I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8302 

To establish a commission to review the programs of the Department of 

Housing and Urban Development and make recommendations for legislative reforms, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 8, 2024 

Mr. DAVIDSON (for himself, Mr. MEUSER, Mr. DONALDS, and Mr. 

GARBARINO) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committee on Rules, 

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 establish a commission to review the programs of the 

Department of Housing and Urban Development and 

make recommendations for legislative reforms, 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 ‘‘HUD Evaluation and 

5 Optimization Commission Act of 2024’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. HUD EVALUATION AND OPTIMIZATION COMMIS2 SION. 

3 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a com4 mission to be known as the HUD Evaluation and Optimi5 zation Commission (in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Com6 mission’’). 

7 (b) MEMBERS.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall be 

9 composed of 4 members, appointed not later than 30 

10 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, as 

11 follows: 

12 (A) One member shall be appointed by the 

13 Speaker of the House of Representatives. 

14 (B) One member shall be appointed by the 

15 minority leader of the House of Representa16 tives. 

17 (C) One member shall be appointed by the 

18 majority leader of the Senate. 

19 (D) One member shall be appointed by the 

20 minority leader of the Senate. 

21 (2) PROHIBITION ON LOBBYISTS.—An indi22 vidual may not be appointed as a member of the 

23 Commission if the individual was registered as a lob24 byist under the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 

25 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) at any time during the 5-year 

26 period ending on the date of the appointment. 


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1 (c) TERMS.—Each member shall be appointed for the 

2 life of the Commission. Any vacancy in the Commission 

3 shall not affect its powers, but shall be filled not later than 

4 14 days after the date on which the vacancy occurs in the 

5 same manner as the original appointment. 

6 (d) CHAIRPERSON AND VICE CHAIRPERSON.— 

7 (1) ELECTION.—The members of the Commis8 sion shall elect a Chairperson and a Vice Chair9 person from among the members of the Commission. 

10 (2) ABSENCE OF CHAIRPERSON.—The Vice 

11 Chairperson shall serve as the Chairperson in the 

12 absence of the Chairperson. 

13 (e) COMPENSATION.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each member of the Com15 mission shall be compensated at a rate equal to the 

16 daily equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay for 

17 level IV of the Executive Schedule under section 

18 5314 of title 5, United States Code, for each day 

19 (including travel time) during which such member is 

20 engaged in the performance of the duties of the 

21 Commission. 

22 (2) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Each member may be 

23 allowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of 

24 subsistence, in accordance with applicable provisions 


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1 under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United 

2 States Code. 

3 (f) MEETINGS.— 

4 (1) INITIAL MEETING.—Not later than 30 days 

5 after the date on which all members of the Commis6 sion have been appointed, the Commission shall hold 

7 the initial meeting of the Commission. 

8 (2) SUBSEQUENT MEETINGS.—The Commission 

9 shall meet— 

10 (A) at least once each month; and 

11 (B) at the call of the Chairperson or the 

12 majority of the members of the Commission. 

13 (g) QUORUM.—A majority of the voting members 

14 shall constitute a quorum, but a lesser number may hold 

15 meetings. 

16 (h) VOTING.—The Commission shall act only on an 

17 affirmative vote of a majority of the members of the Com18 mission. 

19 (i) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT.—The Fed20 eral Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not 

21 apply to the Commission. 

22 SEC. 3. DUTIES. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall review and 

24 determine— 


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1 (1) the number, design, complexity, utilization, 

2 authorization or lack thereof, and potential overlap 

3 of the current programs administered by the Depart4 ment of Housing and Urban Development (in this 

5 Act referred to as the ‘‘Department’’); and 

6 (2) the level of effectiveness of the Department 

7 and its programs, including identifying how best to 

8 optimize the effectiveness of each area of review, to 

9 more effectively meet the Department’s mission 

10 while reducing waste and mismanagement. 

