I

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 4254

To amend the United States Housing Act of 1937 to provide for the termination of tenancy of persons residing in public housing or housing assisted under section 8 of such Act who engage in firearm-related criminal

activity, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

APRIL 19, 1994

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

Committee on Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs

A BILL

To amend the United States Housing Act of 1937 to provide

for the termination of tenancy of persons residing in

public housing or housing assisted under section 8 of

such Act who engage in firearm-related criminal activity,

and for other purposes.

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Public and Federally

5 Assisted Housing Security Act of 1994’’.
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1 SEC. 2. DEFINITION OF ‘‘FIREARM-RELATED CRIMINAL AC2 TIVITY’’.

3 Section 3(b) of the United States Housing Act of

4 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437a(b)) is amended by adding at the

5 end the following new paragraphs:

6 ‘‘(13) The term ‘firearm-related criminal activity’

7 means any activity—

8 ‘‘(A) that violates any Federal criminal law re9 lating to manufacture, sale, transfer, use, or posses10 sion of a firearm;

11 ‘‘(B) that violates any State law under which

12 the manufacture, sale, transfer, use, or possession of

13 an article that is a firearm is punishable as a crimi14 nal offense; or

15 ‘‘(C)(i) that violates any Federal or State crimi16 nal law, and (ii) in which a firearm is used or in17 tended to be used.

18 ‘‘(14) The term ‘firearm’ has the meaning given the

19 term in section 921 of title 18, United States Code.’’.

20 SEC. 3. TERMINATION OF TENANCY IN PUBLIC HOUSING

21 FOR FIREARM-RELATED CRIMINAL ACTIVITY.

22 Section 6 of the United States Housing Act of 1937

23 (42 U.S.C. 1437d) is amended—

24 (1) in subsection (c)(4)(A)—

25 (A) in clause (iii), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the

26 end;
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1 (B) by redesignating clause (iv) as clause

2 (v); and

3 (C) by inserting after clause (iii) the fol4 lowing new clause:

5 ‘‘(iv) prohibit any individual or family

6 evicted from housing assisted under this

7 Act by reason of firearm-related criminal

8 activity from having a preference under

9 any provision of this subparagraph for 3

10 years, except that the agency may waive

11 the application of this clause under stand12 ards established by the Secretary (which

13 shall include waiver for any member of a

14 family of an individual prohibited from

15 tenancy under this clause who the agency

16 determines clearly did not participate in

17 and had no knowledge of such criminal ac18 tivity or when circumstances leading to

19 eviction no longer exist); and’’;

20 (2) in subsection (k), in the matter following

21 paragraph (6), by striking ‘‘drug22 related’’ and inserting ‘‘drug- or firearm-related’’;

23 (3) in subsection (l)(5), by striking ‘‘drug-relat24 ed’’ and inserting ‘‘drug- or firearm-related’’; and
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1 (4) in subsection (n), by inserting ‘‘and fire2 arm-related criminal activity’’ after ‘‘drug-related

3 criminal activity’’.

4 SEC. 4. TERMINATION OF TENANCY IN SECTION 8 HOUSING

5 FOR FIREARM-RELATED CRIMINAL ACTIVITY.

6 Section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937

7 (42 U.S.C. 1437f) is amended as follows:

8 (1) CERTIFICATE PROGRAM.—In subsection

9 (d)(1)—

10 (A) in subparagraph (A)—

11 (i) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘and’’ at

12 the end;

13 (ii) in clause (iii), by inserting ‘‘and’’

14 after the semicolon at the end; and

15 (iii) by inserting after clause (iii) the

16 following new clause:

17 ‘‘(iv) prohibit any individual or family

18 evicted from housing assisted under this

19 Act by reason of firearm-related criminal

20 activity from having a preference under

21 any provision of this subparagraph for 3

22 years, except that the agency may waive

23 the application of this clause under stand24 ards established by the Secretary (which

25 shall include waiver for any member of a
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1 family of an individual prohibited from

2 tenancy under this clause who the agency

3 determines clearly did not participate in

4 and had no knowledge of such criminal ac5 tivity or when circumstances leading to

6 eviction no longer exist);’’; and

7 (B) in subparagraph (B)(iii), by striking

8 ‘‘drug-related’’ and inserting ‘‘drug- or firearm9 related’’.

10 (2) VOUCHER PROGRAM.—In subsection (o)(3),

11 by adding at the end the following new sentence:

12 ‘‘Any individual or family evicted from housing as13 sisted under this Act by reason of firearm-related

14 criminal activity shall not be eligible for a preference

15 under any provision of this subparagraph for 3

16 years, except that the agency may waive the applica17 tion of this clause under standards established by

18 the Secretary (which shall include waiver for any

19 member of a family of an individual prohibited from

20 tenancy under this clause who the agency determines

21 clearly did not participate in and had no knowledge

22 of such criminal activity or when circumstances lead23 ing to eviction no longer exist).’’.

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