I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2897

To end homelessness in the United States. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 25, 2003

Ms. CARSON of Indiana (for herself, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. KUCINICH, Ms. LEE, 

Mr. GUTIERREZ, Ms. CORRINE BROWN of Florida, Mr. CUMMINGS, Ms. 

JACKSON-LEE of Texas, Mr. OWENS, Ms. MILLENDER-MCDONALD, Mr. 

MCGOVERN, Mr. SANDERS, Mr. WEXLER, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. WOOLSEY, 

Mr. REYES, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. RANGEL, Ms. MAJETTE, Ms. 

SLAUGHTER, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mr. EVANS, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. 

MCDERMOTT, Mr. CAPUANO, Mr. WEINER, Ms. MCCOLLUM, and Mr. 

EMANUEL) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committees on Agriculture, Energy and Commerce, Education and the Workforce, Government Reform, Veterans’ Affairs, and Ways and Means, for a period to 

be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 

concerned 

A BILL

To end homelessness in the United States.

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 ‘‘Bringing America Home Act’’. 
2

•HR 2897 IH 

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

2 this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Findings and purpose. 

TITLE I—RECOGNITION OF HOUSING AS A BASIC HUMAN RIGHT 

Sec. 101. Recognition by societies, faiths, and organizations. 

Sec. 102. Establishment of goal to end homelessness. 

TITLE II—HOUSING SECURITY 

Sec. 201. Congressional findings. 

Subtitle A—Authorizations of Appropriations for Housing Programs 

Sec. 221. National Affordable Housing Trust Fund. 

Sec. 222. Incremental rental assistance for 1,500,000 families. 

Sec. 223. Funding for HUD housing programs. 

Sec. 224. HUD rural housing and economic development program. 

Sec. 225. Rural housing programs. 

Sec. 226. Department of Veterans Affairs homeless comprehensive services programs. 

Sec. 227. Sense of Congress regarding appropriations for transitional housing 

assistance under Violence Against Women Act of 2000. 

Subtitle B—Federal Homelessness to Housing Mutual Mortgage Association 

Sec. 231. Short title and statement of purpose. 

Sec. 232. Establishment. 

Sec. 233. Powers and authorities. 

Sec. 234. Mutual housing operations. 

Sec. 235. Financing. 

Sec. 236. Relationship with other programs. 

Sec. 237. Oversight. 

Sec. 238. Protection of name. 

Sec. 239. Definitions. 

Sec. 240. Territorial applicability. 

Subtitle C—Use of Federal Surplus Property to Assist the Homeless 

Sec. 271. Use of Federal surplus property to assist the homeless. 

TITLE III—HOMELESS INTERVENTION AND PREVENTION 

Sec. 301. Preservation of public housing dwelling units under HOPE VI. 

Sec. 302. Right to new units of individuals and families displaced by HOPE VI 

projects. 

Sec. 303. Policies regarding homeless individuals and families in federally funded facilities. 

Sec. 304. Establishment of Emergency Rent Relief Fund. 

Sec. 305. Income exemptions. 

Sec. 306. Post office box and general delivery service for persons with no fixed 

address. 

Sec. 307. Grants to public housing police forces. 

Sec. 308. Temporary ex-offender low-income housing credit. 
3

•HR 2897 IH 

Sec. 309. Escrow of tenant rent in cases of owner failure to maintain units assisted under section 8 rental assistance program. 

Sec. 310. Sense of Congress regarding local ordinances that disadvantage 

homeless persons. 

TITLE IV—ASSISTANCE UNDER MCKINNEY-VENTO HOMELESS 

ASSISTANCE ACT 

Sec. 401. Congressional purposes. 

Sec. 402. Definition of homeless individual. 

Subtitle A—Housing Assistance General Provisions 

Sec. 411. Definitions. 

Sec. 412. Community homeless assistance planning boards. 

Sec. 413. Technical assistance and performance reports. 

Sec. 414. Authorization of appropriations. 

Subtitle B—Emergency Shelter Grants Program 

Sec. 421. Grant assistance. 

Sec. 422. Amount and allocation of assistance. 

Sec. 423. Eligible activities. 

Sec. 424. Repeals. 

Subtitle C—Continuum of Care Program 

Sec. 431. Continuum of care. 

Sec. 432. Eligible activities. 

Sec. 433. Program requirements. 

Sec. 434. Allocation amounts and funding. 

Subtitle D—Repeals and Conforming Amendments 

Sec. 441. Repeals. 

Sec. 442. Conforming amendments. 

Sec. 443. Amendment to table of contents. 

TITLE V—PRESERVATION OF RESOURCES 

Sec. 501. Governors, mayors, cities, and counties housing advisory committees. 

Sec. 502. Mortgage interest deduction limited to $300,000 of debt on 1 home; 

repeal of deduction for home equity indebtedness; repeal of exclusion of gain on sale of principal residence. 

TITLE VI—HEALTH SECURITY 

Subtitle A—General Provisions 

Sec. 601. Findings; sense of Congress. 

Sec. 602. Sense of Congress regarding Medicaid expansion. 

Sec. 603. Authorizations of appropriations for certain programs. 

Subtitle B—Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration 

PART 1—MAINSTREAM ADDICTION AND MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES

PROGRAMS
4

•HR 2897 IH 

SUBPART A—DISCHARGE PLANNING

Sec. 611. Averting patient discharge into homelessness. 

SUBPART B—PROVISION OF APPROPRIATE SERVICES

Sec. 616. Application of knowledge development findings to service delivery. 

SUBPART C—GRANTEE PLANNING, REPORTING, AND CAPACITY-BUILDING

Sec. 621. Expansion of participation in grantee planning. 

Sec. 622. Documentation of needs of and establishing priorities for homeless 

population. 

SUBPART D—DESIGNATION OF PERSONS EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS AS

PRIORITY POPULATION

Sec. 626. Requiring grantees to direct funds to persons experiencing homelessness. 

Sec. 627. Prioritization of services for runaway, homeless, and street youth. 

Sec. 628. Definition of runaway, homeless, and street youth as high risk. 

SUBPART E—FEDERAL PROGRAM MANAGEMENT

Sec. 631. Establishment of Federal plan on addiction, mental illness, and 

homelessness. 

PART 2—TARGETED HOMELESS ADDICTION AND MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES

PROGRAMS

SUBPART A—REAUTHORIZE, RENAME, AND STRENGTHEN THE GRANTS FOR

THE BENEFIT OF HOMELESS INDIVIDUALS PROGRAM

Sec. 641. Treatment and recovery initiative for persons experiencing homelessness. 

SUBPART B—REAUTHORIZE AND STRENGTHEN THE PROJECTS FOR

ASSISTANCE IN TRANSITION FROM HOMELESSNESS (PATH) PROGRAM

Sec. 651. Expansion of required scope of services of PATH providers. 

Sec. 652. Encouragement of States to utilize health care for the homeless 

projects as PATH providers. 

Sec. 653. State descriptions of resource allocation process. 

Sec. 654. Federal report on PATH and homeless grant programs. 

Sec. 655. Clarification of target populations provision of PATH statute. 

Subtitle C—Amendments Regarding Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS 

Resources Emergency Act of 1990

PART 1—DISCHARGE PLANNING

Sec. 661. Averting RWCA patient discharge into homelessness. 

PART 2—PROVISION OF APPROPRIATE SERVICES

Sec. 666. Amplification of scope of RWCA services. 

Sec. 667. Application of knowledge development findings to service delivery. 

PART 3—GRANTEE PLANNING, REPORTING, AND CAPACITY BUILDING

Sec. 671. Expansion of participation in grantee and contractor planning. 
5

•HR 2897 IH 

Sec. 672. Development of knowledge to strengthen providers’ capacity to offer 

homeless-competent services. 

PART 4—DESIGNATION OF HOMELESS PERSONS AS PRIORITY POPULATION

Sec. 676. Priority for persons experiencing homelessness.

PART 5—FEDERAL PLAN ON HIV/AIDS AND HOMELESSNESS

Sec. 681. Federal plan on HIV/AIDS and homelessness. 

TITLE VII—ECONOMIC SECURITY 

Sec. 701. Sense of Congress regarding right to a living income. 

Sec. 702. Authorization of appropriations for homeless veterans reintegration 

program. 

Sec. 703. Availability of food stamp benefits to individuals who are homeless. 

Sec. 704. Amendments to Workforce Investment Act. 

Sec. 705. Homebuild program for affordable housing construction and apprenticeship. 

Sec. 706. Department of Labor apprenticeship program for working people experiencing homelessness. 

Sec. 707. Day laborer fairness and protection. 

Sec. 708. Social Security Administration outreach to homeless persons.

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 

2 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that—

3 (1) lack of affordable housing results in home4 lessness; 

5 (2) lack of consumer protections result in home6 lessness; 

7 (3) lack of access to health care results in 

8 homelessness; 

9 (4) lack of employment and wages commensu10 rate with those in the local market results in home11 lessness; 

12 (5) lack of education results in homelessness; 

13 (6) homelessness offends the conscience of our 

14 Nation; 
6

•HR 2897 IH 

1 (7) according to the United States Department 

2 of Housing and Urban Development, 4,900,000 

3 households experience ‘‘worst-case’’ housing needs; 

4 (8) as of the date of the introduction of this 

5 bill, in no town, city, or State in our Nation can an 

6 individual or family working full time at minimum 

7 wage, or receiving assistance under the Supple8 mental Security Income program or under the pro9 gram for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, 

10 afford a one- or two-bedroom apartment at the fair 

11 market rental rate established by the Department of 

12 Housing and Urban Development; 

13 (9) the Millennial Housing Commission re14 ported that 28,000,000 households in the United 

15 States spent more than 30 percent their income on 

16 housing, and one in eight low-income working fami17 lies earning minimum wage have to spend more than 

18 half their income on housing; 

19 (10) 42 percent of adults residing in homeless 

20 shelters across the United States are working; 

21 (11) 24 percent of clients of homeless shelters 

22 report they have needed medical attention in the 

23 past year but were unable to get it and 46 percent 

24 of such clients could not get access to a dentist when 

25 one was needed; 
7

•HR 2897 IH 

1 (12) 55 percent of people experiencing home2 lessness in the United States have neither public nor 

3 private health insurance; 

4 (13) of the homeless individuals who suffer 

5 mental illness, it is estimated that only 5 to 7 per6 cent require some form of institutionalization and 

7 the rest could live productively with proper assist8 ance; 

9 (14) millions of Americans can not find work 

10 that pays a livable wage or can not find work at all 

11 and, therefore, cannot afford housing at market rent 

12 levels; 

13 (15) lack of affordable housing near job oppor14 tunities makes it difficult for poor parents to find 

15 and retain employment; 

16 (16) families without stable housing typically 

17 have to move often, making job retention difficult 

18 and forcing their children to change schools fre19 quently; 

20 (17) at least 3,500,000 persons are likely to ex21 perience homelessness during a year in the United 

22 States, 39 percent of which are children; and 

23 (18) in its ‘‘Status Report on Hunger and 

24 Homelessness in America’s Cities’’, the United 

25 States Conference of Mayors reports that requests 
8

•HR 2897 IH 

1 for shelter by families with children went unmet 38 

2 percent of the time in 2002. 

3 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to end 

4 homelessness in the United States. 

5 TITLE I—RECOGNITION OF 

6 HOUSING AS A BASIC HUMAN 

7 RIGHT 

8 SEC. 101. RECOGNITION BY SOCIETIES, FAITHS, AND ORGA9 NIZATIONS. 

10 The Congress hereby acknowledges that the housing 

11 has been recognized as a basic human right by many and 

12 varied—

13 (1) religious and faith organizations; 

14 (2) States, cities, and counties; 

15 (3) national and local organizations; 

16 (4) international organizations, including the 

17 United Nations through its Declaration of Human 

18 Rights. 

19 SEC. 102. ESTABLISHMENT OF GOAL TO END HOMELESS20 NESS. 

21 The Congress hereby declares that—

22 (1) the Constitution of the United States of 

23 America guarantees every American the right to life, 

24 liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness; 
9

•HR 2897 IH 

1 (2) the exercise of such rights is contingent 

2 upon the fulfillment of basic needs crucial for the 

3 proper development of human life: food, clothing, 

4 shelter, medical care, work, and rest; and 

5 (3) it is a National goal to act in concord with 

6 the aforementioned rights and fulfill the basic 

7 human need of shelter by ending homelessness in the 

8 United States and to provide the security of a home 

9 to people in cases of sickness, inability to work, old 

10 age, unemployment, and in any other case in which 

11 one is deprived of the means of subsistence. 

12 TITLE II—HOUSING SECURITY 

13 SEC. 201. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS. 

14 The Congress finds that—

15 (1) a rapid decrease in the availability of af16 fordable housing has led to an increase in homeless17 ness in recent years, even for working families; 

18 (2) high market-rate housing costs have left 

19 many families with little, if any, income to pay addi20 tional employment-related expenses such as trans21 portation, child care, or clothing; and 

22 (3) each year 90,000 affordable housing units 

23 are lost due to demolition or sale of public housing 

24 and housing assisted with project-based rental as-
10

•HR 2897 IH 

1 sistance under section 8 of the United States Hous2 ing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f). 

3 Subtitle A—Authorizations of Ap4 propriations for Housing Pro5 grams

6 SEC. 221. NATIONAL AFFORDABLE HOUSING TRUST FUND. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title II of the Cranston-Gonzalez 

8 National Affordable Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 12721 et 

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

10 subtitle: 

11 ‘‘Subtitle G—National Affordable 

12 Housing Trust Fund 

13 ‘‘SEC. 291. PURPOSES. 

14 ‘‘The purposes of this subtitle are—

15 ‘‘(1) to fill the growing gap in the national abil16 ity to build affordable housing by using profits gen17 erated by Federal housing programs to fund addi18 tional housing activities, without supplanting exist19 ing housing appropriations; 

20 ‘‘(2) to enable rental housing to be built, for 

21 families with the greatest economic need, in mixed22 income settings and in areas with the greatest eco23 nomic opportunities; 

24 ‘‘(3) to promote homeownership for low-income 

25 families; and
11

•HR 2897 IH 

1 ‘‘(4) to produce, rehabilitate, and preserve at 

2 least 1,500,000 affordable dwelling units over the 

3 next decade. 

4 ‘‘SEC. 292. TRUST FUND. 

5 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 

6 Treasury of the United States a trust fund to be known 

7 as the National Affordable Housing Trust Fund, which 

8 shall be available as provided in this subtitle for assisting 

9 the development, rehabilitation, and preservation of af10 fordable housing. 

11 ‘‘(b) DEPOSITS TO TRUST FUND.—For fiscal year 

12 2004 and each fiscal year thereafter, there shall be appro13 priated to the Trust Fund an amount equal to the sum 

14 of—

15 ‘‘(1) the amount by which the balance in the 

16 Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund established under 

17 section 202(a) of the National Housing Act (12 

18 U.S.C. 1708(a)), at the conclusion of the preceding 

19 fiscal year, exceeds the amount necessary for such 

20 Fund to maintain the capital ratio required under 

21 section 205(f) of such Act (12 U.S.C. 1711(f)); and 

22 ‘‘(2) the amount by which any amounts col23 lected or received by the Government National Mort24 gage Association during the preceding fiscal year ex25 ceeds the amount necessary to pay the administra-
12

•HR 2897 IH 

1 tive costs and expenses necessary to ensure the safe2 ty and soundness of the Government National Mort3 gage Association, as determined by the Secretary. 

4 ‘‘(c) EXPENDITURES FROM TRUST FUND.—For fis5 cal year 2004 and each fiscal year thereafter, amounts ap6 propriated to the Trust Fund for each such fiscal year 

7 shall be available to the Secretary of Housing and Urban 

8 Development for providing assistance under this subtitle. 

9 ‘‘SEC. 293. ALLOCATIONS FOR STATES AND PARTICIPATING 

10 LOCAL JURISDICTIONS. 

11 ‘‘The Secretary shall use the total amount made 

12 available under section 292(c) to the Secretary from the 

13 Trust Fund for such fiscal year to provide assistance 

14 under this subtitle for the States and participating local 

15 jurisdictions. Of such total amount, the Secretary shall al16 locate 40 percent for States for use under section 294 and 

17 60 percent for participating local jurisdictions for use 

18 under section 294. 

19 ‘‘SEC. 294. ASSISTANCE FROM TRUST FUND. 

20 ‘‘(a) AFFORDABLE HOUSING NEEDS FORMULA.—

21 The Secretary shall establish a formula to allocate assist22 ance under this subtitle among eligible recipients based 

23 on the relative need of the eligible recipient, among other 

24 eligible recipients that are States or participating local ju25 risdictions, as appropriate, to increase the supply of decent 
13

•HR 2897 IH 

1 quality affordable housing. The formula shall be based 

2 upon a comparison of the following factors for each eligible 

3 recipient: 

4 ‘‘(1) The percentage of families in the jurisdic5 tion of the eligible recipient that live in substandard 

6 housing. 

7 ‘‘(2) The percentage of families in the jurisdic8 tion of the eligible recipient that pay more than 50 

9 percent of their annual income for housing costs. 

10 ‘‘(3) The percentage of persons in the jurisdic11 tion of the eligible recipient having an income at or 

12 below the poverty line. 

13 ‘‘(4) The cost of developing or carrying out re14 habilitation of housing in the jurisdiction of the eli15 gible recipient. 

16 ‘‘(5) In the case of an eligible recipient that is 

17 a State, the percentage of the population of the eligi18 ble recipient that resides in counties having ex19 tremely low vacancy rates. 

20 ‘‘(6) The percentage of housing stock in the ju21 risdiction of the eligible recipient that is extremely 

22 old housing. 

23 ‘‘(7) Any other factors that the Secretary deter24 mines to be appropriate. 

25 ‘‘(b) FORMULA AMOUNT.—
14

•HR 2897 IH 

1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For fiscal year 2004 and 

2 each fiscal year thereafter, the Secretary shall deter3 mine the formula amount under this subsection for 

4 each eligible recipient. 

5 ‘‘(2) STATES.—The formula amount for each 

6 State shall be the amount determined for such State 

7 by applying the formula under subsection (a) to the 

8 total amount allocated under section 293 for all 

9 States for the fiscal year. 

10 ‘‘(3) PARTICIPATING LOCAL JURISDICTIONS.—

11 The formula amount for each participating local ju12 risdiction shall be the amount determined for such 

13 participating local jurisdiction by applying the for14 mula under subsection (a) to the total amount allo15 cated under section 293 for all participating local ju16 risdictions for the fiscal year. 

17 ‘‘(c) ALLOCATION AMOUNT.—The allocation under 

18 this subsection for a State or local participating jurisdic19 tion for a fiscal year shall be determined as follows: 

20 ‘‘(1) STATES.—In the case of a State: 

21 ‘‘(A) MINIMUM AMOUNT.—If the formula 

22 amount determined under subsection (b) for the 

23 State for the fiscal year is less than 1 percent 

24 of the total amount made available under sec-
15

•HR 2897 IH 

1 tion 292(c) for such fiscal year, the allocation 

2 for the State shall be 1 percent of such amount. 

3 ‘‘(B) FORMULAAMOUNT.—If the formula 

4 amount determined under subsection (b) for the 

5 State for the fiscal year is 1 percent or more 

6 of the total amount made available under sec7 tion 292(c) for such fiscal year, the allocation 

8 for the State shall be the formula amount for 

9 the State, except that the Secretary shall re10 duce such formula amounts for all States whose 

11 allocations are determined under this paragraph 

12 on a pro rata basis by the amount necessary to 

13 account for any increases from the formula 

14 amount for allocations made under paragraph 

15 (1) of this subsection so that the total of the al16 locations for all States is equal to the amount 

17 of the allocation under section 293 for States. 

18 ‘‘(2) PARTICIPATING LOCAL JURISDICTIONS.—

19 The allocation for each eligible participating local ju20 risdiction shall be the formula amount for the eligi21 ble jurisdiction determined under subsection (b). 

22 ‘‘(d) GRANT AWARDS.—For fiscal year 2004 and 

23 each fiscal year thereafter, using the amounts made avail24 able to the Secretary from the Trust Fund for such fiscal 

25 year under section 292(c), the Secretary shall make a 
16

•HR 2897 IH 

1 grant to each eligible recipient in the lesser of the fol2 lowing amounts: 

3 ‘‘(1) FULL ALLOCATION.—The amount of the 

4 allocation under subsection (c) for the eligible recipi5 ent. 

6 ‘‘(2) 4 TIMES MATCHING CONTRIBUTION.—The 

7 amount that is equal to 4 times the amount of funds 

8 provided in cash, in-kind contributions, or other eli9 gible amounts by the eligible recipient from non10 Federal sources for use only as provided in sub11 section (e)(2). 

12 ‘‘(e) MATCHING CONTRIBUTION.—

13 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE AMOUNTS.—For purposes of 

14 subsection (d)(2), only the following amounts shall 

15 be considered other eligible amounts from non-Fed16 eral sources: 

17 ‘‘(A) LOW-INCOME HOUSING TAX CRED18 ITS.—50 percent of funds allocable to tax cred19 its allocated under section 42 of the Internal 

20 Revenue Code of 1986.

21 ‘‘(B) MORTGAGE BOND REVENUE.—50 

22 percent of revenue from mortgage revenue 

23 bonds issued under section 143 of such Code.
17

•HR 2897 IH 

1 ‘‘(C) TAX EXEMPT BONDS PROCEEDS.—50 

2 percent of proceeds from the sale of tax exempt 

3 bonds.

4 ‘‘(D) CDBG PROGRAM AMOUNTS.—50 per5 cent of grant amounts received under the com6 munity development block grant program under 

7 title I of the Housing and Community Develop8 ment Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.). 

9 ‘‘(E) HOME PROGRAM AMOUNTS.—50 

10 percent of funds received under the HOME in11 vestment partnerships program under subtitles 

12 A through F of this title. 

13 ‘‘(F) PROJECT-BASED VOUCHER ASSIST14 ANCE.—50 percent of funds used each year 

15 pursuant to paragraph (13) of section 8(o) of 

16 the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 

17 U.S.C. 1437f(o)(13)) for the duration of the 

18 applicable housing assistance payments con19 tract. 

20 ‘‘(G) TEMPORARY ASSISTANCE FOR NEEDY

21 FAMILIES.—Federal, State, and local funds pro22 vided under part A of title IV of the Social Se23 curity Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.). 
18

•HR 2897 IH 

1 ‘‘(H) RURAL HOUSING ASSISTANCE.—50 

2 percent of amounts received under title V of the 

3 Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1471 et seq.). 

4 ‘‘(I) VETERANS ADMINISTRATION HOME5 LESS PROVIDERS GRANT AND PER DIEM PRO6 GRAM.—50 percent of amounts received under 

7 the comprehensive service programs for home8 less veterans under subchapter II of chapter 20 

9 of title 38, United States Code (including pro10 viders grants under section 2011 of such sub11 chapter and per diem under section 2012 of 

12 such subchapter). 

13 ‘‘(J) GENERAL STATE REVENUE.—Any 

14 other State or unit of general local government 

15 revenue that is not derived from Federal 

16 sources, including any State tax revenue. 

17 ‘‘(2) USE OF MATCHING AMOUNTS.—Use of 

18 amounts as provided in this paragraph shall be used 

19 only for—

20 ‘‘(A) eligible activities relating to afford21 able housing; or 

22 ‘‘(B) eligible activities relating to a project 

23 not less than 50 percent of the dwelling units 

24 of which qualify as affordable housing. 
19

•HR 2897 IH 

1 ‘‘(3) CERTIFICATION.—The Secretary shall re2 quire eligible recipients to certify to the Secretary 

3 the amount of funds from non-Federal sources pro4 vided for purposes of subsection (d)(2). 

5 ‘‘(f) GRANTS FOR INELIGIBLE RECIPIENTS AND RE6 CIPIENTS WITH INSUFFICIENT MATCHING CONTRIBU7 TIONS.—

8 ‘‘(1) AVAILABLE AMOUNTS.—For a fiscal year, 

9 the following amounts shall be available for grants 

10 under this subsection: 

11 ‘‘(A) ALLOCATION FOR INELIGIBLE RE12 CIPIENT.—With respect to each ineligible recipi13 ent, the amount of the allocation for the State 

14 or participating local jurisdiction for such fiscal 

15 year determined under subsection (c). 

16 ‘‘(B) UNMATCHED PORTION OF ALLOCA17 TION.—With respect to any eligible recipient for 

18 which the amount of the grant assistance for 

19 such fiscal year is determined under subsection 

20 (d)(2), the amount by which the allocation de21 termined under subsection (c) for the eligible 

22 recipient for the fiscal year exceeds the grant 

23 assistance for the eligible recipient for the fiscal 

24 year. 
20

•HR 2897 IH 

1 ‘‘(2) NOTICE.—For each fiscal year, not later 

2 than 60 days after the date that the Secretary deter3 mines that the amounts described in paragraph (1) 

4 shall be available for grants under this subsection, 

5 the Secretary shall cause to be published in the Fed6 eral Register a notice that such amounts shall be so 

7 available. 

8 ‘‘(3) APPLICATIONS.—The Secretary shall pro9 vide for nonprofit and public entities (and consortia 

10 thereof, which may include units of local government 

11 working together on a regional basis) to submit ap12 plications, during the 9-month period beginning 

13 upon publication of a notice of funding availability 

14 under paragraph (2), for a grant of all or a portion 

15 of the amounts referred to in paragraph (1). Such 

16 an application shall include—

17 ‘‘(A) a certification that the applicant will 

18 provide supplemental amounts in accordance 

19 with paragraph (5)(B)(i); and 

20 ‘‘(B) an allocation plan described in para21 graph (5)(B)(ii). 

22 ‘‘(4) SELECTION CRITERIA.—The Secretary 

23 shall, by regulation, establish criteria for selecting 

24 applicants that meet the requirements of paragraph 

25 (3) for funding under this subsection. Such criteria 
21

•HR 2897 IH 

1 shall give priority to applications that provide that 

2 grant amounts under this subsection will be used for 

3 eligible activities relating to affordable housing that 

4 is located in the State for which such grant funds 

5 were originally allocated under subsection (c). 

6 ‘‘(5) AWARD AND USE OF GRANT ASSIST7 ANCE.—

8 ‘‘(A) AWARD OF GRANTS.—Subject only to 

9 the absence of applications meeting the require10 ments of paragraph (3), upon the expiration of 

11 the period referred to in such paragraph, the 

12 Secretary shall select an applicant or applicants 

13 under this subsection to receive the amounts 

14 available under paragraph (1) and shall make a 

15 grant or grants to such applicant or applicants. 

16 The selection shall be based upon the criteria 

17 established under paragraph (4). 

18 ‘‘(B) GRANT REQUIREMENTS.—Grant as19 sistance under this subsection shall be subject 

20 to the following requirements:

21 ‘‘(i) MATCHING AMOUNTS.—The 

22 grantee shall supplement any grant 

23 amounts received under this subsection 

24 with an amount equal to 25 percent of 

25 such grant amounts. 
22

•HR 2897 IH 

1 ‘‘(ii) USE.—Grant amounts received 

2 under this subsection shall be used in ac3 cordance with an allocation plan that 

4 meets the requirements of section 295(e) 

5 and provides that any assistance provided 

6 to the applicant under this subsection, and 

7 any supplemental amounts provided by the 

8 applicant pursuant to clause (i), shall be 

9 used only to carry out eligible activities. 

10 ‘‘SEC. 295. USE OF ASSISTANCE BY RECIPIENTS. 

11 ‘‘(a) DISTRIBUTION TO ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—Each 

12 eligible recipient that receives a grant under this subtitle 

13 shall distribute the grant amounts (excluding any amounts 

14 used under subsection (b)) to eligible entities for use by 

15 such entities only for eligible activities in the jurisdiction 

16 of the eligible recipient, as follows: 

17 ‘‘(1) USE FOR RENTAL HOUSING FOR EX18 TREMELY LOW-INCOME FAMILIES.—Not less than 45 

19 percent of such amounts shall be distributed for use 

20 only for eligible activities relating to affordable hous21 ing in the jurisdiction of the eligible recipient that 

22 is available for rental by families (as such term is 

23 defined in section 3(b) of the United States Housing 

24 Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437a(b))) whose incomes 

25 do not exceed 30 percent of the greater of—
23

•HR 2897 IH 

1 ‘‘(A) the median family income for the 

2 area in which the housing is located, as deter3 mined by the Secretary with adjustments for 

4 smaller and larger families; and 

5 ‘‘(B) the median family income for the 

6 State in which the housing is located, as deter7 mined by the Secretary with adjustments for 

8 smaller and larger families. 

9 Such rental housing shall include limited equity co10 operative housing, as such term is defined in section 

11 143(k) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 

12 U.S.C 143(k)). 

13 ‘‘(2) USE FOR RENTAL HOUSING FOR MINIMUM

14 WAGE-INCOME FAMILIES.—Not less than 30 percent 

15 of such amounts shall be distributed for use only for 

16 eligible activities relating to affordable housing in 

17 the jurisdiction of the eligible recipient that is avail18 able for rental by families (as such term is defined 

19 in section 3(b) of the United States Housing Act of 

20 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437a(b))) whose incomes do not 

21 exceed the amount earned by one individual who is 

22 employed on a full-time basis in a position that pays 

23 the greater of—
24

•HR 2897 IH 

1 ‘‘(A) the Federal minimum wage under 

2 section 6(a)(1) of the Fair Labor Standards 

3 Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 206(a)(1)); and 

4 ‘‘(B) the minimum wage under the laws of 

5 the State in which the housing is located. 

6 Such rental housing shall include limited equity co7 operative housing, as such term is defined in section 

8 143(k) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 

9 U.S.C 143(k)). 

10 ‘‘(3) USE FOR RENTAL HOUSING OR HOME11 OWNERSHIP ASSISTANCE FOR LOW-INCOME FAMI12 LIES.—Not more than 25 percent of such amounts 

13 shall be distributed for use only for eligible activities 

14 relating to affordable housing in the jurisdiction of 

15 the eligible recipient that is available for rental by 

16 families (as such term is defined in section 3(b) of 

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

18 1437a(b))) whose incomes do not exceed 80 percent 

19 of the greater of—

20 ‘‘(A) the median family income for the 

21 area in which the housing is located, as deter22 mined by the Secretary with adjustments for 

23 smaller and larger families, and 

24 ‘‘(B) the median family income for the 

25 State in which the housing is located, as deter-
25

•HR 2897 IH 

1 mined by the Secretary with adjustments for 

2 smaller and larger families, 

3 or for homeownership assistance for such families in 

4 the jurisdiction of the eligible recipient. Such rental 

5 housing and homes for homeownership shall include 

6 housing of a cooperative housing corporation, as 

7 such term is defined in section 216(b) of the Inter8 nal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C 216(b)). 

9 ‘‘(b) OPERATING ASSISTANCE FOR NONPROFIT

10 HOUSING DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATIONS.—An eligible 

11 entity that receives a grant under this subtitle may use 

12 not more than 5 percent of such grant amounts to provide 

13 assistance to nonprofit organizations involved in the devel14 opment, rehabilitation, or preservation of affordable rental 

15 housing for payment of operating costs of such organiza16 tions. Such nonprofit organizations shall include commu17 nity housing development organizations (as such term is 

18 defined in section 104 of the Cranston-Gonzalez National 

19 Affordable Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 12704)), community 

20 development financial institutions (as such term is defined 

21 in section 103 of the Community Development Banking 

22 and Financial Institutions Act of 1994 (12 U.S.C. 4702)), 

23 community development corporations (as such term is de24 fined in section 31131 of the National Community Eco-
26

•HR 2897 IH 

1 nomic Partnership Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C. 13851)), and 

2 community-based development organizations. 

3 ‘‘(c) COST LIMITS.—The Secretary shall establish 

4 limitations on the amount of grant amounts that may be 

5 used, on a per unit basis, for eligible activities. Such limi6 tations shall be the same as the per unit cost limits estab7 lished pursuant to section 212(e) of the Cranston-Gon8 zalez National Affordable Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 

9 12742(e)), as adjusted annually, and established by num10 ber of bedrooms, market area, and eligible activity. 

11 ‘‘(d) ELIGIBLE RECIPIENTS.—With respect to a fis12 cal year, a State or participating local jurisdiction shall 

13 be an eligible recipient for purposes of this subtitle for 

14 such fiscal year only if the State or participating local ju15 risdiction has established an allocation plan that has been 

16 submitted to the Secretary and reviewed and approved by 

17 the Secretary as in accordance with subsection (e). The 

18 Secretary may disapprove an allocation plan only if the 

19 plan fails to comply with requirements set forth in this 

20 section. 

21 ‘‘(e) ALLOCATION PLAN.—

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An allocation plan in ac23 cordance with this subsection is a plan, established 

24 by a State or participating local jurisdiction, as ap25 propriate, for a fiscal year, for the distribution of 
27

•HR 2897 IH 

1 grant amounts provided to the State or participating 

2 local jurisdiction under this subtitle for such fiscal 

3 year that is based on priority housing needs, as de4 termined by the State or participating local jurisdic5 tion. 

6 ‘‘(2) ESTABLISHMENT.—In establishing an allo7 cation plan, the State or participating local jurisdic8 tion shall notify the public of the establishment of 

9 the plan, provide an opportunity for public com10 ments regarding the plan, consider any public com11 ments received, and make the completed plan avail12 able to the public. 

13 ‘‘(3) CONTENTS.—An allocation plan of a State 

14 or participating local jurisdiction shall include the 

15 following information: 

16 ‘‘(A) APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS FOR

17 ELIGIBLE ENTITIES AND SUBRECIPIENTS.—The 

18 allocation plan shall set forth the requirements 

19 for eligible entities and eligible subrecipients to 

20 apply to receive assistance from grant amounts 

21 under this subtitle, including a requirement 

22 that each such application include—

23 ‘‘(i) a description of the eligible activi24 ties to be conducted using such assistance; 

25 and 
28

•HR 2897 IH 

1 ‘‘(ii) a certification by the applicant 

2 that any housing units assisted with such 

3 assistance will comply with the require4 ments under—

5 ‘‘(I) section 296(1)(A) (relating 

6 to rents charged); 

7 ‘‘(II) section 296(1)(B) (relating 

8 to tenant rent contribution); 

9 ‘‘(III) section 296(1)(C) (relating 

10 to availability of units for voucher 

11 holders); 

12 ‘‘(IV) section 296(1)(D) (relating 

13 to use as affordable housing for 50 

14 years); 

15 ‘‘(V) section 296(1)(E) (relating 

16 to mixed income); and 

17 ‘‘(VI) section 808(d) of the Fair 

18 Housing Act (relating to the obliga19 tion to affirmatively further fair hous20 ing). 

21 ‘‘(B) SELECTION AND PREFERENCE CRI22 TERIAFOR ELIGIBLE ENTITIES AND SUBRECIPI23 ENTS.—The allocation plan shall set forth the 

24 factors for consideration in selecting among ap25 plicants that meet the application requirements
29

•HR 2897 IH 

1 set forth pursuant to subparagraph (A), which 

2 shall give preference to applicants based on— 

3 ‘‘(i) the amount of assistance lever4 aged by the applicant from private and 

5 other non-Federal sources for carrying out 

6 the eligible activities to be funded with as7 sistance from grant amounts under this 

8 subtitle, including assistance made avail9 able under section 8 of the United States 

10 Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f) 

11 that is devoted to the project that contains 

12 the affordable housing to be assisted with 

13 such assistance; 

14 ‘‘(ii) the extent of local assistance that 

15 will be provided in carrying out the eligible 

16 activities, including—

17 ‘‘(I) financial assistance; 

18 ‘‘(II) the extent to which the ap19 plicant has worked to address issues 

20 of siting and exclusionary zoning or 

21 other policies that are barriers to af22 fordable housing with the unit of gen23 eral local government in which the 

24 housing to be assisted with such as25 sistance will be located; and 
30

•HR 2897 IH 

1 ‘‘(III) the extent to which the ap2 plicant has worked with the unit of 

3 general local government to reduce 

4 the barriers to affordable housing; 

5 ‘‘(iii) the degree to which the project 

6 in which the affordable housing will be lo7 cated will have residents of various in8 comes; 

9 ‘‘(iv) the extent of employment and 

10 other economic opportunities for low-in11 come families in the area in which the 

12 housing will be located; 

13 ‘‘(v) the extent to which the applicant 

14 demonstrates the ability to maintain dwell15 ing units as affordable housing through the 

16 use of assistance made available under this 

17 subtitle, assistance leveraged from non18 Federal sources, assistance made available 

19 under section 8 of the United States Hous20 ing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f), State 

21 or local assistance, programs to increase 

22 tenant income, cross-subsidization, and any 

23 other resources; 

24 ‘‘(vi) the extent to which the applicant 

25 demonstrates that the county in which the 
31

•HR 2897 IH 

1 housing is to be located is experiencing an 

2 extremely low vacancy rate; 

3 ‘‘(vii) the extent to which the percent4 age of the housing located in such county 

5 that is extremely old housing exceeds 35 

6 percent; 

7 ‘‘(viii) the extent to which the housing 

8 assisted with the grant amounts will be ac9 cessible to persons with disabilities; 

10 ‘‘(ix) the extent to which the applicant 

11 demonstrates that the affordable housing 

12 assisted with the grant amounts will be lo13 cated in proximity to public transportation, 

14 job opportunities, child care, and commu15 nity revitalization projects; and 

16 ‘‘(x) the extent to which the applicant 

17 has provided that assistance from grant 

18 amounts made available under this subtitle 

19 will be used for eligible activities relating 

20 to housing located in census tracts in 

21 which the number of families having in22 comes less than the poverty line is less 

23 than 20 percent. 

24 ‘‘(4) CONSOLIDATED PLAN.—The Secretary 

25 shall provide that a State or local participating juris-
32

•HR 2897 IH 

1 diction may comply with the requirements under this 

2 subsection for submission of an allocation plan 

3 through the inclusion of any appropriate information 

4 in a single consolidated submission used for pur5 poses of applying for other community planning and 

6 development and housing assistance programs ad7 ministered by the Secretary. 

8 ‘‘(f) FORMS OF ASSISTANCE.—

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Assistance may be distrib10 uted pursuant to this section in the form of capital 

11 grants, noninterest bearing or low-interest loans or 

12 advances, deferred payment loans, guarantees, and 

13 any other forms of assistance approved by the Sec14 retary. 

