II 

Calendar No. 289 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1333 

[Report No. 115–198] 

To provide for rental assistance for homeless or at-risk Indian veterans. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 12, 2017 

Mr. TESTER (for himself, Mr. HOEVEN, Mr. UDALL, Mr. ISAKSON, Ms. MURKOWSKI, Ms. CANTWELL, Ms. HEITKAMP, and Mr. FRANKEN) introduced 

the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee 

on Indian Affairs 

DECEMBER 20, 2017 

Reported by Mr. HOEVEN, with an amendment 

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

A BILL 

To provide for rental assistance for homeless or at-risk 

Indian veterans. 

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 ‘‘Tribal HUD-VASH 

5 Act of 2017’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. RENTAL ASSISTANCE FOR HOMELESS OR AT-RISK 

2 INDIAN VETERANS. 

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

4 of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)(19)) is amended by adding 

5 at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(D) INDIAN VETERANS HOUSING RENTAL

7 ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.— 

8 ‘‘(i) DEFINITIONS.—In this subpara9 graph: 

10 ‘‘(I) ELIGIBLE INDIAN VET11 ERAN.—The term ‘eligible Indian vet12 eran’ means an Indian veteran who 

13 is— 

14 ‘‘(aa) homeless or at risk of 

15 homelessness; and 

16 ‘‘(bb) residing in or near an 

17 Indian area. 

18 ‘‘(II) ELIGIBLE RECIPIENT.— 

19 The term ‘eligible recipient’ means a 

20 recipient eligible to receive a grant 

21 under section 101 of the Native 

22 American Housing Assistance and 

23 Self-Determination Act of 1996 (25 

24 U.S.C. 4111). 

25 ‘‘(III) INDIAN.—The term ‘In26 dian’ has the meaning given the term 


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1 in section 4 of the Indian Self-Deter2 mination and Education Assistance 

3 Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 

4 ‘‘(IV) INDIAN AREA.—The term 

5 ‘Indian area’ has the meaning given 

6 the term in section 4 of the Native 

7 American Housing Assistance and 

8 Self-Determination Act of 1996 (25 

9 U.S.C. 4103). 

10 ‘‘(V) INDIAN VETERAN.—The 

11 term ‘Indian veteran’ means an In12 dian who is a veteran. 

13 ‘‘(VI) TRIBAL ORGANIZATION.— 

14 The term ‘tribal organization’ has the 

15 meaning given the term in section 4 

16 of the Indian Self-Determination and 

17 Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 

18 5304). 

19 ‘‘(ii) PROGRAM SPECIFICATIONS.— 

20 The Secretary shall use not less than 5 

21 percent of the amounts made available for 

22 rental assistance under this subsection to 

23 carry out a rental assistance and sup24 ported housing program (in this subpara25 graph referred to as the ‘Program’), in 


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1 conjunction with the Secretary of Veterans 

2 Affairs, for the benefit of eligible Indian 

3 veterans. 

4 ‘‘(iii) MODEL.— 

5 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Except as 

6 provided in subclause (II), the Sec7 retary shall model the Program on the 

8 rental assistance and supported hous9 ing program authorized under sub10 paragraph (A) and applicable appro11 priations Acts, including administra12 tion in conjunction with the Secretary 

13 of Veterans Affairs. 

14 ‘‘(II) EXCEPTIONS.— 

15 ‘‘(aa) SECRETARY OF HOUS16 ING AND URBAN DEVELOP17 MENT.—After consultation with 

18 Indian tribes, eligible recipients, 

19 and any other appropriate tribal 

20 organizations, the Secretary may 

21 make necessary and appropriate 

22 modifications to facilitate the use 

23 of the Program by eligible recipi24 ents to serve eligible Indian vet25 erans. 


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1 ‘‘(bb) SECRETARY OF VET2 ERANS AFFAIRS.—After consulta3 tion with Indian tribes, eligible 

4 recipients, and any other appro5 priate tribal organizations, the 

6 Secretary of Veterans Affairs 

7 may make necessary and appro8 priate modifications to facilitate 

9 the use of the Program by eligi10 ble recipients to serve eligible In11 dian veterans. 

12 ‘‘(iv) ELIGIBLE RECIPIENTS.—The 

13 Secretary shall make amounts for rental 

14 assistance and associated administrative 

15 costs under the Program available to eligi16 ble recipients. 