11 (b) ANALYSIS AND RECOMMENDATIONS.—The Com12 mission shall analyze the potential performance and cost13 efficiency benefits that could be achieved through a reor14 ganization of the Department, including consolidation and 

15 realignment of its programs, and shall make recommenda16 tions regarding— 

17 (1) changes to the Department’s organizational 

18 structure to better serve program participants, pro19 tect taxpayers, and create operational efficiencies; 

20 (2) improvements in the processes that the De21 partment can execute to better fulfill its statutory 

22 obligations and mission to provide decent, safe, sani23 tary, and affordable housing; 

24 (3) the reduction of fragmentation and overlap 

25 between various Department programs and between 


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1 programs of the Department and programs of other 

2 Federal agencies, and enhanced program utilization; 

3 (4) technology-based solutions to allow pro4 grams to operative more efficiently and effectively 

5 and to better serve eligible program participants; 

6 (5) quantitative and qualitative measures of the 

7 effectiveness of programs that provide housing for 

8 extremely low-, very low-, low-, and moderate-income 

9 individuals and families; 

10 (6) reforms the Department can undertake to 

11 prevent, to the maximum extent possible, a disrup12 tive loss of benefits by program participants who ex13 perience income growth that may otherwise dis14 qualify them from such benefits (commonly referred 

15 to as a ‘‘benefits cliff’’) or, conversely, that may dis16 qualify participants with lower incomes marginally in 

17 excess of program requirements; 

18 (7) ways to improve the social and economic 

19 outcomes for program participants, including actions 

20 the Department can take to mitigate health and 

21 safety risks to program participants and to foster 

22 economic mobility and opportunity; 

23 (8) improvements to enhance transparency, 

24 oversight, and public accountability; and 


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1 (9) any such other action that would optimize 

2 the effectiveness of the Department or its programs. 

3 (c) REPORTS.— 

4 (1) INITIAL REPORT.—Not later than 9 months 

5 after the date of its initial meeting, the Commission 

6 may submit to the Congress an initial report con7 taining its analysis and preliminary recommenda8 tions under subsections (a) and (b). 

9 (2) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than 18 months 

10 after the date of its initial meeting and upon an af11 firmative vote of a majority of the members of the 

12 Commission, the Commission shall submit to the 

13 Congress and make publicly available a final report 

14 containing— 

15 (A) a detailed statement of the findings, 

16 conclusions, and recommendations of the Com17 mission under subsections (a) and (b); 

18 (B) a statement of the assumptions, sce19 narios, and alternatives considered in reaching 

20 such findings, conclusions, and recommenda21 tions; 

22 (C) proposed legislative language for reau23 thorization, expiration, termination, or elimi24 nation of programs consistent with the final re25 port; 


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1 (D) any additional views or recommenda2 tions of individual Commission members with 

3 attribution and in a separate section of the re4 port; 

5 (E) a summary of the Commission’s meet6 ings, hearings, and activities; 

7 (F) a final accounting of the funds the 

8 Commission received and expended; and 

9 (G) any other information that the Com10 mission considers to be appropriate. 

11 SEC. 4. STAFF AND OUTSIDE SERVICES. 

12 (a) APPOINTMENT AND COMPENSATION OF STAFF.— 

13 The Chairperson of the Commission may appoint and fix 

14 the compensation of a staff director and such other em15 ployees as may be necessary to enable the Commission to 

16 carry out its functions, without regard to the provisions 

17 of title 5, United States Code, governing appointments in 

18 the competitive service, but at rates not to exceed the an19 nual rate of basic pay for level V of the Executive Sched20 ule. 

21 (b) AGENCY ASSISTANCE.—Upon the request of the 

22 Chairperson, the head of any agency may detail an em23 ployee of the agency to the Commission without reim24 bursement, and such detail shall be without interruption 

25 or loss of civil service status or privilege. 


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1 (c) CONSULTANT, TEMPORARY, AND INTERMITTENT

2 SERVICES.—The Chairperson may procure the services of 

3 experts and consultants and temporary and intermittent 

4 services in accordance with section 3109(b) of title 5, 

5 United States Code, but at rates for individuals not to 

6 exceed the daily equivalent of the annual rate paid of pay 

7 for a position at level V of the Executive Schedule for each 

8 day during which such consultant or expert is engaged in 

9 the performance of the duties of the Commission. 

