

18 paragraph entered into after the date of the en19 actment of the Housing Opportunity Through 

20 Modernization Act of 2015 shall provide for an21 nual rent adjustments upon the request of the 

22 owner, except that— 

23 ‘‘(i) by agreement of the parties, a con24 tract may allow a public housing agency to 

25 adjust the rent for covered units using an 


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1 operating cost adjustment factor established 

2 by the Secretary pursuant to section 524(c) 

3 of the Multifamily Assisted Housing Reform 

4 and Affordability Act of 1997 (which shall 

5 not result in a negative adjustment), in 

6 which case the contract may require an ad7 ditional adjustment, if requested, up to the 

8 reasonable rent periodically during the term 

9 of the contract, and shall require such an 

10 adjustment, if requested, upon extension 

11 pursuant to subparagraph (G); 

12 ‘‘(ii) the adjusted rent shall not exceed 

13 the maximum rent permitted under sub14 paragraph (H); 

15 ‘‘(iii) the contract may provide that 

16 the maximum rent permitted for a dwelling 

17 unit shall not be less than the initial rent 

18 for the dwelling unit under the initial hous19 ing assistance payments contract covering 

20 the units; and 

21 ‘‘(iv) the provisions of subsection 

22 (c)(2)(C) shall not apply.’’; 

23 (7) in subparagraph (J)— 

24 (A) in the first sentence— 


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1 (i) by striking ‘‘shall’’ and inserting 

2 ‘‘may’’; and 

3 (ii) by inserting before the period the 

4 following: ‘‘or may permit owners to select 

5 applicants from site-based waiting lists as 

6 specified in this subparagraph’’; 

7 (B) by striking the third sentence and in8 serting the following: ‘‘The agency or owner may 

9 establish preferences or criteria for selection for 

10 a unit assisted under this paragraph that are 

11 consistent with the public housing agency plan 

12 for the agency approved under section 5A and 

13 that give preference to families who qualify for 

14 voluntary services, including disability-specific 

15 services, offered in conjunction with assisted 

16 units.’’; and 

17 (C) by striking the fifth and sixth sentences 

18 and inserting the following: ‘‘A public housing 

19 agency may establish and utilize procedures for 

20 owner-maintained site-based waiting lists, under 

21 which applicants may apply at, or otherwise 

22 designate to the public housing agency, the 

23 project or projects in which they seek to reside, 

24 except that all eligible applicants on the waiting 

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1 section shall be permitted to place their names 

2 on such separate list, subject to policies and pro3 cedures established by the Secretary. All such 

4 procedures shall comply with title VI of the Civil 

5 Rights Act of 1964, the Fair Housing Act, sec6 tion 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and 

7 other applicable civil rights laws. The owner or 

8 manager of a project assisted under this para9 graph shall not admit any family to a dwelling 

10 unit assisted under a contract pursuant to this 

11 paragraph other than a family referred by the 

12 public housing agency from its waiting list, or 

13 a family on a site-based waiting list that com14 plies with the requirements of this subparagraph. 

15 A public housing agency shall disclose to each 

16 applicant all other options in the selection of a 

17 project in which to reside that are provided by 

18 the public housing agency and are available to 

19 the applicant.’’; 

20 (8) in subparagraph (M)(ii), by inserting before 

21 the period at the end the following: ‘‘relating to fund22 ing other than housing assistance payments’’; and 

23 (9) by adding at the end the following new sub24 paragraphs: 


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1 ‘‘(N) STRUCTURE OWNED BY AGENCY.—A 

2 public housing agency engaged in an initiative 

3 to improve, develop, or replace a public housing 

4 property or site may attach assistance to an ex5 isting, newly constructed, or rehabilitated struc6 ture in which the agency has an ownership in7 terest or which the agency has control of without 

8 following a competitive process, provided that the 

9 agency has notified the public of its intent 

10 through its public housing agency plan and sub11 ject to the limitations and requirements of this 

12 paragraph. 