17 ‘‘(v) FUNDING CRITERIA.—The Sec18 retary shall award rental assistance under 

19 the Program based on— 

20 ‘‘(I) need; 

21 ‘‘(II) administrative capacity; and 

22 ‘‘(III) any other funding criteria 

23 established by the Secretary in a no24 tice published in the Federal Register 


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1 after consulting with the Secretary of 

2 Veterans Affairs. 

3 ‘‘(vi) ADMINISTRATION.—Rental as4 sistance made available under the Program 

5 shall be administered in accordance with 

6 the Native American Housing Assistance 

7 and Self-Determination Act of 1996 (25 

8 U.S.C. 4101 et seq.), except that grantees 

9 shall— 

10 ‘‘(I) submit to the Secretary, in a 

11 manner prescribed by the Secretary, 

12 reports on the utilization of rental as13 sistance provided under the Program; 

14 and 

15 ‘‘(II) provide to the Secretary in16 formation specified by the Secretary 

17 to assess the effectiveness of the Pro18 gram in serving eligible Indian vet19 erans. 

20 ‘‘(vii) CONSULTATION.— 

21 ‘‘(I) GRANT RECIPIENTS; TRIBAL

22 ORGANIZATIONS.—The Secretary, in 

23 coordination with the Secretary of 

24 Veterans Affairs, shall consult with el25 igible recipients and any other approVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:39 Dec 20, 2017 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1333.RS S1333

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1 priate tribal organization on the de2 sign of the Program to ensure the ef3 fective delivery of rental assistance 

4 and supportive services to eligible In5 dian veterans under the Program. 

6 ‘‘(II) INDIAN HEALTH SERV7 ICE.—The Director of the Indian 

8 Health Service shall provide any as9 sistance requested by the Secretary or 

10 the Secretary of Veterans Affairs in 

11 carrying out the Program. 

12 ‘‘(viii) WAIVER.— 

13 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Except as 

14 provided in subclause (II), the Sec15 retary may waive or specify alter16 native requirements for any provision 

17 of law (including regulations) that the 

18 Secretary administers in connection 

19 with the use of rental assistance made 

20 available under the Program if the 

21 Secretary finds that the waiver or al22 ternative requirement is necessary for 

23 the effective delivery and administra24 tion of rental assistance under the 

25 Program to eligible Indian veterans. 


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1 ‘‘(II) EXCEPTION.—The Sec2 retary may not waive or specify alter3 native requirements under subclause 

4 (I) for any provision of law (including 

5 regulations) relating to labor stand6 ards or the environment. 

7 ‘‘(ix) REPORTING.—Every 5 years, the 

8 Secretary, in coordination with the Sec9 retary of Veterans Affairs and the Director 

10 of the Indian Health Service, shall— 

11 ‘‘(I) conduct a review of the im12 plementation of the Program, includ13 ing any factors that may have limited 

14 its success; and 

15 ‘‘(II) submit a report describing 

16 the results of the review under sub17 clause (I) to— 

18 ‘‘(aa) the Committee on In19 dian Affairs, the Committee on 

20 Banking, Housing, and Urban 

21 Affairs, the Committee on Vet22 erans’ Affairs, and the Com23 mittee on Appropriations of the 

24 Senate; and 


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1 ‘‘(bb) the Subcommittee on 

2 Indian, Insular and Alaska Na3 tive Affairs of the Committee on 

4 Natural Resources, the Com5 mittee on Financial Services, the 

6 Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, 

7 and the Committee on Appropria8 tions of the House of Representa9 tives.’’. 

10 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

11 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Tribal HUD-VASH Act 

12 of 2017’’. 

13 SEC. 2. RENTAL ASSISTANCE FOR HOMELESS OR AT-RISK 

14 INDIAN VETERANS. 

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

16 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)(19)) is amended by adding at the 

17 end the following: 

18 ‘‘(D) INDIAN VETERANS HOUSING RENTAL

19 ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.— 

20 ‘‘(i) DEFINITIONS.—In this subpara21 graph: 

22 ‘‘(I) ELIGIBLE INDIAN VET23 ERAN.—The term ‘eligible Indian vet24 eran’ means an Indian veteran who 

25 is— 


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1 ‘‘(aa) homeless or at risk of 

2 homelessness; and 

3 ‘‘(bb) living— 

4 ‘‘(AA) on or near a res5 ervation; or 

6 ‘‘(BB) in or near any 

7 other Indian area. 