15 ‘‘(2) REPAYMENTS.—If an eligible recipient 

16 awards assistance under this section in the form of 

17 a loan or other mechanism by which funds are later 

18 repaid to the eligible recipient, any repayments re19 ceived by the eligible recipient shall be distributed by 

20 the eligible recipient in accordance with the alloca21 tion plan under subsection (e) for the eligible recipi22 ent for the fiscal year in which such repayments are 

23 made. 

24 ‘‘(g) COORDINATION WITH OTHER ASSISTANCE.—In 

25 distributing assistance pursuant to this section, each eligi-
33

•HR 2897 IH 

1 ble recipient shall, to the maximum extent practicable, co2 ordinate such distribution with the provision of other Fed3 eral, State, and local housing assistance, including—

4 ‘‘(1) in the case of any State, housing credit 

5 dollar amounts allocated by the State under section 

6 42(h) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; 

7 ‘‘(2) assistance made available under the 

8 HOME Investment Partnerships Act (42 U.S.C. 

9 12721 et seq.) or the community development block 

10 grant program under title I of the Housing and 

11 Community Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 

12 5301 et seq.); 

13 ‘‘(3) private activity bonds; 

14 ‘‘(4) assistance made available under section 9 

15 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 

16 U.S.C. 1437g); 

17 ‘‘(5) assistance made available under section 

18 8(o) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 

19 U.S.C. 1437f(o)); 

20 ‘‘(6) assistance made available under title V of 

21 the Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1471 et seq.); 

22 and 

23 ‘‘(7) any other housing assistance programs. 

24 ‘‘(h) EFFECT OF ASSISTANCE UNDER PROGRAM.—

25 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the provision 
34

•HR 2897 IH 

1 of assistance under this subtitle for a project shall not re2 duce the amount of assistance for which such project is 

3 otherwise eligible under section 42(h) of the Internal Rev4 enue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 42(h)) or subtitles A 

5 through F of this title, if the project does not exceed the 

6 cost limits established pursuant to subsection (c) of this 

7 section. 

8 ‘‘(i) ADMINISTRATION OF PROGRAM BY SUB9 RECIPIENT.—At the discretion of the eligible recipient, an 

10 eligible recipient may select an eligible subrecipient to 

11 carry out all or a portion of the recipient’s responsibilities 

12 under this subtitle, in accordance with this section. 

13 ‘‘(j) LABOR STANDARDS.—Each eligible recipient re14 ceiving grant amounts under this subtitle shall ensure that 

15 contracts for eligible activities assisted with such amounts 

16 comply with the same requirements under section 286 of 

17 the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act 

18 (42 U.S.C. 12836) that are applicable to contracts for 

19 construction of affordable housing assisted under such 

20 Act. 

21 ‘‘(k) FAILURE TO COMPLY.—If the Secretary finds 

22 after reasonable notice and opportunity for hearing that 

23 a State or participating local jurisdiction has failed to 

24 comply substantially with any provision of this subtitle 

25 and until the Secretary is satisfied that there is no longer
35

•HR 2897 IH 

1 any such failure to comply, the Secretary shall have the 

2 authority to discontinue assistance under this subtitle to 

3 the State or participating local jurisdiction. 

4 ‘‘SEC. 296. DEFINITIONS. 

5 ‘‘For purposes of this subtitle, the following defini6 tions shall apply: 

7 ‘‘(1) AFFORDABLE HOUSING.—The term ‘af8 fordable housing’ means a rental dwelling unit that 

9 is subject to legally binding commitments that en10 sure that the dwelling unit meets all of the following 

11 requirements: 

12 ‘‘(A) RENTS.—The dwelling unit bears a 

13 rent not greater than the lesser of—

14 ‘‘(i) the existing fair market rental es15 tablished by the Secretary under section 

16 8(c) of the United States Housing Act of 

17 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(c)) for a dwelling 

18 unit of the same size in the same market 

19 area, or the applicable payment standard 

20 for assistance under section 8(o) of such 

21 Act, if higher; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) a rent that does not exceed 30 

23 percent of the adjusted income of a family 

24 whose income equals 65 percent of the me25 dian income for the area, as determined by 
36

•HR 2897 IH 

1 the Secretary, with adjustment for number 

2 of bedrooms in the unit, except that the 

3 Secretary may establish income ceilings 

4 higher or lower than 65 percent of the me5 dian for the area on the basis of the find6 ings of the Secretary that such variations 

7 are necessary because of prevailing levels 

8 of construction costs or fair market rents, 

9 or unusually high or low family incomes. 

10 ‘‘(B) TENANT RENT CONTRIBUTION.—The 

11 contribution toward rent by the family residing 

12 in the dwelling unit will not exceed 30 percent 

13 of the adjusted income of such family. 

14 ‘‘(C) AVAILABILITY OF UNITS FOR VOUCH15 ER HOLDERS.—The dwelling unit—

16 ‘‘(i) is located in a project within 

17 which a percentage of units are made 

18 available only for occupancy by families as19 sisted under the voucher program under 

20 section 8(o) of the United States Housing 

21 Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)) (includ22 ing project-based assistance under section 

23 8(o)(13)) on the same basis as other fami24 lies eligible for occupancy of the project 

25 (except that only the voucher holder’s ex-
37

•HR 2897 IH 

1 pected share of rent shall be considered), 

2 which percentage shall not be less than the 

3 percentage of the total cost of developing, 

4 rehabilitating, or preserving the project 

5 that is funded with assistance under this 

6 subtitle; and 

7 ‘‘(ii) is one of the units that is subject 

8 to such occupancy requirements. 

9 ‘‘(D) NON-DISCRIMINATION AGAINST

10 VOUCHER HOLDERS.—The dwelling unit is lo11 cated in a project in which all dwelling units 

12 are subject to enforceable restrictions that pro13 vide that a unit may not be refused for leasing 

14 to a holder of a voucher of eligibility under sec15 tion 8 of the United States Housing Act of 

16 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f) because of the status 

17 of the prospective tenant as a holder of such 

18 voucher. 

19 ‘‘(E) MIXED INCOME.—

20 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The dwelling unit 

21 is located in a project in which not more 

22 than 50 percent of the rental units in the 

23 project that receive assistance under this 

24 subtitle and are not previously occupied 

25 may be rented initially to families with in-
38

•HR 2897 IH 

1 comes described in section 295(a)(1), as 

2 determined at a reasonable time before oc3 cupancy. 

4 ‘‘(ii) EXCEPTIONS.—Clause (i) shall 

5 not apply in the case of a project having 

6 not more than 25 dwelling units that is—

7 ‘‘(I) located in a census tract in 

8 which the number of families having 

9 incomes less than the poverty line is 

10 less than 20 percent; 

11 ‘‘(II) located in a rural area, as 

12 such term is defined in section 520 of 

13 the Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 

14 1490); or 

15 ‘‘(III) specifically made available 

16 only for households comprised of el17 derly families or disabled families. 

18 ‘‘(F) DURATION OF USE.—The dwelling 

19 unit will continue to be subject to the require20 ments under this paragraph for not less than 

21 50 years. 

22 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES.—The term ‘eligible 

23 activities’ means activities relating to providing af24 fordable housing, including—

25 ‘‘(A) the construction of new housing; 
39

•HR 2897 IH 

1 ‘‘(B) the acquisition of real property; 

2 ‘‘(C) site preparation and improvement, in3 cluding demolition; 

4 ‘‘(D) rehabilitation of existing housing; 

5 ‘‘(E) the provision of project-based rental 

6 assistance for not more than 12 months for a 

7 dwelling unit assisted with grant amounts 

8 under this subtitle; and 

9 ‘‘(F) providing incentives to maintain ex10 isting housing as affordable housing and to es11 tablish or extend any low-income affordability 

12 restrictions for such housing, including covering 

13 capital expenditures and operating costs. 

14 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en15 tity’ includes any public or private nonprofit or for16 profit entity, unit of general local government, re17 gional planning entity, and any other entity engaged 

18 in the development, rehabilitation, or preservation of 

19 affordable housing, as determined by the Secretary. 

20 ‘‘(4) ELIGIBLE PARTICIPATING LOCAL JURIS21 DICTION.—The term ‘eligible participating local ju22 risdiction’ means a participating local jurisdiction 

23 that complies with the requirements under section 

24 295(d). 
40

•HR 2897 IH 

1 ‘‘(5) ELIGIBLE RECIPIENT.—The term ‘eligible 

2 recipient’ means an eligible State or eligible partici3 pating local jurisdiction. 

4 ‘‘(6) ELIGIBLE STATE.—The term ‘eligible 

5 State’ means a State that complies with the require6 ments under section 295(d). 

7 ‘‘(7) ELIGIBLE SUBRECIPIENT.—The term ‘eli8 gible subrecipient’ means a public agency or a non9 profit organization, including a community develop10 ment corporation, a community development finan11 cial institution, a State or local housing trust fund, 

12 and any other intermediary selected by a State or 

13 participating local jurisdiction to administer all or a 

14 portion of the State’s or participating local jurisdic15 tion’s responsibilities under this subtitle. The term 

16 does not include any public agency or nonprofit or17 ganization that receives money from the Trust Fund 

18 solely as a developer or owner of housing. 

19 ‘‘(8) EXTREMELY LOW VACANCY RATE.—The 

20 term ‘extremely low vacancy rate’ means a housing 

21 or rental vacancy rate of 2 percent or less. 

22 ‘‘(9) EXTREMELY OLD HOUSING.—The term 

23 ‘extremely old housing’ means housing that is 45 

24 years old or older.
41

•HR 2897 IH 

1 ‘‘(10) FISCAL DISTRESS; SEVERE FISCAL DIS2 TRESS.—The terms ‘fiscal distress’ and ‘severe fiscal 

3 distress’ have the meanings given such terms in sec4 tion 220(d). 

5 ‘‘(11) FULL-TIME BASIS.—The term ‘full-time 

6 basis’ means, with respect to employment, on a 40-

7 hour per week, 52-week per year basis. 

8 ‘‘(12) INELIGIBLE RECIPIENT.—The term ‘ineli9 gible recipient’ means, with respect to a fiscal year, 

10 a State or participating local jurisdiction that has 

11 not submitted to the Secretary an allocation plan 

12 meeting the requirements of section 295(e). 

13 ‘‘(13) PARTICIPATING LOCAL JURISDICTION.—

14 The term ‘participating local jurisdiction’ means, 

15 with respect to a fiscal year, any unit of general 

16 local government (as such term is defined in section 

17 104 of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable 

18 Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 12704) that qualifies as a 

19 participating jurisdiction under the HOME Invest20 ment Partnerships Act for such fiscal year. 

21 ‘‘(14) POVERTY LINE.—The term ‘poverty line’ 

22 has the meaning given such term in section 673(2) 

23 of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981, 

24 including any revision required by such section. 
42

•HR 2897 IH 

1 ‘‘(15) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ 

2 means the Secretary of Housing and Urban Develop3 ment. 

4 ‘‘(16) STATE.—The term ‘State’ has the mean5 ing given such term in section 3(b) of the United 

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

7 ‘‘(17) TRUST FUND.—The term ‘Trust Fund’ 

8 means the National Affordable Housing Trust Fund 

9 established under section 292. 

10 ‘‘SEC. 297. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR SEC11 TION 8 PROJECT-BASED ASSISTANCE. 

12 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated, for project13 based rental assistance under section 8(o)(13) of the 

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

15 1437f(o)(13)) provided in connection with dwelling units 

16 assisted under this subtitle, such sums as may be nec17 essary for each fiscal year to provide such rental assist18 ance on behalf of each family who occupied a dwelling unit 

19 assisted under this subtitle for which the rent that other20 wise may be charged exceeds 30 percent of the family’s 

21 adjusted income, as such term is defined in section 3 of 

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

23 1437a). 
43

•HR 2897 IH 

1 ‘‘SEC. 298. INAPPLICABILITY OF HOME PROVISIONS. 

2 ‘‘Except as specifically provided in this subtitle, no 

3 requirement under, or provision of, title I or subtitles A 

4 through F of this title shall apply to assistance provided 

5 under this subtitle. 

6 ‘‘SEC. 299. REGULATIONS. 

7 ‘‘Not later than 6 months after the date of enactment 

8 of the Bringing America Home Act, the Secretary of 

9 Housing and Urban Development shall promulgate regula10 tions to carry out this subtitle.’’. 

11 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 201 of the 

12 Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act (42 

13 U.S.C. 12701 note) is amended by striking ‘‘This title’’ 

14 and inserting ‘‘Subtitles A through F of this title’’. 

15 SEC. 222. INCREMENTAL RENTAL ASSISTANCE FOR 1,500,000 

16 FAMILIES. 

17 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums 

18 as may be necessary for the Secretary of Housing and 

19 Urban Development to provide 1,500,000 incremental 

20 housing vouchers for rental assistance under section 8(o) 

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

22 1437f(o)) for the 10-year period following the date of en23 actment of this Act. 

24 SEC. 223. FUNDING FOR HUD HOUSING PROGRAMS. 

25 (a) SECTION 202 SUPPORTIVE HOUSING FOR THE

26 ELDERLY.—Subsection (h) of section 202 of the Housing 
44

•HR 2897 IH 

1 Act of 1959 (12 U.S.C. 1701q(h)) is amended to read as 

2 follows: 

3 ‘‘(h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

4 is authorized to be appropriated for providing grants 

5 under this section $1,426,000,000 for fiscal year 2004 

6 and such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 

7 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008.’’. 

8 (b) SUPPORTIVE HOUSING FOR PERSONS WITH DIS9 ABILITIES.—Subsection (m) of section 811 of the Cran10 ston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act (42 

11 U.S.C. 8013(m)) is amended to read as follows: 

12 ‘‘(m) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

13 is authorized to be appropriated for providing assistance 

14 under this section $502,000,000 for fiscal year 2004 and 

15 such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 

16 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008. Not less than 30 percent 

17 of the amounts made available for each fiscal year for pro18 viding assistance under this section shall be used only for 

19 providing permanent housing for individuals and families 

20 who are homeless (as such term is defined in section 103 

21 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 

22 U.S.C. 11302).’’. 

23 (c) HOME INVESTMENT PARTNERSHIPS PRO24 GRAM.—
45

•HR 2897 IH 

1 Section 205 of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Af2 fordable Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 12724) is amended to 

3 read as follows: 

4 ‘‘SEC. 205. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

5 ‘‘There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

6 this title $4,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2004, and such 

7 sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 2005, 

8 2006, 2007, and 2008, of which—

9 ‘‘(1) not more than $28,000,000 for fiscal year 

10 2004 and such sums as may be necessary in each of 

11 fiscal years 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008, shall be 

12 for community housing partnership activities author13 ized under section 233; and 

14 ‘‘(2) not more than $22,000,000 for fiscal year 

15 2004 and such sums as may be necessary in each of 

16 fiscal years 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008, shall be 

17 for activities in support of State and local housing 

18 strategies authorized under subtitle C.’’. 

19 SEC. 224. HUD RURAL HOUSING AND ECONOMIC DEVELOP20 MENT PROGRAM. 

21 There is authorized to be appropriated for grants, 

22 through the Office of Rural Housing and Economic Devel23 opment of the Department of Housing and Urban Devel24 opment, to Indian tribes, State housing finance agencies, 

25 local rural nonprofit organizations, and community devel-
46

•HR 2897 IH 

1 opment organizations, for support of innovative housing 

2 and economic development activities in rural areas, 

3 $25,000,000 for fiscal year 2004 and such sums as may 

4 be necessary for each of fiscal years 2005, 2006, 2007, 

5 and 2008. 

6 SEC. 225. RURAL HOUSING PROGRAMS. 

7 (a) RURAL RENTAL ASSISTANCE.—Subsection (c) of 

8 section 513 of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 

9 1483(c)) is amended by striking the subsection designa10 tion and all that follows through the end of paragraph (1) 

11 and inserting the following: 

12 ‘‘(c) RENTAL ASSISTANCE.—(1) The Secretary may, 

13 to the extent approved in appropriations Acts, enter into 

14 rental assistance payments contracts under section 

15 521(a)(2)(A) aggregating $814,000,000 for fiscal year 

16 2004 and such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal 

17 years 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008.’’. 

18 (b) FARM LABOR HOUSING LOANS.—Section 

19 513(a)(1) of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 

20 1483(a)(1)) is amended—

21 (1) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), 

22 by inserting ‘‘and during fiscal years 2004 through 

23 2008,’’ after ‘‘respectively,’’; and 

24 (2) by striking subparagraph (D) and inserting 

25 the following new subparagraph:
47

•HR 2897 IH 

1 ‘‘(D) For insured loans under section 514, 

2 $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2004, and such sums as 

3 may be necessary for each of fiscal years 2005, 

4 2006, 2007, and 2008.’’. 

5 (c) FARM LABOR HOUSING GRANTS.—Section 

6 513(b) of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1483(b)) 

7 is amended—

8 (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by 

9 inserting ‘‘, and for fiscal years 2004 through 

10 2008,’’ after ‘‘1994,’’; and 

11 (2) in paragraph (7), by striking subparagraph 

12 (A) and inserting the following new subparagraph: 

13 ‘‘(A) for low-rent housing and related fa14 cilities for domestic farm labor under sub15 sections (a) through (J) of such section, 

16 $30,000,000 for fiscal year 2004, and such 

17 sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal 

18 years 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008; and’’.

19 SEC. 226. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS HOMELESS 

20 COMPREHENSIVE SERVICES PROGRAMS. 

21 Section 2013 of title 38, United States Code, is 

22 amended by striking paragraphs (3) and (4) and inserting 

23 the following new paragraphs: 

24 ‘‘(3) $120,000,000 for fiscal year 2004. 

25 ‘‘(4) $120,000,000 for fiscal year 2005. 
48

•HR 2897 IH 

1 ‘‘(5) Such sums as may be necessary for fiscal 

2 years 2006 through 2008.’’. 

3 SEC. 227. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING APPROPRIA4 TIONS FOR TRANSITIONAL HOUSING ASSIST5 ANCE UNDER VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN 

6 ACT OF 2000. 

7 (a) CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS.—The Congress finds 

8 that—

9 (1) victims of domestic violence often face sub10 stantial barriers that inhibit their ability to gain 

11 independence from their abusive partners; 

12 (2) domestic violence advocates report that vic13 tims often return to their batterers when a viable 

14 option for permanent housing cannot be found; and 

15 (3) transitional housing works to move beyond 

16 the crisis-intervention approach of emergency shel17 ters to provide victims of domestic violence with 

18 long-term solutions that allow them to rebuild their 

19 lives and break the cycle of abuse. 

20 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of the 

21 Congress that transitional housing assistance program 

22 under section 319 of the Family Violence Prevention and 

23 Services Act (42 U.S.C. 10419) should be fully funded at 

24 $25,000,000, which is the level authorized in subsection 

25 (f) of such section, to provide transitional housing assist-
49

•HR 2897 IH 

1 ance to individuals and their dependents who are homeless 

2 or in need of transitional housing or other assistance, as 

3 a result of fleeing domestic violence. 

4 Subtitle B—Federal Homelessness 

5 to Housing Mutual Mortgage As6 sociation 

7 SEC. 231. SHORT TITLE AND STATEMENT OF PURPOSE. 

8 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This subtitle may be cited as the 

9 ‘‘Federal Homelessness to Housing Mutual Mortgage As10 sociation Act’’. 

11 (b) STATEMENT OF PURPOSE.—It is the purpose 

12 of the Federal Homelessness to Housing Mutual Mort13 gage Association to provide housing and homeownership 

14 opportunities, in a cooperative housing association, for 

15 homeless families and individuals by—

16 (1) sponsoring single room occupancy and fam17 ily-oriented mutual housing cooperatives; and 

18 (2) providing continuing management and sup19 port services to its self-governed member buildings. 

20 SEC. 232. ESTABLISHMENT. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is hereby established the 

22 Federal Homelessness to Housing Mutual Mortgage Asso23 ciation, otherwise to be known as ‘‘Hollie Mae’’, which 

24 shall be a body corporate under the direction of a Board 

25 of Directors. Within the limitations of law and regulation, 
50

•HR 2897 IH 

1 the Board of Directors shall determine the general policies 

2 that govern the operations of the Association. 

3 (b) TAX-EXEMPT STATUS.—The Association shall be 

4 considered, for purposes of section 501(c)(3) of the Inter5 nal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 501(c)(3)), to be 

6 a corporation organized and operated for charitable pur7 poses and shall be organized and operated at all times in 

8 a manner such that the Association is an organization ex9 empt from taxation pursuant to such section 501. 

10 (c) OFFICE.—The principal office of the Association 

11 shall be in the District of Columbia or at any other place 

12 determined by the Association. 

13 (d) BOARD OF DIRECTORS.—

14 (1) MEMBERS.—Except as provided in para15 graph (5), the Board of Directors of the Association 

16 shall consist of 20 persons, as follows: 

17 (A) CLASS A TENANT-SHAREHOLDER MEM18 BERS.—9 members, who shall be individuals 

19 who are tenant-shareholders of mutual housing 

20 sponsored and managed by the Association, and 

21 who shall be elected pursuant to an election in 

22 which only tenant-shareholders of such housing 

23 are eligible to vote. 

24 (B) CLASS B BOARD-NOMINATED MEM25 BERS.—9 members, who shall meet such cri-
51

•HR 2897 IH 

1 teria regarding experience as the Board shall 

2 establish in the areas of low-income housing, fi3 nance, supportive services, real estate manage4 ment, cooperative business, local government, 

5 and advocacy and services for homeless persons, 

6 and who shall be elected pursuant to an election 

7 in which only tenant-shareholders of mutual 

8 housing sponsored and managed by the Associa9 tion may vote, from among qualified persons 

10 nominated by existing members of the Board 

11 under this subparagraph. 

12 (C) CLASS C PRESIDENTIALLY APPOINTED

13 MEMBERS.—2 members, who shall be appointed 

14 by the President of the United States. 

15 (2) TERMS.—

16 (A) CLASS A MEMBERS.—Each member of 

17 the Board of Directors pursuant to paragraph 

18 (1)(A) shall be elected for a term of 3 years, ex19 cept that, as designated at the time of election, 

20 of such members first elected pursuant to para21 graph (5)(C), 3 members shall be elected for 

22 terms of 1 year and 3 members shall be elected 

23 for terms of 2 years. 

24 (B) CLASS B MEMBERS.—Each member of 

25 the Board of Directors pursuant to paragraph 
52

•HR 2897 IH 

1 (1)(B) shall be elected for a term of 3 years, 

2 except that, as designated at the time of elec3 tion, of such members first elected pursuant to 

4 paragraph (5)(C), 3 members shall be elected 

5 for terms of 1 year and 3 members shall be 

6 elected for terms of 2 years. 

7 (C) CLASS C MEMBERS.—Each member of 

8 the Board of Directors pursuant to paragraph 

9 (1)(C) shall be appointed for a term of 2 years. 

10 (3) VACANCIES.—Any appointive seat on the 

11 Board of Directors that becomes vacant shall be 

12 filled by appointment by the President of the United 

13 States, but only for the unexpired portion of the 

14 term. Any elective seat on the Board of Directors 

15 that becomes vacant shall be filled by the Board of 

16 Directors, but only for the unexpired portion of the 

17 term. 

18 (4) PROHIBITION ON COMPENSATION.—Any 

19 member of the Board of Directors who is a full-time 

20 officer or employee of the Federal Government shall 

21 not, as such member, receive compensation for serv22 ices as such a member. 

23 (5) INITIAL BOARD.—Notwithstanding any 

24 other provision of this subsection, the initial Board 

25 of Directors shall be organized as follows:
53

•HR 2897 IH 

1 (A) MEMBERS.—The initial Board shall 

2 have 9 members—

3 (i) 6 of whom shall be appointed by 

4 the Interagency Council on the Homeless 

5 after a call for nominations, which shall be 

6 made by public notice; and 

7 (ii) 3 of whom shall be appointed by 

8 the National Cooperative Bank. 

9 (B) TERM OF OPERATIONS.—The initial 

10 Board shall serve until the expiration of the 

11 180-day period beginning upon the Association 

12 having obtained occupancy certificates for three 

13 mutual housing cooperatives sponsored by the 

14 Association. 

15 (C) TRANSITION.—During the period re16 ferred to in subparagraph (B), the initial Board 

17 shall nominate qualified persons for election to 

18 the Board pursuant to paragraph (1)(B), elec19 tions pursuant to paragraph (2) shall be held 

20 for members of the Board pursuant to subpara21 graphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (1), and 

22 members pursuant to paragraph (1)(C) shall be 

23 appointed. 
54

•HR 2897 IH 

1 SEC. 233. POWERS AND AUTHORITIES. 

2 (a) CORPORATE POWERS.—The Association shall 

3 have power—

4 (1) to adopt, alter, and use a corporate seal; 

5 (2) to have succession until dissolved by Act of 

6 Congress; 

7 (3) to make and enforce such bylaws, rules, and 

8 regulations as may be necessary or appropriate to 

9 carry out the purposes or provisions of this subtitle; 

10 (4) to make and perform contracts, agreements, 

11 and commitments; 

12 (5) to prescribe and impose fees and charges 

13 for services by the Association; 

14 (6) to settle, adjust, and compromise, and with 

15 or without consideration or benefit to the Associa16 tion to release or waive in whole or in part, in ad17 vance or otherwise, any claim, demand, or right of, 

18 by, or against the Association; 

19 (7) to sue and be sued, complain and defend, in 

20 any State, Federal, or other court; 

21 (8) to acquire, take, hold, and own, and to deal 

22 with and dispose of any property; and 

23 (9) to determine its necessary expenditures and 

24 the manner in which the same shall be incurred, al25 lowed, and paid, and appoint, employ, and fix and 

26 provide for the compensation and benefits of offi-
55

•HR 2897 IH 

1 cers, employees, attorneys, and agents as the Board 

2 of Directors determines reasonable and comparable 

3 with compensation for employment in other similar 

4 nonprofit businesses. 

5 (b) EXEMPTION FROM STATE TAXATION.—

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para7 graph (2), the Association, including its franchise, 

8 activities, capital, reserves, surplus, and income, 

9 shall be exempt from all taxation now or hereafter 

10 imposed by any territory, dependency, or possession 

11 of the United States or by any State, county, mu12 nicipality, or local taxing authority. 

13 (2) TREATMENT OF REAL PROPERTY TAXES.—

14 In the case of any real property of the Association 

15 that is disposed of by the Association or the use of 

16 which changes from mutual housing use to any other 

17 use, the Association shall be liable for payment of 

18 any taxes that would have been incurred during the 

19 3-year period ending up such disposition or change 

20 of use but for paragraph (1). 

21 (c) ACTIONS.—Notwithstanding section 1349 of title 

22 28, United States Code, or any other provision of law—

23 (1) the Association shall be deemed to be an 

24 agency included in sections 1345 and 1442 of such 

25 title 28; 
56

•HR 2897 IH 

1 (2) all civil actions to which the Association is 

2 a party shall be deemed to arise under the laws of 

3 the United States, and the district courts of the 

4 United States shall have original jurisdiction of all 

5 such actions, without regard to amount or value; 

6 and 

7 (3) any civil or other action, case or controversy 

8 in a court of a State, or in any court other than a 

9 district court of the United States, to which the As10 sociation is a party may at any time before the trial 

11 thereof be removed by the Association, without the 

12 giving of any bond or security, to the district court 

13 of the United States for the district and division em14 bracing the place where the same is pending, or, if 

15 there is no such district court, to the district court 

16 of the United States for the district in which the 

17 principal office of the Association is located, by fol18 lowing any procedure for removal of causes in effect 

19 at the time of such removal. 

20 (d) INVESTMENT OF FUNDS.—Funds of the Associa21 tion may be invested in such investments as the Board 

22 of Directors may prescribe. Any Federal Reserve bank or 

23 Federal home loan bank, or any bank as to which at the 

24 time of its designation by the Association there is out25 standing a designation by the Secretary of the Treasury 
57

•HR 2897 IH 

1 as a general or other depositary of public money, may be 

2 designated by the Association as a depositary or custodian 

3 or as a fiscal or other agent of the Association, and is 

4 hereby authorized to act as such depositary, custodian, or 

5 agent. 

6 SEC. 234. MUTUAL HOUSING OPERATIONS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Association may develop, 

8 support, finance, construct, acquire, reconstruct, rehabili9 tate, assist, own, operate, manage, hold, and otherwise 

10 deal in mutual housing. 

11 (b) MUTUAL HOUSING.—For purposes of this sub12 title, the term ‘‘mutual housing’’ means housing—

13 (1) that is held by the Association or another 

14 nonprofit mutual housing association as a coopera15 tive ownership housing association, as the Board of 

16 Directors shall provide; 

17 (2) occupancy in the dwelling units of which is 

18 restricted to members of the Association; 

19 (3) in which a right to permanent occupancy of 

20 a dwelling unit is granted to the member, contingent 

21 upon payment of a housing charge and fulfillment of 

22 such other obligations of membership in the Associa23 tion as may be established by the Board of Direc24 tors; 
58

•HR 2897 IH 

1 (4) the management and operation of which is 

2 governed by the Board of Directors, with the advice 

3 of a council of residents of the housing as the Board 

4 shall establish; and 

5 (5) within which such resident programs, sup6 port services, and assistance may be provided as the 

7 Board of Directors, with the advice of the resident 

8 council, considers appropriate. 

9 (c) HOUSING AFFORDABILITY, TYPES, TARGETING, 

10 AND OCCUPANCY PRIORITY.—Mutual housing supported, 

11 developed, or held by the Association shall comply with 

12 the following requirements: 

13 (1) AFFORDABILITY.—The housing shall be 

14 housing that is affordable, as determined by the 

15 Board of Directors, for low-income families (as such 

16 term is defined in section 3(b) of the United States 

17 Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437a(b)). 

18 (2) TYPES.—The housing shall be designed—

19 (A) for occupancy by families; or 

20 (B) as single room occupancy dwellings ap21 propriate for occupancy by individuals. 

22 (3) INCOME TARGETING.—All dwelling units in 

23 the housing may be reserved for occupancy by

24 low-, very low-, and extremely low-income families 
59

•HR 2897 IH 

1 with modest or intermittent needs for other sup2 portive services. 

3 (4) OCCUPANCY PRIORITY.—

4 (A) FIRST PRIORITY.—Priority for occu5 pancy in all dwelling units in the housing shall 

6 be provided to individuals and families who—

7 (i) during the 12-month period ending 

8 upon initial occupancy, were homeless (as 

9 such term is defined in section 103 of the 

10 McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act 

11 (42 U.S.C. 11302); or 

12 (ii) during the 24-month period end13 ing upon initial occupancy, received assist14 ance under a State program funded under 

15 part A of title IV of the Social Security 

16 Act. 

17 (B) SECONDARY PRIORITY.—Priority, sec18 ondary to that provided pursuant to subpara19 graph (A), for occupancy in the housing shall 

20 be provided to individuals and families holding 

21 a voucher for rental assistance under section 

22 8(o) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 

23 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)) or other similar tenant24 based rental assistance. 
60

•HR 2897 IH 

1 (C) GENERAL AVAILABILITY OF UNITS.—If 

2 there are insufficient individuals and families 

3 that qualify for priorities under subparagraphs 

4 (A) and (B) to fill all the dwelling units in the 

5 housing, dwelling units may be made available 

6 to other individuals and families that meet the 

7 income requirements for occupancy in the hous8 ing. 

9 (5) OTHER.—The housing shall comply with 

10 such other policies regarding eligible residents as the 

11 Board of Directors may establish. 

12 SEC. 235. FINANCING. 

13 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR

14 START-UP.—There is authorized to be appropriated to the 

15 Association for assistance for the supporting and devel16 oping mutual housing and costs of the Association in car17 rying out its functions—

18 (1) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2004; 

19 (2) $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2005; and 

20 (3) $150,000,000 for fiscal year 2006. 

21 (b) OBLIGATIONS AND SECURITIES.—

22 (1) AUTHORITY TO ISSUE.—The Association 

23 may, upon such terms and conditions as the Board 

24 of Directors may prescribe, borrow, give security, 
61

•HR 2897 IH 

1 pay interest or other return, and issue notes, deben2 tures, bonds, and other obligations and securities. 

3 (2) TREASURY APPROVAL.—Any notes, deben4 tures, or substantially identical types of unsecured 

5 obligations of the Association evidencing money bor6 rowed, whether general or subordinated, shall be 

7 issued upon the approval of the Secretary of the 

8 Treasury and shall have such maturities and bear 

9 such rate or rates of interest as may be determined 

10 by the Association with the approval of the Sec11 retary of the Treasury. 

12 (c) TEMPORARY AUTHORITY TO BORROW FROM

13 TREASURY.—

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Treas15 ury may purchase any obligations issued under sub16 section (b). For such purpose, the Secretary may use 

17 a public debt transaction the proceeds of the sale of 

18 any securities issued under chapter 31 of title 31, 

19 United States Code, and the purposes for which se20 curities may be issued under such chapter are ex21 tended to include such purpose. 

22 (2) LIMITATIONS ON AMOUNT AND TIMING.—

23 The Secretary of the Treasury shall not at any time 

24 purchase any obligations under this subsection—
62

•HR 2897 IH 

1 (A) after the expiration of the 3-year pe2 riod beginning upon the date of the enactment 

3 of the first appropriation Act that provides 

4 amounts for the Association pursuant to sub5 section (a); or 

6 (B) if the purchase would increase the ag7 gregate principal amount of the outstanding 

8 holdings of obligations under this subsection by 

9 the Secretary to an amount greater than 

10 $100,000,000. 

11 (3) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—Each purchase 

12 of obligations by the Secretary of the Treasury 

13 under this subsection shall be upon terms and condi14 tions established to yield a rate of return determined 

15 by the Secretary of the Treasury to be appropriate, 

16 taking into consideration the current average rate on 

17 outstanding marketable obligations of the United 

18 States as of the last day of the month preceding the 

19 making of the purchase. 

20 (4) SALE.—The Secretary of the Treasury may 

21 at any time sell, upon terms and conditions and at 

22 prices determined by the Secretary, any of the obli23 gations acquired by the Secretary under this sub24 section. 
63

•HR 2897 IH 

1 (5) TREATMENT AS PUBLIC DEBT TRANS2 ACTIONS.—All redemptions, purchases, and sales by 

3 the Secretary of the Treasury of obligations under 

4 this subsection shall be treated as public debt trans5 actions of the United States. 

6 (d) SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING FINANCING.—

7 It is the sense of the Congress that—

8 (1) in order to facilitate the raising of capital 

9 by the Association to carry out its functions, interest 

10 on revenue bonds of the Association should be treat11 ed under Federal law as exempt from Federal tax12 ation; 

13 (2) operating funds for housing provided by the 

14 Association should be derived wholly from the 

15 monthly payments made by, or on behalf of, resi16 dents of the cooperative housing of the Association; 

17 and 

18 (3) the Association should use its tax-exempt, 

19 nonprofit status to obtain funding and resources for 

20 its activities from foundations, State and local gov21 ernments, land trusts, and other sources of income 

22 made available to such organizations. 

23 SEC. 236. RELATIONSHIP WITH OTHER PROGRAMS. 

24 (a) COMMUNITY REINVESTMENT ACT CREDIT.—In 

25 assessing and taking into account, under section 804(a) 
64

•HR 2897 IH 

1 of the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977 (12 U.S.C. 

2 2903(a)), the record of any regulation financial institu3 tion, the appropriate Federal financial supervisory agency 

4 (as defined in section 803(1) of such Act) may consider 

5 as a factor investments in mutual housing supported by 

6 the Association in determining whether the institution is 

7 meeting the credit needs of its community for purposes 

8 of such section 804(a). 

9 (b) HUD MORTGAGEE PROGRAMS.—The Secretary 

10 of Housing and Urban Development shall treat the Asso11 ciation as an eligible mortgagee for purposes of participa12 tion in all single family and multifamily mortgage insur13 ance programs under the National Housing Act (12 

14 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), except that such participation shall 

15 be subject to the authority of the Mortgagee Review Board 

16 under section 202 of such Act (12 U.S.C. 1708). 

17 (c) COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT FINANCIAL INSTITU18 TIONS.—The Association shall, in providing mutual hous19 ing in accordance and carrying out its functions and re20 sponsibilities under this subtitle, utilize and work with 

21 community development financial institutions (as such 

22 term is defined in section 103 of the Community Develop23 ment Banking and Financial Institutions Act of 1994 (12 

24 U.S.C. 4702)) to the maximum extent practicable.
65

•HR 2897 IH 

1 (d) FANNIE MAE.—Section 302(b) of the Federal 

2 National Mortgage Association Charter Act (12 U.S.C. 

3 1717(b)) is amended by adding at the end the following 

4 new paragraph: 

5 ‘‘(7) The corporation may purchase, service, sell lend 

6 on the security of, and otherwise deal in loans or advances 

7 of credit secured by any first or subsequent mortgage or 

8 other lien on mutual housing that is owned or leased by 

9 the Federal Homeownership Mutual Mortgage Associa10 tion. Such mortgages shall meet any purchase standards 

11 otherwise established by the corporation pursuant to sec12 tion 304(a).’’

13 (e) FREDDIE MAC.—Section 305(a) of the Federal 

14 Home Loan Mortgage Corporation Act (12 U.S.C. 

15 1454(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following 

16 new paragraph: 

17 ‘‘(6) The Corporation may purchase, service, sell lend 

18 on the security of, and otherwise deal in loans or advances 

19 of credit secured by any first or subsequent mortgage or 

20 other lien on mutual housing that is owned or leased by 

21 the Federal Homeownership Mutual Mortgage Associa22 tion. Such mortgages shall meet any purchase standards 

23 otherwise established by the Corporation pursuant to 

24 paragraph (1).’’. 
66

•HR 2897 IH 

1 (f) GINNIE MAE.—The first sentence of section 

2 306(g)(1) of the National Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 

3 1721(g)(1)) is amended by inserting before the period at 

4 the end the following: ‘‘; or a trust or pool or composed 

5 of mortgages on mutual housing that is owned or leased 

6 by the Federal Homeownership Mutual Mortgage Associa7 tion’’. 