13 ‘‘(O) SPECIAL PURPOSE VOUCHERS.—A 

14 public housing agency that administers vouchers 

15 authorized under subsection (o)(19) or (x) of this 

16 section may provide such assistance in accord17 ance with the limitations and requirements of 

18 this paragraph, without additional requirements 

19 for approval by the Secretary.’’. 

20 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The Secretary of Housing and 

21 Urban Development shall issue notice or regulations to im22 plement subsection (a) of this section and such subsection 

23 shall take effect upon such issuance. 


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1 SEC. 107. ESTABLISHMENT OF FAIR MARKET RENT. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (1) of section 8(c) of the 

3 United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(c)(1)) 

4 is amended— 

5 (1) by inserting ‘‘(A)’’ after the paragraph des6 ignation; 

7 (2) by striking the fourth, seventh, eighth, and 

8 ninth sentences; and 

9 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(B) Fair market rentals for an area shall be pub11 lished not less than annually by the Secretary on the site 

12 of the Department on the World Wide Web and in any other 

13 manner specified by the Secretary. Notice that such fair 

14 market rentals are being published shall be published in the 

15 Federal Register, and such fair market rentals shall become 

16 effective no earlier than 30 days after the date of such publi17 cation. The Secretary shall establish a procedure for public 

18 housing agencies and other interested parties to comment 

19 on such fair market rentals and to request, within a time 

20 specified by the Secretary, reevaluation of the fair market 

21 rentals in a jurisdiction before such rentals become effective. 

22 The Secretary shall cause to be published for comment in 

23 the Federal Register notices of proposed material changes 

24 in the methodology for estimating fair market rentals and 

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1 posed substantial methodological changes and responses to 

2 public comments.’’. 

3 (b) PAYMENT STANDARD.—Subparagraph (B) of sec4 tion 8(o)(1) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 

5 U.S.C. 1437f(o)(1)(B)) is amended by inserting before the 

6 period at the end the following: ‘‘, except that no public 

7 housing agency shall be required as a result of a reduction 

8 in the fair market rental to reduce the payment standard 

9 applied to a family continuing to reside in a unit for which 

10 the family was receiving assistance under this section at 

11 the time the fair market rental was reduced. The Secretary 

12 shall allow public housing agencies to request exception 

13 payment standards within fair market rental areas subject 

14 to criteria and procedures established by the Secretary’’. 

15 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by this 

16 section shall take effect upon the date of the enactment of 

17 this Act. 

18 SEC. 108. COLLECTION OF UTILITY DATA. 

19 Section 8(o) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 

20 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)) is amended by adding at the end the 

21 following new paragraph: 

22 ‘‘(20) COLLECTION OF UTILITY DATA.— 

23 ‘‘(A) PUBLICATION.—The Secretary shall, to 

24 the extent that data can be collected cost effec25 tively, regularly publish such data regarding 


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1 utility consumption and costs in local areas as 

2 the Secretary determines will be useful for the es3 tablishment of allowances for tenant-paid utili4 ties for families assisted under this subsection. 

5 ‘‘(B) USE OF DATA.—The Secretary shall 

6 provide such data in a manner that— 

7 ‘‘(i) avoids unnecessary administrative 

8 burdens for public housing agencies and 

9 owners; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) protects families in various unit 

11 sizes and building types, and using various 

12 utilities, from high rent and utility cost 

13 burdens relative to income.’’. 

14 SEC. 109. PUBLIC HOUSING CAPITAL AND OPERATING 

15 FUNDS. 

16 (a) CAPITAL FUND REPLACEMENT RESERVES.—Sec17 tion 9 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 

18 1437g) is amended— 

19 (1) in subsection (j), by adding at the end the 

20 following new paragraph: 

21 ‘‘(7) TREATMENT OF REPLACEMENT RESERVE.— 

22 The requirements of this subsection shall not apply to 

23 funds held in replacement reserves established pursu24 ant to subsection (n).’’; and 


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1 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub2 section: 

3 ‘‘(n) ESTABLISHMENT OF REPLACEMENT RE4 SERVES.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Public housing agencies shall 

6 be permitted to establish a replacement reserve to 

7 fund any of the capital activities listed in subsection 

8 (d)(1). 