10 SEC. 5. POWERS. 

11 (a) HEARINGS.—The Commission may, for the pur12 pose of carrying out this Act— 

13 (1) hold such hearings, sit and act at such 

14 times and places, take testimony, receive evidence, 

15 and administer oaths as the Commission considers 

16 appropriate; and 

17 (2) require, by subpoena or otherwise, the at18 tendance and testimony of such witnesses and the 

19 production of any evidence the Commission considers 

20 advisable to carry out its duties. 

21 (b) INFORMATION FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.—The 

22 Commission may request directly, or require by subpoena 

23 or otherwise, from any Federal agency such information 

24 as the Commission considers necessary to carry out its du25 ties. Upon a request of the Chairperson of the CommisVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:41 May 10, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8302.IH H8302

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1 sion, the head of a Federal agency shall furnish such infor2 mation to the Commission. 

3 (c) ISSUANCE AND ENFORCEMENT OF SUBPOENAS.— 

4 (1) ISSUANCE.—Subpoenas issued under sub5 section (a) or (b) shall bear the signature of the 

6 Chairperson of the Commission and shall be served 

7 by any person or class of persons designated by the 

8 Chairperson for that purpose. 

9 (2) ENFORCEMENT.—In the case of contumacy 

10 or failure to obey a subpoena issued under sub11 section (a) or (b), the United States district court 

12 for the judicial district in which the subpoenaed per13 son resides, is served, or may be found may issue an 

14 order requiring such person to appear at any des15 ignated place to testify or to produce documentary 

16 or other evidence. Any failure to obey the order of 

17 the court may be punished by the court as a con18 tempt of that court. 

19 (d) WITNESS ALLOWANCES AND FEES.—Section 

20 1821 of title 28, United States Code, shall apply to wit21 nesses requested or subpoenaed to appear at any hearing 

22 of the Commission. The per diem and mileage allowances 

23 for witnesses shall be paid from funds available to pay the 

24 expenses of the Commission. 


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1 (e) INFORMATION FROM CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET

2 OFFICE AND OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET.— 

3 The Commission may secure directly from the Congres4 sional Budget Office and Office of Management and 

5 Budget such information, including estimates and anal6 ysis, as the Commission considers advisable to carry out 

7 its duties. Upon request of the Chairperson of the Com8 mission, the Director of the Congressional Budget Office 

9 or Office of Management and Budget shall furnish such 

10 information, including estimates and analysis, to the Com11 mission. 

12 (f) SUPPORT FROM LIBRARY OF CONGRESS.—Upon 

13 the request of the Commission, the Librarian of Congress 

14 shall provide to the Commission, on a reimbursable basis, 

15 administrative support services, research services, and re16 search staff necessary for the Commission to carry out its 

17 responsibilities under this Act. 

18 SEC. 6. EXPEDITED CONSIDERATION OF PROPOSED LEGIS19 LATIVE LANGUAGE FROM FINAL REPORT. 

20 (a) INTRODUCTION.— Upon submission of the final 

21 report required under section 3(c)(2), the proposed legisla22 tive language for reauthorization, expiration, termination, 

23 or elimination of programs required by section 3(c)(2)(C) 

24 shall be introduced in the House of Representatives (by 

25 request) within the next 5 legislative days by the majority 


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1 leader of the House or by a Member of the House des2 ignated by the majority leader of the House and shall be 

3 introduced in the Senate (by request) within the next 5 

4 legislative days on which the Senate is in session by the 

5 majority leader of the Senate or by a Member of the Sen6 ate designated by the majority leader of the Senate. In 

7 this section such a bill is referred to as a ‘‘Commission 

8 bill’’. 