8 (g) REVENUE BONDS AND TAX CREDITS.—

9 (1) MUTUAL HOUSING BONDS TREATED AS

10 QUALIFIED MORTGAGE BONDS.—Any bond which is 

11 issued as part of an issue by a State or political sub12 division thereof for the purpose of providing mutual 

13 housing developed by the Association to members of 

14 a limited equity cooperative shall be treated as a 

15 qualified mortgage bond for purposes of section 143 

16 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to 

17 qualified mortgage bonds). For purposes of the pre18 ceding sentence, section 143(d) of such Code shall 

19 be applied by substituting ‘‘80 percent’’ for ‘‘95 per20 cent’’. 

21 (2) REHABILITATION CREDIT.—For purposes of 

22 section 47 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (re23 lating to rehabilitation credit), mutual housing sup24 ported, developed, or held by the Association shall be 

25 treated as residential rental property. 
67

•HR 2897 IH 

1 (3) CREDIT MAY BE TRANSFERRED.—Nothing 

2 in any law or rule of law shall be construed to limit 

3 the transferability of the credit allowed to the Asso4 ciation by sections 42 and 47 of the Internal Rev5 enue Code of 1986 (relating to low-income housing 

6 credit and rehabilitation credit) through sale and re7 purchase agreements. 

8 (h) CDBG AND HOME.—Notwithstanding any other 

9 provision of law——

10 (1) mutual housing owned or leased by the As11 sociation or any affiliate of the Association that is 

12 formed for the purpose of owning or leasing mutual 

13 housing shall be considered affordable housing for 

14 purposes of the HOME Investment Partnerships 

15 Act; and 

16 (2) the provision of assistance for the develop17 ment of such mutual housing shall be considered an 

18 activity eligible for assistance under title I of the 

19 Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 

20 (42 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.). 

21 (i) SECTION 8 HOMEOWNERSHIP PROGRAM.—Not22 withstanding any other provision of law, homeownership 

23 assistance under section 8(y) of the United States Hous24 ing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(y)) may be used in con25 nection with fulfilling the financial obligations for mem-
68

•HR 2897 IH 

1 bership in a mutual housing association operating housing 

2 owned or leased by the Association and for residence in 

3 housing of such association, in the manner that such as4 sistance is made available under such section for owner5 ship in a housing cooperative. Such use shall include use 

6 of assistance amounts to provide a deposit with the Asso7 ciation, on behalf of such a resident, in an amount not 

8 exceeding three months carrying charges, which shall be 

9 held by the Association and used at the request of the 

10 resident and the approval of the Secretary upon financial 

11 hardship to the resident, and if not so used shall be recov12 ered by the Secretary upon termination of the membership 

13 of the resident in the Association. 

14 (j) SUPPORTIVE HOUSING.—

15 (1) PARTNERING AUTHORITY.—Mutual housing 

16 owned or leased by the Association may be developed 

17 as—

18 (A) supportive housing for the elderly eligi19 ble for assistance under section 202 of the 

20 Housing Act of 1959 (12 U.S.C. 1701q); or 

21 (B) supportive housing for persons with 

22 disabilities eligible for assistance under section 

23 811 of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Afford24 able Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 8013). 
69

•HR 2897 IH 

1 The Association may enter into such agreements with 

2 sponsors of such housing as may be necessary to develop 

3 such mutual housing. 

4 (2) MEMBERSHIP FEES.—Notwithstanding sec5 tion 202(i) of the Housing Act of 1959 (12 U.S.C. 

6 1701q(i)), section 811 of the Cranston-Gonzalez Na7 tional Affordable Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 8013(i)), 

8 and the regulations issued under subtitle C of title 

9 VI of the Housing and Community Development Act 

10 of 1992 (42 U.S.C. 13601 et seq.), the Association 

11 may require residents of such supportive housing 

12 owned or leased by the Association to pay a one-time 

13 membership fee not to exceed $500, as such fee may 

14 be increased to account for inflation according to 

15 such index as the Board of Directors may provide, 

16 to become a member of the Association. 

17 SEC. 237. OVERSIGHT. 

18 (a) HUD.—The Association shall submit to the Sec19 retary of Housing and Urban Development and the Con20 gress—

21 (1) on an annual basis, a report describing—

22 (A) the mutual housing activities of the 

23 Association; and 

24 (B) the financial condition and operations 

25 of the Association; and 
70

•HR 2897 IH 

1 (2) such other reports as the Secretary may re2 quire. 

3 (b) TREASURY.—During the period set forth in sec4 tion 245(c)(2)(A), the Association shall submit to the Sec5 retary of the Treasury, on an annual basis, a report re6 garding the financial condition and operations of the Asso7 ciation, including any borrowing activities of the Associa8 tion, that contains such information as the Secretary may 

9 require. 

10 (c) AUDIT OF FINANCIAL STATEMENTS.—

11 (1) REQUIREMENT.—The Association shall have 

12 an annual independent audit made of its financial 

13 statements by an independent public accountant in 

14 accordance with generally accepted auditing stand15 ards. The Association shall submit the audit to the 

16 Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. 

17 (2) CONTENTS.—In conducting an audit under 

18 this subsection, the independent public accountant 

19 shall determine and report on whether the financial 

20 statements of the Association are presented fairly in 

21 accordance with generally accepted accounting prin22 ciples. 

23 (d) GAO AUDIT AUTHORITY.—

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—The programs, activities, re25 ceipts, expenditures, and financial transactions of
71

•HR 2897 IH 

1 the Association shall be subject to audit by the 

2 Comptroller General of the United States under 

3 such rules and regulations as may be prescribed by 

4 the Comptroller General. The representatives of the 

5 General Accounting Office shall have access to all 

6 books, accounts, financial records, reports, files and 

7 all other papers, things, or property belonging to or 

8 in use by the Association and necessary to facilitate 

9 the audit, and they shall be afforded full facilities 

10 for verifying transactions with the balances or secu11 rities held by depositaries, fiscal agents, and 

12 custodians. A report on each such audit shall be 

13 made by the Comptroller General to the Congress. 

14 The Association shall reimburse the General Ac15 counting Office for the full cost of any such audit 

16 as billed therefor by the Comptroller General. 

17 (2) ACCESS TO AUDIT INFORMATION.—To carry 

18 out this subsection, the representatives of the Gen19 eral Accounting Office shall have access, upon re20 quest to the Association or any auditor for an audit 

21 of the Association under subsection (c), to any 

22 books, accounts, financial records, reports, files, or 

23 other papers, things, or property belonging to or in 

24 use by the Association and used in any such audit 
72

•HR 2897 IH 

1 and to any papers, records, files, and reports of the 

2 auditor used in such an audit. 

3 SEC. 238. PROTECTION OF NAME. 

4 (a) NAME.—Except as expressly authorized by stat5 ute of the United States, no individual or organization (ex6 cept the Association) may use the term ‘‘Federal Home7 lessness to Housing Mutual Mortgage Association’’, 

8 ‘‘Hollie Mae’’, or any combination of words including 

9 ‘‘Federal’’ and ‘‘Homelessness to Housing’’ and ‘‘Mutual’’ 

10 and ‘‘Mortgage’’, as a name or part thereof under which 

11 any individual or organization does any business, but this 

12 subsection shall not make unlawful the use of any name 

13 under which business is being done on the date of the en14 actment of this Act. 

15 (b) SIGNS AND INSIGNE.—No individual or organiza16 tion shall use or display—

17 (1) any sign, device, or insigne prescribed or 

18 approved by the Association for use or display by the 

19 Association, 

20 (2) any copy, reproduction, or colorable imita21 tion of any such signs, device, or insigne, or 

22 (3) any sign, device, or insigne reasonably cal23 culated to convey the impression that it is a sign, 

24 device, or insigne used by the Association or pre25 scribed or approved by the Association, 
73

•HR 2897 IH 

1 contrary to regulations of the Association prohibiting, or 

2 limiting or restricting, such use or display by such indi3 vidual or organization. 

4 (c) PENALTIES.—An individual or organization vio5 lating this section shall for each violation be punished by 

6 a fine of not more than $10,000. An officer or member 

7 of an organization participating or knowingly acquiescing 

8 in any violation of this section shall be punished by a fine 

9 of not more than $5,000 or imprisonment for not more 

10 than one year, or both 

11 SEC. 239. DEFINITIONS. 

12 For purposes of this subtitle, the following definitions 

13 shall apply: 

14 (1) ASSOCIATION.—The term ‘‘Association’’ 

15 means the Federal Homelessness to Housing Mutual 

16 Mortgage Association. 

17 (2) BOARD OF DIRECTORS.—The term ‘‘Board 

18 of Directors’’ means the Board of Directors of the 

19 Association. 

20 SEC. 240. TERRITORIAL APPLICABILITY. 

21 Notwithstanding any other law, the Association may 

22 carry out mutual housing activities within the several 

23 States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of 

24 Puerto Rico, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 
74

•HR 2897 IH 

1 Islands, Guam, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and 

2 any other territory or possession of the United States. 

3 Subtitle C—Use of Federal Surplus 

4 Property to Assist the Homeless 

5 SEC. 271. USE OF FEDERAL SURPLUS PROPERTY TO ASSIST 

6 THE HOMELESS. 

7 Section 501 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assist8 ance Act (42 U.S.C. 11411) is amended—

9 (1) in subsection (a), by inserting before the pe10 riod at the end of the first sentence the following: 

11 ‘‘, properties in the single-family inventory of the 

12 Department of Housing and Urban Development, or 

13 real properties that are in the custody of the United 

14 States as a result of civil or criminal forfeiture pro15 ceedings under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cos16 metic Act; 

17 (2) in subsection (f), by inserting after para18 graph (4) the following new paragraph: 

19 ‘‘(5) The uses to assist the homeless for which prop20 erty may be made available under this section shall include 

21 permanent housing for the homeless.’’; 

22 (3) in subsection (i)—

23 (A) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

24 the end; 
75

•HR 2897 IH 

1 (B) in paragraph (5), by striking the pe2 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

3 (C) by adding at the end the following new 

4 paragraph: 

5 ‘‘(6) the term ‘permanent housing’’ means 

6 housing that may be occupied for a period of unlim7 ited duration.’’; and 

8 (4) by adding at the end the following new sub9 section: 

10 ‘‘(j) NOTIFICATION.—The Secretary of Housing and 

11 Urban Development, the Secretary of Health and Human 

12 Services, and the Director of the Interagency Council on 

13 the Homeless shall undertake activities necessary to en14 sure that representatives of the homeless are notified of 

15 properties available in their localities pursuant to this title 

16 and of procedures for applying for such properties.’’. 

17 TITLE III—HOMELESS INTER18 VENTION AND PREVENTION 

19 SEC. 301. PRESERVATION OF PUBLIC HOUSING DWELLING 

20 UNITS UNDER HOPE VI. 

21 (a) PURPOSES.—Section 24(a)(1) of the United 

22 States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437v(a)) is 

23 amended by inserting before the semicolon at the end the 

24 following: ‘‘, while retaining or increasing the overall num25 ber of dwelling units available to low-income families’’. 
76

•HR 2897 IH 

1 (b) PROHIBITION OF NET LOSS OF DWELLING

2 UNITS.—Section 24 of the United States Housing Act of 

3 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437v) is amended—

4 (1) by redesignating subsections (h) through 

5 (n) as subsections (j) through (p), respectively; and 

6 (2) by inserting after subsection (g) the fol7 lowing new subsection: 

8 ‘‘(h) PROHIBITION OF NET LOSS OF DWELLING

9 UNITS.—The Secretary may not approve an application 

10 for a grant under this section unless the application pro11 vides—

12 ‘‘(1) for the provision of at least one additional 

13 decent, safe, and sanitary public housing dwelling 

14 unit for each public housing dwelling unit demol15 ished or disposed of under the application, which ad16 ditional dwelling units shall be reserved for occu17 pancy by low-income families and located within the 

18 jurisdiction of the applicant; and 

19 ‘‘(2) that the total number of bedrooms in addi20 tional public housing dwelling units provided pursu21 ant to paragraph (1) is equal to or exceeds the total 

22 number of bedrooms in dwelling units demolished or 

23 disposed of under the application.’’.
77

•HR 2897 IH 

1 SEC. 302. RIGHT TO NEW UNITS OF INDIVIDUALS AND FAMI2 LIES DISPLACED BY HOPE VI PROJECTS. 

3 (a) PURPOSES.—Section 24(a) of the United States 

4 Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437v(a)) is amended—

5 (1) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

6 end; 

7 (2) by redesignating paragraph (4) as para8 graph (5); and 

9 (3) by inserting after paragraph (3) the fol10 lowing new paragraph: 

11 ‘‘(4) providing individuals and families pre12 viously residing in public housing replaced pursuant 

13 to this section with the right to occupancy in a new 

14 replacement dwelling unit; and’’. 

15 (b) RIGHT OF RESIDENTS TO OCCUPY NEW DWELL16 ING UNITS.—Section 24 of the United States Housing Act 

17 of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437v) is amended by inserting after 

18 subsection (h) (as added section 301 of this Act) the fol19 lowing new subsection: 

20 ‘‘(i) RIGHT OF PREVIOUS RESIDENTS TO OCCUPY

21 NEW DWELLING UNITS.—The Secretary may not approve 

22 an application for a grant under this section unless the 

23 application provides that each family displaced from a 

24 public housing dwelling unit that is demolished or disposed 

25 of under the application, or otherwise displaced by revital26 ization activities under the application, will be offered first 
78

•HR 2897 IH 

1 occupancy in a public housing or other subsidized dwelling 

2 unit of appropriate size constructed, acquired, or rehabili3 tated under the application.’’. 

4 SEC. 303. POLICIES REGARDING HOMELESS INDIVIDUALS 

5 AND FAMILIES IN FEDERALLY FUNDED FA6 CILITIES. 

7 (a) MAINTAINING FAMILY UNITS IN OVERNIGHT

8 SHELTERS.—A federally funded facility that provides 

9 shelter to homeless individuals on an emergency or tem10 porary basis may not establish or continue in effect any 

11 policy regarding admission to the facility that has the ef12 fect of denying admission to a member of a family or 

13 household unit that is seeking admission as a family or 

14 unit, except that the prohibition under this subsection 

15 shall not apply with respect to admissions policies for the 

16 prevention of domestic violence. 

17 (b) DISCHARGE REQUIREMENTS BY RESIDENTIAL

18 CARE, TREATMENT, CUSTODY, AND FOSTER CARE FA19 CILITIES.—A federally funded residential care facility 

20 shall, in discharging each individual provided services at 

21 the facility, ensure that upon such discharge—

22 (1) there is available to such individual a suit23 able residential setting such that the individual will 

24 not be homeless upon such discharge, except that 

25 this paragraph may not be construed to authorize a 
79

•HR 2897 IH 

1 facility to hold an individual in the facility without 

2 the consent of the individual; 

3 (2) such individual is provided assistance appro4 priate to ensure that the individual obtains all Fed5 eral, State, and local entitlements, services, and ben6 efits (including medical, income, food, and housing 

7 benefits) for which such individual is eligible; and 

8 (3) such individual has been issued a social se9 curity number and has in his or her possession a 

10 State-issued driver’s license or other identification 

11 card. 

12 (c) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section, the 

13 following definitions shall apply: 

14 (1) FEDERALLY FUNDED.—The term ‘federally 

15 funded’ means, with respect to a facility, that the fa16 cility receives financial assistance, directly or indi17 rectly, from any agency or office of the Federal Gov18 ernment, including any loan, grant, subsidy, guar19 antee, mortgage insurance, or other financial assist20 ance. 

21 (2) RESIDENTIAL CARE FACILITY.—The term 

22 ‘residential care facility’ means a facility that pro23 vides care or treatment (including medical, mental 

24 health, and drug or alcohol abuse care or treatment) 

25 or custody in a residential setting. Such term in-
80

•HR 2897 IH 

1 cludes a hospital (to the extent residential care is 

2 provided therein), nursing home, intermediate care 

3 facility, board and care home, assisted living facility, 

4 congregate care facility, and foster care facility. 

5 (d) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary of Housing and 

6 Urban Development shall issue final regulations to carry 

7 out this section not later than 12 months after the date 

8 of the enactment of this Act. 

9 SEC. 304. ESTABLISHMENT OF EMERGENCY RENT RELIEF 

10 FUND. 

11 (a) GRANT PROGRAM.—The Secretary of Housing 

12 and Urban Development shall, to the extent approved in 

13 appropriation Acts, contract to make, and make, grants 

14 available to non-profit organizations or local or State gov15 ernmental units for the purpose of providing emergency 

16 rent relief payments to landlords on behalf of tenants who 

17 face eviction due to temporary financial difficulties. 

18 (b) RENTAL ASSISTANCE PAYMENTS.—

19 (1) AUTHORITY OF NON-PROFITS OR LOCAL OR

20 STATE GOVERNMENTAL UNITS TO MAKE RENT PAY21 MENTS TO LANDLORDS ON BEHALF OF CERTAIN

22 TENANTS.—Any non-profit organization or local or 

23 State governmental unit which receives any grant 

24 under subsection (a) shall use such grant to make 

25 emergency rent relief payments in accordance with 
81

•HR 2897 IH 

1 paragraph (2), to landlords on behalf of tenants who 

2 meet the requirements of subsection (c) and who 

3 apply for such assistance. 

4 (2) AUTHORITY OF NON-PROFITS OR LOCAL OR

5 STATE GOVERNMENTAL UNITS TO DETERMINE PAY6 MENTS.—Non-profit organizations or local or state 

7 governmental units may determine the amounts nec8 essary to be paid to any landlord under paragraph 

9 (1) on behalf of any tenant, beyond the amounts, if 

10 any, that the tenant is able to contribute toward 

11 rent payments, subject to the following conditions 

12 and limitations: 

13 (A) MAXIMUM OF TOTAL RENT DUE.—The 

14 total amount of any payment shall not exceed 

15 the total amount of rent due the landlord from 

16 the tenant. 

17 (B) INITIAL PAYMENT NOT TO EXCEED 3

18 MONTHS RENT.—The initial payment may in19 clude an amount necessary to make the pay20 ments of such rent current, except that such 

21 amount may not exceed an amount equal to 3 

22 monthly rent payments of the tenant. 

23 (C) MINIMUM AMOUNT TO BE PAID.—Pay24 ments are to be designed to ensure that the 

25 total monthly housing expense of the tenant 
82

•HR 2897 IH 

1 does not exceed 30 percent of the monthly net 

2 income of the tenant. 

3 (D) MAXIMUM OF 18 CONSECUTIVE

4 MONTHLY PAYMENTS.—Payments are not to be 

5 made for a continuous period of more than 18 

6 months. 

7 (E) MAXIMUM OF 36 MONTHLY PAYMENTS

8 OVERALL.—Payments are not to be made for 

9 an aggregate of more than 36 months. 

10 (F) TERMINATION OF PAYMENTS.—Pay11 ments are to be terminated when the non-profit 

12 organization or local or State governmental unit 

13 determines that changes in the financial cir14 cumstances of such tenant render such pay15 ments no longer necessary to prevent eviction of 

16 the tenant. 

17 (3) EXPEDITIOUS PROCESSING OF APPLICA18 TIONS.—Any non-profit organization or local or 

19 State governmental unit which receives any grant 

20 under subsection (a) shall, within 30 days after the 

21 receipt of any application for rental assistance under 

22 subsection (b), notify the tenant and landlord in23 volved of its determination to approve or disapprove 

24 the application.
83

•HR 2897 IH 

1 (4) ACCEPTANCE OF RENTAL ASSISTANCE PAY2 MENT BY LANDLORD IS A WAIVER OF CLAIMS

3 AGAINST TENANT FOR NONPAYMENT OF RENT.—

4 Any landlord who accepts any payment of assistance 

5 under paragraph (1) waives the right to institute or 

6 continue eviction proceedings that are based on a 

7 claim of nonpayment of rent for any period before 

8 the date of the payment. 

9 (5) REPAYMENT OF ASSISTANCE BY TEN10 ANTS.—

11 (A) IN GENERAL.—Payments made under 

12 paragraph (1) on behalf of any tenant shall be 

13 repayable to the Secretary by the tenant on 

14 terms and conditions prescribed by the Sec15 retary. 

16 (B) MAXIMUM AMOUNT.—Any non-profit 

17 organization or local or State governmental unit 

18 which receives any grant under subsection (a) 

19 shall ensure that the monthly repayment 

20 amount for any tenant making repayments 

21 under subparagraph (A) is calculated so that 

22 the sum of the monthly repayment amount and 

23 the total monthly housing expense of the tenant 

24 is at most 50 percent of the monthly net income 
84

•HR 2897 IH 

1 of the tenant, except that the Secretary may 

2 waive this limitation on a case-by-case basis. 

3 (6) DEPOSIT IN EMERGENCY RENT RELIEF

4 FUND.—Amounts received by the Secretary from 

5 any non-profit organization or local or State govern6 mental unit as repayments under paragraph (5) or 

7 as interest on assistance payments made under para8 graph (1), shall be deposited in the account of the 

9 non-profit or local or State governmental unit in the 

10 Emergency Rent Relief Fund established in sub11 section (g). 

12 (7) MONITORING OF TENANT’S ABILITY TO

13 PAY.—The Secretary shall establish procedures for 

14 any tenant on whose behalf payments are made 

15 under paragraph (1), and any tenant who is to make 

16 repayments under paragraph (5), to inform the non17 profit organization or local or State governmental 

18 unit making such payments, or receiving such repay19 ments, of any significant increase or decrease in the 

20 income of the tenant. 

21 (8) PERIODIC REVIEW OF TENANT’S FINANCIAL

22 CIRCUMSTANCES.—The Secretary shall establish pro23 cedures to be followed by non-profit organizations or 

24 local or State governmental units for reviewing, not 

25 less frequently than annually, the financial cir-
85

•HR 2897 IH 

1 cumstances of any tenant on whose behalf payments 

2 are to be made under paragraph (1), and any tenant 

3 who is to make repayments under paragraph (5), to 

4 determine whether such payments or repayments 

5 should be adjusted or terminated. 

6 (c) ELIGIBILITY FOR ASSISTANCE.—Any non-profit 

7 organization or local or State governmental unit which re8 ceives any grant under subsection (a) may make rental 

9 assistance payments under subsection (b) to any landlord 

10 on behalf of any tenant if it has determined that all of 

11 the following requirements have been met: 

12 (1) LANDLORD HAS NOTIFIED TENANT OF IN13 TENT TO EVICT TENANT FOR NONPAYMENT OF

14 RENT.—The landlord has notified the tenant that 

15 the landlord intends to evict the tenant for non16 payment of rent. 

17 (2) PRINCIPAL RESIDENCE.—The rental prop18 erty involved is the principal residence of the tenant. 

19 (3) RENT DOES NOT EXCEED MEDIAN RENT

20 FOR SIMILAR UNITS IN AREA RECENTLY RENTED.—

21 The monthly rent payable by the tenant does not ex22 ceed the amount equal to the median rent paid for 

23 rental units of the same size by tenants who moved 

24 into or within the area in which the non-profit or 

25 local or State governmental unit is located during 
86

•HR 2897 IH 

1 the most recently completed period of at most 12 

2 months for which such data is available. 

3 (4) RENT IS DELINQUENT DUE TO EVENTS

4 OUTSIDE CONTROL OF TENANT.—Events outside the 

5 control of the tenant have rendered the tenant un6 able to—

7 (A) correct a rent payment delinquency 

8 within a reasonable time; and 

9 (B) resume full rent payments. 

10 (5) PAYMENT IS NECESSARY TO PREVENT EVIC11 TION.—The payment is necessary to prevent eviction 

12 of the tenant. 

13 (6) PAYMENTS WILL PROBABLY BE TEM14 PORARY.—There is a reasonable likelihood that the 

15 tenant will resume full rent payments—

16 (A) within 18 months after the beginning 

17 of the period for which payments under sub18 section (b) are to be provided; or 

19 (B) on termination of assistance under 

20 such subsection. 

21 (7) TENANT IS LIKELY TO REPAY.—The tenant 

22 is likely to repay the amounts paid on behalf of the 

23 tenant by the non-profit or local or State govern24 mental unit. 
87

•HR 2897 IH 

1 (d) SUBMISSION OF APPLICATION STAYS EVICTION

2 PROCEEDINGS UNTIL DISAPPROVAL OF APPLICATION.—

3 The submission of an application for assistance under sub4 section (b) by any tenant who meets the requirements of 

5 subsection (c)(2), after eviction proceedings have begun 

6 shall automatically stay the proceedings until receipt of 

7 notification of disapproval of such application. 

8 (e) ALLOCATION OF GRANTS.—

9 (1) ALLOCATION FORMULA.—The Secretary 

10 shall allocate the amounts to be made available 

11 under subsection (a) so that the aggregate amount 

12 allocated to non-profit organizations or local or 

13 State governmental units in any State shall be equal 

14 to the sum of—

15 (A)(i) the ratio of the number of unem16 ployed persons in the State to the number of 

17 unemployed persons in the United States, mul18 tiplied by—

(ii) 1 19 ⁄2 of the amount appropriated under 

20 the authority established in this section; and 

21 (B)(i) the ratio of the population of the 

22 State to the population of the United States, 

23 multiplied by—

(ii) 1 24 ⁄2 of the amount so appropriated. 
88

•HR 2897 IH 

1 (2) APPLICATION FOR GRANTS.—Applications 

2 for grants under subsection (a) shall be made by 

3 non-profit organizations or local or State govern4 mental units in such form, and according to such 

5 procedures, as the Secretary shall prescribe. 

6 (3) RULES FOR CONSIDERATION OF APPLICA7 TIONS.—In considering applications for grants under 

8 subsection (a), the Secretary shall take into ac9 count—

10 (A) the degree of demonstrated need in the 

11 non-profit organization or local or State govern12 mental unit; 

13 (B) the capacity of the non-profit organi14 zation or local or State governmental unit to 

15 administer the program of assistance under this 

16 section. 

17 (4) PROCESSING OF APPLICATIONS.—The Sec18 retary shall process applications for grants under 

19 subsection (a) as expeditiously as possible, and shall 

20 make such grants within 90 days after the effective 

21 date of the regulations issued by the Secretary under 

22 subsection (f). 

23 (f) REGULATIONS.—Within 90 days after the date of 

24 the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall issue such 

25 regulations as may be necessary to carry out this section.
89

•HR 2897 IH 

1 (g) EMERGENCY RENT RELIEF FUND.—

2 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is hereby estab3 lished in the Treasury of the United States a revolv4 ing fund, to be known as the Emergency Rent Relief 

5 Fund. 

6 (2) COMPOSITION OF FUND.—The Fund shall 

7 consist of—

8 (A) any amount approved in appropriation 

9 Acts for purposes of carrying out this section; 

10 (B) any amount received by the Secretary 

11 as repayment for payments made under sub12 section (b); and 

13 (C) any amount received by the Secretary 

14 from investments made under paragraph (4). 

15 (3) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Amounts in the 

16 Fund by reason of subsection (b)(6) or by reason of 

17 investments made under paragraph (4), shall be 

18 available, to the extent provided in appropriation 

19 Acts, to the Secretary to make grants to non-profit 

20 organizations or local or State governmental units—

21 (A) for the making of emergency rent re22 lief payments to landlords on behalf of tenants 

23 under subsection (b); and 

24 (B) for the administrative expenses associ25 ated with the making of such payments. 
90

•HR 2897 IH 

1 (4) INVESTMENT OF SURPLUS FUNDS.—Any 

2 amount in any account of the Fund determined by 

3 the Secretary to be more than the amount required 

4 to be in such account to carry out this section shall 

5 be invested by the Secretary in obligations of, or 

6 guaranteed as to both principal and interest by, the 

7 United States or any agency of the United States. 

8 (h) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Within 60 days after 

9 the date of the enactment of this Act, and not less fre10 quently than every 90 days thereafter, the Secretary shall 

11 submit to the Congress a report on—

12 (1) the then current rate of rent payment delin13 quencies and evictions in the rental housing market 

14 areas of the United States of immediate concern if 

15 the purposes of this section are to be achieved; 

16 (2) the extent of, and prospect for continuance 

17 of, voluntary forbearance from the eviction of ten18 ants by landlords in such housing market areas; 

19 (3) actions taken by government agencies to en20 courage such forbearance; and 

21 (4) actions taken and actions likely to be taken 

22 with respect to making assistance under this section 

23 available to alleviate hardships resulting from any 

24 serious rates of delinquencies and evictions. 

25 (i) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section: 
91

•HR 2897 IH 

1 (1) FUND.—The term ‘‘Fund’’ means the 

2 Emergency Rent Relief Fund established in sub3 section (g). 

4 (2) LOCAL GOVERNMENTAL UNIT.—The term 

5 local governmental unit means any borough, city, 

6 county, parish, town, township, village, or other gen7 eral purpose political subdivision of a State. 

8 (3) MONTHLY NET INCOME OF THE TENANT.—

9 The term ‘‘monthly net income of the tenant’’ means 

10 the monthly gross income of the tenant, less any 

11 Federal, State, or local income or employment taxes 

12 due with respect to such income. 

13 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

14 the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. 

15 (5) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 

16 the several States, the District of Columbia, the 

17 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, 

18 Guam, American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Is19 lands, the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, and 

20 any other territory or possession of the United 

21 States. 

22 (6) TOTAL MONTHLY HOUSING EXPENSE OF

23 THE TENANT.—The term ‘‘total monthly housing ex24 pense of the tenant’’ means the sum of—
92

•HR 2897 IH 

1 (A) the monthly rent payment due by the 

2 tenant; and 

3 (B) the monthly utility costs of the tenant 

4 with respect to the tenant’s dwelling unit. 

5 (j) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To carry 

6 out this section, there is authorized to be appropriated 

7 such sums as necessary for fiscal years 2004, 2005, 2006, 

8 2007, and 2008. Any amount so appropriated shall be de9 posited in the Fund and shall remain available until ex10 pended. 

11 (k) BORROWING AUTHORITY.—To carry out the pur12 poses of this section, the Secretary of Housing and Urban 

13 Development may issue to the Secretary of the Treasury 

14 notes or other obligations to the extent approved in appro15 priation Acts, in such forms and denominations, bearing 

16 such maturities, and subject to such terms and conditions 

17 as may be prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury. 

18 Such notes or other obligations shall bear interest at a 

19 rate determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, taking 

20 into consideration the average interest rate on all interest 

21 bearing obligations of the United States then forming a 

22 part of the public debt, computed at the end of the fiscal 

23 year next preceding the date on which the loan is made. 

24 The Secretary of the Treasury shall purchase any notes 

25 and obligations issued hereunder and for that purpose the 
93

•HR 2897 IH 

1 Secretary of the Treasury may use as a public debt trans2 action the proceeds from the sale of any securities issued 

3 under chapter 31 of title 31, United States Code; and the 

4 purposes for which securities may be issued under such 

5 chapter are extended to include any purchase of such 

6 notes or other obligations. The Secretary of the Treasury 

7 may at any time sell any of the notes or other obligations 

8 acquired by the Secretary of the Treasury under this sec9 tion. All redemptions, purchases and sales by the Sec10 retary of the Treasury of such notes or other obligations 

11 shall be treated as public debt transactions of the United 

12 States. The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development 

13 may not issue notes or other obligations to the Secretary 

14 of the Treasury pursuant to this section except as ap15 proved in appropriation Acts. 

16 SEC. 305. INCOME EXEMPTIONS. 

17 (a) WORK PERFORMED IN PUBLIC HOUSING.—

18 (1) EXEMPTION FROM INCOME UNDER HUD

19 PROGRAMS.—Section 3(b)(5)(A) of the United 

20 States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 

21 1437a(b)(5)(A)) is amended by adding at the end 

22 the following new clause: 

23 ‘‘(viii) WORK PERFORMED IN PUBLIC

24 HOUSING.—The amount of any earned income 

25 of any member of the family for work per-
94

•HR 2897 IH 

1 formed for the public housing agency at a loca2 tion owned by the agency.’’. 

3 (2) EXEMPTION FROM INCOME UNDER OTHER

4 FEDERAL PROGRAMS.—Notwithstanding any other 

5 provision of law, the amount of any earned income 

6 of any member of the family residing in public hous7 ing (as such term is defined in section 3(b) of the 

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

9 1437a(b)) for work performed for the public housing 

10 agency that administers such housing at a location 

11 owned by the agency may not be considered as in12 come or a resource for the purpose of determining 

13 eligibility for, or the amount of the benefits or serv14 ices to be provided under, any Federal or federally 

15 assisted program that provides benefits or services 

16 based in whole or in part, on need.’’. 

17 (b) CHILD SUPPORT PAYMENTS.—Clause (v) of sec18 tion 3(b)(5)(A) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 

19 (42 U.S.C. 1437a(b)(5)(A)(v)) is amended to read as fol20 lows: 

21 ‘‘(v) CHILD SUPPORT PAYMENTS.—50 per22 cent of the amount of any payment made by a 

23 member of the family for the support and main24 tenance of any child who does not reside in the 

25 household.’’.
95

•HR 2897 IH 

1 SEC. 306. POST OFFICE BOX AND GENERAL DELIVERY 

2 SERVICE FOR PERSONS WITH NO FIXED AD3 DRESS. 

4 Section 404 of title 39, United States Code, is 

5 amended by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(c) In an effort to assist persons with no fixed ad7 dress—

8 ‘‘(1) a homeless person’s application for post of9 fice box service may be approved if the applicant—

10 ‘‘(A) is personally known to the postmaster 

11 or clerk; 

12 ‘‘(B) submits proper identification, such as 

13 (i) a valid driver’s license or other credential 

14 showing the applicant’s signature and a serial 

15 number, or (ii) other indicia that can be traced 

16 to the bearer; or 

17 ‘‘(C) provides a verifiable point of contact, 

18 such as a place of employment, shelter, chari19 table institution, or social service office; or 

20 ‘‘(2) a homeless person may receive indefinite 

21 general delivery service, as provided under regula22 tions or other standards of the United States Postal 

23 Service, if such person—

24 ‘‘(A) is unable to meet the conditions 

25 under paragraph (1); 
96

•HR 2897 IH 

1 ‘‘(B) meets the conditions under paragraph 

2 (1), but opts for service under this paragraph 

3 because the service described in paragraph (1) 

4 is not available; or 

5 ‘‘(C) otherwise opts for service under this 

6 paragraph instead of the service described in 

7 paragraph (1).’’. 

8 SEC. 307. GRANTS TO PUBLIC HOUSING POLICE FORCES. 

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

10 Urban Development may make grants under this section 

11 to public housing agencies and public housing resident 

12 management corporations that are principally managing, 

13 as determined by the Secretary, public housing projects 

14 owned by public housing agencies for use in establishing 

15 and maintaining public housing police forces. 

16 (b) CONSORTIA.—Subject to terms and conditions es17 tablished by the Secretary, public housing agencies may 

18 form consortia for purposes of applying for grants under 

19 this section. 

20 (c) ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES.—Grants under this sec21 tion may be used only for—

22 (1) the employment of law enforcement per23 sonnel by public housing police forces; 
97

•HR 2897 IH 

1 (2) reimbursement of local law enforcement 

2 agencies for additional security and protective serv3 ices for public housing; 

4 (3) physical improvements which are specifically 

5 designed to enhance security in public housing; 

6 (4) the provision of training, communications 

7 equipment, surveillance equipment, and other related 

8 equipment for use by law enforcement officers of 

9 public housing police forces; and 

10 (5) the provision of training for voluntary pub11 lic housing resident patrols acting in cooperation 

12 with law enforcement officials of public housing po13 lice forces or other local law enforcement officials. 

14 (d) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall provide for 

15 public housing agencies and resident management cor16 porations to submit applications to receive grants under 

17 this section. An application shall include a plan for use 

18 of the grant amounts and shall identify the existing or 

19 proposed law enforcement authority of the public housing 

20 police force to be assisted with grant amounts. The plan 

21 shall be coordinated with and may be included in the pub22 lic housing agency plan submitted to the Secretary pursu23 ant to section 5A of the United States Housing Act of 

24 1937. 

25 (e) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section: 
98

•HR 2897 IH 

1 (1) PUBLIC HOUSING.—The term ‘‘public hous2 ing’’ has the meaning given such term in section 

3 3(b) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 

4 U.S.C. 1437a(b). 

5 (2) PUBLIC HOUSING POLICE FORCE.—The 

6 term ‘‘public housing police force’’ means an accred7 ited public law enforcement agency that has an area 

8 of jurisdiction that consists primarily of public hous9 ing developments. 

10 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

11 the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. 

12 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

13 are authorized to be appropriated for grants under this 

14 section $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2004 and such sums 

15 as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 2005, 2006, 

16 2007, and 2008. 

17 SEC. 308. TEMPORARY EX-OFFENDER LOW-INCOME HOUS18 ING CREDIT. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart D of part IV of sub20 chapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 

21 1986 is amended by adding at the end the following new 

22 section: 

23 ‘‘SEC. 45G. EX-OFFENDER LOW-INCOME HOUSING CREDIT. 

24 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of section 38, the 

25 amount of the ex-offender low-income housing credit de-
99

•HR 2897 IH 

1 termined under this section for any taxable year in the 

2 credit period shall be an amount equal to—

3 ‘‘(1) the applicable percentage of 

4 ‘‘(2) the qualified basis of each qualified ex-of5 fender residential building. 

6 ‘‘(b) APPLICABLE PERCENTAGE.—In the case of any 

7 qualified ex-offender residential building, the term ‘appli8 cable percentage’ has the meaning given such term in sec9 tion 42(b)(2) with respect to qualified low-income build10 ings, except that, for the purposes of this subsection, the 

11 percentages prescribed by the Secretary under section 

12 42(b)(2)(B) shall yield amounts of credit which have a 

13 present value equal to 70 percent of the qualified basis 

14 of any qualified ex-offender residential building. 

15 ‘‘(c) QUALIFIED BASIS.—

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of subsection 

17 (a) and except as otherwise provided in this sub18 section, the term ‘qualified basis’ means the ad19 justed basis of a qualified ex-offender residential 

20 building as of the close of the 1st taxable year of the 

21 credit period. 

22 ‘‘(2) QUALIFIED BASIS TO INCLUDE PORTION

23 OF BUILDING USED TO PROVIDE EX-OFFENDER SUP24 PORT SERVICES.—The qualified basis of any quali-
100

•HR 2897 IH 

1 fied ex-offender residential building for any taxable 

2 year shall be increased by the lesser of—

3 ‘‘(A) so much of the qualified basis of such 

4 building as is used throughout the year to pro5 vide ex-offender support services, or 

6 ‘‘(B) 20 percent of the qualified basis of 

7 such building (determined without regard to 

8 this paragraph). 