9 ‘‘(2) SOURCE AND AMOUNT OF FUNDS FOR RE10 PLACEMENT RESERVE.—At any time, a public hous11 ing agency may deposit funds from such agency’s 

12 Capital Fund into a replacement reserve, subject to 

13 the following: 

14 ‘‘(A) At the discretion of the Secretary, pub15 lic housing agencies may transfer and hold in a 

16 replacement reserve funds originating from addi17 tional sources. 

18 ‘‘(B) No minimum transfer of funds to a re19 placement reserve shall be required. 

20 ‘‘(C) At any time, a public housing agency 

21 may not hold in a replacement reserve more than 

22 the amount the public housing authority has de23 termined necessary to satisfy the anticipated 

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1 ital Fund 5-Year Action Plan, or a comparable 

2 plan, as determined by the Secretary. 

3 ‘‘(D) The Secretary may establish, by regu4 lation, a maximum replacement reserve level or 

5 levels that are below amounts determined under 

6 subparagraph (C), which may be based upon the 

7 size of the portfolio assisted under this section or 

8 other factors. 

9 ‘‘(3) TRANSFER OF OPERATING FUNDS.—In first 

10 establishing a replacement reserve, the Secretary may 

11 allow public housing agencies to transfer more than 

12 20 percent of its operating funds into its replacement 

13 reserve. 

14 ‘‘(4) EXPENDITURE.—Funds in a replacement 

15 reserve may be used for purposes authorized by sub16 section (d)(1) and contained in its Capital Fund 5- 

17 Year Action Plan. 

18 ‘‘(5) MANAGEMENT AND REPORT.—The Secretary 

19 shall establish appropriate accounting and reporting 

20 requirements to ensure that public housing agencies 

21 are spending funds on eligible projects and that funds 

22 in the replacement reserve are connected to capital 

23 needs.’’. 


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1 (b) FLEXIBILITY OF OPERATING FUND AMOUNTS.— 

2 Paragraph (1) of section 9(g) of the United States Housing 

3 Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437g(g)(1)) is amended— 

4 (1) by striking ‘‘(1)’’ and all that follows through 

5 ‘‘—Of’’ and inserting the following: 

6 ‘‘(1) FLEXIBILITY IN USE OF FUNDS.— 

7 ‘‘(A) FLEXIBILITY FOR CAPITAL FUND

8 AMOUNTS.—Of’’; and 

9 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub10 paragraph: 

11 ‘‘(B) FLEXIBILITY FOR OPERATING FUND

12 AMOUNTS.—Of any amounts appropriated for 

13 fiscal year 2016 or any fiscal year thereafter 

14 that are allocated for fiscal year 2016 or any fis15 cal year thereafter from the Operating Fund for 

16 any public housing agency, the agency may use 

17 not more than 20 percent for activities that are 

18 eligible under subsection (d) for assistance with 

19 amounts from the Capital Fund, but only if the 

20 public housing plan under section 5A for the 

21 agency provides for such use.’’. 

22 SEC. 110. FAMILY UNIFICATION PROGRAM FOR CHILDREN 

23 AGING OUT OF FOSTER CARE. 

24 Section 8(x) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 

25 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(x)) is amended— 


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1 (1) in paragraph (2)(B)— 

2 (A) by striking ‘‘18 months’’ and inserting 

3 ‘‘36 months’’; 

4 (B) by striking ‘‘21 years of age’’ and in5 serting ‘‘24 years of age’’; and 

6 (C) by inserting after ‘‘have left foster care’’ 

7 the following: ‘‘, or will leave foster care within 

8 90 days, in accordance with a transition plan 

9 described in section 475(5)(H) of the Social Se10 curity Act, and is homeless or is at risk of be11 coming homeless’’; 

