II 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1991 

To amend title 38, United States Code, to establish a financial assistance 

program to facilitate the provision of supportive services for very lowincome veteran families in permanent housing, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 10, 2005 

Mr. BURR introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to 

the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

A BILL 

To amend title 38, United States Code, to establish a financial assistance program to facilitate the provision of supportive services for very low-income veteran families in 

permanent 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. FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE FOR SUPPORTIVE 

4 SERVICES FOR VERY LOW-INCOME VETERAN 

5 FAMILIES IN PERMANENT HOUSING. 

6 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

7 ‘‘Services To Prevent Veterans Homelessness Act’’. 
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1 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to facili2 tate the provision of supportive services for very low-in3 come veteran families in permanent housing. 

4 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter V of chapter 20 

6 of title 38, United States Code, is amended by add7 ing at the end the following new subchapter: 

8 ‘‘§ 2044. Financial assistance for supportive services 

9 for very low-income veteran families in 

10 permanent housing 

11 ‘‘(a) DISTRIBUTION OF FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall provide 

13 financial assistance to eligible entities approved 

14 under this section to provide and coordinate the pro15 vision of supportive services described in subsection 

16 (b) for very low-income veteran families occupying 

17 permanent housing. 

18 ‘‘(2) PER DIEM PAYMENTS.—Financial assist19 ance under this section shall consist of per diem 

20 payments for each such family for which an ap21 proved eligible entity is providing or coordinating the 

22 provision of supportive services. 

23 ‘‘(3) FORMULA.—The Secretary shall establish 

24 a formula to determine the rate of per diem pay25 ments to be provided with respect to very low-income 
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1 veteran families provided supportive services under 

2 this section. This rate shall be adjusted not less than 

3 annually to reflect changes in the cost of living. In 

4 calculating the per diem formula under this para5 graph, the Secretary may consider geographic cost 

6 of living variances, family size, and the cost of serv7 ices provided. 

8 ‘‘(4) PREFERENCE.—In providing financial as9 sistance under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall 

10 give preference to entities providing or coordinating 

11 the provision of supportive services for very low-in12 come veteran families who are transitioning from 

13 homelessness to permanent housing. 

14 ‘‘(5) GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION.—The Sec15 retary shall ensure that, to the extent practicable, fi16 nancial assistance under this subsection is equitably 

17 distributed across geographic regions, including 

18 rural communities and tribal lands. 

19 ‘‘(6) NOTICE.—Each entity receiving financial 

20 assistance under this section to provide supportive 

21 services to a very low-income veteran family shall 

22 notify that family that such services are being paid 

23 for, in whole or in part, by the Department of Vet24 erans Affairs. 
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1 ‘‘(7) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—The Sec2 retary may require entities receiving financial assist3 ance under this section to submit a report to the 

4 Secretary that describes the projects carried out 

5 with such financial assistance. 

6 ‘‘(b) SUPPORTIVE SERVICES.—The supportive serv7 ices referred to in subsection (a) are the following: 

8 ‘‘(1) Services provided by an eligible entity or 

9 subcontractors that address the needs of very low-in10 come veteran families occupying permanent housing, 

11 including— 

12 ‘‘(A) outreach services; 

13 ‘‘(B) health care services, including diag14 nosis, treatment, and counseling for mental 

15 health and substance abuse disorders and for 

16 post-traumatic stress disorder, if such services 

17 are not readily available through the Depart18 ment of Veterans Affairs medical center serving 

19 the geographic area in which the veteran family 

20 is housed; 

21 ‘‘(C) habilitation and rehabilitation serv22 ices; 

23 ‘‘(D) case management services; 

24 ‘‘(E) daily living services; 

25 ‘‘(F) personal financial planning; 
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1 ‘‘(G) transportation services; 

2 ‘‘(H) vocational counseling; 

3 ‘‘(I) employment and training; 

4 ‘‘(J) educational services; 

5 ‘‘(K) assistance in obtaining veterans bene6 fits and other public benefits, including health 

7 care provided by the Department; 

8 ‘‘(L) assistance in obtaining income sup9 port; 

10 ‘‘(M) assistance in obtaining health insur11 ance; 

12 ‘‘(N) fiduciary and representative payee 

13 services; 

14 ‘‘(O) legal services to assist the veteran 

15 family with reconsiderations or appeals of vet16 erans and public benefit claim denials and to 

17 resolve outstanding warrants that interfere with 

18 the family’s ability to obtain or retain housing 

19 or supportive services; 

20 ‘‘(P) child care; 

21 ‘‘(Q) housing counseling; 

22 ‘‘(R) other services necessary for maintain23 ing independent living; and 

24 ‘‘(S) coordination of services under this 

25 paragraph. 
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1 ‘‘(2) Services described in paragraph (1) that 

2 are delivered to very low-income veteran families 

3 who are homeless and who are scheduled to become 

4 residents of permanent housing within 90 days 

5 pending the location or development of housing suit6 able for permanent housing. 

7 ‘‘(3) Services described in paragraph (1) for 

8 very low-income veteran families who have volun9 tarily chosen to seek other housing after a period of 

10 tenancy in permanent housing, that are provided, for 

11 a period of 90 days after such families exit perma12 nent housing or until such families commence re13 ceipt of other housing services adequate to meet 

14 their current needs, but only to the extent that serv15 ices under this paragraph are designed to support 

16 such families in their choice to transition into hous17 ing that is responsive to their individual needs and 

18 preferences. 