9 (b) CONSIDERATION IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENT10 ATIVES.— 

11 (1) REFERRAL AND REPORTING.—The Com12 mittee on Financial Services and any other com13 mittee of the House of Representatives to which the 

14 Commission bill is referred shall report it to the 

15 House without amendment not later than 60 days 

16 after its introduction. If a committee fails to report 

17 the Commission bill within that period, it shall be in 

18 order to move that the House discharge the com19 mittee from further consideration of the bill. Such a 

20 motion shall not be in order after the last committee 

21 authorized to consider the bill reports it to the 

22 House or after the House has disposed of a motion 

23 to discharge the bill. The previous question shall be 

24 considered as ordered on the motion to its adoption 

25 without intervening motion except 20 minutes of deVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:41 May 10, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8302.IH H8302

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1 bate equally divided and controlled by the proponent 

2 and an opponent. If such a motion is adopted, the 

3 House shall proceed immediately to consider the 

4 Commission bill in accordance with paragraphs (2) 

5 and (3). A motion to reconsider the vote by which 

6 the motion is disposed of shall not be in order. 

7 (2) PROCEEDING TO CONSIDERATION.—After 

8 the last committee authorized to consider a Commis9 sion bill reports it to the House or has been dis10 charged (other than by motion) from its consider11 ation, it shall be in order to move to proceed to con12 sider the Commission bill in the House. Such a mo13 tion shall not be in order after the House has dis14 posed of a motion to proceed with respect to the 

15 Commission bill. The previous question shall be con16 sidered as ordered on the motion to its adoption 

17 without intervening motion. A motion to reconsider 

18 the vote by which the motion is disposed of shall not 

19 be in order. 

20 (3) CONSIDERATION.—The Commission bill 

21 shall be considered as read. All points of order 

22 against the Commission bill and against its consider23 ation are waived. The previous question shall be con24 sidered as ordered on the Commission bill to its pas25 sage without intervening motion except 2 hours of 


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1 debate equally divided and controlled by the pro2 ponent and an opponent and one motion to limit de3 bate on the Commission bill. A motion to reconsider 

4 the vote on passage of the Commission bill shall not 

5 be in order. 

6 (4) VOTE ON PASSAGE.—The vote on passage 

7 of the Commission bill shall occur not later than 12 

8 months after the final report required under section 

9 3(c)(2) is submitted to the Congress. 

10 (c) CONSIDERATION IN THE SENATE.— 

11 (1) COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION.—A Commis12 sion bill introduced in the Senate under subsection 

13 (a) shall be jointly referred to the committee or com14 mittees of jurisdiction, which committees shall report 

15 the bill without any revision and with a favorable 

16 recommendation, an unfavorable recommendation, or 

17 without recommendation, not later than 60 days 

18 after its introduction. If any committee fails to re19 port the bill within that period, that committee shall 

20 be automatically discharged from consideration of 

21 the bill, and the bill shall be placed on the appro22 priate calendar. 

23 (2) MOTION TO PROCEED.—Notwithstanding 

24 Rule XXII of the Standing Rules of the Senate, it 

25 is in order, not later than 2 days of session after the 


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1 date on which a Commission bill is reported or dis2 charged from all committees to which it was re3 ferred, for the majority leader of the Senate or the 

4 majority leader’s designee to move to proceed to the 

5 consideration of the Commission bill. It shall also be 

6 in order for any Member of the Senate to move to 

7 proceed to the consideration of the Commission bill 

8 at any time after the conclusion of such 2-day pe9 riod. A motion to proceed is in order even though a 

10 previous motion to the same effect has been dis11 agreed to. All points of order against the motion to 

12 proceed to the Commission bill are waived. The mo13 tion to proceed is not debatable. The motion is not 

14 subject to a motion to postpone. A motion to recon15 sider the vote by which the motion is agreed to or 

16 disagreed to shall not be in order. If a motion to 

17 proceed to the consideration of the Commission bill 

18 is agreed to, the Commission bill shall remain the 

19 unfinished business until disposed of. 