12 (2) by redesignating paragraph (4) as para13 graph (5); and 

14 (3) by inserting after paragraph (3) the fol15 lowing new paragraph: 

16 ‘‘(4) COORDINATION BETWEEN PUBLIC HOUSING

17 AGENCIES AND PUBLIC CHILD WELFARE AGENCIES.— 

18 The Secretary shall, not later than the expiration of 

19 the 180-day period beginning on the date of the enact20 ment of the Housing Opportunity Through Mod21 ernization Act of 2015 and after consultation with 

22 other appropriate Federal agencies, issue guidance to 

23 improve coordination between public housing agencies 

24 and public child welfare agencies in carrying out the 


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1 program under this subsection, which shall provide 

2 guidance on— 

3 ‘‘(A) identifying eligible recipients for as4 sistance under this subsection; 

5 ‘‘(B) coordinating with other local youth 

6 and family providers in the community and 

7 participating in the Continuum of Care program 

8 established under subtitle C of title IV of the 

9 McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 

10 U.S.C. 11381 et seq.); 

11 ‘‘(C) implementing housing strategies to as12 sist eligible families and youth; 

13 ‘‘(D) aligning system goals to improve out14 comes for families and youth and reducing lapses 

15 in housing for families and youth; and 

16 ‘‘(E) identifying resources that are available 

17 to eligible families and youth to provide sup18 portive services available through parts B and E 

19 of title IV of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

20 621 et seq.; 670 et seq.) or that the head of house21 hold of a family or youth may be entitled to re22 ceive under section 477 of the Social Security 

23 Act (42 U.S.C. 677).’’. 


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1 TITLE II—RURAL HOUSING 

2 SEC. 201. DELEGATION OF GUARANTEED RURAL HOUSING 

3 LOAN APPROVAL. 

4 Subsection (h) of section 502 of the Housing Act of 

5 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1472(h)) is amended by adding at the end 

6 the following new paragraph: 

7 ‘‘(18) DELEGATION OF APPROVAL.—The Sec8 retary may delegate, in part or in full, the Sec9 retary’s authority to approve and execute binding 

10 Rural Housing Service loan guarantees pursuant to 

11 this subsection to certain preferred lenders, in accord12 ance with standards established by the Secretary.’’. 

13 TITLE III—FHA MORTGAGE IN14 SURANCE FOR CONDOMIN15 IUMS 

16 SEC. 301. MODIFICATION OF FHA REQUIREMENTS FOR 

17 MORTGAGE INSURANCE FOR CONDOMINIUMS. 

18 Section 203 of the National Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 

19 1709) is amended by adding at the end the following new 

20 subsection: 

21 ‘‘(y) REQUIREMENTS FOR MORTGAGES FOR CON22 DOMINIUMS.— 

23 ‘‘(1) PROJECT RECERTIFICATION REQUIRE24 MENTS.—Notwithstanding any other law, regulation, 

25 or guideline of the Secretary, including chapter 2.4 of 


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1 the Condominium Project Approval and Processing 

2 Guide of the FHA, the Secretary shall streamline the 

3 project certification requirements that are applicable 

4 to the insurance under this section for mortgages for 

5 condominium projects so that recertifications are sub6 stantially less burdensome than certifications. The 

7 Secretary shall consider lengthening the time between 

8 certifications for approved properties, and allowing 

9 updating of information rather than resubmission. 

10 ‘‘(2) COMMERCIAL SPACE REQUIREMENTS.—Not11 withstanding any other law, regulation, or guideline 

12 of the Secretary, including chapter 2.1.3 of the Condo13 minium Project Approval and Processing Guide of 

14 the FHA, in providing for exceptions to the require15 ment for the insurance of a mortgage on a condo16 minium property under this section regarding the 

17 percentage of the floor space of a condominium prop18 erty that may be used for nonresidential or commer19 cial purposes, the Secretary shall provide that— 

20 ‘‘(A) any request for such an exception and 

21 the determination of the disposition of such re22 quest may be made, at the option of the re23 quester, under the direct endorsement lender re24 view and approval process or under the HUD reVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:35 Jan 28, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00058 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3700.RH H3700

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1 view and approval process through the applica2 ble field office of the Department; and 

3 ‘‘(B) in determining whether to allow such 

4 an exception for a condominium property, fac5 tors relating to the economy for the locality in 

6 which such project is located or specific to 

7 project, including the total number of family 

8 units in the project, shall be considered. 