9 ‘‘(3) SPECIAL RULES.—Rules similar to the 

10 rules of paragraphs (4), (5) (other than subpara11 graph (A) thereof), and (7) of section 42(d) shall 

12 apply in determining the adjusted basis of any quali13 fied ex-offender residential building. 

14 ‘‘(d) REHABILITATION EXPENDITURES.—Rules simi15 lar to the rules of section 42(e) shall apply in determining 

16 the treatment of rehabilitation expenditures paid or in17 curred by the taxpayer with respect to a qualified ex-of18 fender residential building. 

19 ‘‘(e) CREDIT PERIOD.—For purposes of this section, 

20 rules similar to the rules of section 42(f) shall apply in 

21 determining the credit period with respect to any qualified 

22 ex-offender residential building. 

23 ‘‘(f) QUALIFIED EX-OFFENDER RESIDENTIAL

24 BUILDING.—For purposes of this section, the term ‘quali25 fied ex-offender residential building’ means any building
101

•HR 2897 IH 

1 which, at all times during the compliance period, meets 

2 the following requirements: 

3 ‘‘(1) SINGLE OCCUPANCY EX-OFFENDER RESI4 DENTIAL UNITS.—Each residential unit in such 

5 building may be made available for occupancy to not 

6 more than 1 individual. Such individual must be an 

7 ex-offender who—

8 ‘‘(A) meets the residency requirements 

9 under subsection (g); 

10 ‘‘(B) has failed to meet such requirements 

11 for fewer than 14 days; or 

12 ‘‘(C) is in the process of being evicted from 

13 such building for failing to meet such require14 ments.

15 ‘‘A building shall not be determined to fail to satisfy 

16 the requirements of this paragraph solely because 

17 some or all of the residential units in such building 

18 are single room occupancy (as defined in section 

19 (8)(n) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 

20 U.S.C. 1437f(n))). 

21 ‘‘(2) SELF-SUFFICIENCY CENTERS FOR EX-OF22 FENDERS.—The building shall include a self-suffi23 ciency center for ex-offenders that—

24 ‘‘(A) is specifically designed to accommo25 date, and reserved for, the provision of ex-of-
102

•HR 2897 IH 

1 fender support services to residents of the facil2 ity and other ex-offenders; 

3 ‘‘(B) is made available for rental by pro4 viders of such services at a rate determined by 

5 the owner of the facility; and 

6 ‘‘(C) provides an array of such services 

7 sufficient to meet a significant portion of the 

8 needs of ex-offenders for ex-offender support 

9 services. 

10 ‘‘(3) RENT LIMITATIONS.—The portion of the 

11 monthly rent payable by the occupant of each unit 

12 in the building may not exceed 30 percent of the ad13 justed monthly income (as such term is defined in 

14 section 3(b) of the United States Housing Act of 

15 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437a(b)) of the occupant. 

16 ‘‘(g) RESIDENCY REQUIREMENTS.—

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An ex-offender meets the 

18 residency requirements for a qualified ex-offender 

19 residential building if such ex-offender—

20 ‘‘(A) has a low income; 

21 ‘‘(B) is participating in an ex-offender sup22 port services program as described in paragraph 

23 (3)(B); 

24 ‘‘(C) has not been prohibited from resi25 dency under paragraph (4); and 
103

•HR 2897 IH 

1 ‘‘(D) commences occupancy of a unit in a 

2 qualified ex-offender residential building on a 

3 date that is not later than—

4 ‘‘(i) in the case of an ex-offender who 

5 has been discharged from prison, jail, a 

6 half-way house, or any other correctional 

7 facility, 12 months after such discharge; or 

8 ‘‘(ii) in the case of any ex-offender 

9 whose sentence did not include confine10 ment to a correctional facility, 12 months 

11 after the date of the ex-offender’s convic12 tion. 

13 ‘‘(2) LOW-INCOME.—For purposes of this sec14 tion, an ex-offender is considered to have a low in15 come if, at the commencement of the ex-offender’s 

16 occupancy of a residential unit, the income (if any) 

17 of the ex-offender does not exceed 60 percent of area 

18 median gross income (as determined consistent with 

19 section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 

20 1937). 

21 ‘‘(3) PARTICIPATION IN EX-OFFENDER SUP22 PORT SERVICES PROGRAM.—

23 ‘‘(A) PROGRAM.—For purposes of this sec24 tion, an ex-offender support services program is 

25 a program for the provision of specific ex-of-
104

•HR 2897 IH 

1 fender support services for an ex-offender 

2 that—

3 ‘‘(i) is created and managed by a co4 ordinating individual or entity having edu5 cation, training, and experience with ex-of6 fenders and their support services needs; 

7 ‘‘(ii) is specifically designed to meet 

8 the needs of the particular ex-offender for 

9 ex-offender support services; 

10 ‘‘(iii) sets forth a specific duration 

11 over which the ex-offender support services 

12 are to be provided and goals by which to 

13 assess the progress of the ex-offender; and 

14 ‘‘(iv) provides for continual oversight 

15 to monitor the progress and needs of the 

16 ex-offender and to ensure that the ex-of17 fender is being provided the appropriate 

18 ex-offender support services and is com19 plying with the requirements of the pro20 gram. 

21 ‘‘(B) PARTICIPATION.—For purposes of 

22 this section, an ex-offender is considered to be 

23 participating in an ex-offender support services 

24 program if the ex-offender—
105

•HR 2897 IH 

1 ‘‘(i) has entered into a written agree2 ment with the coordinator for the program 

3 that—

4 ‘‘(I) sets forth the ex-offender 

5 support services that are appropriate 

6 for, and will be made available to, the 

7 ex-offender and the duration of the 

8 program for the ex-offender; and 

9 ‘‘(II) provides that the ex-offend10 er’s continued attendance at scheduled 

11 program meetings and events and ob12 taining of program services are a con13 dition of the ex-offender’s continued 

14 residency in the facility; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) is not in default with regard to 

16 the ex-offender’s obligations under such 

17 agreement. 

18 ‘‘(C) EX-OFFENDER SUPPORT SERVICES.—

19 For purposes of this section, the term ‘ex-of20 fender support services’ means services that as21 sist ex-offenders to develop skills necessary for 

22 life outside of the environment of a correctional 

23 institution, and includes—

24 ‘‘(i) job training; 
106

•HR 2897 IH 

1 ‘‘(ii) employment counseling and 

2 placement; 

3 ‘‘(iii) entrepreneurial training; 

4 ‘‘(iv) financial management training; 

5 ‘‘(v) homeownership and rental coun6 seling; 

7 ‘‘(vi) drug and alcohol abuse coun8 seling; 

9 ‘‘(vii) self-esteem and peer develop10 ment assistance; 

11 ‘‘(viii) anger management counseling;

12 ‘‘(ix) health care services, including 

13 mental health services and behavioral 

14 counseling; 

15 ‘‘(x) probation services; 

16 ‘‘(xi) family and crisis management 

17 counseling; and 

18 ‘‘(xii) general educational assistance 

19 and counseling. 

20 ‘‘(4) LIMITATION ON TERM OF RESIDENCY.—

21 An ex-offender may not reside in an ex-offender resi22 dential facility at any time after the expiration of 

23 the 2-year period beginning upon the commencement 

24 of the ex-offender’s occupancy in the ex-offender res25 idential facility.
107

•HR 2897 IH 

1 ‘‘(h) EX-OFFENDER.—For purposes of this section, 

2 the term ‘ex-offender’ means any individual who has been 

3 convicted of a felony under State or Federal law. 

4 ‘‘(i) ALLOCATION AND DETERMINATION OF CRED5 IT.—

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise pro7 vided in this subsection, rules similar to the rules of 

8 section 42(h) (other than subparagraphs (E) and 

9 (F) of paragraph (1) thereof) shall apply with re10 spect to allocating and determining any credit under 

11 this section. 

12 ‘‘(2) STATE HOUSING CREDIT CEILING.—For 

13 purposes of this section: 

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The State housing 

15 credit ceiling shall be calculated by substituting 

16 the amount determined under section 

17 42(h)(3)(C)(ii) with the greater of—

18 ‘‘(i) $85,000,000 multiplied by the 

19 State ratio, or 

20 ‘‘(ii) $500,000. 

21 ‘‘(B) TERMINATION.—The State housing 

22 credit ceiling applicable to any State for any 

23 calendar year beginning after December 31, 

24 2007, shall be zero. 
108

•HR 2897 IH 

1 ‘‘(C) STATE RATIO.—The State ratio for 

2 any State is equal to—

3 ‘‘(i) the reported number of sentenced 

4 prisoners released from State or Federal 

5 jurisdiction in such State during the most 

6 recent year for which information is avail7 able, divided by 

8 ‘‘(ii) the reported number of sen9 tenced prisoners released from State or 

10 Federal jurisdiction in the United States 

11 during the most recent year for which in12 formation is available. 

13 ‘‘(D) REPORTED NUMBER OF SENTENCED

14 PRISONERS.—The reported number of sen15 tenced prisoners is the number of such pris16 oners reported to the Attorney General by the 

17 National Prison Statistics Program. 

18 ‘‘(3) INVOLVEMENT OF QUALIFIED NON-PROFIT

19 ORGANIZATIONS.—For purposes of this section, sec20 tion 42(h)(5)(A) shall be applied by substituting ‘0’ 

21 for ‘90’. 

22 ‘‘(j) RECAPTURE OF CREDIT.—Rules similar to the 

23 rules of subsections (i)(1) and (j) of section 42 shall apply 

24 for purposes of this section. 
109

•HR 2897 IH 

1 ‘‘(k) APPLICATION OF AT-RISK RULES.—Rules simi2 lar to the rules of section 42(k) shall apply for purposes 

3 of this section. 

4 ‘‘(l) CERTIFICATION AND OTHER REPORTS TO SEC5 RETARY.—Subject to such regulations as the Secretary 

6 may prescribe, rules similar to the rules of section 42(l) 

7 shall apply for purposes of this section. 

8 ‘‘(m) RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE SECRETARY AND

9 HOUSING CREDIT AGENCIES.—Rules similar to the rules 

10 of subsections (m) and (n) of section 42 shall apply for 

11 purposes of this section.’’. 

12 (b) INCLUSION AS CURRENT YEAR BUSINESS CRED13 IT.—Section 38(b) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 

14 is amended by adding at the end the following new para15 graph: 

16 ‘‘(13) the ex-offender low-income housing credit 

17 under section 45G(a).’’. 

18 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

19 for subpart D of part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 

20 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by add21 ing at the end the following new item:

‘‘Sec. 45G. Ex-offender low-income housing credit.’’.

22 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

23 this section shall apply with respect to qualified ex-of24 fender residential buildings placed in service during tax25 able years beginning after December 31, 2002. 
110

•HR 2897 IH 

1 SEC. 309. ESCROW OF TENANT RENT IN CASES OF OWNER 

2 FAILURE TO MAINTAIN UNITS ASSISTED 

3 UNDER SECTION 8 RENTAL ASSISTANCE PRO4 GRAM. 

5 Section 8(o)(8) of the United States Housing Act of 

6 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)(8)) is amended by adding at 

7 the end the following new subparagraph: 

8 ‘‘(F) ESCROW OF TENANT RENT IN CASES

9 OF OWNER FAILURE TO MAINTAIN UNIT.—Each 

10 housing assistance payment contract under this 

11 subsection shall provide as follows: 

12 ‘‘(i) REQUIREMENT.—In any case in 

13 which a public housing agency suspends 

14 assistance payments under this subsection 

15 with respect to a dwelling unit because of 

16 a failure on the part of the owner of the 

17 unit to maintain the unit in compliance 

18 with the housing quality standards estab19 lished pursuant to this paragraph, the 

20 agency shall—

21 ‘‘(I) require the tenant to sus22 pend payment to the owner of the ten23 ant’s monthly contribution toward 

24 rent and require the tenant to pay 

25 such amount into an escrow account 

26 established by the agency; and 
111

•HR 2897 IH 

1 ‘‘(II) notify the tenant and the 

2 owner of the failure to maintain the 

3 unit in compliance with such housing 

4 quality standards and of the actions 

5 required under this subparagraph. 

6 ‘‘(ii) CORRECTION OF NONCOMPLI7 ANCE.—If the owner corrects the non8 compliance within the period of time estab9 lished by the agency for such purpose, the 

10 public housing agency shall release to the 

11 owner any tenant payments toward rent 

12 deposited in the escrow account. 

13 ‘‘(iii) FAILURE TO CORRECT NON14 COMPLIANCE.—If the owner fails to correct 

15 the noncompliance within the period of 

16 time established by the agency and the ten17 ant moves from the dwelling unit because 

18 of such noncompliance, the public housing 

19 agency shall make the any tenant pay20 ments toward rent that are deposited in 

21 the escrow account available on behalf of 

22 the tenant upon such move for costs of the 

23 move and for rental of a new dwelling 

24 unit.’’. 
112

•HR 2897 IH 

1 SEC. 310. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING LOCAL ORDI2 NANCES THAT DISADVANTAGE HOMELESS 

3 PERSONS. 

4 It is the sense of the Congress that units of general 

5 local government that receive grants under the community 

6 development block grant program under title I of the 

7 Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 (42 

8 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.) or the HOME investments partner9 ships program under the Cranston-Gonzalez National Af10 fordable Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 12721 et seq.)—

11 (1) should not pass ordinances or fund 

12 projects—

13 (A) that have a disparate impact on home14 less persons or that punish homeless persons 

15 for carrying out life-sustaining practices in pub16 lic spaces when no alternative public spaces are 

17 available; or 

18 (B) relating to curfews or runaways and 

19 that result in homeless youths being adju20 dicated as delinquent; and 

21 (2) should not pass zoning ordinances or make 

22 zoning decisions that have the effect of preventing 

23 the siting of facilities designed to serve homeless 

24 persons.
113

•HR 2897 IH 

1 TITLE IV—ASSISTANCE UNDER 

2 MCKINNEY-VENTO HOMELESS 

3 ASSISTANCE ACT 

4 SEC. 401. CONGRESSIONAL PURPOSES. 

5 The purposes of this title are—

6 (1) to consolidate the separate homeless assist7 ance programs carried out under title IV of the 

8 McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (con9 sisting of the supportive housing program and re10 lated innovative programs, the safe havens program, 

11 the section 8 assistance program for single-room oc12 cupancy dwellings, the shelter plus care program, 

13 and the rural homeless housing assistance program) 

14 into a single program with specific eligible activities; 

15 and 

16 (2) codify in Federal law the continuum of care 

17 planning process as a required and integral local 

18 function necessary to generate the local strategies 

19 for ending homelessness. 

20 SEC. 402. DEFINITION OF HOMELESS INDIVIDUAL. 

21 Section 103 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assist22 ance Act (42 U.S.C. 11302) is amended—

23 (1) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the 

24 following new subsection: 
114

•HR 2897 IH 

1 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this Act, the 

2 terms ‘homeless’, ‘homeless individual’, and ‘homeless per3 son’—

4 ‘‘(1) mean an individual who lacks a fixed, reg5 ular, and adequate nighttime residence; and 

6 ‘‘(2) include—

7 ‘‘(A) an individual who—

8 ‘‘(i) is sharing the housing of other 

9 persons due to loss of housing, economic 

10 hardship, or a similar reason; 

11 ‘‘(ii) is living in a motel, hotel, trailer 

12 park, or camping ground due to the lack of 

13 alternative adequate accommodations; 

14 ‘‘(iii) is living in an emergency or 

15 transitional shelter; 

16 ‘‘(iv) is abandoned in a hospital; or 

17 ‘‘(v) is awaiting foster care placement; 

18 ‘‘(B) an individual who has a primary 

19 nighttime residence that is a public or private 

20 place not designed for or ordinarily used as a 

21 regular sleeping accommodation for human 

22 beings; 

23 ‘‘(C) an individual who is living in a car, 

24 park, public space, abandoned building, sub-
115

•HR 2897 IH 

1 standard housing, bus or train station, or simi2 lar setting; and 

3 ‘‘(D) migratory children (as such term is 

4 defined in section 1309 of the Elementary and 

5 Secondary Education Act of 1965 ) who qualify 

6 as homeless for the purposes of this Act be7 cause the children are living in circumstances 

8 described in any of subparagraphs (A) through 

9 (C).’’; and 

10 (2) in subsection (c)—

11 (A) by striking ‘‘or otherwise detained’’; 

12 and 

13 (B) by inserting after the period at the end 

14 the following: ‘‘Such term includes individuals 

15 who have been released from prison on parole.’’

16 Subtitle A—Housing Assistance 

17 General Provisions 

18 SEC. 411. DEFINITIONS. 

19 Subtitle A of title IV of the McKinney-Vento Home20 less Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11361 et seq.) is amend21 ed—

22 (1) by striking the subtitle heading and insert23 ing the following: 
116

•HR 2897 IH 

1 ‘‘Subtitle A—General Provisions’’; 

2 (2) by redesignating sections 401 and 402 (42 

3 U.S.C. 11361, 11362) as sections 403 and 406, re4 spectively; and 

5 (3) by inserting before section 403 (as so redes6 ignated by paragraph (2) of this section) the fol7 lowing new section: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 401. DEFINITIONS. 

9 ‘‘For purposes of this title: 

10 ‘‘(1) COLLABORATIVE APPLICANT.—The term 

11 ‘collaborative applicant’ means—

12 ‘‘(A) an entity, which may or may not be 

13 a Board, that serves as the applicant for project 

14 sponsors who jointly submit a single application 

15 for a grant under subtitle C with the approval 

16 of, and in accordance with the collaborative 

17 process established by, a Board, and, if award18 ed such grant, receives such grant directly from 

19 the Secretary; or

20 ‘‘(B) an individual project sponsor who is 

21 an eligible entity under subtitle C and submits 

22 an application for a grant under subtitle C, 

23 with the approval of, and in accordance with 

24 the collaborative process established by, a
117

•HR 2897 IH 

1 Board, and, if awarded such grant, receives 

2 such grant directly from the Secretary. 

3 ‘‘(2) COLLABORATIVE APPLICATION.—The term 

4 ‘collaborative application’ means an application for a 

5 grant under subtitle C that—

6 ‘‘(A) satisfies the requirements of section 

7 422 (including containing the information de8 scribed in subsections (a) and (c) of section 

9 426); and 

10 ‘‘(B) is submitted to a Board and then to 

11 the Secretary by a collaborative applicant. 

12 ‘‘(3) COMMUNITY BOARD.—The term ‘commu13 nity board’ means a community homeless assistance 

14 planning board established in accordance with sec15 tion 402. 

16 ‘‘(4) CONSOLIDATED PLAN.—The term ‘Con17 solidated Plan’ means a comprehensive housing af18 fordability strategy and community development 

19 plan required in part 91 of title 24, Code of Federal 

20 Regulations. 

21 ‘‘(5) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en22 tity’ means, with respect to a subtitle, a public or 

23 private entity eligible to receive directly grant 

24 amounts under that subtitle. 
118

•HR 2897 IH 

1 ‘‘(6) GEOGRAPHIC AREA.—The term ‘geo2 graphic area’ means a State, metropolitan city, 

3 urban county, town, village, or other nonentitlement 

4 area, or a combination or consortia of such, in the 

5 United States, as described in section 106 of the 

6 Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 

7 (42 U.S.C. 5306). 

8 ‘‘(7) HOMELESS INDIVIDUAL WITH A DIS9 ABILITY.—

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘homeless 

11 individual with a disability’ means an individual 

12 who is homeless, as defined in section 103, and 

13 has a disability that—

14 ‘‘(i)(I) is expected to be long-con15 tinuing or of indefinite duration; 

16 ‘‘(II) substantially impedes the indi17 vidual’s ability to live independently; 

18 ‘‘(III) could be improved by the provi19 sion of more suitable housing conditions; 

20 and 

21 ‘‘(IV) is a physical, mental, or emo22 tional impairment, including an impair23 ment caused by alcohol or drug abuse; 

24 ‘‘(ii) is a developmental disability, as 

25 defined in section 102 of the Develop-
119

•HR 2897 IH 

1 mental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of 

2 Rights Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 15002); or 

3 ‘‘(iii) is the disease of acquired im4 munodeficiency syndrome or any condition 

5 arising from the etiologic agency for ac6 quired immunodeficiency syndrome. 

7 ‘‘(B) RULE.—Nothing in clause (iii) of 

8 subparagraph (A) shall be construed to limit 

9 eligibility under clause (i) or (ii) of subpara10 graph (A). 

11 ‘‘(8) HOMELESSNESS PREVENTION ACTIVI12 TIES.—The term ‘homelessness prevention activities’ 

13 means activities designed to help individuals and 

14 families avoid becoming homeless, including—

15 ‘‘(A) providing financial assistance to indi16 viduals and families who have received eviction 

17 notices, foreclosure notices, or notices of termi18 nation of utility services, if—

19 ‘‘(i) the inability of the individual or 

20 family to make the required payments is 

21 due to a sudden reduction in income; 

22 ‘‘(ii) the assistance is necessary to 

23 avoid eviction, foreclosure, or the termi24 nation of services; and 
120

•HR 2897 IH 

1 ‘‘(iii) there is a reasonable prospect 

2 that the individual or family will be able to 

3 resume payments within a reasonable pe4 riod of time; and 

5 ‘‘(B) carrying out relocation activities (in6 cluding providing security or utility deposits, 

7 rental assistance for a final month or residence 

8 at a location, assistance with moving costs, or 

9 rental assistance for not more than 6 months) 

10 for moving into transitional or permanent hous11 ing individuals and families who—

12 ‘‘(i) lack housing; 

13 ‘‘(ii) are being discharged from a pub14 licly funded acute care or long-term care 

15 facility, program, or system of care, or are 

16 being terminated from services provided by 

17 such a facility, program, or system, includ18 ing discharge from a foster care program; 

19 and 

20 ‘‘(iii) have plans, developed collabo21 ratively by the public entities involved and 

22 the individuals and families, for securing 

23 or maintaining housing after any funding 

24 provided under this title is used. 
121

•HR 2897 IH 

1 ‘‘(8) INDEPENDENTLY OWNED.—The term 

2 ‘independently owned’, used with respect to rental 

3 assistance, means assistance provided pursuant to a 

4 contract that—

5 ‘‘(A) is between— 

6 ‘‘(i) the recipient or a project sponsor; 

7 and 

8 ‘‘(ii) an independent entity that—

9 ‘‘(I) is a private organization; 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(II) owns or leases dwelling 

12 units; and 

13 ‘‘(B) provides that rental assistance pay14 ments shall be made to the independent entity 

15 and that eligible persons shall occupy such as16 sisted units. 

17 ‘‘(9) LOW-DEMAND PROGRAM.—The term ‘low18 demand program’ means a program that does not 

19 require, but offers, in a non-coercive manner—

20 ‘‘(A)(i) health care services, mental health 

21 services, and substance abuse treatment serv22 ices; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) other supportive services, which may 

24 include medication management, education, 

25 counseling, job training, and assistance in ob-
122

•HR 2897 IH 

1 taining entitlement benefits or in obtaining such 

2 supportive services; and 

3 ‘‘(B) referrals for services described in 

4 subparagraph (A). 

5 ‘‘(10) METROPOLITAN CITY; URBAN COUNTY; 

6 NONENTITLEMENT AREA.—The terms ‘metropolitan 

7 city’, ‘urban county’, and ‘nonentitlement area’ have 

8 the meanings given such terms in section 102(a) of 

9 the Housing and Community Development Act of 

10 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5302(a)). 

11 ‘‘(11) NEW.—The term ‘new’, used with respect 

12 to housing, means housing for which no assistance 

13 has been provided under this title. 

14 ‘‘(12) OPERATING COSTS.—The term ‘operating 

15 costs’ means expenses incurred by a recipient or 

16 project sponsor operating—

17 ‘‘(A) transitional housing or permanent 

18 housing under this title, with respect to—

19 ‘‘(i) the administration, maintenance, 

20 repair, and security of such housing; 

21 ‘‘(ii) utilities, fuel, furnishings, and 

22 equipment for such housing; or 

23 ‘‘(iii) conducting an assessment under 

24 section 426(c)(2); and
123

•HR 2897 IH 

1 ‘‘(B) supportive housing for homeless indi2 viduals or homeless families under this title, 

3 with respect to—

4 ‘‘(i) the matters described in clauses 

5 (i), (ii), and (iii) of subparagraph (A); and 

6 ‘‘(ii) coordination of services as need7 ed to ensure long-term housing stability. 

8 ‘‘(13) OUTPATIENT HEALTH SERVICES.—The 

9 term ‘outpatient health services’ means outpatient 

10 health care services, mental health services, and out11 patient substance abuse treatment services.

12 ‘‘(14) PERMANENT HOUSING.—The term ‘per13 manent housing’ includes permanent supportive 

14 housing. 

15 ‘‘(15) PERMANENT HOUSING DEVELOPMENT

16 ACTIVITIES.—The term ‘permanent housing develop17 ment activities’ means activities—

18 ‘‘(A) to construct, lease, rehabilitate, or ac19 quire structures to provide permanent housing; 

20 ‘‘(B) involving tenant-based, independently 

21 owned, and project-based flexible rental assist22 ance for permanent housing; 

23 ‘‘(C) described in paragraphs (1) through 

24 (4) of section 423(a); or 
124

•HR 2897 IH 

1 ‘‘(D) involving the capitalization of a dedi2 cated project account from which payments are 

3 allocated for rental assistance and operating 

4 costs of permanent housing. 

5 ‘‘(16) PRIVATE NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION.—

6 The term ‘private nonprofit organization’ means an 

7 organization—

8 ‘‘(A) no part of the net earnings of which 

9 inures to the benefit of any member, founder, 

10 contributor, or individual; 

11 ‘‘(B) that has a voluntary board; 

12 ‘‘(C) that has an accounting system, or has 

13 designated a fiscal agent in accordance with re14 quirements established by the Secretary; and 

15 ‘‘(D) that practices nondiscrimination in 

16 the provision of assistance. 

17 ‘‘(17) PROJECT.—The term ‘project’, used with 

18 respect to activities carried out under subtitle C, 

19 means eligible activities described in section 423(a), 

20 undertaken pursuant to a specific endeavor, such as 

21 serving a particular population or providing a par22 ticular resource. 

23 ‘‘(18) PROJECT-BASED.—The term ‘project24 based’, used with respect to rental assistance, means 

25 assistance provided pursuant to a contract that—
125

•HR 2897 IH 

1 ‘‘(A) is between— 

2 ‘‘(i) the recipient or a project sponsor; 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(ii) an owner of a structure that ex5 ists as of the date the contract is entered 

6 into; and 

7 ‘‘(B) provides that rental assistance pay8 ments shall be made to the owner and that the 

9 units in the structure shall be occupied by eligi10 ble persons for not less than the term of the 

11 contract. 

12 ‘‘(19) PROJECT SPONSOR.—The term ‘project 

13 sponsor’, used with respect to proposed eligible ac14 tivities, means the organization directly responsible 

15 for carrying out the proposed eligible activities. 

16 ‘‘(20) RECIPIENT.—Except as used in subtitle 

17 B, the term ‘recipient’ means an eligible entity 

18 who— 

19 ‘‘(A) submits an application for a grant 

20 under section 422 that is approved by the Sec21 retary; 

22 ‘‘(B) receives the grant directly from the 

23 Secretary to support approved projects de24 scribed in the application; and 
126

•HR 2897 IH 

1 ‘‘(C)(i) serves as a project sponsor for the 

2 projects; or 

3 ‘‘(ii) awards the funds to project sponsors 

4 to carry out the projects. 

5 ‘‘(21) SAFE HAVEN.—The term ‘safe haven’ 

6 means a facility—

7 ‘‘(A) that provides 24-hour residence for 

8 an unspecified duration for persons who, on 

9 entry to the facility, are unwilling or unable to 

10 participate in mental health or substance abuse 

11 treatment programs, or to receive other sup12 portive services; 

13 ‘‘(B) that provides private or semi-private 

14 accommodations; 

15 ‘‘(C) that may provide for the common use 

16 of kitchen facilities, dining rooms, and bath17 rooms; 

18 ‘‘(D) that may provide supportive services, 

19 on a drop-in basis, to eligible persons who are 

20 not residents; and 

21 ‘‘(E) in which overnight occupancy is lim22 ited to no more than 25 persons. 

23 ‘‘(22) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ 

24 means the Secretary of Housing and Urban Develop25 ment. 
127

•HR 2897 IH 

1 ‘‘(23) SERIOUSLY MENTALLY ILL.—The term 

2 ‘seriously mentally ill’ means having a severe and 

3 persistent mental illness or emotional impairment 

4 that seriously limits a person’s ability to live inde5 pendently. 

6 ‘‘(24) SOLO APPLICANT.—The term ‘solo appli7 cant’ means an entity that is an eligible entity, di8 rectly submits an application for a grant under sub9 title C to the Secretary, and, if awarded such grant, 

10 receives such grant directly from the Secretary. 

11 ‘‘(25) STATE.—Except as used in subtitle B, 

12 the term ‘State’ means each of the several States, 

13 the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of 

14 Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, 

15 Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of 

16 the Northern Mariana Islands. 

17 ‘‘(26) SUPPORTIVE SERVICES.—The term ‘sup18 portive services’ means the services described in sec19 tion 425. 

20 ‘‘(27) TENANT-BASED.—The term ‘tenant21 based’, used with respect to rental assistance, means 

22 assistance that allows an eligible person to select a 

23 housing unit in which such person will live using 

24 rental assistance provided under subtitle C, except 

25 that if necessary to assure that the provision of sup-
128

•HR 2897 IH 

1 portive services to a person participating in a pro2 gram is feasible, a recipient or project sponsor may 

3 require that the person live—

4 ‘‘(A) in a particular structure or unit for 

5 not more than the first year of the participa6 tion; and 

7 ‘‘(B) within a particular geographic area 

8 for the full period of the participation, or the 

9 period remaining after the period referred to in 

10 subparagraph (A). 

11 ‘‘(28) TRANSITIONAL HOUSING.—The term 

12 ‘transitional housing’ has the meaning given the 

13 term in section 424(b), and includes transitional 

14 supportive housing.’’. 

15 SEC. 412. COMMUNITY HOMELESS ASSISTANCE PLANNING 

16 BOARDS. 

17 Subtitle A of title IV of the McKinney-Vento Home18 less Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11361 et seq.) is amended 

19 by inserting after section 401 (as added by section 411(3) 

20 of this Act) the following new section: 

21 ‘‘SEC. 402. COMMUNITY HOMELESS ASSISTANCE PLANNING 

22 BOARDS. 

23 ‘‘(a) BOARDS.—A community homeless assistance 

24 planning board shall be established for a geographic area 

25 by the relevant parties in that geographic area, or des-
129

•HR 2897 IH 

1 ignated for a geographic area by the Secretary in accord2 ance with subsection (c), to lead a collaborative planning 

3 process to design, execute, and evaluate programs, poli4 cies, and practices to prevent and end homelessness. 

5 ‘‘(b) MEMBERSHIP.—A community board established 

6 under subsection (a) shall be composed of persons—

7 ‘‘(1) who are from a particular geographic area; 

8 ‘‘(2) not less than 51 percent of whom are—

9 ‘‘(A) persons who are experiencing or have 

10 experienced homelessness (with not fewer than 

11 2 persons being individuals who are experi12 encing or have experienced homelessness); 

13 ‘‘(B) persons who act as advocates for the 

14 diverse subpopulations of persons experiencing 

15 homelessness, including advocates for homeless 

16 veterans, the mentally ill, the physically handi17 capped, and victims of domestic violence; 

18 ‘‘(C) persons or representatives of organi19 zations who provide assistance to the variety of 

20 individuals and families experiencing homeless21 ness; or 

22 ‘‘(D) superintendents of local educational 

23 agencies or their designees, such as liaisons for 

24 homeless children and youths designated pursu-
130

•HR 2897 IH 

1 ant to section 722(g)(1)(J)(ii) (42 U.S.C. 

2 11432(g)(1)(J)(ii)); and 

3 ‘‘(3) the remainder of whom are selected from 

4 among—

5 ‘‘(A) government officials, particularly 

6 those officials responsible for administering 

7 funding under programs targeted for persons 

8 experiencing homelessness and other programs 

9 for which persons experiencing homelessness 

10 are eligible, including law enforcement officials 

11 responsible for persons on parole or probation; 

12 ‘‘(B) members of the business community; 

13 ‘‘(C) members of the religious community 

14 or faith-based organizations; and 

15 ‘‘(D) members of neighborhood advocacy 

16 organizations. 

17 ‘‘(c) EXISTING PLANNING BODIES.—The Secretary 

18 may designate an entity to be a community board if such 

19 entity has, prior to the date of enactment of the Bringing 

20 America Home Act, engaged in coordinated, comprehen21 sive local homeless housing and services planning and ap22 plied for Federal funding to provide homeless assistance. 

23 ‘‘(d) REMEDIAL ACTION.—If the Secretary finds that 

24 a community board for a geographic area does not meet 

25 the requirements of this section, the Secretary may take 
131

•HR 2897 IH 

1 remedial action to ensure fair distribution of grant 

2 amounts under this title to eligible entities within that 

3 area. Such measures may include designating another 

4 body as a community board or permitting eligible entities 

5 to apply directly for grants. 

6 ‘‘(e) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this section shall 

7 be construed to displace conflict of interest or government 

8 fair practices laws, or their equivalent, that govern appli9 cants for grant amounts under subtitles B and C. 

10 ‘‘(f) DUTIES.—A community board established under 

11 subsection (a) shall—

12 ‘‘(1)(A) design a collaborative process, estab13 lished jointly and complied with by its members, for 

14 evaluating, reviewing, and prioritizing projects and 

15 applications for grants under subtitles B and C sub16 mitted by eligible entities, in such a manner as to 

17 ensure that the entities further the goal of pre18 venting and ending homelessness in the geographic 

19 area involved; 

20 ‘‘(B)(i)(I) review relevant policies and practices 

21 (in place and planned) of public and private entities 

22 in the geographic area served by the community 

23 board to determine if the policies and practices fur24 ther or impede the goal described in subparagraph 

25 (A); 
132

•HR 2897 IH 

1 ‘‘(II) in conducting the review, give priority to 

2 the review of— 

3 ‘‘(aa) the discharge planning and service 

4 termination policies and practices of publicly 

5 funded facilities or institutions (such as health 

6 care or treatment facilities or institutions, fos7 ter care or youth facilities, or correctional insti8 tutions), and entities carrying out publicly 

9 funded programs and systems of care (such as 

10 health care or treatment programs, State pro11 grams funded under part A of title IV of the 

12 Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) (re13 lating to Temporary Assistance for Needy Fam14 ilies), foster care or youth programs, or correc15 tional programs), to ensure that such a dis16 charge or termination does not result in imme17 diate homelessness for the persons involved; 

18 ‘‘(bb) the access and utilization policies 

19 and practices of the entities carrying out main20 stream programs, to ensure that persons at risk 

21 of or experiencing homelessness are able to ac22 cess and utilize the programs; and 

23 ‘‘(cc) local policies and practices relating to 

24 zoning and enforcement of local statutes, to en25 sure that the policies and practices allow rea-
133

•HR 2897 IH 

1 sonable inclusion and distribution in the geo2 graphic area of special needs populations and 

3 families with children; and 

4 ‘‘(III) in conducting the review, determine the 

5 modifications and corrective actions that need to be 

6 taken, and by whom, to ensure that the relevant 

7 policies and practices do not stimulate, or prolong, 

8 homelessness in the geographic area; 

9 ‘‘(ii) inform the entities of the determinations 

10 described in clause (i); and 

11 ‘‘(iii) once every 3 years, prepare for inclusion 

12 in any application reviewed by the community board 

13 and submitted to the Secretary under section 422, 

14 the determinations described in clause (i), in the 

15 form of an exhibit entitled ‘Assessment of Relevant 

16 Policies and Practices, and Needed Corrective Ac17 tions to End and Prevent Homelessness’; and 

18 ‘‘(C) if the community board designs and car19 ries out the projects, design and carry out the 

20 projects in such a manner as to further the goal de21 scribed in subparagraph (A); 

22 ‘‘(2) require, consistent with the Government 

23 Performance and Results Act of 1993 and amend24 ments made by that Act, that recipients and project 

25 sponsors who are funded by grants received under 
134

•HR 2897 IH 

1 this title implement and maintain an outcome-based 

2 evaluation of their projects that measures effective 

3 and timely delivery of housing or services and wheth4 er provision of such housing or services results in 

5 preventing or ending homelessness for the persons 

6 that such recipients and project sponsors serve; 

7 ‘‘(3) require, consistent with the Government 

8 Performance and Results Act of 1993 and amend9 ments made by that Act, outcome-based evaluation 

10 of the community board’s homeless assistance plan11 ning process to measure the community board’s per12 formance in preventing or ending the homelessness 

13 of persons in the community board’s geographic 

14 area; and 

15 ‘‘(4) participate in the Consolidated Plan for 

16 the geographic area served by the community 

17 board.’’

18 SEC. 413. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND PERFORMANCE RE19 PORTS. 

20 Subtitle A of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assist21 ance Act (42 U.S.C. 11361 et seq.) is amended by insert22 ing after section 403 (as so redesignated by section 411(2) 

23 of this Act) the following new sections:
135

•HR 2897 IH 

1 ‘‘SEC. 404. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE. 

2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall provide tech3 nical assistance to—

4 ‘‘(1) States, metropolitan cities, urban counties, 

5 and counties that are not urban counties, that have 

6 not applied for, or have failed to receive, funding 

7 under this title, in order to implement effective plan8 ning processes for preventing and ending homeless9 ness and to improve their capacity to prepare col10 laborative applications; and 

11 ‘‘(2) community boards or their predecessor 

12 homeless planning bodies in States, metropolitan cit13 ies, urban counties, and counties that are not urban 

14 counties, that have not applied for, or have failed to 

15 receive, funding under this title, in order to improve 

16 their capacity to prepare collaborative applications. 

17 ‘‘(b) RESERVATION.—The Secretary shall reserve not 

18 more than 1 percent of the funds made available for any 

19 fiscal year for carrying out subtitles B and C, to provide 

20 technical assistance under subsection (a). 

