II 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1513 

To reauthorize the HOPE VI program for revitalization of severely distressed 

public housing, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 27, 2005 

Ms. MIKULSKI (for herself, Mr. BOND, Mr. REED, and Mr. SARBANES) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs 

A BILL 

To reauthorize the HOPE VI program for revitalization of 

severely distressed public housing, 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 ‘‘HOPE VI Improve5 ment and Reauthorization Act of 2005’’. 

6 SEC. 2. HOPE VI PROGRAM REAUTHORIZATION. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 

8 (1) the HOPE VI program is one of the most 

9 significant and successful neighborhood reinvestment 

10 strategies implemented in recent years, having trans-
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1 formed dozens of distressed public housing develop2 ments into successful mixed-use and mixed-income 

3 communities of hope and opportunity and without 

4 which the physical and social revitalization of these 

5 neighborhoods would not have occurred; 

6 (2) HOPE VI has changed the face of public 

7 housing by seamlessly incorporating affordable hous8 ing opportunities in vital and sustainable market9 based, mixed-income developments, thereby serving 

10 as a model for creativity and innovation in the deliv11 ery of affordable housing; 

12 (3) there are over 1,200,000 units of public 

13 housing, between 46,900 and 81,900 of which are 

14 considered to be severely distressed; 

15 (4) nationwide, the public housing inventory has 

16 an accumulated capital needs backlog of approxi17 mately $18,000,000,000, with an estimated addi18 tional $2,000,000,000 accruing each year; 

19 (5) HOPE VI funds have successfully leveraged 

20 substantial additional resources. From 1993 through 

21 2001, the $4,500,000,000 in HOPE VI grants 

22 awarded was anticipated by Public Housing Authori23 ties to leverage an additional $10,210,000,000 in 

24 other public and private investments. According to 

25 the Government Accountability Office, 59 percent of 
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1 the total funds budgeted by fiscal year 2001 grant2 ees for community and supportive services consisted 

3 of leveraged funds; 

4 (6) HOPE VI has resulted in the demolition of 

5 tens of thousands of severely distressed and often 

6 uninhabitable public housing units and, in their 

7 place, created affordable housing opportunities in 

8 healthy mixed-income communities in the form of 

9 both project-based housing and housing voucher as10 sistance, giving existing public housing residents im11 proved and meaningful housing choices; and 

12 (7) HOPE VI has fundamentally transformed 

13 the lives of thousands of public housing residents 

14 who have become self-sufficient through the required 

15 community and supportive services programs. 

16 (b) DECLARATION OF POLICY.—Based on the find17 ings set forth in subsection (a), Congress declares that it 

18 is the policy of the United States to reauthorize the HOPE 

19 VI program to— 

20 (1) end the practice of concentrating the poor 

21 in distressed, isolated neighborhoods as an under22 lying predicate for leaving no children behind; 

23 (2) create healthy communities using a holistic 

24 and comprehensive approach to assure long term 

25 marketability and sustainability of the community; 
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1 (3) support excellent outcomes for families, es2 pecially children, with an emphasis on excellent— 

3 (A) high performing neighborhood schools; 

4 and 

5 (B) quality of life amenities, such as first 

6 class retail space and green space; 

7 (4) create mixed-income communities, with the 

8 goal of creating a market-rate community with a 

9 seamless affordable component; 

10 (5) develop such mixed-income communities 

11 through public-private partnerships using public and 

12 private sources of funding and market principles; 

13 and 

14 (6) support residents with adequate resources 

15 to assist them in achieving their life goals, focusing 

16 on self-sufficiency and educational advancement of 

17 children and their parents, thereby creating a cul18 ture of learning, education, and excellence, in which 

19 expectations and standards for personal responsi20 bility are benchmarks for success. 