8 ‘‘(II) ELIGIBLE RECIPIENT.—The 

9 term ‘eligible recipient’ means a recipi10 ent eligible to receive a grant under 

11 section 101 of the Native American 

12 Housing Assistance and Self-Deter13 mination Act of 1996 (25 U.S.C. 

14 4111). 

15 ‘‘(III) INDIAN; INDIAN AREA.— 

16 The terms ‘Indian’ and ‘Indian area’ 

17 have the meanings given those terms in 

18 section 4 of the Native American Hous19 ing Assistance and Self-Determination 

20 Act of 1996 (25 U.S.C. 4103). 

21 ‘‘(IV) INDIAN VETERAN.—The 

22 term ‘Indian veteran’ means an In23 dian who is a veteran. 


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1 ‘‘(V) PROGRAM.—The term ‘Pro2 gram’ means the Tribal HUD-VASH 

3 program carried out under clause (ii). 

4 ‘‘(VI) TRIBAL ORGANIZATION.— 

5 The term ‘tribal organization’ has the 

6 meaning given the term in section 4 of 

7 the Indian Self-Determination and 

8 Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 

9 5304). 

10 ‘‘(ii) PROGRAM SPECIFICATIONS.—The 

11 Secretary shall use not less than 5 percent 

12 of the amounts made available for rental as13 sistance under this paragraph to carry out 

14 a rental assistance and supported housing 

15 program, to be known as the ‘Tribal HUD16 VASH program’, in conjunction with the 

17 Secretary of Veterans Affairs, by awarding 

18 grants for the benefit of eligible Indian vet19 erans. 

20 ‘‘(iii) MODEL.— 

21 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Except as pro22 vided in subclause (II), the Secretary 

23 shall model the Program on the rental 

24 assistance and supported housing pro25 gram authorized under subparagraph 


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1 (A) and applicable appropriations 

2 Acts, including administration in con3 junction with the Secretary of Veterans 

4 Affairs. 

5 ‘‘(II) EXCEPTIONS.— 

6 ‘‘(aa) SECRETARY OF HOUS7 ING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT.— 

8 After consultation with Indian 

9 tribes, eligible recipients, and any 

10 other appropriate tribal organiza11 tions, the Secretary may make 

12 necessary and appropriate modi13 fications to facilitate the use of the 

14 Program by eligible recipients to 

15 serve eligible Indian veterans. 

16 ‘‘(bb) SECRETARY OF VET17 ERANS AFFAIRS.—After consulta18 tion with Indian tribes, eligible 

19 recipients, and any other appro20 priate tribal organizations, the 

21 Secretary of Veterans Affairs may 

22 make necessary and appropriate 

23 modifications to facilitate the use 

24 of the Program by eligible recipiVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:39 Dec 20, 2017 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S1333.RS S1333

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1 ents to serve eligible Indian vet2 erans. 

3 ‘‘(iv) ELIGIBLE RECIPIENTS.—The Sec4 retary shall make amounts for rental assist5 ance and associated administrative costs 

6 under the Program available in the form of 

7 grants to eligible recipients. 

8 ‘‘(v) FUNDING CRITERIA.—The Sec9 retary shall award grants under the Pro10 gram based on— 

11 ‘‘(I) need; 

12 ‘‘(II) administrative capacity; 

13 and 

14 ‘‘(III) any other funding criteria 

15 established by the Secretary in a notice 

16 published in the Federal Register after 

17 consulting with the Secretary of Vet18 erans Affairs. 

19 ‘‘(vi) ADMINISTRATION.—Grants 

20 awarded under the Program shall be ad21 ministered in accordance with the Native 

22 American Housing Assistance and Self-De23 termination Act of 1996 (25 U.S.C. 4101 et 

24 seq.), except that recipients shall— 


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1 ‘‘(I) submit to the Secretary, in a 

2 manner prescribed by the Secretary, 

3 reports on the utilization of rental as4 sistance provided under the Program; 

5 and 

6 ‘‘(II) provide to the Secretary in7 formation specified by the Secretary to 

8 assess the effectiveness of the Program 

9 in serving eligible Indian veterans. 