21 ‘‘SEC. 405. PERFORMANCE REPORTS. 

22 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Each community board shall 

23 submit to the Secretary an annual performance report re24 garding the activities carried out with grant amounts re25 ceived under subtitles B and C in the geographic area 
136

•HR 2897 IH 

1 served by the community board, at such time and in such 

2 manner as the Secretary determines to be reasonable. 

3 ‘‘(b) CONTENT.—The performance report described 

4 in subsection (a) shall— 

5 ‘‘(1) describe the number of persons provided 

6 homelessness prevention assistance, and the number 

7 of individuals and families experiencing homelessness 

8 who were provided shelter, housing, or supportive 

9 services, with the grant amounts awarded in the fis10 cal year prior to the fiscal year in which the report 

11 was submitted, including measurements of the num12 ber of persons experiencing homelessness who—

13 ‘‘(A) entered permanent housing, and the 

14 length of time such persons resided in that 

15 housing, if known; 

16 ‘‘(B) entered transitional housing, and the 

17 length of time such persons resided in that 

18 housing, if known; 

19 ‘‘(C) obtained or retained jobs; 

20 ‘‘(D) increased their income, including in21 creasing income through the receipt of govern22 ment benefits; 

23 ‘‘(E) received mental health or substance 

24 abuse treatment in an institutional setting and 
137

•HR 2897 IH 

1 now receive that assistance in a less restrictive, 

2 community-based setting; 

3 ‘‘(F) received additional education, voca4 tional or job training, or employment assistance 

5 services; and 

6 ‘‘(G) received additional physical, mental, 

7 or emotional health care; 

8 ‘‘(2) estimate the number of persons experi9 encing homelessness in the geographic area served 

10 by the community board who are eligible for, but did 

11 not receive, services, housing, or other assistance 

12 through the programs funded under subtitles B and 

13 C in the prior fiscal year; 

14 ‘‘(3) indicate the accomplishments achieved 

15 within the geographic area to prevent the homeless16 ness of persons discharged from publicly funded in17 stitutions or systems of care (such as health care fa18 cilities, foster care or other youth facilities or sys19 tems of care, institutions or systems of care relating 

20 to the temporary assistance to needy families pro21 gram established under part A of title IV of the So22 cial Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.), and cor23 rections programs and institutions); and 
138

•HR 2897 IH 

1 ‘‘(4) assess the consistency and coordination be2 tween the programs funded under subtitles B and C 

3 in the prior fiscal year and the Consolidated Plan. 

4 ‘‘(c) WAIVER.—The Secretary may grant a waiver to 

5 any community board that is unable to provide informa6 tion required by subsection (b). Such community board 

7 shall submit a plan to provide such information within a 

8 reasonable period of time.’’. 

9 SEC. 414. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

10 Subtitle A of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assist11 ance Act (42 U.S.C. 11361 et seq.) is amended by insert12 ing after section 406 (as so redesignated by section 411(2) 

13 of this Act) the following new section: 

14 ‘‘SEC. 407. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

15 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

16 title II and this title $1,800,000,000 for fiscal year 2003 

17 and such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 

18 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2007.’’. 

19 Subtitle B—Emergency Shelter 

20 Grants Program 

21 SEC. 421. GRANT ASSISTANCE. 

22 The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act is 

23 amended by striking section 412 (42 U.S.C. 11372) and 

24 inserting the following new sections: 
139

•HR 2897 IH 

1 ‘‘SEC. 412. GRANT ASSISTANCE. 

2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall make grants 

3 to States and local governments (and to private nonprofit 

4 organizations providing assistance to persons experiencing 

5 homelessness, in the case of grants made with reallocated 

6 amounts) for the purpose of carrying out activities de7 scribed in section 414. 

8 ‘‘(b) COORDINATION WITH COMMUNITY BOARDS.—

9 An entity that receives a grant under this section and 

10 serves an area that includes one or more geographic areas 

11 (or portions of such areas) served by community boards 

12 that submit applications under subtitle C, shall allocate 

13 the funds made available through the grant to carry out 

14 activities described in section 414, in consultation with 

15 such community boards.’’. 

16 SEC. 422. AMOUNT AND ALLOCATION OF ASSISTANCE. 

17 Section 413 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assist18 ance Act (42 U.S.C. 11373) is amended—

19 (1) in subsection (b)—

20 (A) by striking ‘‘amounts appropriated’’ 

21 and all that follows through ‘‘for any’’ and in22 serting ‘‘amounts appropriated under section 

23 407 and made available to carry out this sub24 title for any’’; and 

25 (B) by striking ‘‘subsection (a)’’ and in26 serting ‘‘subsection (b)’’; 
140

•HR 2897 IH 

1 (2) in subsection (d)(1), by striking ‘‘subsection 

2 (b)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection (c)’’; 

3 (3) by redesignating subsections (a) through (e) 

4 as subsections (b) through (f), respectively; and 

5 (4) by inserting before subsection (b) (as so re6 designated by paragraph (3) of this section) the fol7 lowing new subsection: 

8 ‘‘(a) LIMITATION ON AMOUNTS USED FOR EMER9 GENCY SHELTER.—Of the amount made available to carry 

10 out this subtitle and subtitle C for a fiscal year, the Sec11 retary shall allocate nationally for use under this subtitle 

12 an aggregate amount not exceeding 15 percent of such 

13 total amount.’’. 

14 SEC. 423. ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES. 

15 The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act is 

16 amended by striking section 414 (42 U.S.C. 11374) and 

17 inserting the following new section: 

18 ‘‘SEC. 414. ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES. 

19 ‘‘Assistance provided under section 412 may be used 

20 for the following activities: 

21 ‘‘(1) The renovation, major rehabilitation, or 

22 conversion of buildings to be used as emergency 

23 shelters. 

24 ‘‘(2) The provision of essential services, includ25 ing services concerned with employment, health, or
141

•HR 2897 IH 

1 education, family support services for homeless 

2 youth, alcohol or drug abuse prevention or treat3 ment, or mental health treatment, if—

4 ‘‘(A) such essential services have not been 

5 provided by the local government during any 

6 part of the immediately preceding 12-month pe7 riod or the Secretary determines that the local 

8 government is in a severe financial deficit; or 

9 ‘‘(B) the use of assistance under this sub10 title would complement the provision of those 

11 essential services. 

12 ‘‘(3) Maintenance, operation, insurance, provi13 sion of utilities, and provision of furnishings. 

14 ‘‘(4) For homelessness prevention activities.’’. 

15 SEC. 424. REPEALS. 

16 Sections 417 and 418 of the McKinney-Vento Home17 less Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11377, 11378) are hereby 

18 repealed. 

19 Subtitle C—Continuum of Care 

20 Program 

21 SEC. 431. CONTINUUM OF CARE. 

22 The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act is 

23 amended 
142

•HR 2897 IH 

1 (1) by striking the subtitle heading for subtitle 

2 C of title IV (42 U.S.C. 11381 et seq.) and inserting 

3 the following: 

4 ‘‘Subtitle C—Continuum of Care 

5 Program’’; 

6 and 

7 (2) by striking section 422 (42 U.S.C. 11382) 

8 and inserting the following new section: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 422. CONTINUUM OF CARE APPLICATIONS AND 

10 GRANTS. 

11 ‘‘(a) ELIGIBLE APPLICANT.—In this section, the 

12 term ‘eligible applicant’ means a collaborative applicant or 

13 solo applicant. 

14 ‘‘(b) PROJECTS.—The Secretary shall award grants 

15 to eligible applicants to carry out homeless assistance and 

16 prevention projects. 

17 ‘‘(c) NOTIFICATION OF FUNDING AVAILABILITY.—

18 The Secretary shall release a notification of funding avail19 ability for grants awarded under this subtitle for a fiscal 

20 year not later than 3 months after the date of enactment 

21 of the appropriate Act making appropriations for the De22 partment of Housing and Urban Development for such fis23 cal year. 

24 ‘‘(d) APPLICATIONS.—
143

•HR 2897 IH 

1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To receive a grant under 

2 subsection (b), an eligible applicant shall submit an 

3 application for the grant to a community board in 

4 accordance with the collaborative process established 

5 by the board, as described in section 402, and have 

6 such application reviewed, approved, and prioritized 

7 by such community board, except that a solo appli8 cant may submit such application to the Secretary 

9 without participating in such process if the applicant 

10 includes information in such application regarding 

11 why the applicant has not participated. 

12 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—To receive the grant, after 

13 receiving approval from the community board for the 

14 application, the eligible applicant shall submit an ap15 plication to the Secretary at such time and in such 

16 manner as the Secretary may require, and con17 taining—

18 ‘‘(A) the application submitted to the com19 munity board; and 

20 ‘‘(B) other information that, in addition to 

21 including the information described in sub22 sections (a) and (c) of section 426, shall—

23 ‘‘(i) describe the establishment and 

24 function of the community board, includ25 ing—
144

•HR 2897 IH 

1 ‘‘(I) the nomination and selection 

2 process for such board, including the 

3 names and affiliations of all such 

4 board members; 

5 ‘‘(II) all meetings held by such 

6 board in preparing the collaborative 

7 application, including identification of 

8 those meetings that were public; and 

9 ‘‘(III) all meetings between board 

10 representatives, and persons respon11 sible for administering the consoli12 dated plan; 

13 ‘‘(ii) outline the range of housing and 

14 service programs available to persons expe15 riencing homelessness or imminently at 

16 risk of experiencing homelessness and de17 scribe the unmet needs that remain in the 

18 geographic area for which the collaborative 

19 applicant seeks funding regarding—

20 ‘‘(I) prevention activities, includ21 ing providing assistance in—

22 ‘‘(aa) making mortgage, 

23 rent, or utility payments; or 

24 ‘‘(bb) accessing permanent 

25 housing and transitional housing
145

•HR 2897 IH 

1 for individuals (and families that 

2 include the individuals) who are 

3 being discharged from a publicly 

4 funded facility, program, or sys5 tem of care, or whose services 

6 (from such a facility, program, or 

7 system of care) are being termi8 nated, including discharge from a 

9 foster care program; 

10 ‘‘(II) outreach activities to assess 

11 the needs and conditions of persons 

12 experiencing homelessness; 

13 ‘‘(III) emergency shelters, includ14 ing the supportive and referral serv15 ices the shelters provide; 

16 ‘‘(IV) transitional housing with, 

17 as needed, appropriate supportive 

18 services to help persons experiencing 

19 homelessness who are not yet able or 

20 prepared to make the transition to 

21 permanent housing and independent 

22 living; 

23 ‘‘(V) permanent housing to help 

24 meet the long-term needs of individ-
146

•HR 2897 IH 

1 uals and families experiencing home2 lessness; and 

3 ‘‘(VI) needed supportive services; 

4 ‘‘(iii) prioritize the projects for which 

5 the collaborative applicant seeks funding 

6 according to the unmet needs in the fiscal 

7 year in which the applicant submits the ap8 plication as described in clause (ii); 

9 ‘‘(iv) identify funds from private and 

10 public sources, other than funds received 

11 under subtitle B and this subtitle, that the 

12 State, units of general local government, 

13 recipients, project sponsors, and others will 

14 use for homelessness prevention, emer15 gency shelter, supportive services, transi16 tional housing, permanent housing, and 

17 permanent supportive housing that will be 

18 integrated with the assistance provided 

19 under subtitle B and this subtitle; 

20 ‘‘(v) identify funds provided by the 

21 State and units of general local govern22 ment under programs targeted for persons 

23 experiencing homelessness, and other pro24 grams for which persons experiencing 

25 homelessness are eligible, including pro-
147

•HR 2897 IH 

1 grams identified by the General Account2 ing Office in the February 1999 report en3 titled ‘Homelessness: Coordination and 

4 Evaluation of Programs Are Essential’; 

5 ‘‘(vi) explain—

6 ‘‘(I) how the collaborative appli7 cant will meet the housing and service 

8 needs of individuals and families expe9 riencing homelessness in the appli10 cant’s community; and 

11 ‘‘(II) the strategy of the State, 

12 units of general local government, and 

13 private entities in the geographic area 

14 over the next 5 years to prevent and 

15 end homelessness, including, as part 

16 of that strategy, a work plan for the 

17 applicable fiscal years; 

18 ‘‘(vii) report on the outcome-based 

19 performance of the homeless programs 

20 within the geographic area served by the 

21 collaborative applicant that were funded 

22 under this title in the fiscal year prior to 

23 the fiscal year in which the application is 

24 submitted; 
148

•HR 2897 IH 

1 ‘‘(viii) include any relevant required 

2 agreements under this subtitle; 

3 ‘‘(ix) contain a certification of consist4 ency with the consolidated plan pursuant 

5 to section 403; 

6 ‘‘(x) contain a certification that the 

7 applicable States and units of general local 

8 government are not penalizing homeless in9 dividuals and families—

10 ‘‘(I) through laws, ordinances, or 

11 policies based upon their status as 

12 homeless; or 

13 ‘‘(II) by using zoning laws, ordi14 nances, or policies to prevent the 

15 siting of facilities designed to serve 

16 the homeless; 

17 ‘‘(xi) contain such certifications and 

18 assurances as the Secretary, in consulta19 tion with the Secretary of Education, con20 siders appropriate to ensure that—

21 ‘‘(I) the applicable States and 

22 State and local educational agencies 

23 agree to comply with the requirements 

24 applicable to such States and agencies 

25 that receive grants under subtitle B of 
149

•HR 2897 IH 

1 title VII of the McKinney-Vento 

2 Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 

3 11431 et seq.); and 

4 ‘‘(II) the strategy referred to in 

5 clause (vi)(II) will take the edu6 cational needs of children into account 

7 when families are placed in emergency 

8 or transitional shelter and will, to the 

9 maximum extent practicable, place 

10 families with children as close to pos11 sible to their school of origin so as not 

12 to disrupt such children’s education; 

13 and 

14 ‘‘(xii)(I) in the case of a collaborative 

15 applicant, include an exhibit described in 

16 section 402(f)(1)(B)(iii) and prepared by 

17 the community board in accordance with 

18 that section; or 

19 ‘‘(II) in the case of a solo applicant, 

20 include an exhibit described in section 

21 402(f)(1)(B)(iii) and prepared by the ap22 plicant. 

23 ‘‘(3) ANNOUNCEMENT OF AWARDS.—The Sec24 retary shall announce, not later than 5 months after 

25 the last date for the submission of applications de-
150

•HR 2897 IH 

1 scribed in this subsection for a fiscal year, the 

2 grants awarded under subsection (b) for that fiscal 

3 year. 

4 ‘‘(4) OBLIGATION, DISTRIBUTION, AND UTILIZA5 TION OF FUNDS.—

6 ‘‘(A) REQUIREMENTS FOR OBLIGATION.—

7 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 9 

8 months after the announcement referred to 

9 in paragraph (3), each recipient or project 

10 sponsor seeking the obligation of funds for 

11 a grant announced under paragraph (3) 

12 shall meet all requirements for the obliga13 tion of those funds, including site control, 

14 matching funds, and environmental review 

15 requirements, except as provided in clause 

16 (ii). 

17 ‘‘(ii) ACQUISITION, REHABILITATION, 

18 OR CONSTRUCTION.—Not later than 15 

19 months after the announcement referred to 

20 in paragraph (3), each recipient or project 

21 sponsor seeking the obligation of funds for 

22 acquisition of housing, rehabilitation of 

23 housing, or construction of new housing 

24 for a grant announced under paragraph 

25 (3) shall meet all requirements for the obli-
151

•HR 2897 IH 

1 gation of those funds, including site con2 trol, matching funds, and environmental 

3 review requirements. 

4 ‘‘(iii) EXTENSIONS.—At the discretion 

5 of the Secretary, and in compelling cir6 cumstances, the Secretary may extend the 

7 date by which a recipient or project spon8 sor shall meet the requirements described 

9 in clause (i) if the Secretary determines 

10 that compliance with the requirements was 

11 delayed due to factors beyond the reason12 able control of the recipient or project 

13 sponsor. Such factors may include difficul14 ties in obtaining site control for a proposed 

15 project, completing the process of obtain16 ing secure financing for the project, or 

17 completing the technical submission re18 quirements for the project. 

19 ‘‘(B) OBLIGATION.—Not later than 45 

20 days after a recipient or project sponsor meets 

21 the requirements described in subparagraph 

22 (A)(i), the Secretary shall obligate the funds for 

23 the grant involved. 

24 ‘‘(C) DISTRIBUTION.—A recipient that re25 ceives funds through such a grant—
152

•HR 2897 IH 

1 ‘‘(i) shall distribute the funds to 

2 project sponsors (in advance of expendi3 tures by the project sponsors); and 

4 ‘‘(ii) shall distribute the appropriate 

5 portion of the funds to a project sponsor 

6 not later than 21 days after receiving a re7 quest for such distribution from the project 

8 sponsor. 

9 ‘‘(e) SELECTION CRITERIA.—In determining whether 

10 to award a grant to an applicant under subsection (b), 

11 the Secretary shall consider, in addition to criteria de12 scribed in section 426(b)—

13 ‘‘(1) the inclusiveness of the community board 

14 involved and the process the board administered, if 

15 applicable; 

16 ‘‘(2) the comprehensiveness and coordination of 

17 the homelessness prevention, housing, and services 

18 programs (including discharge planning and service 

19 termination protocols) within the geographic area 

20 served by the community board; 

21 ‘‘(3) the extent to which prioritized programs 

22 meet unmet needs; 

23 ‘‘(4) the capacity of the geographic area to le24 verage funding from other public and private 

25 sources; 
153

•HR 2897 IH 

1 ‘‘(5) the long-term strategy of the applicable 

2 States and units of general local government to com3 bat, prevent, and end homelessness; 

4 ‘‘(6) the performance of the homelessness pre5 vention, housing, and services programs funded in 

6 the fiscal year prior to the date of submission of the 

7 application; 

8 ‘‘(7) the need for services in the geographic 

9 area; 

10 ‘‘(8) the plan by which—

11 ‘‘(A) access to appropriate permanent 

12 housing will be secured if the proposed project 

13 does not include permanent housing; and 

14 ‘‘(B) access to outcome-effective supportive 

15 services will be secured for residents or con16 sumers involved in the project who are willing 

17 to use the services; 

18 ‘‘(9) the evaluation plan for evaluations of the 

19 project, which—

20 ‘‘(A) will use periodically collected informa21 tion and analysis to determine whether the 

22 project has resulted in enhanced stability and 

23 well-being of the residents or consumers served 

24 by the project; 
154

•HR 2897 IH 

1 ‘‘(B) will include evaluations obtained di2 rectly from the individuals or families served by 

3 the project; and 

4 ‘‘(C) will be submitted by the recipient for 

5 the grant to the community board for review 

6 and use in assessments, conducted by the board 

7 consistent with the board’s duty to ensure effec8 tive outcomes that contribute to the goal of pre9 venting and ending homelessness in the geo10 graphic area served by the board; 

11 ‘‘(10) the extent to which the applicable States 

12 and units of general local government have made 

13 commitments to and are taking actions to uphold 

14 the civil rights of homeless families and individuals, 

15 including removing or repealing any policies or laws 

16 criminalizing homelessness, and have established 

17 procedures to document abuses of such civil rights; 

18 and 

19 ‘‘(11) any other criteria the Secretary deter20 mines to be reasonably appropriate. 

21 ‘‘(f) NOTIFICATION OF PRO RATA ESTIMATED

22 GRANT AMOUNTS.—

23 ‘‘(1) NOTICE.—The Secretary shall inform each 

24 community board, at a time concurrent with the re25 lease of the notice of funding availability for the 
155

•HR 2897 IH 

1 grants, of the pro rata estimated grant amount 

2 under this subtitle for the geographic area rep3 resented by the board. 

4 ‘‘(2) AMOUNT.—

5 ‘‘(A) BASIS.—Such estimated grant 

6 amount shall be based on a percentage of the 

7 total funds available, or estimated to be avail8 able, to carry out this subtitle for any fiscal 

9 year that is equal to the percentage of the total 

10 amount available for section 106 of the Hous11 ing and Community Development Act of 1974 

12 (42 U.S.C. 5306) for the prior fiscal year 

13 that—

14 ‘‘(i) was allocated to all metropolitan 

15 cities and urban counties within the geo16 graphic area represented by the Board; or 

17 ‘‘(ii) would have been distributed to 

18 all counties within such geographic area 

19 that are not urban counties, if the 30 per20 cent portion of the allocation to the State 

21 involved (as described in subsection (d)(1) 

22 of that section 106) for that year had been 

23 distributed among the counties that are 

24 not urban counties in the State in accord25 ance with the formula specified in that 
156

•HR 2897 IH 

1 subsection (with references in that sub2 section to nonentitlement areas considered 

3 to be references to those counties). 

4 ‘‘(B) ADJUSTMENT.—In computing the es5 timated grant amount, the Secretary shall ad6 just the estimated grant amount determined 

7 pursuant to subparagraph (A) to ensure that—

8 ‘‘(i) 75 percent of the total funds 

9 available, or estimated to be available, to 

10 carry out this subtitle for any fiscal year 

11 are allocated to the metropolitan cities and 

12 urban counties that received a direct allo13 cation of funds under section 413 for the 

14 prior fiscal year; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) 25 percent of the total funds 

16 available, or estimated to be available, to 

17 carry out this subtitle for any fiscal year 

18 are allocated—

19 ‘‘(I) to the metropolitan cities 

20 and urban counties that did not re21 ceive a direct allocation of funds 

22 under section 413 for the prior fiscal 

23 year; and 

24 ‘‘(II) to counties that are not 

25 urban counties.
157

•HR 2897 IH 

1 ‘‘(C) COMBINATIONS OR CONSORTIA.—For 

2 any community board that represents a com3 bination or consortium of cities or counties, the 

4 estimated grant amount shall be the sum of the 

5 estimated grant amounts for the cities or coun6 ties represented by the board. 

7 ‘‘(g) APPEALS.—

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 months 

9 after the date of enactment of the Bringing America 

10 Home Act, the Secretary shall establish a timely ap11 peal procedure for grant amounts awarded or denied 

12 under this subtitle pursuant to a collaborative appli13 cation or solo application for funding. 

14 ‘‘(2) PROCESS.—The Secretary shall ensure 

15 that the procedure permits appeals submitted by 

16 community boards, entities carrying out homeless 

17 housing and services projects (including emergency 

18 shelters and homelessness prevention programs), 

19 homeless planning bodies not designated by the Sec20 retary as community boards, and all other applicants 

21 under this subtitle. 

22 ‘‘(h) SOLO APPLICANTS.—A solo applicant may sub23 mit an application to the Secretary for a grant under sub24 section (b) and be awarded such grant on the same basis 

25 as such grants are awarded to other applicants based on 
158

•HR 2897 IH 

1 the criteria described in subsection (e). The Secretary may 

2 award such grants directly to such applicants in a manner 

3 determined to be appropriate by the Secretary.’’. 

4 SEC. 432. ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES. 

5 The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act is 

6 amended by striking section 423 (42 U.S.C. 11383) and 

7 inserting the following new section: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 423. ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES. 

9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Grants awarded under section 

10 422 to qualified applicants shall be used only to carry out 

11 homeless assistance and prevention projects that consist 

12 of one or more of the following eligible activities: 

13 ‘‘(1) Construction of new housing units to pro14 vide transitional or permanent housing. 

15 ‘‘(2) Acquisition or rehabilitation of a structure 

16 to provide transitional or permanent housing, other 

17 than emergency shelter, or to provide supportive 

18 services. 

19 ‘‘(3) Leasing of property, or portions of prop20 erty, not owned by the recipient or project sponsor 

21 involved, for use in providing transitional or perma22 nent housing, or providing supportive services. 

23 ‘‘(4) Provision of rental assistance to provide 

24 transitional or permanent housing to eligible per25 sons. The rental assistance may include tenant-
159

•HR 2897 IH 

1 based, project-based, or independently owned rental 

2 assistance. 

3 ‘‘(5) Payment of operating costs for housing 

4 units assisted under this subtitle. 

5 ‘‘(6) Supportive services. 

6 ‘‘(7) Homelessness prevention activities, subject 

7 to subsection (b). 

8 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY FOR FUNDS FOR HOMELESSNESS

9 PREVENTION ACTIVITIES.—

10 ‘‘(1) APPLICATION REQUIREMENT.—To be eligi11 ble to receive grant funds under section 422 to carry 

12 out homelessness prevention activities, an applicant 

13 shall submit an application to the Secretary under 

14 section 422 that shall include a certification in 

15 which— 

16 ‘‘(A) the relevant public entities in the geo17 graphic area involved certify compliance with 

18 paragraph (2); and 

19 ‘‘(B) the publicly funded institutions, fa20 cilities, and systems of care in the geographic 

21 area certify that the institutions, facilities, and 

22 systems of care will take, and fund directly, all 

23 reasonable measures to ensure that the institu24 tions, facilities, and systems of care do not dis25 charge individuals into homelessness. 
160

•HR 2897 IH 

1 ‘‘(2) SUPPLEMENTATION REQUIREMENT.—

2 Funds appropriated under section 407 and made 

3 available for homelessness prevention activities shall 

4 be used to supplement, and not supplant, other Fed5 eral, State, and local public funds used for homeless6 ness prevention. 

7 ‘‘(c) USE RESTRICTIONS.—

8 ‘‘(1) ACQUISITION, REHABILITATION, AND NEW

9 CONSTRUCTION.—A project that consists of activities 

10 described in paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection (a) 

11 shall be operated for the purpose specified in the ap12 plication submitted for the project under section 422 

13 for not less than 20 years. 

14 ‘‘(2) OTHER ACTIVITIES.—A project that con15 sists of activities described in any of paragraphs (3) 

16 through (7) of subsection (a) shall be operated for 

17 the purpose specified in the application submitted 

18 for the project under section 422 for the duration of 

19 the grant period involved. 

20 ‘‘(3) CONVERSION.—If the recipient or project 

21 sponsor carrying out a project that provides transi22 tional or permanent housing submits a request to 

23 the Secretary to carry out instead a project for the 

24 direct benefit of low-income persons, and the Sec25 retary determines that the initial project is no longer 
161

•HR 2897 IH 

1 needed to provide transitional or permanent housing, 

2 the Secretary may approve the project described in 

3 the request and authorize the recipient or project 

4 sponsor to carry out that project. 

5 ‘‘(d) REPAYMENT OF ASSISTANCE AND PREVENTION

6 OF UNDUE BENEFITS.—

7 ‘‘(1) REPAYMENT.—If a recipient or project 

8 sponsor receives assistance under section 422 to 

9 carry out a project that consists of activities de10 scribed in paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection (a) and 

11 the project ceases to provide transitional or perma12 nent housing— 

13 ‘‘(A) earlier than 10 years after operation 

14 of the project begins, the Secretary shall re15 quire the recipient or project sponsor to repay 

16 100 percent of the assistance; or 

17 ‘‘(B) not earlier than 10 years, but earlier 

18 than 20 years, after operation of the project be19 gins, the Secretary shall require the recipient or 

20 project sponsor to repay 10 percent of the as21 sistance for each of the years in the 20-year pe22 riod for which the project fails to provide that 

23 housing. 

24 ‘‘(2) PREVENTION OF UNDUE BENEFITS.—Ex25 cept as provided in paragraph (3), if any property 
162

•HR 2897 IH 

1 is used for a project that receives assistance under 

2 subsection (a) and consists of activities described in 

3 paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection (a), and the sale 

4 or other disposition of the property occurs before the 

5 expiration of the 20-year period beginning on the 

6 date that operation of the project begins, the recipi7 ent or project sponsor who received the assistance 

8 shall comply with such terms and conditions as the 

9 Secretary may prescribe to prevent the recipient or 

10 project sponsor from unduly benefiting from such 

11 sale or disposition. 

12 ‘‘(3) EXCEPTION.—A recipient or project spon13 sor shall not be required to make the repayments, 

14 and comply with the terms and conditions, required 

15 under paragraph (1) or (2) if—

16 ‘‘(A) the sale or disposition of the property 

17 used for the project results in the use of the 

18 property for the direct benefit of very low-in19 come persons; or 

20 ‘‘(B) all of the proceeds of the sale or dis21 position are used to provide transitional or per22 manent housing meeting the requirements of 

23 this subtitle.’’.
163

•HR 2897 IH 

1 SEC. 433. PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS. 

2 Section 426 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assist3 ance Act (42 U.S.C. 11386) is amended—

4 (1) in subsection (a)—

5 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘Applica6 tions’’ and all that follows through ‘‘shall’’ and 

7 inserting ‘‘Applications for assistance under 

8 section 422 shall’’; 

9 (B) in paragraph (2)—

10 (i) by striking subparagraph (B) and 

11 inserting the following new subparagraph: 

12 ‘‘(B) a description of the size and charac13 teristics of the population that would occupy 

14 housing units or receive supportive services as15 sisted under this subtitle;’’; and 

16 (ii) in subparagraph (E), by striking 

17 ‘‘in the case of projects assisted under this 

18 title that do not receive assistance under 

19 such sections,’’; and 

20 (C) in paragraph (3), in the last sentence, 

21 by striking ‘‘recipient’’ and inserting ‘‘recipient 

22 or project sponsor’’; 

23 (2) in subsection (d), in the first sentence, by 

24 striking ‘‘recipient’’ and inserting ‘‘recipient or 

25 project sponsor’’; 

26 (3) by striking subsection (e); 
164

•HR 2897 IH 

1 (4) by redesignating subsections (f), (g), and 

2 (h), as subsections (e), (f), and (g), respectively; 

3 (5) in subsection (f) (as so redesignated by 

4 paragraph (4) of this section), in the first sentence, 

5 by striking ‘‘recipient’’ each place it appears and in6 serting ‘‘recipient or project sponsor’’; 

7 (6) by striking subsection (i); and 

8 (7) by redesignating subsection (j) as sub9 section (h). 

10 SEC. 434. ALLOCATION AMOUNTS AND FUNDING. 

11 The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act is 

12 amended—

13 (1) by repealing section 429 (42 U.S.C. 11389); 

14 and 

15 (2) by redesignating sections 427 and 428 (42 

16 U.S.C. 11387, 11388) as sections 432 and 433, re17 spectively; and 

18 (3) by inserting after section 426 the following 

19 new sections: 

20 ‘‘SEC. 427. ALLOCATION OF AMOUNTS FOR SPECIFIC ELIGI21 BLE ACTIVITIES. 

22 ‘‘(a) PREVENTION ACTIVITIES.—From the amount 

23 made available to carry out this subtitle for each fiscal 

24 year (not including any amounts made available under sec25 tion 407 and allocated for use under subtitle B), an 
165

•HR 2897 IH 

1 amount equal to not more than 3 percent shall be used 

2 for prevention activities described in section 423(a)(9). 

3 ‘‘(b) TREATMENT OF AMOUNTS FOR PERMANENT OR

4 TRANSITIONAL HOUSING.—Nothing in this Act may be 

5 construed to establish a limit on the amount of funding 

6 that an applicant may request under this subtitle for ac7 quisition, construction, or rehabilitation activities for the 

8 development of permanent housing or transitional hous9 ing. 

10 ‘‘SEC. 428. RENEWAL FUNDING AND TERMS OF ASSISTANCE 

11 FOR GRANT AMOUNTS FOR PERMANENT 

12 HOUSING. 

13 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Of the total amount available for 

14 use in connection with expiring or terminating section 8 

15 subsidy contracts awarded under section 8 of the United 

16 States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f), such sums 

17 as may be necessary shall be transferred and merged into 

18 the Homeless Assistance Grants account of the Depart19 ment of Housing and Urban Development. 

20 ‘‘(b) RENEWALS.—Amounts transferred and merged 

21 pursuant to subsection (a) shall be available for the re22 newal of contracts for a 1-year term for rental assistance 

23 and housing operation costs associated with permanent 

24 housing projects funded under this subtitle, or under sub25 title C or F (as in effect immediately before the enactment 
166

•HR 2897 IH 

1 of the Bringing America Home Act), for homeless individ2 uals and homeless families. The Secretary shall determine 

3 whether to renew a contract for such a permanent housing 

4 project on the basis of demonstrated need for the project 

5 and the compliance of the entity carrying out the project 

6 with appropriate standards of housing quality and habit7 ability as determined by the Secretary. 

8 ‘‘SEC. 429. ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES. 

9 ‘‘(a) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Grant amounts 

10 awarded under this subtitle may be used for administra11 tive expenses, including expenses for—

12 ‘‘(1) carrying out routine grant administration 

13 and monitoring activities; 

14 ‘‘(2) receipt and disbursement of program 

15 funds; 

16 ‘‘(3) preparation of financial and performance 

17 reports, including carrying out management infor18 mation system functions; and 

19 ‘‘(4) compliance with grant conditions and audit 

20 requirements. 

21 ‘‘(b) LIMITATIONS ON ADMINISTRATIVE EX22 PENSES.—A portion, of not more than 6 percent, of grant 

23 amounts awarded under this subtitle may be used for ad24 ministrative expenses described in subsection (a), and not 

less than 1 25 ⁄2 of such portion shall be allocated to nonprofit 
167

•HR 2897 IH 

1 organizations and other project sponsors to fund manage2 ment information system functions, application prepara3 tion, and preparation of annual performance and other 

4 evaluation reports. 

5 ‘‘SEC. 430. MATCHING FUNDING. 

6 ‘‘An entity who submits an application and receives 

7 a grant under this subtitle shall make available contribu8 tions, in cash or in donated services, in an amount equal 

9 to not less than 25 percent of the Federal funds provided 

10 under the grant. 

11 ‘‘SEC. 431. APPEAL PROCEDURE. 

12 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—With respect to funding under 

13 this subtitle, if certification of consistency with the consoli14 dated plan pursuant to section 403 is withheld from an 

15 applicant who has submitted an application for that cer16 tification, such applicant may appeal such decision to the 

17 Secretary. 

18 ‘‘(b) PROCEDURE.—The Secretary shall establish a 

19 procedure to process the appeals described in subsection 

20 (a). 

21 ‘‘(c) DETERMINATION.—Not later than 45 days after 

22 the date of receipt of an appeal described in subsection 

23 (a), the Secretary shall determine if certification was un24 reasonably withheld. If such certification was unreason25 ably withheld, the Secretary shall review such application 
168

•HR 2897 IH 

1 and determine if such applicant shall receive funding 

2 under this subtitle.’’. 

3 Subtitle D—Repeals and 

4 Conforming Amendments 

5 SEC. 441. REPEALS. 

6 Subtitles D, E, F, and G of title IV of the McKinney7 Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11391 et seq., 

8 11401 et seq., 11403 et seq., and 11408 et seq.) are here9 by repealed. 

10 SEC. 442. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 

11 (a) CONSOLIDATED PLAN.—Section 403(1) of the 

12 McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (as so redesig13 nated by section 411(2) of this Act), is amended—

14 (1) by striking ‘‘current housing affordability 

15 strategy’’ and inserting ‘‘consolidated plan’’; and 

16 (2) by inserting before the comma the following: 

17 ‘‘(referred to in such section as a ‘comprehensive 

18 housing affordability strategy’)’’. 

19 (b) PERSONS EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS.—Sec20 tion 103 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act 

21 (42 U.S.C. 11302) is amended by adding at the end the 

22 following new subsection: 

23 ‘‘(d) PERSONS EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS.—

24 Any references in this Act to homeless individuals (includ25 ing homeless persons) or homeless groups (including the
169

•HR 2897 IH 

1 homeless) shall be considered to include, and to refer to, 

2 individuals experiencing homelessness or groups experi3 encing homelessness, respectively.’’. 

4 SEC. 443. AMENDMENT TO TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

5 The table of contents in section 101(b) of the McKin6 ney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11301 

7 note) is amended by striking the items relating to the 

8 heading for title IV and all that follows through the item 

9 relating to section 492 and inserting the following new 

10 items:

‘‘TITLE IV—HOUSING ASSISTANCE 

‘‘Subtitle A—Comprehensive Homeless Assistance Plan 

‘‘Sec. 401. Definitions. 

‘‘Sec. 402. Community homeless assistance planning boards. 

‘‘Sec. 403. Housing affordability strategy. 

‘‘Sec. 404. Technical assistance. 

‘‘Sec. 405. Performance reports. 

‘‘Sec. 406. Discharge coordination policy. 

‘‘Sec. 407. Authorization of appropriations. 

‘‘Subtitle B—Emergency Shelter Grants Program 

‘‘Sec. 411. Definitions. 

‘‘Sec. 412. Grant assistance. 

‘‘Sec. 413. Allocation and distribution of assistance. 

‘‘Sec. 414. Eligible activities. 

‘‘Sec. 415. Responsibilities of recipients. 

‘‘Sec. 416. Administrative provisions. 

‘‘Subtitle C—Continuum of Care Program 

‘‘Sec. 421. Purpose. 

‘‘Sec. 422. Continuum of care applications and grants. 

‘‘Sec. 423. Eligible activities. 

‘‘Sec. 424. Supportive housing. 

‘‘Sec. 425. Supportive services. 

‘‘Sec. 426. Program requirements. 

‘‘Sec. 427. Allocation of amounts for specific eligible activities. 

‘‘Sec. 428. Renewal funding and terms of assistance for grant amounts for permanent housing. 

‘‘Sec. 429. Administrative expenses. 

‘‘Sec. 430. Matching funding. 

‘‘Sec. 431. Appeal procedure. 
170

•HR 2897 IH 

‘‘Sec. 432. Regulations. 

‘‘Sec. 433. Reports to Congress.’’.

1 TITLE V—PRESERVATION OF 

2 RESOURCES 

3 SEC. 501. GOVERNORS, MAYORS, CITIES, AND COUNTIES 

4 HOUSING ADVISORY COMMITTEES. 

5 It is the sense of the Congress that the National Gov6 ernors Association, the U.S. Conference of Mayors, the 

7 National League of Cities, and the National Association 

8 of Counties should—

9 (1) each establish an advisory committee to un10 dertake an assessment of housing needs in the 

11 United States on an annual basis; and 

12 (2) submit each such annual housing needs as13 sessment to the Committee on Financial Services of 

14 the House of Representatives and the Committee on 

15 Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate, 

16 and the Committees on Appropriations of the House 

17 and Senate. 