21 (c) PURPOSES OF HOPE VI PROGRAM.—Section 

22 24(a) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 

23 U.S.C. 1437v(a)) is amended— 

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

25 end; 
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1 (2) in paragraph (4), by striking the period at 

2 the end and inserting a semicolon; and 

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

4 ‘‘(5) promoting sustainable connections between 

5 the revitalization of public housing communities and 

6 local schools and institutions of higher learning, as 

7 a means of supporting educational achievement by 

8 children and adults as part of a comprehensive self9 sufficiency strategy; and 

10 ‘‘(6) reducing concentrations of poverty and 

11 promoting housing choice and self-sufficiency among 

12 low-income families by ensuring the successful tem13 porary or permanent relocation of residents from se14 verely distressed public housing projects through 

15 comprehensive counseling and supportive services 

16 that assist in selection of and success in lower pov17 erty neighborhoods of such families by giving them 

18 the tools to achieve self sufficiency.’’. 

19 (d) EDUCATION AND RELOCATION ACTIVITIES.—Sec20 tion 24(d) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 

21 U.S.C. 1437v(d)) is amended— 

22 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

23 (A) in subparagraph (K), by striking 

24 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 
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1 (B) by striking subparagraph (L) and in2 serting the following: 

3 ‘‘(L) necessary comprehensive supportive 

4 services, including employment and vocational 

5 counseling, life skills training, and other human 

6 services; and 

7 ‘‘(M) necessary costs of ensuring the effec8 tive temporary and permanent relocation of ex9 isting residents.’’; and 

10 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(3) LINKAGES TO EDUCATION.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each HOPE VI grant 

13 recipient shall establish, in partnership with the 

14 local schools and school superintendent, a com15 prehensive educational reform and achievement 

16 strategy for transforming the neighborhood 

17 schools that serve the revitalized HOPE VI 

18 sites into high-performing schools. 

19 ‘‘(B) CONTENT OF STRATEGY.—The strat20 egy required by subparagraph (A) shall— 

21 ‘‘(i) include the clear commitment of 

22 the neighborhood schools and institutions 

23 of higher learning, including the commit24 ment of financial and other resources by 
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1 local foundations and other public and pri2 vate partners; 

3 ‘‘(ii) include a detailed plan for re4 forming educational programming for pre5 school and elementary school children; 

6 ‘‘(iii) address educational reform for 

7 middle school and high school students; 

8 and 

9 ‘‘(iv) provide means of encouraging 

10 adult continuing education. 

11 ‘‘(C) TIMELINE.—The timeline for develop12 ment and implementation of the strategy re13 quired by subparagraph (A) shall support and 

14 be consistent with the HOPE VI redevelopment 

15 schedule.’’. 

16 (e) GRANT AWARD CRITERIA.—Section 24(e)(2) of 

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

18 1437v(e)(2)) is amended to read as follows: 

19 ‘‘(2) GRANT AWARD CRITERIA.— 

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

21 establish criteria for the award of grants under 

22 this section to ensure that performance stand23 ards are met by awarding funds to public hous24 ing agencies that— 

25 ‘‘(i) demonstrate— 
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1 ‘‘(I) partnerships and collabora2 tion between public and private sector 

3 partners; 

4 ‘‘(II) a need for funding; and 

5 ‘‘(III) a readiness and capacity to 

6 execute the proposed program; and 

7 ‘‘(ii) propose measurable interim and 

8 long-term outcomes for achieving the pur9 poses and goals of the program. 

10 ‘‘(B) CRITERIA REQUIREMENTS.—In devel11 oping criteria under subparagraph (A), the Sec12 retary shall consider— 

13 ‘‘(i) the extent to which the proposal 

14 realistically addresses achievement of the 

15 purposes of the HOPE VI program de16 scribed in subsection (a); 

17 ‘‘(ii) the extent to which a proposal 

18 demonstrates a comprehensive strategy for 

19 educational achievement and for trans20 forming the neighborhood schools that 

21 serve the revitalized HOPE IV site into 

22 high-performing schools and encourages 

23 the educational advancement of adults; 

24 ‘‘(iii) the quality and sustainability of 

25 the physical redevelopment program and 
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1 the offering of housing choice to residents, 

2 including multifamily rental housing and 

3 homeownership opportunities for house4 holds with a wide range of incomes and 

5 housing for seniors; 

6 ‘‘(iv) the likely effectiveness of the 

7 plan for temporary and permanent reloca8 tion of existing residents, which shall en9 sure that residents are— 

10 ‘‘(I) fully aware of their reloca11 tion choices; and 

12 ‘‘(II) supported during the relo13 cation process to assure a successful 

14 transition, including case management 

15 and the counseling and supportive 

16 services that the plan offers to such 

17 residents; 