20 (3) CONSIDERATION.—All points of order 

21 against the Commission bill and against consider22 ation of the Commission bill are waived. Consider23 ation of the Commission bill and of all debatable mo24 tions and appeals in connection therewith shall not 

25 exceed a total of 30 hours which shall be divided 


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1 equally between the Majority and Minority Leaders 

2 or their designees. A motion further to limit debate 

3 on the Commission bill is in order, shall require an 

4 affirmative vote of a majority of the Members duly 

5 chosen and sworn, and is not debatable. Any debat6 able motion or appeal is debatable for not to exceed 

7 1 hour, to be divided equally between those favoring 

8 and those opposing the motion or appeal. All time 

9 used for consideration of the Commission bill, in10 cluding time used for quorum calls and voting, shall 

11 be counted against the total 30 hours of consider12 ation. 

13 (4) NO AMENDMENTS.—An amendment to the 

14 Commission bill, or a motion to postpone, or a mo15 tion to proceed to the consideration of other busi16 ness, or a motion to recommit the Commission bill, 

17 is not in order. 

18 (5) VOTE ON PASSAGE.—If the Senate has 

19 voted to proceed to the Commission bill, the vote on 

20 passage of the Commission bill shall occur imme21 diately following the conclusion of the debate on a 

22 Commission bill, and a single quorum call at the 

23 conclusion of the debate if requested. The vote on 

24 passage of the Commission bill shall occur not later 


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1 than 12 months after the final report required under 

2 section 3(c)(2) is submitted to the Congress. 

3 (6) RULINGS OF THE CHAIR ON PROCEDURE.— 

4 Appeals from the decisions of the Chair relating to 

5 the application of the rules of the Senate, as the 

6 case may be, to the procedure relating to a Commis7 sion bill shall be decided without debate. 

8 (d) AMENDMENT.—The Commission bill shall not be 

9 subject to amendment in either the House of Representa10 tives or the Senate. 

11 (e) CONSIDERATION BY OTHER HOUSE.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—If, before passing the Com13 mission bill, one House receives from the other a 

14 Commission bill— 

15 (A) the Commission bill of the other House 

16 shall not be referred to a committee; and 

17 (B) the procedure in the receiving House 

18 shall be the same as if no Commission bill had 

19 been received from the other House until the 

20 vote on passage, when the Commission bill re21 ceived from the other House shall supplant the 

22 Commission bill of the receiving House. 

23 (2) REVENUE MEASURE.—This subsection shall 

24 not apply to the House of Representatives if the 


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1 Commission bill received from the Senate is a rev2 enue measure. 

3 (f) RULES TO COORDINATE ACTION WITH OTHER

4 HOUSE.— 

5 (1) TREATMENT OF COMMISSION BILL OF

6 OTHER HOUSE.—If the Senate fails to introduce or 

7 consider a Commission bill under this section, the 

8 Commission bill of the House shall be entitled to ex9 pedited floor procedures under this section. 

10 (2) TREATMENT OF COMPANION MEASURES IN

11 THE SENATE.—If following passage of the Commis12 sion bill in the Senate, the Senate then receives the 

13 Commission bill from the House of Representatives, 

14 the House-passed Commission bill shall not be de15 batable. The vote on passage of the Commission bill 

16 in the Senate shall be considered to be the vote on 

17 passage of the Commission bill received from the 

18 House of Representatives. 

19 (3) VETOES.—If the President vetoes the Com20 mission bill, debate on a veto message in the Senate 

21 under this section shall be 1 hour equally divided be22 tween the majority and minority leaders or their des23 ignees. 

24 (g) LOSS OF PRIVILEGE.—The provisions of this sec25 tion shall cease to apply to the Commission bill if— 


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1 (1) the Commission fails to produce the final 

2 report required under section 3(c)(2) within 20 

3 months from the date of enactment; or 

4 (2) the Commission bill does not pass either 

5 House. 

6 SEC. 7. TERMINATION. 

7 The Commission shall terminate 30 days after sub8 mitting the final report pursuant to section 3(c)(2). 

Æ 


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