18 SEC. 502. MORTGAGE INTEREST DEDUCTION LIMITED TO 

19 $300,000 OF DEBT ON 1 HOME; REPEAL OF DE20 DUCTION FOR HOME EQUITY INDEBTEDNESS; 

21 REPEAL OF EXCLUSION OF GAIN ON SALE OF 

22 PRINCIPAL RESIDENCE. 

23 (a) LIMITATIONS ON MORTGAGE INTEREST DEDUC24 TION.—
171

•HR 2897 IH 

1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (3) of section 

2 163(h) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is 

3 amended to read as follows: 

4 ‘‘(3) QUALIFIED RESIDENCE INTEREST.—For 

5 purposes of this subsection—

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘qualified 

7 residence interest’ means any interest which is 

8 paid or accrued during the taxable year on ac9 quisition indebtedness with respect to the prin10 cipal residence of the taxpayer. For purposes of 

11 the preceding sentence, the determination of 

12 whether any property is the principal residence 

13 of the taxpayer shall be made as of the time the 

14 interest is accrued. 

15 ‘‘(B) ACQUISITION INDEBTEDNESS.—

16 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘acquisi17 tion indebtedness’ means any indebtedness 

18 which—

19 ‘‘(I) is incurred in acquiring, con20 structing, or substantially improving 

21 the principal residence of the tax22 payer, and 

23 ‘‘(II) is secured by such resi24 dence. 
172

•HR 2897 IH 

1 Such term also includes any indebtedness 

2 secured by such residence resulting from 

3 the refinancing of indebtedness meeting 

4 the requirements of the preceding sentence 

5 (or this sentence); but only to the extent 

6 the amount of the indebtedness resulting 

7 from such refinancing does not exceed the 

8 amount of the refinanced indebtedness. 

9 ‘‘(ii) $500,000 LIMITATION.—The ag10 gregate amount treated as acquisition in11 debtedness for any period shall not exceed 

12 $300,000 ($150,000 in the case of a mar13 ried individual filing a separate return). 

14 ‘‘(C) TREATMENT OF INDEBTEDNESS IN15 CURRED ON OR BEFORE JULY 18, 2003.—

16 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In the case of any 

17 pre-July 18, 2003, indebtedness—

18 ‘‘(I) such indebtedness shall be 

19 treated as acquisition indebtedness, 

20 and 

21 ‘‘(II) the limitation of subpara22 graph (B)(ii) shall not apply. 

23 ‘‘(ii) REDUCTION IN $300,000 LIMITA24 TION.—The limitation of subparagraph 

25 (B)(ii) shall be reduced (but not below 
173

•HR 2897 IH 

1 zero) by the aggregate amount of out2 standing pre-July 18, 2003, indebtedness. 

3 ‘‘(iii) PRE-JULY 18, 2003, INDEBTED4 NESS.—The term ‘pre-July 18, 2003, in5 debtedness’ means—

6 ‘‘(I) any indebtedness which was 

7 incurred on or before July 18, 2003, 

8 and which was secured by a qualified 

9 residence on such date and at all 

10 times thereafter before the interest is 

11 paid or accrued, or 

12 ‘‘(II) any indebtedness which is 

13 secured by the qualified residence and 

14 was incurred after July 18, 2003, to 

15 refinance indebtedness described in 

16 subclause (I) (or refinanced indebted17 ness meeting the requirements of this 

18 subclause) to the extent (immediately 

19 after the refinancing) the principal 

20 amount of the indebtedness resulting 

21 from the refinancing does not exceed 

22 the principal amount of the refinanced 

23 indebtedness (immediately before the 

24 refinancing). 
174

•HR 2897 IH 

1 ‘‘(iv) LIMITATION ON PERIOD OF RE2 FINANCING.—Subclause (II) of clause (iii) 

3 shall not apply to any indebtedness after—

4 ‘‘(I) the expiration of the term of 

5 the indebtedness described in clause 

6 (iii)(I), or 

7 ‘‘(II) if the principal of the in8 debtedness described in clause (iii)(I) 

9 is not amortized over its term, the ex10 piration of the term of the 1st refi11 nancing of such indebtedness (or if 

12 earlier, the date which is 30 years 

13 after the date of such 1st refi14 nancing).’’. 

15 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Subparagraph 

16 (A) of section 163(h)(4) of such Code is amended to 

17 read as follows: 

18 ‘‘(a) PRINCIPAL RESIDENCE.—The term 

19 ‘principal residence’ has the meaning given to 

20 such term by section 121.’’. 

21 (b) REPEAL OF EXCLUSION OF GAIN ON SALE OF

22 PRINCIPAL RESIDENCE.—Section 121 of such Code is 

23 hereby repealed.
175

•HR 2897 IH 

1 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

2 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 

3 the date of the enactment of this Act. 

4 TITLE VI—HEALTH SECURITY 

5 Subtitle A—General Provisions 

6 SEC. 601. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds as follows: 

8 (1) The United States has the most expensive 

9 health care system in the world in terms of absolute 

10 costs, per capita costs, and percentage of gross do11 mestic product (GDP). 

12 (2) Despite being first in spending, the World 

13 Health Organization has ranked the United States 

14 37th among all nations in terms of meeting the 

15 needs of its people. 

16 (3) 43,000,000 Americans, including 9,000,000 

17 children, are uninsured. 

18 (4) Tens of millions more Americans are inad19 equately insured, including medicare beneficiaries 

20 who lack access to prescription drug coverage and 

21 long term care coverage. 

22 (5) Racial, income, and ethnic disparities in ac23 cess to care threaten communities across the coun24 try, particularly communities of color. 
176

•HR 2897 IH 

1 (6) Health care costs continue to increase, jeop2 ardizing the health security of working families and 

3 small businesses. 

4 (7) Any health care reform must ensure that 

5 health care providers and practitioners are able to 

6 provide patients with the quality care they need. 

7 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of the 

8 Congress that legislation should be enacted to guarantee 

9 that every person in the United States, regardless of in10 come, age, or employment or health status, has access to 

11 health care that—

12 (1) is affordable to individuals and families, 

13 businesses and taxpayers and that removes financial 

14 barriers to needed care; 

15 (2) is as cost efficient as possible, spending the 

16 maximum amount of dollars on direct patient care; 

17 (3) provides comprehensive benefits, including 

18 benefits for mental health, co-occurring disorders, 

19 and long term care services; 

20 (4) promotes prevention and early intervention; 

21 (5) includes parity for mental health, co-occur22 ring disorders and other services; 

23 (6) eliminates disparities in access to quality 

24 health care; 
177

•HR 2897 IH 

1 (7) addresses the needs of people with special 

2 health care needs and underserved populations in 

3 rural and urban areas; 

4 (8) promotes quality and better health out5 comes; 

6 (9) addresses the need to have adequate num7 bers of qualified health care caregivers, practi8 tioners, and providers to guarantee timely access to 

9 quality care; 

10 (10) provides adequate and timely payments in 

11 order to guarantee access to providers; 

12 (11) fosters a strong network of health care fa13 cilities, including safety net providers; 

14 (12) ensures continuity of coverage and con15 tinuity of care; 

16 (13) maximizes consumer choice of health care 

17 providers and practitioners; and 

18 (14) is easy for patients, providers and practi19 tioners to use and reduces paperwork. 

20 SEC. 602. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING MEDICAID EX21 PANSION. 

22 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that—

23 (1) impoverished people are unable to purchase 

24 insurance in the private market because of soaring 

25 costs; 
178

•HR 2897 IH 

1 (2) over one-half of poor and homeless Ameri2 cans and two-thirds of homeless adults unaccom3 panied by children have no health insurance at all, 

4 primarily because they do not qualify for public 

5 health insurance and because they cannot afford pri6 vate health insurance; 

7 (3) only 30 percent of surveyed homeless per8 sons nationwide and 20 percent of clients receiving 

9 services through the Health Care for the Homeless 

10 Program are beneficiaries of the Medicaid program 

11 or the State Children’s Health Insurance Program 

12 under title XXI of the Social Security Act (SCHIP); 

13 (4) in all but nine states the Medicaid and 

14 SCHIP programs currently exclude single non-dis15 abled adults; 

16 (5) safety-net health care providers are often 

17 unable to obtain access to specialty care and medica18 tions for patients who are uninsured; 

19 (6) research has shown that people with health 

20 insurance have better access to health care than do 

21 those receiving safety net services alone; and 

22 (7) Medicaid helps prevent and end homeless23 ness by increasing the access of impoverished people 

24 to comprehensive health care. 
179

•HR 2897 IH 

1 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of the 

2 Congress that legislation should be enacted—

3 (1) to expand Medicaid to all individuals with 

4 incomes below 200 percent of the Federal poverty 

5 line; 

6 (2) to ensure that Medicaid services remain af7 fordable for beneficiaries by eliminating cost sharing 

8 for beneficiaries with incomes below the Federal pov9 erty line; and 

10 (3) to mandate expedited enrollment for Med11 icaid applicants experiencing homelessness. 

12 SEC. 603. AUTHORIZATIONS OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR CER13 TAIN PROGRAMS. 

14 (a) COMMUNITY MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES BLOCK

15 GRANT.—Section 1920(a) of the Public Health Service 

16 Act (42 U.S.C. 300x–9(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘there 

17 are authorized’’ and all that follows and inserting the fol18 lowing: ‘‘there are authorized to be appropriated 

19 $500,000,000 for fiscal year 2003, and such sums as may 

20 be necessary for each of the fiscal years 2004 through 

21 2007.’’. 

22 (b) SUBSTANCE ABUSE PREVENTION AND TREAT23 MENT BLOCK GRANT.—Section 1935(a) of the Public 

24 Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300x–35(a)) is amended 

25 by striking ‘‘there are authorized’’ and all that follows and 
180

•HR 2897 IH 

1 inserting the following: ‘‘there are authorized to be appro2 priated $2,500,000,000 for fiscal year 2003, and such 

3 sums as may be necessary for each of the fiscal years 2004 

4 through 2007.’’. 

5 (c) PROJECTS FOR ASSISTANCE IN TRANSITION

6 FROM HOMELESSNESS (PATH).—Section 535(a) of the 

7 Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290cc–35(a)) is 

8 amended by striking ‘‘there is authorized’’ and all that fol9 lows and inserting the following: ‘‘there are authorized to 

10 be appropriated $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2003, and 

11 such sums as may be necessary for each of the fiscal years 

12 2004 through 2007.’’. 

13 (d) GRANTS FOR THE BENEFIT OF HOMELESS INDI14 VIDUALS (GBHI).—Section 506(e) of the Public Health 

15 Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290aa–5(e)) is amended by strik16 ing ‘‘There is authorized’’ and all that follows and insert17 ing the following: ‘‘For the purpose of carrying out this 

18 section, there are authorized to be appropriated 

19 $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2003, and such sums as may 

20 be necessary for each of the fiscal years 2004 through 

21 2007.’’.
181

•HR 2897 IH 

1 Subtitle B—Substance Abuse and 

2 Mental Health Services Admin3 istration 

4 PART 1—MAINSTREAM ADDICTION AND MENTAL 

5 HEALTH SERVICES PROGRAMS 

6 Subpart A—Discharge Planning 

7 SEC. 611. AVERTING PATIENT DISCHARGE INTO HOMELESS8 NESS. 

9 Part D of title V of the Public Health Service Act 

10 (42 U.S.C. 290dd et seq.) is amended by adding at the 

11 end the following section: 

12 ‘‘SEC. 544. DISCHARGE PLANNING IN PRIVATE AND PUBLIC 

13 HOSPITALS AND INPATIENT FACILITIES. 

14 ‘‘Any private or public hospital, nursing home, 

15 subacute and transitional care, hospice, residential treat16 ment, rehabilitation, or other inpatient facility which re17 ceives support in any form from any State or program 

18 supported in whole or in part by funds appropriated to 

19 any Federal department or agency pursuant to this title 

20 XIX shall have established a system designed to ensure 

21 that individuals in such facilities are referred to the most 

22 medically appropriate level of care and discharged from 

23 such facilities in such a manner that ensures that such 

24 individuals are placed in stable and appropriate housing, 

25 as soon as such referral is medically indicated.’’. 
182

•HR 2897 IH 

1 Subpart B—Provision of Appropriate Services 

2 SEC. 616. APPLICATION OF KNOWLEDGE DEVELOPMENT 

3 FINDINGS TO SERVICE DELIVERY. 

4 (a) STATE PLAN FOR COMPREHENSIVE COMMUNITY

5 HEALTH SERVICES FOR CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS.—Section 

6 1912(b) of the Public Health Service Act is amended by 

7 inserting after paragraph (5) the following: 

8 ‘‘(7) REPLICATION OF SUCCESSFUL MODELS.—

9 The plan describes the manner in which resources 

10 will be allocated to entities that agree to replicate 

11 successful models of prevention, early intervention, 

12 and treatment, and rehabilitation as identified by 

13 the Administrator.’’. 

14 (b) APPLICATION FOR GRANT; APPROVAL OF STATE

15 PLAN.—Section 1932(b) of the Public Health Service Act 

16 (42 U.S.C. 300x–32(b)), as amended by section 632(2) 

17 of this Act, is amended by adding at the end the following 

18 paragraph: 

19 ‘‘(5) REPLICATION OF SUCCESSFUL MODELS.—

20 The plan submitted under subsection (a)(6) shall de21 scribe the manner in which resources will be allo22 cated to entities that agree to replicate successful 

23 models of prevention, early intervention, and treat24 ment, and rehabilitation as identified by the Admin25 istrator.’’. 
183

•HR 2897 IH 

1 Subpart C—Grantee Planning, Reporting, and 

2 Capacity-Building 

3 SEC. 621. EXPANSION OF PARTICIPATION IN GRANTEE 

4 PLANNING. 

5 Subpart II of part B of title XIX of the Public Health 

6 Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300x–21 et seq.) is amended by 

7 inserting after section 1927 the following section: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 1927B. STATE SUBSTANCE ABUSE PLANNING COUN9 CIL. 

10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A funding agreement for a grant 

11 under section 1921 is that the State involved will establish 

12 and maintain a State substance abuse planning council in 

13 accordance with the conditions described in this section. 

14 ‘‘(b) DUTIES.—A condition under subsection (a) for 

15 a Council is that the duties of the Council are—

16 ‘‘(1) to review plans submitted under section 

17 1932 and to submit to the State any recommenda18 tions of the Council for modifications to the plans; 

19 ‘‘(2) to serve as an advocate for individuals 

20 with substance abuse disorders; 

21 ‘‘(3) to monitor, review, and evaluate, not less 

22 than once each year, the allocation of funds for, and 

23 adequacy of, substance abuse service within the 

24 State. 

25 ‘‘(c) MEMBERSHIP.—
184

•HR 2897 IH 

1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A condition under sub2 section (a) for a Council is that the Council be com3 posed of residents of the State, including representa4 tives of—

5 ‘‘(A) the principal State agencies with re6 spect to—

7 ‘‘(i) substance abuse, mental health, 

8 primary health, HIV/AIDS, education, vo9 cational rehabilitation, criminal justice, 

10 housing, youth services, and social services; 

11 and 

12 ‘‘(ii) the development of the plan sub13 mitted pursuant to title XIX of the Social 

14 Security Act; 

15 ‘‘(B) public, private, and nonprofit entities 

16 concerned with the need, planning, operation, 

17 funding, and use of substance abuse services 

18 and related support service, including those 

19 concerned with homeless individuals; 

20 ‘‘(C) individuals who are receiving sub21 stance abuse services; and 

22 ‘‘(D) the families of such individuals. 

23 ‘‘(2) CERTAIN REQUIREMENTS.—A condition 

24 under subsection (a) for a Council is that not less 

25 than 40 percent of the members of the Council are 
185

•HR 2897 IH 

1 individuals who are not State employees or providers 

2 of substance abuse services. 

3 ‘‘(d) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this section, the 

4 term ‘Council’ means a State substance abuse planning 

5 council. 

6 ‘‘(e) ADDITIONAL PROVISION.—The Secretary may 

7 make a grant under Section 1921 to a State only if—

8 ‘‘(1) the plan submitted under section 1932 

9 with respect to the grant and the report of the State 

10 under section 1942(a) concerning the preceding fis11 cal year has been reviewed by the State substance 

12 abuse planning council established under this sec13 tion; and 

14 ‘‘(2) the State submits to the Secretary any 

15 recommendations received by the State from such 

16 council for modifications to the plan (without regard 

17 to whether the State has made the recommended 

18 modifications) and any comments concerning the an19 nual report.’’. 

20 SEC. 622. DOCUMENTATION OF NEEDS OF AND ESTAB21 LISHING PRIORITIES FOR HOMELESS POPU22 LATION. 

23 Section 1932(b) of the Public Health Service Act (42 

24 U.S.C. 300x–32(b)) is amended—
186

•HR 2897 IH 

1 (1) by amending paragraph (1) to read as fol2 lows: 

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A plan submitted by a 

4 State under subsection (a)(6) is in accordance with 

5 this subsection if—

6 ‘‘(A) the plan contains detailed provisions 

7 for complying with each funding agreement for 

8 a grant under section 1921 that is applicable to 

9 the State, including a description of the manner 

10 in which the State intends to expend the grant; 

11 and 

12 ‘‘(B) the plan meets the criteria specified 

13 in subsection (b)(4).’’; and 

14 (2) by adding at the end the following para15 graph: 

16 ‘‘(4) CRITERIAFOR PLAN.—With respect to the 

17 provision of services under Section 1921, the criteria 

18 referred to in subsection (b)(1) are as follows: 

19 ‘‘(A) COMPREHENSIVE COMMUNITY-BASED

20 SUBSTANCE ABUSE PREVENTION AND TREAT21 MENT SYSTEMS.—The plan provides for a co22 ordinated community-based system of care for 

23 individuals with substance abuse or at-risk of 

24 substance abuse and describes available services 

25 and resources in a comprehensive system of
187

•HR 2897 IH 

1 care, including services for dually-diagnosed in2 dividuals. The description of the system of care 

3 shall include substance abuse prevention serv4 ices, substance abuse treatment services, pri5 mary health services, mental health services, re6 habilitation services, employment services, hous7 ing services, educational services, medical and 

8 dental care, and other support services to be 

9 provided to individuals with Federal, State, and 

10 local public and private resources. The plan 

11 shall include a separate description of case 

12 management services and provide for activities 

13 leading to reduction in need for hospitalization. 

14 ‘‘(B) SUBSTANCE ABUSE PREVENTION AND

15 TREATMENT SYSTEM DATA AND EPIDEMI16 OLOGY.—The plan contains an estimate of the 

17 incidence and prevalence in the State of sub18 stance abuse among adults and children, includ19 ing individuals who are homeless, and presents 

20 quantitative targets to be achieved in the imple21 mentation of the system described in subpara22 graph (B). 

23 ‘‘(C) TARGETED SERVICES TO RURAL AND

24 HOMELESS POPULATIONS.—The plan describes 

25 the State’s outreach to and services for individ-
188

•HR 2897 IH 

1 uals who are homeless and how community2 based services will be provided to individuals re3 siding in rural areas, including individuals who 

4 are homeless. 

5 ‘‘(D) MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS.—The plan 

6 describes the financial resources, staffing, and 

7 training for substance abuse prevention and 

8 treatment providers that is necessary to imple9 ment the plan, and provides for the training of 

10 providers of emergency health services regard11 ing substance abuse. The plan further describes 

12 the manner in which the State intends to ex13 pend the grant under Section 1921 for the fis14 cal year involved.’’. 

15 Subpart D—Designation of Persons Experiencing 

16 Homelessness as Priority Population 

17 SEC. 626. REQUIRING GRANTEES TO DIRECT FUNDS TO 

18 PERSONS EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS. 

19 (a) TREATMENT SERVICES REGARDING SUBSTANCE

20 ABUSE.—Subpart II of part B of title XIX of the Public 

21 Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300x–21 et seq.), as 

22 amended by section 621 of this Act, is further amended 

23 by inserting before section 1927B the following section: 
189

•HR 2897 IH 

1 ‘‘SEC. 1927A. TREATMENT SERVICES FOR PERSONS EXPERI2 ENCING HOMELESSNESS. 

3 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A funding agreement for a grant 

4 under section 1921 is that the State involved—

5 ‘‘(1) will ensure that each person experiencing 

6 homelessness in the State who seeks or is referred 

7 for and would benefit from such services is given 

8 preference in admission to treatment facilities receiv9 ing funds pursuant to the grant; and 

10 ‘‘(2) will, in carrying out paragraph (1), pub11 licize to persons experiencing homelessness the avail12 ability of services from the facilities and the fact 

13 that the persons receive such preferences. 

14 ‘‘(b) REFERRALS REGARDING STATES.—A funding 

15 agreement for a grant under section 1921 is that, in car16 rying out subsection (a)(1)—

17 ‘‘(1) the State involved will require, that in the 

18 event that a treatment facility has insufficient ca19 pacity to provide treatment services to any person 

20 experiencing homelessness described in such sub21 section who seeks the services from the facility, the 

22 facility refer the person to the State; and 

23 ‘‘(2) the State, in the case of each person expe24 riencing homelessness for whom a referral under 

25 paragraph (1) is made to the State—
190

•HR 2897 IH 

1 ‘‘(A) will refer the person to a treatment 

2 facility that has the capacity to provide treat3 ment services to the person; or 

4 ‘‘(B) will, if no treatment facility has the 

5 capacity to admit the person, make interim 

6 services available to the person at the time the 

7 person seeks the treatment services.’’. 

8 (b) PREFERENCE REGARDING MENTAL HEALTH

9 SERVICES.—Section 1912(b) of the Public Health Service 

10 Act (42 U.S.C. 300x–2(b)), as amended by section 616(a) 

11 of this Act, is further amended by inserting after para12 graph (5) the following: 

13 ‘‘(6) HOMELESS INDIVIDUALS.—The plan pro14 vides that homeless individuals are to receive pref15 erence in the provision of services provided under 

16 grants under section 1911.’’. 

17 SEC. 627. PRIORITIZATION OF SERVICES FOR RUNAWAY, 

18 HOMELESS, AND STREET YOUTH. 

19 Section 517(b) of the Public Health Service Act (42 

20 U.S.C. 290bb–23(b)) is amended—

21 (1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘runaway, 

22 homeless, and street children and youth,’’ after ‘‘ad23 olescent parents,’’; and 

24 (2) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘homeless25 ness,’’ after ‘‘suicide,’’. 
191

•HR 2897 IH 

1 SEC. 628. DEFINITION OF RUNAWAY, HOMELESS, AND 

2 STREET YOUTH AS HIGH RISK. 

3 Section 517(g) of the Public Health Service Act (42 

4 U.S.C. 290bb–23(g)) is amended—

5 (1) in paragraph (9), by striking ‘‘or’’ after the 

6 semicolon; 

7 (2) in paragraph (10), by striking the period 

8 and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

9 (3) by adding at the end the following para10 graph: 

11 ‘‘(11) ‘‘is a runaway, homeless, or street 

12 youth.’’. 

13 Subpart E—Federal Program Management 

14 SEC. 631. ESTABLISHMENT OF FEDERAL PLAN ON ADDIC15 TION, MENTAL ILLNESS, AND HOMELESS16 NESS. 

17 Part D of title V of the Public Health Service Act 

18 (42 U.S.C. 290dd et seq.), as amended by section 611 of 

19 this Act, is further amended by adding at the end the fol20 lowing section: 

21 ‘‘SEC. 545. FEDERAL PLAN ON ADDICTION, MENTAL ILL22 NESS, AND HOMELESSNESS. 

23 ‘‘(a) PLAN ELEMENTS.—Within one year after the 

24 date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary shall 

25 prepare and submit to the Committee on Energy and 

26 Commerce of the House of Representatives and the Com-
192

•HR 2897 IH 

1 mittee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the 

2 Senate a plan that describes—

3 ‘‘(1) current federal, state, and local public poli4 cies and practices regarding homelessness and addic5 tion and mental illness prevention, early interven6 tion, treatment, and rehabilitation; 

7 ‘‘(2) identifies administrative and statutory ac8 cess and care barriers and opportunities for persons 

9 experiencing homelessness with addictive and mental 

10 disorders; and 

11 ‘‘(3) recommends administrative and legislative 

12 actions that would increase homeless persons’ access 

13 to addiction and mental health services and improves 

14 the appropriateness and quality of care they receive 

15 through such systems and programs. 

16 ‘‘(b) PLAN SUB-ELEMENTS.—The plan should de17 scribe the elements as provided in subsection (a) for the 

18 following topics: 

19 ‘‘(1) Grantee planning, reporting, and capacity20 building. 

21 ‘‘(2) Consumer involvement. 

22 ‘‘(3) Designation of priority populations. 

23 ‘‘(4) Outreach and enrollment. 

24 ‘‘(5) Participant tracking.
193

•HR 2897 IH 

1 ‘‘(6) Elimination of regulatory and administra2 tive impediments. 

3 ‘‘(7) Provision of appropriate services. 

4 ‘‘(8) Discharge planning. 

5 ‘‘(9) Outcome measurement. 

6 ‘‘(c) CONSULTATION.—In establishing the plan re7 quired under subsection (a), the Secretary shall consult 

8 with homeless children, youth, families, and individuals 

9 with addictive and mental disorders, nonprofit organiza10 tions advocating for persons experiencing homelessness, 

11 homeless health, housing, and support service providers, 

12 and public agency representatives. 

13 ‘‘(d) PLAN IMPLEMENTATION.—Within one year 

14 after the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary 

15 shall implement administrative recommendations identi16 fied in subsection (a)(3).’’. 

17 PART 2—TARGETED HOMELESS ADDICTION AND 

18 MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES PROGRAMS 

19 Subpart A—Reauthorize, Rename, and Strengthen 

20 the Grants for the Benefit of Homeless Individ21 uals Program 

22 SEC. 641. TREATMENT AND RECOVERY INITIATIVE FOR 

23 PERSONS EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS. 

24 Section 506 of the Public Health Service Act (42 

25 U.S.C. 290aa–5) is amended by striking the section des-
194

•HR 2897 IH 

1 ignation and heading and all that follows through sub2 section (c) and inserting the following: 

3 ‘‘SEC. 506. GRANTS FOR TREATMENT AND RECOVERY INI4 TIATIVE FOR PERSONS EXPERIENCING 

5 HOMELESSNESS. 

6 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting through 

7 the Administrator and the Administrator of the Health 

8 Resources and Services Administration, shall make grants 

9 to, and enter into contracts and cooperative agreements 

10 with, community based public and private nonprofit enti11 ties for the purpose of developing and expanding the serv12 ices specified in section 552(b) for homeless individuals 

13 and families who (1)(A) are suffering from substance 

14 abuse; (B) are suffering from mental illness; or (C) are 

15 suffering from substance abuse and from mental illness; 

16 and (2) are homeless or at imminent risk of becoming 

17 homeless. In carrying out this subsection, the adminis18 trator shall consult with the Directors of the national re19 search institutes of the National Institutes of Health, the 

20 Assistant Secretary of the Administration, the Adminis21 trator of the Social Security Administration, the Secretary 

22 of Agriculture, the Secretary of Education, the Secretary 

23 of Housing and Urban Development, the Secretary of 

24 Labor, the Secretary of Transportation, and the Secretary 

25 of Veterans Affairs. 
195

•HR 2897 IH 

1 ‘‘(b) PREFERENCE.—In awarding grants under sub2 section (a), the Secretary shall give preference to—

3 ‘‘(1) entities that provide integrated primary 

4 health care, substance abuse and mental health serv5 ices to homeless individuals, including health centers 

6 receiving grants under section 330(h); 

7 ‘‘(2) entities that demonstrate experience in 

8 providing substance abuse and mental health service 

9 to homeless persons; and 

10 ‘‘(3) entities that demonstrate experience in 

11 providing supportive housing or permanent housing 

12 to persons experiencing homelessness in treatment 

13 for or in recovery from substance abuse or mental 

14 illness. 

15 ‘‘(c) SERVICES FOR INDIVIDUALS.—In making 

16 awards under subsection (a), the Secretary may not—

17 ‘‘(1) prohibit the provision of services under 

18 such subsection to individuals experiencing homeless19 ness who are suffering from substance abuse and are 

20 not suffering from mental illness; 

21 ‘‘(2) make payments under subsection (a) to 

22 any entity that has a policy of (A) excluding individ23 uals from mental health services due to the existence 

24 of suspicion of substance abuse; or (B) has a policy 

25 of excluding individuals from substance abuse serv-
196

•HR 2897 IH 

1 ices due to the existence or suspicion of mental ill2 ness.’’. 

3 Subpart B—Reauthorize and Strengthen the Projects 

4 for Assistance in Transition from Homelessness 

5 (PATH) Program 

6 SEC. 651. EXPANSION OF REQUIRED SCOPE OF SERVICES 

7 OF PATH PROVIDERS. 

8 Section 522(b) of the Public Health Service Act (42 

9 U.S.C. 290cc–22(b)) is amended—

10 (1) by striking paragraphs (4) and (5) and in11 serting the following: 

12 ‘‘(4) community mental health treatment and 

13 support services; 

14 ‘‘(5) alcohol or drug treatment and support 

15 services;’’; 

16 (2) in paragraph (7), by striking subparagraphs 

17 (A) through (D) and inserting the following: 

18 ‘‘(A) preparing a plan for the provision of 

19 community mental health services or substance 

20 abuse services to the eligible homeless individual 

21 involved, and reviewing such plan not less than 

22 once every three months to evaluate its effec23 tiveness in assuring long-term stability; 

24 ‘‘(B) providing assistance in obtaining and 

25 coordinating social and maintenance services for 
197

•HR 2897 IH 

1 the eligible homeless individuals, including serv2 ices relating to daily living activities, personal 

3 financial planning, transportation services, ha4 bilitation and rehabilitation services, 

5 prevocational and vocational services, and hous6 ing services; 

7 ‘‘(C) providing assistance to the eligible 

8 homeless individual in obtaining income and 

9 medical support services, including housing as10 sistance, food stamps, supplemental security in11 come, Medicaid, Medicare, and veterans affairs 

12 assistance, and employment and training pro13 grams; 

14 ‘‘(D) referring the eligible homeless indi15 vidual for such other services as may be appro16 priate and assuring that the service is delivered 

17 in a timely manner for as long as needed to as18 sure long-term stability; and’’; and 

19 (3) in paragraph (10), by striking subpara20 graph (B) and inserting the following: 

21 ‘‘(B) planning of housing needs at different 

22 stages of recovery and stability;’’. 
198

•HR 2897 IH 

1 SEC. 652. ENCOURAGEMENT OF STATES TO UTILIZE 

2 HEALTH CARE FOR THE HOMELESS 

3 PROJECTS AS PATH PROVIDERS. 

4 Section 522(a) of the Public Health Service Act (42 

5 U.S.C. 290cc–22(a)) is amended in the matter preceding 

6 paragraph (1) by inserting after ‘‘veterans organizations’’ 

7 the following: ‘‘, health centers with active grants under 

8 section 330(h),’’. 

9 SEC. 653. STATE DESCRIPTIONS OF RESOURCE ALLOCA10 TION PROCESS. 

11 Section 527(a) of the Public Health Service Act (42 

12 U.S.C. 290cc–27(a)) is amended—

13 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (3) and (4) as 

14 paragraphs (4) and (5), respectively; and 

15 (2) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol16 lowing paragraph: 

17 ‘‘(3) such description identifies the process the 

18 State intends to use to allocate funds to political 

19 subdivisions of the State and to nonprofit private en20 tities pursuant to section 522;’’. 

21 SEC. 654. FEDERAL REPORT ON PATH AND HOMELESS 

22 GRANT PROGRAMS. 

23 Part C of title V of the Public Health Service Act 

24 (42 U.S.C. 290cc–21 et seq.) is amended by inserting 

25 after section 533 the following section:
199

•HR 2897 IH 

1 ‘‘SEC. 533A. ANNUAL REPORT. 

2 ‘‘Not later than October 1 of each year, the Secretary 

3 shall prepare and deliver a report to the Committee on 

4 Health, Education, Labor and Pensions of the Senate and 

5 the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House 

6 of Representatives regarding the programs under this 

7 part, including—

8 ‘‘(1) a comprehensive description of the pro9 grams; 

10 ‘‘(2) a record and a description of the services 

11 for which amounts received under section 521 and 

12 section 506 were expended during the preceding fis13 cal year; 

14 ‘‘(3) a record and description of the recipients 

15 of amounts received under section 521 and section 

16 506 were expended during the preceding fiscal year; 

17 ‘‘(4) a record and description of the consistency 

18 and coordination of programs and services for which 

19 amounts received under section 521 and section 506 

20 were expended during the preceding fiscal year with 

21 applications submitted to the Department of Hous22 ing and Urban Development pursuant to subtitle C 

23 of title IV of the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless 

24 Assistance Act; 

25 ‘‘(5) a record and description of the coordina26 tion of programs and services for which amounts re-
200

•HR 2897 IH 

1 ceived under section 521 and section 506 were ex2 pended during the preceding fiscal year with mental 

3 health, substance abuse, housing, health, and other 

4 social service programs funded through federal block 

5 grant, formula grant, competitive grant, and other 

6 mechanisms; and 

7 ‘‘(6) such other information as the Secretary 

8 deems useful.’’. 

9 SEC. 655. CLARIFICATION OF TARGET POPULATIONS PRO10 VISION OF PATH STATUTE. 

11 The Congress encourages the Secretary of Health 

12 and Human Services to provide guidance to the States re13 garding an appropriate definition of populations eligible 

14 for services provided with grants under part C of title V 

15 of the Public Health Service Act. In doing so, the Sec16 retary should suggest that the States make such services 

17 available to homeless persons or persons at imminent risk 

18 of homelessness with serious and persistent mental impair19 ments as evidenced by a chronicity of symptoms and in20 ability to function in the community independently. 
201

•HR 2897 IH 

1 Subtitle C—Amendments Regard2 ing Ryan White Comprehensive 

3 AIDS Resources Emergency Act 

4 of 1990

5 PART 1—DISCHARGE PLANNING 

6 SEC. 661. AVERTING RWCA PATIENT DISCHARGE INTO 

7 HOMELESSNESS. 

8 Section 2604 of the Public Health Service Act (42 

9 U.S.C. 300ff–14) is amended—

10 (1) in subsection (b)(1)(C), by inserting ‘‘and in 

11 such a manner as ensures patient placement in sta12 ble and appropriate housing,’’ after ‘‘as medically 

13 appropriate,’’; and 

14 (2) in subsection (d)(1)(D), by inserting ‘‘, and 

15 discharged from inpatient facilities in such a manner 

16 as ensures that such individuals and families are 

17 placed in stable and appropriate housing,’’ after 

18 ‘‘appropriate level of care’’. 

19 PART 2—PROVISION OF APPROPRIATE SERVICES 

20 SEC. 666. AMPLIFICATION OF SCOPE OF RWCA SERVICES. 

21 (a) EMERGENCY RELIEF GRANTS.—Subparagraph 

22 (A) of section 2604(b)(1) of the Public Health Services 

23 Act (42 U.S.C. 300ff–14(b)(1)) is amended to read as fol24 lows: 
202

•HR 2897 IH 

1 ‘‘(A) Outpatient and ambulatory health 

2 services, including outreach, diagnosis, moni3 toring, medical services, nursing, substance 

4 abuse treatment, mental health treatment, spe5 cialty services, dental services, nutrition serv6 ices, medical follow-up, attendant care, home 

7 health services, respite care, recuperative serv8 ices, hospice services, developmental services, 

9 rehabilitation services, social services, mainte10 nance services, public benefit assistance, hous11 ing assistance, educational assistance, employ12 ment assistance, vocational assistance, trans13 portation assistance, supportive and supervisory 

14 services in a residential setting, and comprehen15 sive treatment services, which shall include 

16 treatment education and prophylactic treatment 

17 for opportunistic infections, for individuals and 

18 families with HIV disease.’’. 

19 (b) GRANTS TO ESTABLISH HIV CARE CON20 SORTIA.—Paragraph (2) of section 2613(a) of the Public 

21 Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300ff–23) is amended—

22 (1) by amending subparagraph (A) to read as 

23 follows: 

24 ‘‘(A) essential health services such as case 

25 management, outreach, medical services, nurs-
203

•HR 2897 IH 

1 ing, substance abuse treatment, mental health 

2 treatment, specialty services, dental services, 

3 nutrition services, diagnostic services, moni4 toring, prophylactic treatment for opportunistic 

5 infections, treatment education to take place in 

6 the context of health care delivery, medical fol7 low-up, developmental, rehabilitation, home 

8 health, recuperative, and hospice care; and’’; 

9 and 

10 (2) by amending subparagraph (B) to read as 

11 follows: 

12 ‘‘(B) essential support services such as 

13 case management, transportation, attendant 

14 care, homemaker, day or respite care, public 

15 benefits assistance, advocacy services provided 

16 through public and nonprofit private entities, 

17 and services that are complementary to the pro18 vision of health care services for individuals 

19 with HIV disease including social, maintenance, 

20 educational, employment, vocational, supportive, 

21 and supervisory services in a residential setting, 

22 nutrition, housing, and child welfare and family 

23 services (including foster care and adoption 

24 services).’’. 
204

•HR 2897 IH 

1 SEC. 667. APPLICATION OF KNOWLEDGE DEVELOPMENT 

2 FINDINGS TO SERVICE DELIVERY. 

3 (a) EMERGENCY RELIEF GRANTS.—Paragraph (1) of 

4 section 2603(b) of the Public Health Service Act (42 

5 U.S.C. 300ff–13) is amended—

6 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of subpara7 graph (F); 

8 (2) by striking the period at the end of sub9 paragraph (G) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

11 ‘‘(H) demonstrates that resources will be 

12 allocated to entities that agree to replicate suc13 cessful models of care identified by the Sec14 retary under Section 2691(g).’’. 