18 ‘‘(v) evidence that the subject project 

19 is severely distressed, which shall include a 

20 certification signed by an engineer or ar21 chitect licensed by a State licensing board 

22 that the project meets the criteria for 

23 physical distress described in subsection 

24 (j)(2); 
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1 ‘‘(vi) the strength of local government 

2 support for the proposal, financial and oth3 erwise, which shall require, at a minimum, 

4 a commitment evidenced by the signature 

5 of the chief executive of such local govern6 ment of financial assistance equal to not 

7 less than 5 percent of the HOPE VI grant 

8 amount; 

9 ‘‘(vii) the strength of evidence that 

10 the implementation team has the ability to 

11 perform under the HOPE VI program, in12 cluding evidence as to the capabilities of 

13 both the public partners, including the 

14 public housing agency, and the proposed 

15 private development partners; 

16 ‘‘(viii) the achievability of the 

17 timelines proposed for implementation of 

18 the revitalization plan, which must reflect 

19 the scope and scale of the project, while 

20 addressing the implementation timeline for 

21 each of the components individually; 

22 ‘‘(ix) the extent to which the proposal 

23 will leverage other public or private funds 

24 or assets for the project in an amount that 
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1 equal to not less than 2 times the amount 

2 of the HOPE VI grant; 

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

4 could undertake such activities without a 

5 grant under this section; 

6 ‘‘(xi) the extent of involvement of resi7 dents, State and local governments, private 

8 service providers, financing entities, and 

9 developers, in the development and ongoing 

10 implementation of a revitalization program 

11 for the project, except that the Secretary 

12 may not award a grant under this section 

13 unless the applicant has involved affected 

14 public housing residents at the beginning 

15 and during the planning process for the re16 vitalization program, prior to submission of 

17 an application; 

18 ‘‘(xii) the need for affordable housing 

19 in the community; 

20 ‘‘(xiii) the supply of other housing 

21 available and affordable to families receiv22 ing tenant-based assistance under section 8 

23 of this title; 

24 ‘‘(xiv) the strength and soundness of 

25 the proposal to assist residents in achiev-
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1 ing self-sufficiency and personal responsi2 bility; 

3 ‘‘(xv) the extent to which — 

4 ‘‘(I) the plan minimizes perma5 nent displacement of current residents 

6 of the public housing site who— 

7 ‘‘(aa) wish to return to the 

8 revitalized community; and 

9 ‘‘(bb) meet the reoccupancy 

10 criteria (including all residents 

11 that were not evicted prior to the 

12 revitalization effort); 

13 ‘‘(II) the plan provides for com14 munity and supportive services to 

15 residents prior to and during any relo16 cation; and 

17 ‘‘(III) reasonable and appropriate 

18 supportive services are offered to resi19 dents wishing to return to the revital20 ized site that will help them meet re21 occupancy criteria; 

22 ‘‘(xvi) the extent to which the plan 

23 sustains or creates more project-based 

24 housing units available to persons eligible 

25 for public housing in markets where the 
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1 plan shows there is demand for the main2 tenance or creation of such units; 

3 ‘‘(xvii) the extent to which the pro4 posal sets forth strategies and plans that 

5 assist residents displaced by the revitaliza6 tion in utilizing tenant based vouchers to 

7 select housing opportunities, including in 

8 communities with a lower concentration of 

9 poverty that— 

10 ‘‘(I) will not result in a financial 

11 burden to the family; and 

12 ‘‘(II) will promote long-term 

13 housing stability; 

14 ‘‘(xviii) the extent to which the pro15 posal provides and ensures, as part of its 

16 revitalization program for the effective 

17 temporary and permanent relocation of ex18 isting residents, that— 

19 ‘‘(I) residents are fully informed 

20 of relocation options, which include re21 location to housing in a neighborhood 

22 with a lower concentration of poverty 

23 than their current residence, through 

24 workshops, site tours, case manage25 ment, or other means, and are given 
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1 the opportunity to make informed 

2 choices; 

3 ‘‘(II) relocation milestones are es4 tablished that ensure successful relo5 cation in terms of timeliness and steps 