9 Not later than the expiration of the 90-day period be10 ginning on the date of the enactment of this para11 graph, the Secretary shall issue regulations to imple12 ment this paragraph, which shall include any stand13 ards, training requirements, and remedies and pen14 alties that the Secretary considers appropriate. 

15 ‘‘(3) TRANSFER FEES.—Notwithstanding any 

16 other law, regulation, or guideline of the Secretary, 

17 including chapter 1.8.8 of the Condominium Project 

18 Approval and Processing Guide of the FHA and sec19 tion 203.41 of the Secretary’s regulations (24 C.F.R. 

20 203.41), existing standards of the Federal Housing 

21 Finance Agency relating to encumbrances under pri22 vate transfer fee covenants shall apply to the insur23 ance of mortgages by the Secretary under this section 

24 to the same extent and in the same manner that such 

25 standards apply to the purchasing, investing in, and 


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1 otherwise dealing in mortgages by the Federal Na2 tional Mortgage Association and the Federal Home 

3 Loan Mortgage Corporation. If the provisions of part 

4 1228 of the Director of the Federal Housing Finance 

5 Agency’s regulations (12 C.F.R. part 1228) are 

6 amended or otherwise changed after the date of the en7 actment of this paragraph, the Secretary of Housing 

8 and Urban Development shall adopt any such amend9 ments or changes for purposes of this paragraph, un10 less the Secretary causes to be published in the Fed11 eral Register a notice explaining why the Secretary 

12 will disregard such amendments or changes within 90 

13 days after the effective date of such amendments or 

14 changes. 

15 ‘‘(4) OWNER-OCCUPANCY REQUIREMENT.— 

16 ‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT OF PERCENTAGE RE17 QUIREMENT.—Not later than the expiration of 

18 the 90-day period beginning on the date of the 

19 enactment of this paragraph, the Secretary shall, 

20 by rule, notice, or mortgagee letter, issue guid21 ance regarding the percentage of units that must 

22 be occupied by the owners as a principal resi23 dence or a secondary residence (as such terms 

24 are defined by the Secretary), or must have been 

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1 pancy requirements, including justifications for 

2 the percentage requirements, in order for a con3 dominium project to be acceptable to the Sec4 retary for insurance under this section of a 

5 mortgage within such condominium property. 

6 ‘‘(B) FAILURE TO ACT.—If the Secretary 

7 fails to issue the guidance required under sub8 paragraph (A) before the expiration of the 90- 

9 day period specified in such clause, the following 

10 provisions shall apply: 

11 ‘‘(i) 35 PERCENT REQUIREMENT.—In 

12 order for a condominium project to be ac13 ceptable to the Secretary for insurance 

14 under this section, at least 35 percent of all 

15 family units (including units not covered by 

16 FHA-insured mortgages) must be occupied 

17 by the owners as a principal residence or a 

18 secondary residence (as such terms are de19 fined by the Secretary), or must have been 

20 sold to owners who intend to meet such oc21 cupancy requirement. 

22 ‘‘(ii) OTHER CONSIDERATIONS.—The 

23 Secretary may increase the percentage ap24 plicable pursuant to clause (i) to a condo25 minium project on a project-by-project or 


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1 regional basis, and in determining such 

2 percentage for a project shall consider fac3 tors relating to the economy for the locality 

4 in which such project is located or specific 

5 to project, including the total number of 

6 family units in the project.’’. 