15 (b) CARE GRANTS.—Section 2611 of the Public 

16 Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300ff–14) is amended by 

17 adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(c) PRIORITY.—In providing assistance under para19 graphs (1), (2), and (3) of section 2612, a State shall give 

20 priority to entities that agree to replicate successful mod21 els of care identified by the Secretary under Section 

22 2691(g).’’.
205

•HR 2897 IH 

1 PART 3—GRANTEE PLANNING, REPORTING, AND 

2 CAPACITY BUILDING 

3 SEC. 671. EXPANSION OF PARTICIPATION IN GRANTEE AND 

4 CONTRACTOR PLANNING. 

5 (a) REPRESENTATION ON HIV HEALTH SERVICES

6 PLANNING COUNCILS.—Paragraph (2) of section 2602(b) 

7 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300ff–12(b)) 

8 is amended—

9 (1) in subparagraph (E), by inserting ‘‘, hous10 ing, education, employment, rehabilitation, human 

11 services, and corrections’’ after ‘‘local public health’’; 

12 (2) in subparagraph (G), by inserting ‘‘dis13 proportionately affected and’’ before ‘‘historically 

14 underserved’’; 

15 (3) in subparagraph (I), by inserting ‘‘, the 

16 State housing agency, the State mental health agen17 cy, the State substance abuse agency, the State edu18 cational agency, the State employment agency, the 

19 State rehabilitation agency, the State human serv20 ices agency, the State corrections agency,’’ before 

21 ‘‘and the agency administering the program under 

22 part B’’; 

23 (4) in subparagraph (L), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

24 the end; 

25 (5) in subparagraph (M), by striking the period 

26 at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
206

•HR 2897 IH 

1 (6) by adding at the end the following: 

2 ‘‘(N) grantees under Federal housing, 

3 homeless assistance, mental health, substance 

4 abuse, education, employment, rehabilitation, 

5 social services, youth services, and corrections 

6 programs; and 

7 ‘‘(O) pharmaceutical manufacturers and 

8 retailers.’’. 

9 (b) MEETINGS CONVENED BY STATE.—Paragraph 

10 (5) of section 2617(b) of the Public Health Service Act 

11 (42 U.S.C. 200ff–27) is amended—

12 (1) by striking ‘‘a meeting of individuals with 

13 HIV disease, representatives of grantees under each 

14 part under this title, providers, and public agency 

15 representatives’’; and 

16 (2) by striking ‘‘; and’’ and inserting ‘‘a meet17 ing of representatives of—

18 ‘‘(A) health care providers, including feder19 ally qualified health centers; 

20 ‘‘(B) community-based organizations serv21 ing affecting populations and AIDS service or22 ganizations; 

23 ‘‘(C) social service and housing providers; 

24 ‘‘(D) mental health and substance abuse 

25 providers; 
207

•HR 2897 IH 

1 ‘‘(E) local public health, mental health, 

2 substance abuse, housing, education, employ3 ment, rehabilitation, human services, and cor4 rections agencies; 

5 ‘‘(F) hospital planning agencies or health 

6 care planning agencies; 

7 ‘‘(G) affected communities, including peo8 ple with HIV disease or AIDS and dispropor9 tionately affected and historically underserved 

10 groups and subpopulations; 

11 ‘‘(H) non-elected community leaders; 

12 ‘‘(I) State government (including the State 

13 Medicaid agency, State housing agency, State 

14 mental health agency, State substance abuse 

15 agency, State education agency, State employ16 ment agency, State rehabilitation agency, State 

17 human services agency, and State corrections 

18 agency); 

19 ‘‘(J) grantees under each part of this title; 

20 ‘‘(K) grantees under other Federal HIV 

21 programs; and 

22 ‘‘(L) grantees under Federal housing, 

23 homeless assistance mental health, substance 

24 abuse, education employment, rehabilitation, so-
208

•HR 2897 IH 

1 cial services, youth services, and corrections 

2 programs; and 

3 ‘‘(M) pharmaceutical manufacturers and 

4 retailers; and’’. 

5 SEC. 672. DEVELOPMENT OF KNOWLEDGE TO STRENGTHEN 

6 PROVIDERS’ CAPACITY TO OFFER HOMELESS7 COMPETENT SERVICES. 

8 Subsection (e) of section 2691 of the Public Health 

9 Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300ff–101) is amended—

10 (1) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

11 end; 

12 (2) in paragraph (3), by striking the period at 

13 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

15 ‘‘(4) programs designed to integrate the deliv16 ery of HIV services with other health, housing, edu17 cational, employment, social, and maintenance serv18 ices in residential settings.’’. 

19 PART 4—DESIGNATION OF HOMELESS PERSONS 

20 AS PRIORITY POPULATION 

21 SEC. 676. PRIORITY FOR PERSONS EXPERIENCING HOME22 LESSNESS. 

23 (a) EMERGENCY RELIEF GRANTS.—Subsection (b) of 

24 section 2604 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 

25 300ff–14) is amended by adding at the end the following: 
209

•HR 2897 IH 

1 ‘‘(5) PRIORITY FOR PERSONS EXPERIENCING

2 HOMELESSNESS.—For the purpose of providing 

3 health and support services to homeless individuals 

4 with HIV disease (including children, youth, and 

5 families), the chief elected official of the eligible 

6 area, in accordance with the established priorities of 

7 the planning council, shall use, from amounts made 

8 available for the area through grants under section 

9 2601(a) for a fiscal year, not less than 8.6 percent 

10 of such amounts.’’. 

11 (b) CARE GRANTS.—Section 2611 of the Public 

12 Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300ff–21) is amended by 

13 adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(c) PRIORITY FOR PERSONS EXPERIENCING HOME15 LESSNESS.—For the purpose of providing health and sup16 port services to individuals experiencing homelessness with 

17 HIV disease (including children, youth, and families), a 

18 State shall use, of the funds allocated under this part to 

19 the State for a fiscal year, not less than 8.6 percent of 

20 such funds.’’. 
210

•HR 2897 IH 

1 PART 5—FEDERAL PLAN ON HIV/AIDS AND 

2 HOMELESSNESS 

3 SEC. 681. FEDERAL PLAN ON HIV/AIDS AND HOMELESS4 NESS. 

5 (a) PLAN.—Not later than 1 year after the date of 

6 the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and 

7 Human Services (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Sec8 retary’’) shall prepare and submit to the Committee on 

9 Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives 

10 and the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 

11 Pensions of the Senate a plan that with respect to each 

12 of the factors described in subsection (b)—

13 (1) describes current Federal, State, and local 

14 public policies and practices regarding homelessness 

15 and HIV prevention, treatment, and care; 

16 (2) identifies administrative and statutory ac17 cess and care barriers and opportunities for home18 less persons with HIV disease; and 

19 (3) recommends administrative and legislative 

20 actions that would increase the access of homeless 

21 persons to HIV health and support services and im22 prove the appropriateness and quality of care home23 less persons receive through such services. 

24 (b) FACTORS.—The factors described in this sub25 section are as follows:
211

•HR 2897 IH 

1 (1) Grantee planning, reporting, and capacity2 building. 

3 (2) Consumer involvement. 

4 (3) Designation of priority populations. 

5 (4) Outreach and enrollment. 

6 (5) Participant tracking. 

7 (6) Elimination of regulatory and administra8 tive impediments. 

9 (7) Provision of appropriate services. 

10 (8) Discharge planning. 

11 (9) Outcome measurement. 

12 (c) CONSULTATION.—In establishing the plan re13 quired under this section, the Secretary shall consult with 

14 homeless children, youth, families and individuals with 

15 HIV disease, nonprofit organizations advocating for home16 less persons, homeless health, housing, and support service 

17 providers, and public agency representatives. 

18 (d) PLAN IMPLEMENTATION.—Not later than 1 year 

19 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

20 shall implement administrative recommendations identi21 fied in subsection (a)(3). 

22 TITLE VII—ECONOMIC SECURITY 

23 SEC. 701. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING RIGHT TO A 

24 LIVING INCOME. 

25 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that—
212

•HR 2897 IH 

1 (1) more than 25 percent of persons in working 

2 families in the United States have incomes too low 

3 to meet their basic needs; 

4 (2) the average income of a homeless family in 

5 the United States is 46 percent of the Federal pov6 erty line; 

7 (3) 42 percent of adults living in shelters are 

8 employed; 

9 (4) children in families with incomes above the 

10 Federal poverty line are healthier; 

11 (5) children in families with incomes above the 

12 Federal poverty line are more likely to graduate 

13 from high school and to have higher incomes as 

14 adults; 

15 (6) higher rates of good health and education in 

16 children will reduce long-term costs for the United 

17 States; 

18 (7) approximately 30,000,000 people in the 

19 United States suffer from food insecurity due to a 

20 lack of income; 

21 (8) low-wage employment often leads to housing 

22 that is unsafe, indecent, and unaffordable; 

23 (9) any person who works 40 hours a week or 

24 more should be able to afford the basic necessities 

25 of life, including housing that is decent and safe; 
213

•HR 2897 IH 

1 (10) the levels of government benefits are not 

2 substantial enough to provide for the basic neces3 sities, such as housing, health care, or childcare; 

4 (11) low-wage workers are at risk of becoming 

5 homeless; 

6 (12) supplementary Social Security income 

7 (SSI) benefits are equal to only 18.5 percent of the 

8 average median income for a single-person house9 hold; 

10 (13) the average SSI recipient has a monthly 

11 income of $551; and 

12 (14) on average, a person receiving SSI benefits 

13 needs to spend 98.2 percent of their benefit to af14 ford a one-bedroom apartment. 

15 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of the 

16 Congress that—

17 (1) every person who works 40 hours or more 

18 per week should receive a wage sufficient to provide 

19 for safe, decent, and affordable housing, which 

20 should be ensured through a living wage that is in21 dexed to the local cost of housing; and 

22 (2) every person who is unable to work or un23 able to obtain work, and therefore receives public 

24 benefits, should be afforded the same opportunity 
214

•HR 2897 IH 

1 for safe, decent, and affordable housing through a 

2 level of benefits that provides a livable income. 

3 SEC. 702. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR 

4 HOMELESS VETERANS REINTEGRATION PRO5 GRAM. 

6 Section 2021(e)(1) of title 38, United States Code, 

7 is amended in subparagraphs (C), (D), and (E) by striking 

8 ‘‘$50,000,000’’ each place it appears and inserting 

9 ‘‘$100,000,000’’.

10 SEC. 703. AVAILABILITY OF FOOD STAMP BENEFITS TO IN11 DIVIDUALS WHO ARE HOMELESS. 

12 (a) EXPEDITED PROCESSING.—Section 11(e)(9) of 

13 the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 2020(3)(9)) is 

14 amended—

15 (1) in subparagraph (B) by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

16 the end; 

17 (2) in subparagraph (C) by adding ‘‘and’’ at 

18 the end; and 

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

20 ‘‘(D) provide coupons no later then 7 days 

21 after the date of application to any household 

22 in which all members are homeless individ23 uals;’’. 
215

•HR 2897 IH 

1 (b) EXCEPTION TO WORK REQUIREMENT DISQUALI2 FICATION.—Section 6(o)(3) of the Food Stamp Act of 

3 1977 (7 U.S.C. 2015(o)(3)) is amended—

4 (1) in subparagraph (D) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the 

5 end; 

6 (2) in subparagraph (E) by striking the period 

7 at the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

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

9 ‘‘(F) experiencing homelessness.’’. 

10 (c) DEFINITION.—Section 3(c) of the Food Stamp 

11 Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 2012(c)) is amended in the 2d sen12 tence by inserting before the period at the end the fol13 lowing: ‘‘, and the certification period shall be at least 12 

14 months if all adult household members are receiving bene15 fits under title II or XVI of the Social Security Act and 

16 the household as no other income’’. 

17 (d) COLLECTION OF DATA ON HOMELESS APPLI18 CANTS.—The Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 2011 

19 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘SEC. 28. COLLECTION OF DATA ON HOMELESS HOUSE21 HOLDS. 

22 ‘‘With respect to all applications made after January 

23 1, 2004, by households to participate in the food stamp 

24 program and all households that receive food stamp bene25 fits after such date, the Secretary shall collect data, 
216

•HR 2897 IH 

1 through the application form and by other means, to de2 termine whether the members of such households are 

3 homeless.’’. 

4 SEC. 704. AMENDMENTS TO WORKFORCE INVESTMENT ACT. 

5 (a) STATE WORKFORCE INVESTMENT BOARDS.—

6 Section 111(b)(1) of the Workforce Investment Act of 

7 1998 (29 U.S.C. 2821(b)(1)) is amended—

8 (1) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘and’’; 

9 (2) in subparagraph (C)(vii) by striking the pe10 riod and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

11 (3) by adding after subparagraph (C) the fol12 lowing: 

13 ‘‘(D) a representative from the State agen14 cy distributing funding under part A of title IV 

15 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et 

16 seq.); 

17 ‘‘(E) a representative from the community 

18 board as defined in section 401(3) of this Act; 

19 ‘‘(F) representatives of organizations who 

20 act as advocates for persons experiencing home21 lessness or organizations who provide assistance 

22 to persons experiencing homelessness; and 

23 ‘‘(G) a person experiencing homelessness 

24 or has experienced homelessness within 3 years
217

•HR 2897 IH 

1 before the date of their appointment to the 

2 board.’’. 

3 (b) LOCAL WORKFORCE INVESTMENT BOARDS.—

4 Section 117(b)(2)(A)) of the Workforce Investment Act 

5 (29 U.S.C. 2832(b)(2)(A)) is amended—

6 (1) in clause (v) by striking ‘‘and’’; 

7 (2) in clause (vi) by striking the period and in8 serting ‘‘; and’’; and 

9 (3) by adding after clause (vi) the following: 

10 ‘‘(vii) a representative from the local 

11 agency distributing funding under part A 

12 of title IV of the Social Security Act (42 

13 U.S.C. 601 et seq.); 

14 ‘‘(viii) a representative from the com15 munity board as defined in section 401(3) 

16 of this Act; 

17 ‘‘(ix) representatives of organizations 

18 who act as advocates for persons experi19 encing homelessness or organizations who 

20 provide assistance to persons experiencing 

21 homelessness; and 

22 ‘‘(x) a person experiencing homeless23 ness or has experienced homelessness with24 in 3 years before the date of their appoint25 ment to the board;’’. 
218

•HR 2897 IH 

1 SEC. 705. HOMEBUILD PROGRAM FOR AFFORDABLE HOUS2 ING CONSTRUCTION AND APPRENTICESHIP. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title IV of the Cranston-Gonzalez 

4 National Affordable Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 12871 et 

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

6 subtitle: 

7 ‘‘Subtitle E—Homebuild Program 

8 for Affordable Housing Con9 struction and Apprenticeship 

10 ‘‘SEC. 471. PURPOSE. 

11 ‘‘It is the purpose of this subtitle to assist people who 

12 are experiencing homelessness and have experienced sig13 nificant barriers to employment to obtain training nec14 essary to obtain gainful employment as skilled or semi15 skilled residential construction workers. 

16 ‘‘SEC. 472. GRANT AUTHORITY. 

17 ‘‘The Secretary may make grants in accordance with 

18 this subtitle to applicants selected under section 476 to 

19 carry out homebuild programs under section 473. 

20 ‘‘SEC. 473. HOMEBUILD PROGRAMS. 

21 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this subtitle, a 

22 homebuild program is a program that meets the following 

23 requirements: 

24 ‘‘(1) AFFORDABLE HOUSING.—The primary 

25 purpose of the program is to develop, through con26 struction, reconstruction, or rehabilitation, afford-
219

•HR 2897 IH 

1 able housing for low- and extremely low-income 

2 households. 

3 ‘‘(2) EDUCATIONAL AND COUNSELING SERV4 ICES.—The program shall be subject to the same re5 quirements regarding educational services and activi6 ties that a Youthbuild program is subject to under 

7 section 456(c). 

8 ‘‘(3) TRAINING AND APPRENTICESHIP.—The 

9 program shall provide participants with training or 

10 apprenticeship in residential construction skills in11 volved in the development of the affordable housing. 

12 ‘‘(4) WAGES AND BENEFITS, LABOR STAND13 ARDS, AND NONDISCRIMINATION.—Sections 142, 

14 143 and 167 of the Job Training Partnership Act 

15 (as in effect on the day before the date of enactment 

16 of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998), relating 

17 to wages and benefits, labor standards, and non18 discrimination, shall apply to the program as if such 

19 program was conducted under the Job Training 

20 Partnership Act (as in effect on the day before the 

21 date of enactment of the Workforce Investment Act 

22 of 1998). This paragraph may not be construed to 

23 prevent a recipient of a grant under this subtitle 

24 from using funds from non-Federal sources to in-
220

•HR 2897 IH 

1 crease wages and benefits under such program, if 

2 appropriate. 

3 ‘‘(5) PARTICIPANTS.—Participation in the pro4 gram shall be limited only to individuals who—

5 ‘‘(A)(i) are homeless (as such term is de6 fined in section 103 of the McKinney-Vento 

7 Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11302); 

8 ‘‘(ii) are residing in a homeless shelter, 

9 transitional shelter, transitional housing facility, 

10 or permanent supportive housing; 

11 ‘‘(iii) are eligible for and have placed their 

12 name on the waiting list for public housing or 

13 rental assistance under section 8 of the United 

14 States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f) 

15 and have not received such housing or assist16 ance; or 

17 ‘‘(iv) have been referred for participation 

18 in the program by a social services program of 

19 a unit of general local government; 

20 ‘‘(B) are 65 years of age or younger; and 

21 ‘‘(C) have completed, and have evidence of 

22 such completion of, a job readiness or workforce 

23 training program of a least 2 weeks duration 

24 that—
221

•HR 2897 IH 

1 ‘‘(i) is provided through the one-stop 

2 delivery system under the Workforce In3 vestment Act of 1998; or 

4 ‘‘(ii) if a program described in clause 

5 (i) is not available to the individual—

6 ‘‘(I) is certified or provided 

7 through a public housing authority; or 

8 ‘‘(II) is administered by a non9 profit organization providing housing 

10 for the homeless and is certified by a 

11 unit of general local government. 

12 ‘‘(6) LIMITATION ON PARTICIPATION.—

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The program shall 

14 limit participation by any individual to the 

15 longer of—

16 ‘‘(i) 2 years; and 

17 ‘‘(ii) such time as the participant has 

18 obtained the residential construction skills 

19 necessary to obtain employment in the pri20 vate residential construction field. 

21 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—The program may pro22 vide that a participant may continue or return 

23 to work under the program after completion of 

24 the program pursuant to the limit under sub25 paragraph (A), but only—
222

•HR 2897 IH 

1 ‘‘(i) pursuant to application by such 

2 participant for such continuance or return; 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(ii) if the program provides the full 

5 amount of such participant’s wages, which 

6 shall be not less than the wages prevailing 

7 in the locality, as predetermined by the 

8 Secretary of Labor pursuant to subchapter 

9 IV of chapter 13 of title 40, United States 

10 Code. 

11 ‘‘(7) ADMINISTRATION.—The program shall be 

12 jointly administered by—

13 ‘‘(A) a labor organization, or an affiliate 

14 thereof; and 

15 ‘‘(B) a public housing agency or nonprofit 

16 organization involved in the development of af17 fordable housing. 

18 ‘‘SEC. 474. USE OF GRANT AMOUNTS. 

19 ‘‘(a) ELIGIBLE USES.—Amounts received from a 

20 grant under this Act may be used for any costs involved 

21 in carrying out a Homebuild program, including any ac22 tivities specified under subsection (b) of section 454 (relat23 ing to Youthbuild program eligible activities), except 

24 that—
223

•HR 2897 IH 

1 ‘‘(1) the limitations under paragraph (2) of 

2 such subsection on the types of housing developed 

3 with grant amounts shall not apply to grant 

4 amounts under this subtitle; 

5 ‘‘(2) the limitation under paragraph (3) of such 

6 subsection on administrative costs shall apply to 

7 grant amounts under this subtitle; and 

8 ‘‘(3) the limitation under paragraph (4)(E) of 

9 such subsection on the duration of support services 

10 and stipends shall not apply to grant amounts under 

11 this subtitle. 

12 ‘‘(b) AFFORDABLE HOUSING REQUIREMENT.—Of 

13 any amounts received from a grant under this subtitle—

14 ‘‘(1) not less than 75 percent shall be used for 

15 costs related to the development of housing that is 

16 affordable for extremely low-income households; and 

17 ‘‘(2) the remainder shall be used for costs re18 lated to the development of housing that is afford19 able to low-income households. 

20 ‘‘SEC. 475. HOMEBUILD ADVISORY BOARD. 

21 ‘‘(a) ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENT.—For an eligible 

22 entity to be eligible for selection to receive a grant under 

23 this subtitle, the unit of general local government within 

24 which the eligible entity will carry out the homebuild pro25 gram shall establish a homebuild advisory board to advise 
224

•HR 2897 IH 

1 and report regarding activities and progress under 

2 homebuild programs carried out within the jurisdiction of 

3 such unit. 

4 ‘‘(b) MEETINGS AND REPORTS.—Each homebuild ad5 visory board shall—

6 ‘‘(1) meet not less than 4 times annually; and 

7 ‘‘(2) submit an annual report to the unit of 

8 general local government, the applicable eligible enti9 ty, and the Secretary regarding activities and 

10 progress under homebuild programs carried out 

11 within the jurisdiction of such unit. 

12 ‘‘(c) MEMBERSHIP.—Each homebuild advisory board 

13 for a unit of general local government shall consist of 15 

14 members, who shall include individuals who are—

15 ‘‘(1) officials of the unit of general local govern16 ment; 

17 ‘‘(2) representatives of the faith community; 

18 ‘‘(3) representatives of private entities engaged 

19 in residential development; 

20 ‘‘(4) representatives of private entities engaged 

21 in residential construction; 

22 ‘‘(5) officials or members of labor unions; 

23 ‘‘(6) representatives of local social services 

24 agencies; 

25 ‘‘(7) homeless individuals; 
225

•HR 2897 IH 

1 ‘‘(8) representatives of organizations involved in 

2 providing affordable housing and assistance for 

3 homeless individuals; and 

4 ‘‘(9) representatives of academic institutions. 

5 ‘‘SEC. 476. APPLICATIONS AND SELECTION FOR GRANTS. 

6 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible for selection to re7 ceive a grant under this subtitle, an eligible entity shall 

8 submit to the Secretary an application containing—

9 ‘‘(1) a description of the educational and job 

10 training activities, work opportunities, and other 

11 services that will be provided to participants in the 

12 homebuild program; 

13 ‘‘(2) a description of the proposed construction 

14 or rehabilitation activities to be undertaken and the 

15 anticipated schedule for carrying out such activities; 

16 ‘‘(3) a description of the manner in which eligi17 ble participants will be recruited and selected; 

18 ‘‘(4) a description of how the proposed project 

19 will be coordinated with other Federal, State, and 

20 local activities, including vocational and job training 

21 programs; 

22 ‘‘(5) assurances that there will be a sufficient 

23 number of adequately trained supervisory personnel 

24 on the project; 
226

•HR 2897 IH 

1 ‘‘(6) a detailed budget and description of the 

2 system of fiscal controls and auditing and account3 ability procedures that will be used to ensure fiscal 

4 soundness; 

5 ‘‘(7) a description of the membership of the ad6 visory board; and 

7 ‘‘(8) a description of the capacity of the com8 munity to leverage funding from other private and 

9 public sources. 

10 ‘‘(b) SELECTION CRITERIA.—The Secretary shall se11 lect applicants to receive grants under this subtitle based 

12 upon selection criteria, which the Secretary shall establish 

13 and which shall include the following criteria: 

14 ‘‘(1) POTENTIAL FOR SUCCESS.—The extent to 

15 which the application is likely to succeed, as indi16 cated by such factors as the past experience of an 

17 applicant with housing rehabilitation or construction, 

18 education and employment training programs, man19 agement capacity, fiscal reliability, and community 

20 support. 

21 ‘‘(2) NEED.—To extent to which the applicant 

22 has need for assistance, as determined by factors 

23 such as—
227

•HR 2897 IH 

1 ‘‘(A) the degree of economic distress of the 

2 community from which participants would be 

3 recruited, including—

4 ‘‘(i) the extent of poverty; 

5 ‘‘(ii) the extent of unemployment; and 

6 ‘‘(B) the degree of economic distress of the 

7 locality in which the housing would be rehabili8 tated or constructed, including—

9 ‘‘(i) objective measures of the inci10 dence of homelessness; 

11 ‘‘(ii) the relationship between the sup12 ply of affordable housing for low-income 

13 persons and the number of such persons in 

14 the locality; 

15 ‘‘(iii) the extent of housing over16 crowding; and 

17 ‘‘(iv) the extent of poverty. 

18 ‘‘(3) OTHER.—Any other criteria the Secretary 

19 determines to be reasonably appropriate. 

20 ‘‘SEC. 477. DEFINITIONS. 

21 ‘‘For purposes of this subtitle, the following defini22 tions shall apply: 

23 ‘‘(1) APPLICANT.—The term ‘applicant’ means 

24 an eligible entity that has submitted an application 
228

•HR 2897 IH 

1 under section 476 that the Secretary determines 

2 complies with the requirements under this subtitle. 

3 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en4 tity’ means—

5 ‘‘(A) a public housing agency; 

6 ‘‘(B) a labor union; or 

7 ‘‘(C) a nonprofit organization that is in8 volved in the development of affordable housing 

9 ‘‘(3) EXTREMELY LOW-INCOME HOUSEHOLD.—

10 The term ‘extremely low-income household’ means a 

11 household, including an individual or family, that 

12 has an income that does not exceed 30 percent of 

13 the median family income for the area, as deter14 mined by the Secretary with adjustments for smaller 

15 and larger families, except that the Secretary may 

16 establish income ceilings higher or lower than 30 

17 percent of the median for the area on the basis of 

18 the Secretary’s findings that such variations are nec19 essary because of prevailing levels of construction 

20 costs or fair market rents, or unusually high or low 

21 household incomes. 

22 ‘‘(4) LABOR UNION.—The term ‘labor union’ 

23 has the meaning given the term ‘labor organization’ 

24 in section 2 of the National Labor Relations Act (29 

25 U.S.C. 152).
229

•HR 2897 IH 

1 ‘‘(5) LOW-INCOME HOUSEHOLD.—The term 

2 ‘low-income household’ means a household, including 

3 an individual or family, that has an income that 

4 does not exceed 80 percent of the median family in5 come for the area, as determined by the Secretary 

6 with adjustments for smaller and larger families, ex7 cept that the Secretary may establish income ceilings 

8 higher or lower than 80 percent of the median for 

9 the area on the basis of the Secretary’s findings that 

10 such variations are necessary because of prevailing 

11 levels of construction costs or fair market rents, or 

12 unusually high or low household incomes. 

13 ‘‘(6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secertary’ means 

14 the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. 

15 ‘‘SEC. 478. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

16 ‘‘There is authorized to be appropriated for grants 

17 under this subtitle $65,000,000 for fiscal year 2004 and 

18 such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 

19 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008. 

20 ‘‘SEC. 479. REGULATIONS. 

21 ‘‘The Secretary shall issue any regulations necessary 

22 to carry out this subtitle.’’.
230

•HR 2897 IH 

1 SEC. 706. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR APPRENTICESHIP PRO2 GRAM FOR WORKING PEOPLE EXPERIENCING 

3 HOMELESSNESS. 

4 (a) GRANT AUTHORITY.—The Secretary of Labor 

5 may make grants in accordance with this section to appli6 cants selected pursuant to subsection (g) to carry out ap7 prenticeship programs that meet the requirements of this 

8 section. 

9 (b) APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM DEFINED.—For pur10 poses of this section, an apprenticeship program is a pro11 gram—

12 (1) whose primary purpose is to assist people 

13 who are experiencing homelessness by providing in14 struction in a skilled trade in a job apprenticeship 

15 program; and 

16 (2) that provides a stipend to any person who 

17 are working and without housing until the such per18 son is employed by the private sector. 

19 (c) PARTICIPATION.—

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Participation in the program 

21 shall be limited to individuals who—

22 (A) are homeless (as such term is defined 

23 in section 103 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless 

24 Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11302)); 

25 (B) are eligible for or have placed their 

26 name on a waiting list for public housing or 
231

•HR 2897 IH 

1 rental assistance under section 8 of the United 

2 States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f) 

3 and have not received such housing or assist4 ance; or 

5 (C) have been referred for participation in 

6 the program by a social services program of a 

7 unit of local government; 

8 (2) LIMITATION ON PARTICIPATION.—

9 (A) IN GENERAL.—The program shall 

10 limit participation by any individual to the 

11 longer of—

12 (i) 12 months; or 

13 (ii) such time as the participant has 

14 obtained the necessary skills to obtain em15 ployment in the relevant field. 

16 (B) EXCEPTION.—The program may pro17 vide that a participant may continue or return 

18 to work under the program after completion of 

19 the program pursuant to 12 month limit, but 

20 only—

21 (i) pursuant to an application by such 

22 participant for such continuance or return; 

23 and 

24 (ii) if the program provides the full 

25 amount of such participant’s wages, which 
232

•HR 2897 IH 

1 shall not be less than the wages prevailing 

2 in the locality, as predetermined by the 

3 Secretary of Labor pursuant to subchapter 

4 IV of chapter 13 of title 40, United States 

5 Code. 

6 (d) ADMINISTRATION.—The program shall be jointly 

7 administered by—

8 (1) the Secretary of Labor, through State and 

9 local workforce investment systems (established 

10 under the Workforce Investment Act (29 U.S.C. 

11 2801 et seq.); 

12 (2) a labor organization, or an affiliate thereof; 

13 (3) a public housing agency; and 

14 (4) a non-profit organization. 

15 (e) USE OF GRANT AMOUNT.—

16 (1) ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS.—A unit of 

17 local government will pay 50 percent of the salary of 

18 all program participants who are apprenticing in the 

19 private or public sector for at least 6 months, but 

20 no longer than 1 year, in apprenticeship programs. 

21 (2) ELIGIBLE USES.—Amounts received from a 

22 grant under this section may be used for any costs 

23 involved in carrying out an apprenticeship program, 

24 including the following activities: 

25 (A) Apprenticeship and job training in—
233

•HR 2897 IH 

1 (i) construction of housing and com2 mercial real estate; 

3 (ii) technical trades; 

4 (ii) plumbing; 

5 (iii) automotive; 

6 (iv) painting; 

7 (v) electrical; and 

8 (vi) transportation infrastructure. 

9 (B) Funding for job training and job 

10 placement counselors for homeless shelters, 

11 transitional housing, and permanent supportive 

12 housing facilities for the purposes of placing 

13 homeless individuals in permanent jobs. 

14 (C) Transportation grants to provide bus 

15 tickets, subway fare, or other transportation 

16 vouchers to help to cover the costs of transpor17 tation to and from job interviews, the job site, 

18 and social service visits until the individual is 

19 employed, and is able to cover the costs of such 

20 transportation. Where necessary due to lack of 

21 other means of transportation these grants may 

22 also cover the cost of needed automobile re23 pairs. 

24 (f) APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM ADVISORY BOARD.—
234

•HR 2897 IH 

1 (1) ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENT.—For an entity 

2 to be eligible for selection to receive a grant under 

3 this section, the unit of local government within 

4 which the eligible entity will carry out the appren5 ticeship program shall establish a apprenticeship ad6 visory board to advise and report regarding activities 

7 and progress under apprenticeship programs carried 

8 out within the jurisdiction of such unit. 

9 (2) MEETING AND REPORTS.—Each apprentice10 ship advisory board shall—

11 (A) meet not less than 4 times annually; 

12 and 

13 (B) submit an annual report to the unit of 

14 local government, the applicable entity, and the 

15 Secretary regarding activities and progress 

16 under apprenticeship programs carried out 

17 within jurisdiction of such unit. 

18 (3) MEMBERSHIP.—Each apprenticeship advi19 sory board for a unit of general local government 

20 shall consist of 15 members, who shall include indi21 viduals who are—

22 (1) officials of the unit of general local govern23 ment; 

24 (2) representatives of the faith community;
235

•HR 2897 IH 

1 (3) representatives of private entities engaged 

2 in residential development; 

3 (4) representatives of private entities engaged 

4 in residential construction; 

5 (5) officials or members of labor unions; 

6 (6) representatives of local social services agen7 cies; 

8 (7) homeless individuals; 

9 (8) representatives of organizations involved in 

10 providing affordable housing and assistance for 

11 homeless individuals; and 

12 (9) representatives of academic institutions. 

13 (g) APPLICATIONS AND SELECTION OF GRANTS.—

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible for selection to 

15 receive a grant under this section, an entity shall 

16 submit to the Secretary an application containing—

17 (A) a description of the job training activi18 ties, work opportunities, and other services that 

19 will be provided to participants in the appren20 ticeship program; 

21 (B) a description of the manner in which 

22 eligible participants will be recruited and se23 lected; 

24 (C) a description of how the proposed 

25 project will be coordinated with other Federal, 
236

•HR 2897 IH 

1 State, and local activities, including vocational 

2 and job training programs; 

3 (D) a detailed budget and description of 

4 the system of fiscal controls and auditing and 

5 accounting procedures that will be used; 

6 (E) a description of the membership of ad7 visory board; and 

8 (F) a description of the capacity of the 

9 community to leverage funding from other pri10 vate and public sources. 

11 (2) SELECTION CRITERIA.—The Secretary shall 

12 select applicants to receive grants under this section 

13 based upon a selection criteria which shall include 

14 the following: 

15 (A) POTENTIAL FOR SUCCESS.—The ex16 tent to which the application is likely to suc17 ceed, as indicated by such factors as the past 

18 experience of an applicant with housing reha19 bilitation or construction, education and em20 ployment training programs, management ca21 pacity, fiscal reliability, and community sup22 port. 

23 (B) NEED.—To extent to which the appli24 cant has need for assistance, as determined by 

25 factors such as—
237

•HR 2897 IH 

1 (i) the degree of economic distress of 

2 the community from which participants 

3 would be recruited, including—

4 (I) the extent of poverty; 

5 (II) the extent of unemployment; 

6 and 

7 (ii) the degree of economic distress of 

8 the locality in which the housing would be 

9 rehabilitated or constructed, including—

10 (I) objective measures of the inci11 dence of homelessness; 

12 (II) the relationship between the 

13 supply of affordable housing for low14 income persons and the number of 

15 such persons in the locality; 

16 (III) the extent of housing over17 crowding; and 

18 (IV) the extent of poverty. 

19 (C) OTHER.—Any other criteria the Sec20 retary determines to be reasonably appropriate. 

21 (h) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section, the 

22 following definitions apply: 

23 (1) APPLICANT.—The term ‘‘applicant’’ means 

24 an eligible entity that has submitted an application 
238

•HR 2897 IH 

1 under section 476 that the Secretary determines 

2 complies with the requirements under this section. 

3 (2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti4 ty’’ means—

5 (A) a public housing agency; 

6 (B) a labor union; or 

7 (C) a nonprofit organization that is in8 volved in the development of affordable housing 

9 (3) EXTREMELY LOW-INCOME HOUSEHOLD.—

10 The term ‘‘extremely low-income household’’ means 

11 a household, including an individual or family, that 

12 has an income that does not exceed 30 percent of 

13 the median family income for the area, as deter14 mined by the Secretary with adjustments for smaller 

15 and larger families, except that the Secretary may 

16 establish income ceilings higher or lower than 30 

17 percent of the median for the area on the basis of 

18 the Secretary’s findings that such variations are nec19 essary because of prevailing levels of construction 

20 costs or fair market rents, or unusually high or low 

21 household incomes. 

22 (4) LABOR UNION.—The term ‘‘labor union’’ 

23 has the meaning given the term ‘labor organization’ 

24 in section 2 of the National Labor Relations Act (29 

25 U.S.C. 152). 
239

•HR 2897 IH 

1 (5) LOW-INCOME HOUSEHOLD.—The term 

2 ‘‘low-income household’’ means a household, includ3 ing an individual or family, that has an income that 

4 does not exceed 80 percent of the median family in5 come for the area, as determined by the Secretary 

6 with adjustments for smaller and larger families, ex7 cept that the Secretary may establish income ceilings 

8 higher or lower than 80 percent of the median for 

9 the area on the basis of the Secretary’s findings that 

10 such variations are necessary because of prevailing 

11 levels of construction costs or fair market rents, or 

12 unusually high or low household incomes. 

13 (6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

14 the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. 

15 (i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

16 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry 

17 out this section, $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2004, and 

18 such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 

19 2005 through 2008. 

20 SEC. 707. DAY LABORER FAIRNESS AND PROTECTION. 

21 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

22 (1) According to the General Accounting Office, 

23 contingent workers comprise approximately 30 per24 cent of the workforce and research indicates that the 
240

•HR 2897 IH 

1 size of the day labor workforce may be greater than 

2 nationally available data suggests. 

3 (2) Employers increasingly rely on contingent 

4 workers rather than permanent workers. Employers 

5 benefit from the reduced costs and increased flexi6 bility of utilizing a contingent workforce. This reli7 ance has resulted in a significant decrease in the 

8 number of workers with health insurance coverage, 

9 included in retirement and pension plans, and receiv10 ing other employment benefits such as long-term dis11 ability coverage. Contingent workers have lower fam12 ily incomes than those in full-time permanent em13 ployment. Many contingent workers live below the 

14 Federal poverty line. 

15 (3) The General Accounting Office has found 

16 that the day labor workforce is particularly vulner17 able to workplace abuses. Day laborers are subject 

18 to a wide range of abuses of their civil rights, em19 ployment and labor rights, and health and safety 

20 rights. Although day laborers and contingent work21 ers face higher incidences of workplace abuse, the 

22 General Accounting Office has found current prac23 tices and laws make it difficult to detect violations 

24 affecting contingent workers and day laborers.
241

•HR 2897 IH 

1 (4) Wage and hour abuses are of particular 

2 concern to day laborers. Despite current legal wage 

3 and hour protections afforded to day laborers, such 

4 laborers are subject to pervasive wage and hour vio5 lations committed by day labor employers and tem6 porary labor agencies. The short nature of the em7 ployment relationship, multiple barriers to enforce8 ment resources and the lack of strong protective 

9 wage and hour laws render day laborers particularly 

10 vulnerable to nonpayment of wages. Wage and hour 

11 problems confronting day laborers take many forms 

12 and include: complete nonpayment of wages; pay13 ment of less than the agreed upon rate; payment by 

14 checks with insufficient funds and late payment of 

15 wages. Day labor employers often delay payments of 

16 promised wages until the completion of a job. Upon 

17 completion, day laborers are commonly left with less 

18 than promised or a void check. Lack of access to so19 cial and legal services that could assist them in en20 forcing their workplace rights leave few options for 

21 day laborers seeking to recover unpaid wages. 