6 toward self-sufficiency; 

7 ‘‘(III) the relocation plan does 

8 not result in increased concentrations 

9 of poverty in the communities to 

10 which residents are relocated; 

11 ‘‘(IV) particular attention is paid 

12 to minimizing the impact of reloca13 tions on children, such as coordinating 

14 relocation moves with school cal15 endars; 

16 ‘‘(V) existing residents who are 

17 being temporarily or permanently re18 located are offered and encouraged to 

19 participate in comprehensive commu20 nity and supportive services over the 

21 period of the HOPE VI grant to fa22 cilitate their progress toward self-suf23 ficiency whenever possible; and 

24 ‘‘(VI) the proposed budget for re25 location costs reflects the costs of ef-
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1 fective relocation efforts, including 

2 moving expenses, counseling, case 

3 management, and other related costs, 

4 including payments required under 

5 the Uniform Relocation Act ; and 

6 ‘‘(xix) such other factors as the Sec7 retary considers appropriate.’’. 

8 (f) SITE VISITS.—Section 24(e) of the United States 

9 Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437v(e)), as amended 

10 by subsection (e) of this section, is amended by adding 

11 at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(4) Notwithstanding any other provision of 

13 law, the Secretary may conduct site visits for HOPE 

14 VI applicants to assist in making funding decisions 

15 under this section.’’. 

16 (g) HOPE VI PERFORMANCE BENCHMARKS.—Sec17 tion 24 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 

18 U.S.C. 1437v) is amended— 

19 (1) by redesignating subsections (f) through (o) 

20 as subsections (g) through (p), respectively; and 

21 (2) by inserting after subsection (e) the fol22 lowing: 

23 ‘‘(f) PERFORMANCE BENCHMARKS.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Public housing agencies, in 

25 consultation with the Secretary, shall set perform-
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1 ance benchmarks for each component of their 

2 HOPE VI projects, including benchmarks for— 

3 ‘‘(A) linkages with schools and other com4 munity partners; 

5 ‘‘(B) effective temporary and permanent 

6 relocation of existing residents; 

7 ‘‘(C) achievement of self-sufficiency by 

8 residents; 

9 ‘‘(D) accomplishing key revitalization 

10 goals, taking into consideration the scope and 

11 scale of the revitalization plan; and 

12 ‘‘(E) such other benchmarks as the Sec13 retary determines appropriate. 

14 ‘‘(2) FAILURE TO MEET BENCHMARKS.—If a 

15 public housing agency fails to meet the performance 

16 benchmarks described under paragraph (1), the Sec17 retary shall impose appropriate sanctions, includ18 ing— 

19 ‘‘(A) appointment of an alternative admin20 istrator for the HOPE VI project; 

21 ‘‘(B) financial penalties; 

22 ‘‘(C) withdrawal of funding under sub23 section (j); or 

24 ‘‘(D) such other sanctions as the Secretary 

25 may deem necessary. 
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1 ‘‘(3) AUTHORITY OF SECRETARY.—The Sec2 retary shall determine the amount of each grant 

3 under this section and the closeout date for the 

4 grant, taking into consideration the scope, scale, and 

5 size of the revitalization plan.’’. 

6 (h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 

7 24(n)(1) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 

8 U.S.C. 1437v(n)(1)), as redesignated by subsection (g) of 

9 this section, is amended by striking ‘‘$574,000,000 for fis10 cal year 2003’’ and inserting ‘‘$600,000,000 for each of 

11 fiscal years 2007 through 2011’’. 

12 (i) EXTENSION OF PROGRAM.—Section 24(p) of the 

13 United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437v(p)), 

14 as redesignated by subsection (g) of this section, is amend15 ed by striking ‘‘September 30, 2006’’ and inserting ‘‘Sep16 tember 30, 2011’’. 

17 (j) REVIEW.—The Comptroller General of the United 

18 States shall— 

19 (1) conduct a review of tools utilized in HOPE 

20 VI revitalization efforts under section 24 of the 

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

22 1437v) which may be transferable to other federally23 assisted housing programs; and 
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1 (2) make recommendations to the Congress on 

2 the tools reviewed under paragraph (1) not later 

3 than September 30, 2008. 

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