7 TITLE IV—HOUSING REFORMS 

8 FOR THE HOMELESS AND FOR 

9 VETERANS 

10 SEC. 401. DEFINITION OF GEOGRAPHIC AREA FOR CON11 TINUUM OF CARE PROGRAM. 

12 (a) DEFINITION.—Subtitle C of the McKinney-Vento 

13 Homeless Assistance Act is amended— 

14 (1) by redesignating sections 432 and 433 (42 

15 U.S.C. 11387, 11388) as sections 433 and 434, respec16 tively; and 

17 (2) by inserting after section 431 (42 U.S.C. 

18 11386e) the following new section: 

19 ‘‘SEC. 432. GEOGRAPHIC AREAS. 

20 ‘‘(a) REQUIREMENT TO DEFINE.—For purposes of this 

21 subtitle, the term ‘geographic area’ shall have such meaning 

22 as the Secretary shall by notice provide. 

23 ‘‘(b) ISSUANCE OF NOTICE.—Not later than the expira24 tion of the 90-day period beginning on the date of the enact25 ment of the Housing Opportunity Through Modernization 


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1 Act of 2015, the Secretary shall issue a notice setting forth 

2 the definition required by subsection (a).’’. 

3 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents in 

4 section 101(b) of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance 

5 Act (42 U.S.C. 11301 note) is amended by striking the items 

6 relating to sections 432 and 433 and inserting the following 

7 new items: 

‘‘Sec. 432. Geographic areas. 

‘‘Sec. 433. Regulations. 

‘‘Sec. 434. Reports to Congress.’’. 

8 SEC. 402. INCLUSION OF PUBLIC HOUSING AGENCIES AND 

9 LOCAL REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITIES IN 

10 EMERGENCY SOLUTIONS GRANTS. 

11 Section 414(c) of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assist12 ance Act (42 U.S.C. 11373(c)) is amended— 

13 (1) in the subsection heading, by inserting ‘‘, 

14 PUBLIC HOUSING AGENCIES, AND LOCAL REDEVEL15 OPMENT AUTHORITIES’’ after ‘‘ORGANIZATIONS’’; and 

16 (2) in the first sentence, by inserting before the 

17 period at the end the following: ‘‘, to public housing 

18 agencies (as defined under section 3(b)(6) of the 

19 United States Housing Act of 1937), or to local rede20 velopment authorities (as defined under State law)’’. 


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1 SEC. 403. SPECIAL ASSISTANT FOR VETERANS AFFAIRS IN 

2 THE DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN 

3 DEVELOPMENT. 

4 (a) TRANSFER OF POSITION TO OFFICE OF THE SEC5 RETARY.—Section 4 of the Department of Housing and 

6 Urban Development Act (42 U.S.C. 3533) is amended by 

7 adding at the end the following new subsection: 

8 ‘‘(h) SPECIAL ASSISTANT FOR VETERANS AFFAIRS.— 

9 ‘‘(1) POSITION.—There shall be in the Office of 

10 the Secretary a Special Assistant for Veterans Affairs, 

11 who shall report directly to the Secretary. 

12 ‘‘(2) APPOINTMENT.—The Special Assistant for 

13 Veterans Affairs shall be appointed based solely on 

14 merit and shall be covered under the provisions of 

15 title 5, United States Code, governing appointments 

16 in the competitive service. 

17 ‘‘(3) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Special Assistant 

18 for Veterans Affairs shall be responsible for— 

19 ‘‘(A) ensuring veterans have fair access to 

20 housing and homeless assistance under each pro21 gram of the Department providing either such 

22 assistance; 

23 ‘‘(B) coordinating all programs and activi24 ties of the Department relating to veterans; 

25 ‘‘(C) serving as a liaison for the Depart26 ment with the Department of Veterans Affairs, 


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1 including establishing and maintaining relation2 ships with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; 

3 ‘‘(D) serving as a liaison for the Depart4 ment, and establishing and maintaining rela5 tionships with the United States Interagency 

6 Council on Homelessness and officials of State, 

7 local, regional, and nongovernmental organiza8 tions concerned with veterans; 

9 ‘‘(E) providing information and advice re10 garding— 

11 ‘‘(i) sponsoring housing projects for 

12 veterans assisted under programs adminis13 tered by the Department; or 

14 ‘‘(ii) assisting veterans in obtaining 

15 housing or homeless assistance under pro16 grams administered by the Department; 

17 ‘‘(F) coordinating with the Secretary of 

18 Housing and Urban Development and the Sec19 retary of Veterans Affairs in carrying out section 

20 404 of the Housing Opportunity Through Mod21 ernization Act of 2015; and 

22 ‘‘(G) carrying out such other duties as may 

23 be assigned to the Special Assistant by the Sec24 retary or by law.’’. 