19 ‘‘(c) APPLICATION FOR FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity seeking 

21 financial assistance under subsection (a) shall sub22 mit an application to the Secretary in such form, in 

23 such manner, and containing such commitments and 

24 information as the Secretary determines to be nec25 essary to carry out this section. 
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1 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—Each application submitted 

2 by an eligible entity under paragraph (1) shall con3 tain— 

4 ‘‘(A) a description of the supportive serv5 ices proposed to be provided by the eligible enti6 ty; 

7 ‘‘(B) a description of the types of very low8 income veteran families proposed to be provided 

9 such services; 

10 ‘‘(C) an estimate of the number of very 

11 low-income veteran families proposed to be pro12 vided such services; 

13 ‘‘(D) evidence of the experience of the eli14 gible entity in providing supportive services to 

15 very low-income veteran families; 

16 ‘‘(E) a description of the managerial ca17 pacity of the eligible entity to— 

18 ‘‘(i) coordinate the provision of sup19 portive services with the provision of per20 manent housing, by the eligible entity or 

21 by other organizations; 

22 ‘‘(ii) continuously assess the needs of 

23 very low-income veteran families for sup24 portive services; 
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1 ‘‘(iii) coordinate the provision of sup2 portive services with the services of the De3 partment; 

4 ‘‘(iv) tailor supportive services to the 

5 needs of very low-income veteran families; 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(v) continuously seek new sources of 

8 assistance to ensure the long-term provi9 sion of supportive services to very low-in10 come veteran families. 

11 ‘‘(3) SELECTION CRITERIA.—The Secretary 

12 shall establish criteria for the selection of eligible en13 tities to be provided financial assistance under this 

14 section. 

15 ‘‘(d) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall provide 

17 training and technical assistance to participating eli18 gible entities regarding the planning, development, 

19 and provision of supportive services to very low-in20 come veteran families occupying permanent housing. 

21 ‘‘(2) CONTRACTS.—The Secretary may provide 

22 the training described in paragraph (1) directly or 

23 through grants or contracts with appropriate public 

24 or nonprofit private entities. 
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1 ‘‘(e) FUNDING.—Of the amounts available each fiscal 

2 year to the Department for Medical Care for veterans, 

3 $25,000,000 shall be available in each such fiscal year to 

4 carry out the provisions of this section, of which not more 

5 than $750,000 may be used to provide technical assistance 

6 under subsection (d). 

7 ‘‘(f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

8 ‘‘(1) CONSUMER COOPERATIVE.—The term 

9 ‘consumer cooperative’ has the meaning given such 

10 term in section 202 of the Housing Act of 1959 (12 

11 U.S.C. 1701q). 

12 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en13 tity’ means— 

14 ‘‘(A) a private nonprofit organization; or 

15 ‘‘(B) a consumer cooperative. 

16 ‘‘(3) HOMELESS.—The term ‘homeless’ has the 

17 meaning given the term in section 103 of the 

18 McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 

19 U.S.C. 11302)). 

20 ‘‘(4) PERMANENT HOUSING.—The term ‘perma21 nent housing’ means community-based housing with22 out a designated length of stay. 

23 ‘‘(5) PRIVATE NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION.— 

24 The term ‘private nonprofit organization’ means— 
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1 ‘‘(A) any incorporated private institution 

2 or foundation— 

3 ‘‘(i) no part of the net earnings of 

4 which inures to the benefit of any member, 

5 founder, contributor, or individual; 

6 ‘‘(ii) which has a governing board that 

7 is responsible for the operation of the sup8 portive services provided under this sec9 tion; and 

10 ‘‘(iii) which is approved by the Sec11 retary as to financial responsibility; 

12 ‘‘(B) a for-profit limited partnership, the 

13 sole general partner of which is an organization 

14 meeting the requirements of clauses (i), (ii), 

15 and (iii) of subparagraph (A); 

16 ‘‘(C) a corporation wholly owned and con17 trolled by an organization meeting the require18 ments of clauses (i), (ii), and (iii) of subpara19 graph (A); and 

20 ‘‘(D) a tribally designated housing entity 

21 (as defined in section 4 of the Native American 

22 Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act 

23 of 1996 (25 U.S.C. 4103)). 

24 ‘‘(6) VERY LOW-INCOME VETERAN FAMILY.— 
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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara2 graphs (B) and (C), the term ‘very low-income 

3 veteran family’ means a veteran family whose 

4 income does not exceed 50 percent of the me5 dian income for the area, as determined by the 

6 Secretary in accordance with this paragraph. 

7 ‘‘(B) ADJUSTMENTS FOR FAMILY SIZE.— 

8 The Secretary shall make appropriate adjust9 ments to the income requirement under sub10 paragraph (A) based on family size. 

11 ‘‘(C) ADJUSTMENTS FOR HOUSING

12 COSTS.—The Secretary may establish an in13 come ceiling higher or lower than 50 percent of 

14 the median income for an area if the Secretary 

15 determines that such variations are necessary 

16 because the area has unusually high or low con17 struction costs, fair market rents (as deter18 mined under section 8 of the United States 

19 Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f)), or 

20 family incomes. 

21 ‘‘(7) VETERAN FAMILY.—The term ‘veteran 

22 family’ includes a veteran who is a single person and 

23 a family in which the head of household or the 

24 spouse of the head of household is a veteran.’’. 
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1 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec2 tion at the beginning of chapter 20 of title 38, 

3 United States Code, is amended by inserting after 

4 the item relating to section 2043 the following: 

‘‘2044. Financial assistance for supportive services for very low-income veteran 

families in permanent housing.’’. 

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