22 (5) Occupational injury and fatality rates for 

23 day laborers are disproportionately higher than such 

24 rates for other workers. Desperate for work and 

25 fearing retaliation, day laborers often risk life and 
242

•HR 2897 IH 

1 limb without ever reporting work hazards. Day la2 borers are often assigned to the dangerous tasks 

3 shunned by workers with more options. Employers 

4 often neglect their duties to provide safe employment 

5 that is free from hazards to a day laborers’ health. 

6 Employers regularly fail to provide necessary health 

7 and safety equipment and training to day laborers. 

8 Due to the lack of notice requirements, most day la9 borers have no advance warning about possible expo10 sure to hazardous materials or dangerous tasks. 

11 (6) Day laborers and contingent workers seek12 ing to enforce the employment and labor laws are 

13 frequently subject to intimidating retaliatory acts by 

14 the employer. Absent stronger antiretaliation protec15 tions, day laborers will continue to endure dangerous 

16 and unjust working conditions without recourse. 

17 (7) Day laborers and contingent workers pro18 vide employers with a flexible workforce and con19 tribute significantly to interstate commerce. Despite 

20 these contributions, day laborers are routinely sub21 jected to workplace abuse with little or no recourse. 

22 The growing numbers of day laborers and other con23 tingent workers in the workforce calls for legislative 

24 reforms that expand and protect the rights of day 

25 laborers. 
243

•HR 2897 IH 

1 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to en2 sure that individuals working as day laborers, or tem3 porary workers, are afforded full protection of and access 

4 to employment and labor laws that ensure workplace dig5 nity and to reduce unfair competitive advantage for firms 

6 that abuse day laborers. 

7 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section the following defi8 nitions apply: 

9 (1) DAY LABORER.—The term ‘‘day laborer’’ 

10 means an individual who is engaged in or waiting to 

11 be engaged in day labor. 

12 (2) DAY LABOR.—The term ‘‘day labor’’ means 

13 labor or employment that is occasional or irregular 

14 for which an individual is employed for not longer 

15 than the time period required to complete the as16 signment for which the individual was hired and in 

17 which wage payments are made directly to the day 

18 laborer or indirectly by the day labor service agency 

19 or the third party employer for work undertaken by 

20 a day laborer. Day labor does not include labor or 

21 employment of a professional or clerical nature. 

22 (3) DAY LABOR EMPLOYER.—The term ‘‘day la23 borer employer’’ refers to any person or entity that 

24 directly or indirectly, through an agent, day labor 

25 service agency or any other entity acting in the em-
244

•HR 2897 IH 

1 ployer’s interest, engages, suffers or permits a day 

2 laborer to work or otherwise has the right to exercise 

3 control over the wages, hours or working conditions 

4 of a day laborer. The term includes day labor service 

5 agencies and third party employers as defined in this 

6 section. 

7 (4) DAY LABORER SHAPE-UP SITE.—The term 

8 ‘‘day laborer shape-up site’’ means any public area 

9 or street corner, residential or commercial, where 

10 day laborers assemble to seek employment. 

11 (5) DAY LABORER HIRING SITE.—The term 

12 ‘‘day laborer hiring site’’ refers to any program 

13 sponsored by a public entity or nonprofit organiza14 tion that provides a space for day laborers to assem15 ble for work and participate in skills development 

16 workshops and classes. For the purposes of this sec17 tion, day laborer hiring sites are not day labor em18 ployers. 

19 (6) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘Department’’ 

20 means the Department of Labor. 

21 (7) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

22 the Secretary of Labor. 

23 (8) REGULAR RATE OF PAY.—The term ‘‘reg24 ular rate of pay’’ means an hourly wage rate agreed 

25 to by the day labor employer and day laborer. If a 
245

•HR 2897 IH 

1 daily rate is negotiated, the regular rate of pay shall 

2 be calculated by dividing the total remuneration 

3 agreed upon for 1 week by 40. On jobs that require 

4 prevailing wage rates, the regular rate of pay shall 

5 be the prevailing wage or wage agreed to by the day 

6 laborer employer and day laborer, whichever is high7 er. In no circumstances shall the regular rate of pay 

8 be less than that required by law. 

9 (9) DAY LABOR SERVICE AGENCY.—The term 

10 ‘‘day labor service agency’’ means any person or en11 tity that recruits, dispatches, or otherwise facilitates 

12 the employment of day laborers by a third party em13 ployer. A day labor service agency is a day labor em14 ployer and shares all legal obligations placed on a 

15 day labor employer by this section. A not-for-profit 

16 organization is not a day labor service agency. 

17 (10) WORKDAY AND DAY.—The terms ‘‘work18 day’’ and ‘‘day’’ mean any consecutive 24 hours pe19 riod beginning at the same time each calendar day. 

20 (11) THIRD PARTY EMPLOYER.—The term 

21 ‘‘third party employer’’ refers to a person or entity 

22 that suffers or permits a day laborer to work by con23 tracting with a day labor service agency. Third party 

24 employers are day labor employers and share all 

25 legal obligations placed on day labor employers. 
246

•HR 2897 IH 

1 (d) SUSTAINABLE WAGES.—

2 (1) SUSTAINABLE WAGE.—A day laborer shall 

3 be paid not less than the equivalent of the prevailing 

4 wage rate paid to permanent employees who are per5 forming substantially equivalent work, with due con6 sideration given to seniority, experience, and skills. 

7 (2) NOTICE OF WAGE RATE.—Day labor em8 ployers shall provide notice of the wage rate ex9 pected to be paid to each day laborer. A day labor 

10 service agency shall provide notice of the wage rate 

11 expected to be paid by each third party employer 

12 using the services of the agency. A day laborer shall 

13 be paid by a third party employer not less than the 

14 wage rate stated in the notice of the agency for all 

15 work performed for the third party employer, includ16 ing work contained in the description issued under 

17 subsection (g). 

18 (3) WAGE REDUCTION.—Day labor employers 

19 are prohibited from reducing the wage rate of any 

20 permanent full time employee in order to comply 

21 with paragraph (1) or (2). 

22 (4) OVERTIME.—A day laborer shall be com23 pensated at a rate of 1 and one-half times the reg24 ular rate of pay for each hour worked beyond 8 

25 hours up to and including 12 hours in a workday,
247

•HR 2897 IH 

1 and for the first 8 hours worked on the seventh con2 secutive day of work in a work week. 

3 (5) DAILY OVERTIME.—Day laborers are enti4 tled to double the regular rate of pay for all hours 

5 worked in excess of 12 hours in any workday and for 

6 all hours worked in excess of 8 hours on the seventh 

7 consecutive day of work in a work week. 

8 (6) MINIMUM DAILY RATE.—A day laborer per9 forming day labor shall be compensated for not less 

10 than 4 hours of work for each day worked. 

11 (7) CALL IN PAY.—If the day labor employer 

12 fails to appear after requesting a day laborer’s serv13 ices at a designated time and location, the day la14 borer shall be compensated for not less than 4 hours 

15 at the regular rate of pay. 

16 (8) WAIT TIME.—If a day laborer arrives for 

17 employment at the request of a day labor employer, 

18 time spent waiting for the employer is wait time 

19 compensable at the regular rate of pay. 

20 (9) REDUCTION OF SALARY.—If a day labor 

21 employer has offered and a day laborer has accepted 

22 a wage rate, the day labor employer cannot reduce 

23 that negotiated salary during that day of employ24 ment. 
248

•HR 2897 IH 

1 (10) TRAVEL TIME.—Day laborers are to be 

2 compensated for travel time if such activity is an in3 tegral and indispensable part of the principal activi4 ties that the workers are employed to perform. For 

5 the purposes of this section, time spent traveling 

6 from a day labor shape-up site, day labor hiring site, 

7 or day labor service agency to the worksite shall be 

8 compensable at the regular rate of pay. 

9 (11) AGENCY PROCESSING DELAY.—

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—If a day labor service 

11 agency expends more than 30 minutes in proc12 essing a day laborer’s work assignment, the day 

13 labor service agency shall pay the day laborer 

14 for any additional waiting time at the regular 

15 rate of pay. 

16 (B) LIMITATION.—The time spent in tran17 sit to or from the designated worksite or to or 

18 from the day labor service agency shall not be 

19 included in computing processing time. 

20 (e) OTHER RIGHTS OF DAY LABORERS.—

21 (1) PUBLIC ACCESS AREA.—Each day labor 

22 service agency shall provide adequate seating in the 

23 public access area of the offices of the agency. Em24 ployment and wage notices required by this section 

25 shall be posted in the public access area. The public 
249

•HR 2897 IH 

1 access area shall allow for access to restrooms and 

2 water. 

3 (2) WORK RESTRICTION.—No day labor service 

4 agency shall restrict the right of a day laborer to ac5 cept a permanent position with a third party em6 ployer to whom the day laborer has been referred for 

7 temporary work or restrict the right of such third 

8 party employer to offer such employment to a day 

9 laborer. This paragraph shall be understood to out10 law the charging of fines or additional amounts for 

11 making or accepting an offer of employment. 

12 (3) BREAKS AND MEALS.—For each 4-hour pe13 riod of uninterrupted day labor, a 15-minute com14 pensated break shall be provided. For periods of un15 interrupted day labor lasting longer than 6 hours, a 

16 30-minute compensated lunch period shall be pro17 vided. 

18 (4) DISCLOSURE OF EMPLOYER INFORMA19 TION.—At the time of hire, a day labor employer 

20 must provide a day laborer with the day labor em21 ployers’ phone number and business address. 

22 (5) TRANSPORTATION BACK TO POINT OF

23 HIRE.—Unless the day laborer requests otherwise, 

24 the day labor employer shall provide transportation 
250

•HR 2897 IH 

1 back to the point of hire at the end of each work 

2 day. 

3 (6) TRANSPORTATION FEES.—Day labor service 

4 agencies, third party employers and day laborer em5 ployers shall not charge a day laborer for the costs 

6 of transportation to and from the premises of the 

7 day labor agency, day laborer shape-up site, or day 

8 laborer hiring site to the worksite. 

9 (7) PAYMENTS.—

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—At the time of the pay11 ment of wages, a day labor service agency shall 

12 provide each day laborer with an itemized state13 ment showing in detail each deduction made 

14 from the wages. 

15 (B) ANNUAL STATEMENT.—A day labor 

16 service agency shall provide each worker an an17 nual earnings summary within a reasonable 

18 time after the preceding calendar year, but in 

19 no case later than February 1. A day labor 

20 service agency shall, at the time of each wage 

21 payment, give notice to day laborers of the 

22 availability of the annual earnings summary or 

23 post such a notice in a conspicuous place in the 

24 public reception area. 
251

•HR 2897 IH 

1 (C) PAYMENT SCHEDULES.— At the re2 quest of a day laborer, a day labor service agen3 cy or day labor employer shall hold the daily 

4 wages of the day laborer and make either week5 ly or semimonthly payments. The wages shall 

6 be paid in a single check representing the wages 

7 earned during the period for which wage pay8 ments are to be made, as designated by the day 

9 laborer. A day labor service agency or day labor 

10 employer that makes daily wage payments shall 

11 provide written notification to all day laborers 

12 of the right to request weekly or semimonthly 

13 checks. The day laborer service agency may 

14 provide such notice by conspicuously posting 

15 the notice at the location where the wages are 

16 received by the day laborers. 

17 (D) DAILY WAGES.—If day labor employ18 ment lasts less than 1 week wages shall be paid 

19 at the end of each workday. 

20 (E) CHECK CASHING.—A day labor service 

21 agency, day labor employer, or third party em22 ployer may not directly or indirectly charge any 

23 day laborer for cashing a check issued by the 

24 day labor service agency, day labor employer, or 

25 third party employer for wages earned by a day 
252

•HR 2897 IH 

1 laborer who performed work through that day 

2 labor service agency, day labor employer or 

3 third party employer. 

4 (F) OVERPAYMENT.—A day laborer shall 

5 not be charged fees for overpayment by the day 

6 labor agency. 

7 (G) NEGOTIABLE TENDER.—All noncash 

8 wage payments shall be in the form of imme9 diately negotiable tender payable in cash, on de10 mand at a financial institution, and without dis11 count. 

12 (H) PAYMENT BY CHECK.—If a day labor 

13 service agency or day labor employer pays by 

14 check, that check shall be immediately redeem15 able. 

16 (I) PAYMENT ON TERMINATION.—All 

17 wages must be paid within 72 hours of termi18 nation. 

19 (J) PLACE OF PAYMENT ON TERMI20 NATION.—Upon termination, a day laborer may 

21 choose to be paid either at the worksite, the day 

22 labor site, or the day labor service agency. A 

23 day laborer may also request that the check be 

24 sent by first class mail. Unless the day laborer
253

•HR 2897 IH 

1 requests otherwise, a day labor employer shall 

2 pay a discharged day laborer at the worksite. 

3 (8) OTHER RIGHTS GUARANTEED BY LAW.—

4 Day laborers shall be afforded all other rights guar5 anteed workers under the law. 

6 (9) SPECIFIC RIGHTS.—Day laborers shall be 

7 free of any restriction on their ability to solicit day 

8 labor or to express their availability for lawful day 

9 labor employment in any public area unless such re10 striction is applied to all speech or expression of any 

11 content, including political, artistic, religious, or 

12 commercial speech and to speech regardless of 

13 whether the speaker is physically present or speaks 

14 through unattended signs or banners—

15 (a) this right shall be enforceable by day 

16 laborers through a private action under section 

17 1979 of the Revised Statutes (17 Stat. 13; 42 

18 U.S.C. 1983); and 

19 (b) any local or State ordinance or law 

20 that violates this provision shall be enjoined as 

21 invalid. 

22 (f) HEALTH AND SAFETY.—

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Every day labor service 

24 agency and day labor employer shall furnish employ25 ment and a place of employment that is safe and 
254

•HR 2897 IH 

1 healthful for day laborers. Such employment shall be 

2 free of recognized hazards that are likely to cause 

3 death or serious physical harm to day laborers. 

4 (2) LIFE, SAFETY, AND HEALTH REQUIRE5 MENTS.—No day labor service agency or day laborer 

6 employer shall fail or neglect to do any of the fol7 lowing: 

8 (A) To provide and use safety devices and 

9 safeguards reasonably adequate to render the 

10 employment and place of employment safe at no 

11 cost to the day laborer. 

12 (B) To adopt and use methods and proc13 esses reasonably adequate to render the employ14 ment and place of employment safe. 

15 (C) To do every other thing reasonably 

16 necessary to protect the life, safety, and health 

17 of day laborers. 

18 (3) CITATIONS FOR FAILURE TO COMPLY.—On 

19 multi-employer worksites, both construction and 

20 nonconstruction, citations may be issued to the fol21 lowing categories of employers when the Occupa22 tional Safety and Health Administration, referred to 

23 in this section as ‘‘OSHA’’, has evidence that a day 

24 laborer was exposed to a hazard in violation of any 

25 requirement enforceable by OSHA: 
255

•HR 2897 IH 

1 (A) The employer whose day laborers were 

2 exposed to the hazard (the exposing employer). 

3 (B) The employer who actually created the 

4 hazard (the creating employer). 

5 (C) The employer who was responsible, by 

6 contract or through actual practice, for safety 

7 and health conditions on the worksite, which is 

8 the employer who had the authority for ensur9 ing that the hazardous condition is corrected 

10 (the controlling employer). 

11 (D) The employer who had the responsi12 bility for actually correcting the hazard (the 

13 correcting employer). 

14 The employers listed in subparagraphs (B) through 

15 (D), inclusive, of this paragraph may be cited re16 gardless of whether their own day laborers were ex17 posed to a hazard. 

18 (4) APPLICATION OF FEDERAL LAW.—

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—Employers and day la20 borers as defined by this section shall be cov21 ered under the Occupational Health and Safety 

22 Act (OSHA). In addition to coverage under 

23 OSHA, employers and day laborers shall adhere 

24 to the following requirements: 
256

•HR 2897 IH 

1 (B) HEALTH CARE EXPENSES.—If a day 

2 laborer is injured while working, the day labor 

3 employer shall be responsible to pay for the 

4 health care costs associated with the injury and 

5 all compensable damages flowing from that in6 jury unless coverage for the accident is avail7 able under the applicable State worker’s com8 pensation law. The statute of limitations shall 

9 be otherwise tolled during the period in which 

10 the day laborer seeks coverage under the appli11 cable State workers’ compensation law. 

12 (C) HEALTH AND SAFETY EQUIPMENT.—

13 The day labor service agency or day laborer em14 ployer shall provide at no cost to each day la15 borer any special attire, accessories, tools, safe16 ty equipment or other items required by law or 

17 custom to perform the work assignment. 

18 (D) WORKERS’ COMPENSATION.—All day 

19 labor service agencies and day laborer employ20 ers are required to provide workers’ compensa21 tion benefits to their day labor day laborers, re22 gardless of immigration status, for injuries aris23 ing out of and in the course of employment. 

24 (E) NOTIFICATION OF WORKERS’ COM25 PENSATION BENEFITS.—Day labor service 
257

•HR 2897 IH 

1 agencies and day laborer employers shall pro2 vide all day laborers written notice on the first 

3 day of employment that contains a statement of 

4 the day laborer’s right to workers’ compensa5 tion benefits and the day labor service agency 

6 and day laborer employer’s workers’ compensa7 tion insurance carrier name and number. This 

8 notice shall be provided in English and any 

9 other language that is generally used by the 

10 workforce serviced by the day labor service 

11 agency or employed by the employer. 

12 (F) NOTIFICATION, CONSENT, AND DIS13 CLOSURE.—

14 (i) IN GENERAL.—The day labor serv15 ice agency or any employer or agent of the 

16 employer must disclose the risk of exposure 

17 to hazardous chemicals or any other unsafe 

18 materials or working condition that require 

19 the use of safety and protective equipment. 

20 (ii) WRITTEN CONSENT.—Day labor 

21 service agencies and day laborer employers 

22 are required to obtain the informed written 

23 consent of any day laborer who will be ex24 posed to hazardous materials. Written con25 sent shall include: a description of the haz-
258

•HR 2897 IH 

1 ardous materials the day laborer will be ex2 posed to, the possible health and safety 

3 consequences of exposure to the hazardous 

4 materials and any specialized certification 

5 or training required to safely handle the 

6 hazardous materials. 

7 (iii) NO RETALIATION.—A day labor 

8 service agency or day laborer employer 

9 shall not take any retaliatory action 

10 against a day laborer who refuses to per11 form hazardous work due to health or safe12 ty concerns. 

13 (G) TRANSPORTATION LIABILITY.—A day 

14 labor service agency, day labor employer or any 

15 other employer or agent of the employer that 

16 transports a day laborer to or from a des17 ignated worksite is liable for any injury to a 

18 day laborer arising from any accident that oc19 curs while the day laborer is being transported 

20 to or from the worksite. 

21 (H) MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY.—

22 (i) IN GENERAL.—Any motor vehicle 

23 that is owned oroperated by the day labor 

24 service agency or any other employer, or a
259

•HR 2897 IH 

1 contractor of either, which is used for the 

2 transportation of day laborers shall—

3 (I) have proof of financial re4 sponsibility as provided for in applica5 ble State insurance laws of the area; 

6 (II) be equipped with seats se7 curely fastened to the vehicle; 

8 (III) be equipped, if a 

9 motortruck, with a railing or other 

10 suitable enclosure on the sides and 

11 end of the vehicle not less than 46 

12 inches above the floor of the vehicle; 

13 and 

14 (IV) equipped with steps, stir15 rups, or other equivalent devices so 

16 placed and arranged that the vehicle 

17 may be safely mounted and dis18 mounted. 

19 (ii) UNSAFE VEHICLE.—A day labor 

20 service agency or day labor employer who 

21 knows or should know that a motor vehicle 

22 used primarily or regularly for the trans23 portation of day laborers is unsafe, or not 

24 equipped as required by this section, or 

25 any regulations adopted pursuant to this 
260

•HR 2897 IH 

1 section, shall not use the motor vehicle for 

2 transporting day laborers. 

3 (iii) INSPECTION.—The Secretary or 

4 an appointed designee shall inspect motor 

5 vehicles used primarily or regularly for the 

6 transport of day laborers at least once an7 nually to determine whether its construc8 tion, design, and equipment comply with 

9 all provisions of Federal and State law. No 

10 person shall drive any motor vehicle used 

11 primarily or regularly for the transport of 

12 day laborers without displaying a certifi13 cate issued from the Secretary or an ap14 pointed designee confirming timely inspec15 tion and compliance with all laws and reg16 ulations relating to construction, design, 

17 and equipment. 

18 (iv) RENTER REQUIREMENTS.—An 

19 owner or person who rents any motor vehi20 cle used primarily or regularly for the 

21 transport of day laborers is responsible for 

22 compliance with the motor vehicle require23 ments of this section. 

24 (g) NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS.—

25 (1) IN GENERAL.—
261

•HR 2897 IH 

1 (A) NOTICE.—A day labor service agency 

2 shall, in the public reception area, post a list of 

3 all employers that are seeking day laborers 

4 which includes the following: 

5 (i) The name and address of the em6 ployer and the address of the worksite if 

7 different from that of the employer. 

8 (ii) The type of job opportunities for 

9 day laborers. 

10 (iii) The amount of wages to be paid 

11 per hour for the work. 

12 (iv) If transportation is available, 

13 whether the worksite is accessible by public 

14 or personal transportation, and the approx15 imate commute time to the worksite. 

16 (B) DESCRIPTION.—A day labor service 

17 agency shall, for each job opportunity posted, 

18 provide a detailed description of the work which 

19 shall include the following: 

20 (i) A detailed description of the work 

21 to be performed by the day laborer, includ22 ing any requirements for special attire, ac23 cessories, or safety equipment. 

24 (ii) The exact address of the worksite 

25 and a telephone number at which a day la-
262

•HR 2897 IH 

1 borer can be reached for emergency pur2 poses. If the location is in a rural area, the 

3 notice must also contain directions to the 

4 worksite. 

5 (iii) The time of day the work will 

6 begin, the time of day the work will end, 

7 and the overtime rate of pay. 

8 (iv) Whether a meal is provided, ei9 ther by the day labor service agency, day 

10 labor employer, or the third party em11 ployer, and the cost of the meal, if any. 

12 (v) A phone number and business ad13 dress for the third party employer request14 ing the day laborer though the day labor 

15 service agency. 

16 (2) POSTING.—The notices required to be post17 ed under this subsection shall be written in English 

18 and any other language that is generally used in the 

19 locale of the day labor service agency. 

20 (3) OFFER AND ACCEPTANCE.—Upon offer and 

21 acceptance of a job, the information referred to in 

22 this subsection shall be provided to each day laborer 

23 in writing in English and any other language that 

24 is generally used in the locale of the day labor serv-
263

•HR 2897 IH 

1 ice agency, day labor site, or by the day laborer or 

2 at the time of acceptance. 

3 (h) DEDUCTIONS.—

4 (1) MEALS.—A day labor service agency or any 

5 other employer shall not charge a day laborer more 

6 than the actual cost of providing a meal. In no case 

7 shall a deduction for a meal be permitted against 

8 the wage requirements of this section if—

9 (A) the day laborer does not consume the 

10 meal; 

11 (B) the day laborer has no realistic oppor12 tunity to obtain meals by other means due to 

13 the location of the job site and the time per14 mitted for the meal; or 

15 (C) the purchase of a meal is a condition 

16 of employment. 

17 (2) TRANSPORTATION.—A day labor service 

18 agency or any other employer shall not charge to 

19 transport a day laborer to or from the designated 

20 worksite. 

21 (3) SAFETY AND PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT.—

22 (A) GENERAL RULE.—The day labor serv23 ice agency or day laborer employer shall provide 

24 at no cost to each day laborer any special at25 tire, accessories, tools, safety equipment, or 
264

•HR 2897 IH 

1 other items required by law or custom to per2 form the work assignment. For any other 

3 equipment, clothing, accessories, or any other 

4 items the day labor service agency or day la5 borer employer makes available for purchase, 

6 the day laborer shall not be charged more than 

7 the actual market value for the item. 

8 (B) EXCEPTION.—A day labor service 

9 agency or day laborer employer is not precluded 

10 from charging the day laborer the market value 

11 of items temporarily provided to the day la12 borer, in the event that the day laborer willfully 

13 fails to return such items. 

14 (4) HOUSING.—

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—An employer shall com16 ply with applicable State requirements and Fed17 eral law requirements when crediting lodging 

18 towards an employer’s wage obligation under 

19 this section only if—

20 (i) lodging is received and used; 

21 (ii) lodging is furnished as part of the 

22 day laborer’s compensation; and 

23 (iii) the day laborer enters a voluntary 

24 written agreement to credit lodging toward 

25 the employer’s wage obligation.
265

•HR 2897 IH 

1 (B) LODGING REQUIREMENTS.—The 

2 amount credited for lodging shall not exceed an 

3 amount that would result in the day laborer 

4 earning less than the wage required by this sec5 tion. In order for lodging to be creditable to6 wards the wage obligation, it shall be available 

7 to the day laborer for full-time occupancy and 

8 be adequate, decent, and sanitary according to 

9 usual and customary standards. 

10 (i) RETALIATION.—

11 (1) PROHIBITION.—Any employer, or any agent 

12 of an employer, who knowingly retaliates through 

13 discharge or in any other manner against any day 

14 laborer shall be fined under title 18, United States 

15 Code or subject to a private cause of action. 

16 (2) PROTECTED ACTS FROM RETALIATION IN17 CLUDE.—The Secretary shall ensure that a day la18 borer is protected from retaliation for— 

19 (A) making a complaint to the day labor20 er’s employer, or a State agency, or federal 

21 agency, or community organization that rights 

22 guaranteed a day laborer under this section 

23 have been violated; 

24 (B) making a complaint to an employer, a 

25 coworker, or before a public hearing or the 
266

•HR 2897 IH 

1 press that rights guaranteed a day laborer 

2 under this section have been violated; 

3 (C) causing to be instituted any proceeding 

4 under or related to this section, or; 

5 (D) testifying or preparing to testify in an 

6 investigation or proceeding under this section. 

7 (j) DAY LABOR SERVICE AGENCY AND DAY LABOR

8 EMPLOYER REGISTRATION.—

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—A day labor service agency 

10 and day labor employer shall register with the Sec11 retary in accordance with rules adopted by the Sec12 retary for day labor service agencies and with State 

13 departments of labor which require such registra14 tion. 

15 (2) FEES.—The Secretary may assess each day 

16 labor agency and day labor employer a registration 

17 fee not to exceed $250. 

18 (k) DEPARTMENT REQUIREMENTS AND RESPON19 SIBILITIES.—

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—the Secretary shall adopt 

21 rules and regulations necessary to implement the 

22 provisions of this section, including provisions for 

23 hearings and imposition of penalties for violations of 

24 this section. 
267

•HR 2897 IH 

1 (2) POSTING REQUIREMENT.—The Secretary 

2 shall cause to be posted in each day labor service 

3 agency a notice in English and any other language 

4 generally spoken in the locale of the day labor serv5 ice agency which informs the public of a toll-free 

6 telephone number for day laborers and the public to 

7 file wage dispute complaints and other alleged viola8 tions by day labor service agencies and other day 

9 labor employers. 

10 (3) FINES.—The Secretary shall have the au11 thority to fine a day labor service agency or day 

12 labor employer that fails to register with the Depart13 ment of Labor in accordance with this section 

14 $1,000 for the first offense and $5,000 for each sub15 sequent offense. 

16 (4) SUSPENSIONS AND REVOCATIONS.—The 

17 Secretary shall have the authority to suspend or re18 voke the registration of a day labor service agency 

19 or day labor employer if warranted by public health 

20 and safety concerns or violations of this section. 

21 (5) INVESTIGATIONS.—The Secretary shall 

22 promptly investigate complaints concerning alleged 

23 violations of this section. 

24 (l) CRIMINAL SANCTIONS.—

25 (1) CRIMINAL PROVISION.—
268

•HR 2897 IH 

1 (A) IN GENERAL.—Any employer or any 

2 agent of an employer, who, willfully and know3 ingly violates this section, shall be fined under 

4 title 18, United States Code. 

5 (B) CONTINUED VIOLATION.—Each day 

6 during which any violation of this section con7 tinues shall constitute a separate and distinct 

8 offense. 

9 (m) JUDICIAL ENFORCEMENT.—

10 (1) INJUNCTIVE RELIEF.—The Secretary may 

11 petition any appropriate district court of the United 

12 States for temporary or permanent injunctive relief 

13 if the Secretary determines that this section, or any 

14 regulation under this section, has been violated. 

15 (2) CONTROL OF CIVIL LITIGATION.—The Solic16 itor of Labor may appear for and represent the Sec17 retary in any civil litigation brought under this sec18 tion, but all such litigation shall be subject to the di19 rection and control of the Attorney General. 

20 (n) ADMINISTRATIVE SANCTIONS.—

21 (1) CIVIL MONEY PENALTIES FOR VIOLA22 TIONS.—Any person who commits a violation of this 

23 section or any regulation under this section shall be 

24 assessed a penalty of $1000 for each violation. 
269

•HR 2897 IH 

1 (2) COLLECTION OF AMOUNTS ON BEHALF OF

2 INJURED DAY LABORERS.—

3 (A) If an employer willfully violates sub4 section (d) or (h) of this section, the Secretary 

5 shall collect, on behalf of each injured day la6 borer, the amount of wages not paid in violation 

7 of the section and an equal amount for each 

8 day for which the wages are not paid. 

9 (B) An employer that willfully violates sub10 section (e), (f), or (g) of this section shall be as11 sessed by the Secretary an amount up to $500 

12 per violation of each subsection, which the Sec13 retary shall collect on behalf of each injured day 

14 laborer. 

15 (o) PRIVATE CAUSE OF ACTION.—

16 (1) MAINTENANCE OF CIVIL ACTION IN DIS17 TRICT COURT BY AGGRIEVED PERSON.—Any person 

18 aggrieved by a violation of this section or any regu19 lation under this section by an employer may file 

20 suit in any district court of the United States or 

21 State court of competent jurisdiction without regard 

22 to the citizenship of the parties and without regard 

23 to exhaustion of any alternative administrative rem24 edies provided herein. Actions may be brought by 

25 one or more day laborers for and on behalf of him-
270

•HR 2897 IH 

1 self or themselves and other day laborers similarly 

2 situated. 

3 (2) AWARD OF DAMAGES OR OTHER EQUITABLE

4 RELIEF.—Any day laborer whose rights have been 

5 violated under this section by his or her employer 

6 shall be entitled to collect—

7 (A) in the case of a violation under sub8 section (d) or (h) of this section, the amount of 

9 any wages, salary, employment benefits, or 

10 other compensation denied or lost to such day 

11 laborer by reason of the violation, plus an equal 

12 amount for each day for which wages are not 

13 paid; 

14 (B) in the case of a violation under sub15 section (e), (f), or (g) of this section, compen16 satory damages and an amount up to $500 for 

17 the violation of each subpart of each subsection; 

18 (C) in the case of a violation under sub19 section (i) of this section, all legal or equitable 

20 relief as may be appropriate to effectuate the 

21 purposes of subsection (i); 

22 (D) attorney’s fees and costs; or 

23 (E) punitive damages in a case in which 

24 any employer, or agent of an employer, threat25 ens to call the Immigration and Naturalization
271

•HR 2897 IH 

1 Service or the police in retaliation for protected 

2 acts described in subsection (i) of this section. 

3 (3) STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.—The right of 

4 an aggrieved person to bring a cause of action under 

5 this subsection terminates upon the passing of 3 

6 years from the final date of employment by the em7 ployer. This limitations period is tolled if a day labor 

8 employer has deterred a day laborer’s exercise of 

9 rights under this section by contacting or threat10 ening to contact the Immigration and Naturalization 

11 Service or other law enforcement agencies. 

12 (4) WAIVER THROUGH CONTRACT.—Any agree13 ment between a day laborer and a day labor em14 ployer to waive rights and responsibilities under this 

15 section are void and unenforceable as violative of 

16 public policy. 

17 (5) EVIDENTIARY BURDEN.—If an employer 

18 has not met the notifications requirements under 

19 this section or required recordkeeping pursuant to 

20 title II of the Labor-Management Reporting and 

21 Disclosure Act of 1959 (29 U.S.C. 201 et seq.), 

22 there is a presumption that any reasonable factual 

23 presentation by the day laborer is accurate. The em24 ployer is then required to disprove the day laborer’s 

25 representation by clear and convincing evidence. 
272

•HR 2897 IH 

1 (p) PREVENTION OF DISCRIMINATION DURING AND

2 AT THE CONCLUSION OF LABOR DISPUTES.—Section 8(a) 

3 of the National Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 158(a)) 

4 is amended—

5 (1) by striking the period at the end of para6 graph (5) and inserting ‘; or’; and 

7 (2) by adding at the end thereof the following 

8 new paragraph: 

9 ‘‘(6)(A) to offer, or to grant, the status of a 

10 permanent replacement day laborer to an individual 

11 for performing bargaining unit work for the em12 ployer during a labor dispute, or 

13 ‘‘(B) to otherwise offer, or grant, an individual 

14 any employment preference based on the fact that 

15 such individual was employed, or indicated a willing16 ness to be employed, during a labor dispute over an 

17 individual who—

18 ‘‘(i) was an day laborer of the employer at 

19 the commencement of the dispute; 

20 ‘‘(ii) has exercised the right to join, to as21 sist, or to engage in other concerted activities 

22 for the purpose of collective bargaining or other 

23 mutual aid or protection through the labor or24 ganization involved in the dispute; and 
273

•HR 2897 IH 

1 ‘‘(iii) is working for, or has unconditionally 

2 offered to return to work for, the employer.’’. 

3 (q) LABOR DISPUTES.—No day labor service agency 

4 may send any day laborer to a workplace where a strike, 

5 lockout, or other labor trouble exists. 

6 (r) COMPLIANCE WITH STATE AND LOCAL LAWS.—

7 This section is intended to supplement State and local 

8 laws, and compliance with this section shall not excuse any 

9 person from compliance with appropriate State and local 

10 laws. 

11 SEC. 708. SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION OUTREACH 

12 TO HOMELESS PERSONS. 

13 (a) OUTREACH AND APPLICATION ASSISTANCE TO

14 HOMELESS APPLICANTS FOR BENEFITS AND BENE15 FICIARIES UNDER TITLE II AND TITLE XVI OF THE SO16 CIAL SECURITY ACT.—Part A of title XI of the Social Se17 curity Act is amended by adding after section 1150 the 

18 following new section: 

19 ‘‘OUTREACH AND APPLICATION ASSISTANCE TO HOME20 LESS APPLICANTS FOR BENEFITS AND BENE21 FICIARIES UNDER TITLE II AND TITLE XVI

22 ‘‘SEC. 1150A. (a) OUTREACH.—The Commissioner of 

23 Social Security shall conduct outreach efforts to—

24 ‘‘(1) locate and identify homeless individuals 

25 who may be eligible for benefits under title II or 

26 XVI, 
274

•HR 2897 IH 

1 ‘‘(2) make readily available to such individuals 

2 information regarding the availability of such bene3 fits, and 

4 ‘‘(3) offer assistance to such individuals in fil5 ing applications for such benefits. 

6 ‘‘(b) MODIFICATION OF APPLICATION PROCEDURES

7 TO ACCOMMODATE OUTREACH.—The Commissioner shall 

8 include on application forms made available for use in ap9 plying for benefits under titles II and XVI, in the proce10 dures for filing such applications, and in the procedures 

11 for determining continuing eligibility for or entitlement to 

12 such benefits, mechanisms for collecting data determined 

13 useful in furthering the efforts required to be undertaken 

14 under subsection (a). 

15 ‘‘(c) EXPEDITED PROCESSING OF APPLICATIONS.—

16 In furtherance of the efforts required to be undertaken 

17 under subsection (a), the Commissioner shall ensure that 

18 diligent efforts are maintained to expedite the processing 

19 of applications for benefits under titles II and XVI. 

20 ‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To 

21 carry out the provisions of this section, there are author22 ized to be appropriated to the Social Security Administra23 tion, from amounts otherwise available in the general fund 

24 of the Treasury—

25 ‘‘(1) $20,000,000 for fiscal year 2004, and 
275

•HR 2897 IH 

1 ‘‘(2) such sums as are necessary for each of fis2 cal years 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008.’’. 

3 (b) REPEAL OF LIMITATION ON RECEIPT OF SSI.—

4 Section 1611(e)(1)(D) of the Social Security Act (42 

5 U.S.C. 1382(e)(1)(D)) is amended by striking the semi6 colon and all that follows and inserting a period. 

7 (c) MEMBERSHIP ON INTERAGENCY COUNCIL ON

8 THE HOMELESS.—Section 2022(a) of the McKinney9 Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11312(a)) is 

10 amended—

11 (1) by redesignating paragraph (16) as para12 graph (17); and 

13 (2) by inserting after paragraph (15) the fol14 lowing new paragraph: 

15 ‘‘(16) The Commissioner of Social Security, or 

16 the designee of the Commissioner.’’. 

17 (d) INCREASE IN SSI ASSET LIMITS.—

18 (1) ELIGIBLE COUPLES.—Section 

19 1611(a)(3)(A) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

20 1382(a)(3)(A)) is amended by inserting ‘‘, and to 

21 $4,500 on January 1, 2004, and shall be increased 

22 by $150 on January 1 of each succeeding year’’ be23 fore the period. 

24 (2) ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUALS.—Section 

25 1611(a)(3)(B) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
276

•HR 2897 IH 

1 1382(a)(3)(B)) is amended by inserting ‘‘, and to 

2 $3,000 on January 1, 2004, and shall be increased 

3 by $100 on January 1 of each succeeding year’’ be4 fore the period. 

5 (e) PRESUMPTIVE ELIGIBILITY FOR SSI FOR PEO6 PLE EXPERIENCING, OR AT RISK OF, HOMELESSNESS.—

7 Section 1614(a)(3) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

8 1382c(a)(3)) is amended by adding at the end the fol9 lowing: 

10 ‘‘(K) The Secretary shall presume that a claimant for 

11 benefits under this title on the basis of disability is dis12 abled if the claimant submits to the Secretary—

13 ‘‘(i) a statement, signed by a physician, which 

14 attests that the claimant is disabled and describes 

15 the nature of the disability; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) evidence verifying that the claimant is 

17 homeless (as defined in section 103 of the McKin18 ney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act) or at risk of 

19 imminent homelessness.’’.

Æ