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1 (b) TRANSFER OF POSITION IN OFFICE OF DEPUTY

2 ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR SPECIAL NEEDS.—On the date 

3 that the initial Special Assistant for Veterans Affairs is ap4 pointed pursuant to section 4(h)(2) of the Department of 

5 Housing and Urban Development Act, as added by sub6 section (a) of this section, the position of Special Assistant 

7 for Veterans Programs in the Office of the Deputy Assistant 

8 Secretary for Special Needs of the Department of Housing 

9 and Urban Development shall be terminated. 

10 SEC. 404. ANNUAL SUPPLEMENTAL REPORT ON VETERANS 

11 HOMELESSNESS. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Housing and 

13 Urban Development and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, 

14 in coordination with the United States Interagency Council 

15 on Homelessness, shall submit annually to the Committees 

16 of the Congress specified in subsection (b), together with the 

17 annual reports required by such Secretaries under section 

18 203(c)(1) of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act 

19 (42 U.S.C. 11313(c)(1)), a supplemental report that in20 cludes the following information with respect to the pre21 ceding year: 

22 (1) The same information, for such preceding 

23 year, that was included with respect to 2010 in the 

24 report by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Devel25 opment and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs entitled 


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1 ‘‘Veterans Homelessness: A Supplemental Report to 

2 the 2010 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Con3 gress’’. 

4 (2) Information regarding the activities of the 

5 Department of Housing and Urban Development re6 lating to veterans during such preceding year, as fol7 lows: 

8 (A) The number of veterans provided assist9 ance under the housing choice voucher program 

10 for Veterans Affairs supported housing under sec11 tion 8(o)(19) of the United States Housing Act 

12 of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)(19)), the socio13 economic characteristics of such homeless vet14 erans, and the number, types, and locations of 

15 entities contracted under such section to admin16 ister the vouchers. 

17 (B) A summary description of the special 

18 considerations made for veterans under public 

19 housing agency plans submitted pursuant to sec20 tion 5A of the United States Housing Act of 

21 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437c–1) and under comprehen22 sive housing affordability strategies submitted 

23 pursuant to section 105 of the Cranston-Gonzalez 

24 National Affordable Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 

25 12705). 


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1 (C) A description of the activities of the 

2 Special Assistant for Veterans Affairs of the De3 partment of Housing and Urban Development. 

4 (D) A description of the efforts of the De5 partment of Housing and Urban Development 

6 and the other members of the United States 

7 Interagency Council on Homelessness to coordi8 nate the delivery of housing and services to vet9 erans. 

10 (E) The cost to the Department of Housing 

11 and Urban Development of administering the 

12 programs and activities relating to veterans. 

13 (F) Any other information that the Sec14 retary of Housing and Urban Development and 

15 the Secretary of Veterans Affairs consider rel16 evant in assessing the programs and activities of 

17 the Department of Housing and Urban Develop18 ment relating to veterans. 