10 ‘‘(vii) CONSULTATION.— 

11 ‘‘(I) GRANT RECIPIENTS; TRIBAL

12 ORGANIZATIONS.—The Secretary, in 

13 coordination with the Secretary of Vet14 erans Affairs, shall consult with eligi15 ble recipients and any other appro16 priate tribal organization on the de17 sign of the Program to ensure the effec18 tive delivery of rental assistance and 

19 supportive services to eligible Indian 

20 veterans under the Program. 

21 ‘‘(II) INDIAN HEALTH SERVICE.— 

22 The Director of the Indian Health 

23 Service shall provide any assistance re24 quested by the Secretary or the SecVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:39 Dec 20, 2017 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S1333.RS S1333

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1 retary of Veterans Affairs in carrying 

2 out the Program. 

3 ‘‘(viii) WAIVER.— 

4 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Except as pro5 vided in subclause (II), the Secretary 

6 may waive or specify alternative re7 quirements for any provision of law 

8 (including regulations) that the Sec9 retary administers in connection with 

10 the use of rental assistance made avail11 able under the Program if the Sec12 retary finds that the waiver or alter13 native requirement is necessary for the 

14 effective delivery and administration of 

15 rental assistance under the Program to 

16 eligible Indian veterans. 

17 ‘‘(II) EXCEPTION.—The Secretary 

18 may not waive or specify alternative 

19 requirements under subclause (I) for 

20 any provision of law (including regu21 lations) relating to labor standards or 

22 the environment. 

23 ‘‘(ix) RENEWAL GRANTS.—The Sec24 retary may— 


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1 ‘‘(I) set aside, from amounts made 

2 available for tenant-based rental assist3 ance under this subsection and without 

4 regard to the amounts used for new 

5 grants under clause (ii), such amounts 

6 as may be necessary to award renewal 

7 grants to eligible recipients that re8 ceived a grant under the Program in a 

9 previous year; and 

10 ‘‘(II) specify criteria that an eli11 gible recipient must satisfy to receive a 

12 renewal grant under subclause (I), in13 cluding providing data on how the eli14 gible recipient used the amounts of any 

15 grant previously received under the 

16 Program. 

17 ‘‘(x) REPORTING.— 

18 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 

19 1 year after the date of enactment of 

20 the Tribal HUD-VASH Act of 2017, 

21 and every 5 years thereafter, the Sec22 retary, in coordination with the Sec23 retary of Veterans Affairs and the Di24 rector of the Indian Health Service, 

25 shall— 


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1 ‘‘(aa) conduct a review of the 

2 implementation of the Program, 

3 including any factors that may 

4 have limited its success; and 

5 ‘‘(bb) submit a report de6 scribing the results of the review 

7 under item (aa) to— 

8 ‘‘(AA) the Committee on 

9 Indian Affairs, the Com10 mittee on Banking, Housing, 

11 and Urban Affairs, the Com12 mittee on Veterans’ Affairs, 

13 and the Committee on Ap14 propriations of the Senate; 

15 and 

16 ‘‘(BB) the Subcommittee 

17 on Indian, Insular and Alas18 ka Native Affairs of the Com19 mittee on Natural Resources, 

20 the Committee on Financial 

21 Services, the Committee on 

22 Veterans’ Affairs, and the 

23 Committee on Appropria24 tions of the House of Rep25 resentatives. 


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1 ‘‘(II) ANALYSIS OF HOUSING

2 STOCK LIMITATION.—The Secretary 

3 shall include in the initial report sub4 mitted under subclause (I) a descrip5 tion of— 

6 ‘‘(aa) any regulations gov7 erning the use of formula current 

8 assisted stock (as defined in sec9 tion 1000.314 of title 24, Code of 

10 Federal Regulations (or any suc11 cessor regulation)) within the Pro12 gram; 

13 ‘‘(bb) the number of recipi14 ents of grants under the Program 

15 that have reported the regulations 

16 described in item (aa) as a bar17 rier to implementation of the Pro18 gram; and 

19 ‘‘(cc) proposed alternative 

20 legislation or regulations devel21 oped by the Secretary in consulta22 tion with recipients of grants 

23 under the Program to allow the 

24 use of formula current assisted 

25 stock within the Program.’’. 


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Calendar No. 289 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1333 

[Report No. 115–198] 

A BILL 

To provide for rental assistance for homeless or atrisk Indian veterans. 

DECEMBER 20, 2017 

Reported with an amendment 


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