19 (b) COMMITTEES.—The Committees of the Congress 

20 specified in this subsection are as follows: 

21 (1) The Committee on Banking, Housing, and 

22 Urban Affairs of the Senate. 

23 (2) The Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the 

24 Senate. 


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1 (3) The Committee on Appropriations of the 

2 Senate. 

3 (4) The Committee on Financial Services of the 

4 House of Representatives. 

5 (5) The Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the 

6 House of Representatives. 

7 (6) The Committee on Appropriations of the 

8 House of Representatives. 

9 TITLE V—MISCELLANEOUS 

10 SEC. 501. INCLUSION OF DISASTER HOUSING ASSISTANCE 

11 PROGRAM IN CERTAIN FRAUD AND ABUSE 

12 PREVENTION MEASURES. 

13 The Disaster Housing Assistance Program adminis14 tered by the Department of Housing and Urban Develop15 ment shall be considered a ‘‘program of the Department of 

16 Housing and Urban Development’’ under section 904 of the 

17 Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Amendments 

18 Act of 1988 (42 U.S.C. 3544) for the purpose of income 

19 verifications. 

20 SEC. 502. ENERGY EFFICIENCY REQUIREMENTS UNDER 

21 SELF-HELP HOMEOWNERSHIP OPPORTUNITY 

22 PROGRAM. 

23 Section 11 of the Housing Opportunity Program Ex24 tension Act of 1996 (42 U.S.C. 12805 note) is amended by 

25 inserting after subsection (f) the following new subsection: 


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1 ‘‘(g) ENERGY EFFICIENCY REQUIREMENTS.—The Sec2 retary may not require any dwelling developed using 

3 amounts from a grant made under this section to meet any 

4 energy efficiency standards other than the standards appli5 cable at such time pursuant to section 109 of the Cranston6 Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 

7 12709) to housing specified in subsection (a) of such sec8 tion.’’. 

9 SEC. 503. DATA EXCHANGE STANDARDIZATION FOR IM10 PROVED INTEROPERABILITY. 

11 (a) DATA EXCHANGE STANDARDIZATION.—Title I of 

12 the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437 

13 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new 

14 section: 

15 ‘‘SEC. 37. DATA EXCHANGE STANDARDS FOR IMPROVED 

16 INTEROPERABILITY. 

17 ‘‘(a) DESIGNATION.—The Secretary shall, in consulta18 tion with an interagency work group established by the Of19 fice of Management and Budget, and considering State gov20 ernment perspectives, designate data exchange standards to 

21 govern, under this Act— 

22 ‘‘(1) necessary categories of information that 

23 State agencies operating related programs are re24 quired under applicable law to electronically exchange 

25 with another State agency; and 


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1 ‘‘(2) Federal reporting and data exchange re2 quired under applicable law. 

3 ‘‘(b) REQUIREMENTS.—The data exchange standards 

4 required by subsection (a) shall, to the maximum extent 

5 practicable— 

6 ‘‘(1) incorporate a widely accepted, nonpropri7 etary, searchable, computer-readable format, such as 

8 the eXtensible Markup Language; 

9 ‘‘(2) contain interoperable standards developed 

10 and maintained by intergovernmental partnerships, 

11 such as the National Information Exchange Model; 

12 ‘‘(3) incorporate interoperable standards devel13 oped and maintained by Federal entities with author14 ity over contracting and financial assistance; 

15 ‘‘(4) be consistent with and implement applica16 ble accounting principles; 

17 ‘‘(5) be implemented in a manner that is cost18 effective and improves program efficiency and effec19 tiveness; and 

20 ‘‘(6) be capable of being continually upgraded as 

21 necessary. 

22 ‘‘(c) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec23 tion requires a change to existing data exchange standards 

24 for Federal reporting found to be effective and efficient.’’. 

25 (b) APPLICABILITY.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after 

2 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 

3 Housing and Urban Development shall issue a pro4 posed rule to carry out the amendments made by sub5 section (a). 

6 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—The rule shall— 

7 (A) identify federally required data ex8 changes; 

9 (B) include specification and timing of ex10 changes to be standardized; 

11 (C) address the factors used in determining 

12 whether and when to standardize data exchanges; 

13 (D) specify State implementation options; 

14 and 

15 (E) describe future milestones. 


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Union Calendar No. 300 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 3700 

[Report No. 114–397] 

A BILL 

To provide housing opportunities in the United 

programs, and for other purposes. States through modernization of various housing 

JANUARY 28, 2016 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Comand ordered to be printed mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 


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