I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 6990 

To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to conduct a study on the 

effect of financial and credit counseling for housing unstable veterans. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 22, 2020 

Mr. PALLONE (for himself and Mr. ROSE of New York) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to conduct a 

study on the effect of financial and credit counseling 

for housing unstable 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 ‘‘Homeless Veterans 

5 Credit Repair, Enhancement, and Debt Improvement for 

6 Tomorrow Act’’ or the ‘‘Homeless Veterans CREDIT 

7 Act’’. 

8 SEC. 2. STUDY ON FINANCIAL AND CREDIT COUNSELING. 

9 (a) STUDY REQUIRED.—The Secretary of Veterans 

10 Affairs shall conduct a comprehensive study on— 


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1 (1) the use of and variation of financial and 

2 credit counseling services available for housing un3 stable veterans; 

4 (2) barriers to accessing financial and credit 

5 counseling for housing unstable veterans; and 

6 (3) the ability to evaluate and assess the poten7 tial effects of financial and credit counseling for 

8 housing unstable veterans with respect to housing, 

9 employment, income, and other outcomes the Sec10 retary determines appropriate. 

11 (b) METHODOLOGY.—In conducting the study under 

12 subsection (a), the Secretary shall— 

13 (1) survey— 

14 (A) housing unstable veterans who are en15 rolled in the Supportive Services for Veterans 

16 Families program; 

17 (B) housing unstable veterans who do not 

18 seek or receive the care or services under such 

19 program or a similar program; 

20 (C) grantees of the Supportive Services for 

21 Veterans Families program; 

22 (D) financial and credit counselors; and 

23 (E) persons who are subject matter experts 

24 regarding the use of financial and credit counVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:22 Jun 16, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6990.IH H6990

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1 seling services that the Secretary determines 

2 appropriate; and 

3 (2) administer the survey to a representative 

4 sample of housing unstable veterans and veterans in 

5 areas with high veteran homelessness. 

6 (c) USE AND VARIATION OF SERVICES.—In con7 ducting the study under subsection (a)(1), the Secretary 

8 shall— 

9 (1) use data from the Supportive Services for 

10 Veterans Families program and other data collected 

11 by the Department of Veterans Affairs, data col12 lected by other departments or agencies of the Fed13 eral Government, and data collected by nongovern14 mental entities to compare the use of and variation 

15 of financial and credit counseling services available 

16 for housing unstable veterans and such use and vari17 ation for other individuals; and 

18 (2) assess such services made available through 

19 the Supportive Services for Veterans Families pro20 gram, including with respect to the types, modes of 

21 delivery, duration, consistency, and quality, of such 

22 services. 

23 (d) BARRIERS TO COUNSELING.—In conducting the 

24 study under subsection (a)(2), the Secretary shall conduct 

25 research on the effects of the following perceived barriers 


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1 to financial and credit counseling for housing unstable vet2 erans surveyed in the study: 

3 (1) The cost of financial and credit counseling 

4 services. 

5 (2) The perceived stigma associated with seek6 ing financial and credit counseling assistance. 

7 (3) The effect of driving distance or availability 

8 of other forms of transportation to the nearest facil9 ity that received a grant under the Supportive Serv10 ices for Veterans Families program. 

11 (4) The availability of child care. 

12 (5) The comprehension of eligibility require13 ments for, and the scope of services available under, 

14 the Supportive Services for Veterans Families pro15 gram. 

16 (6) The effectiveness of outreach for the serv17 ices available to housing unstable veterans under the 

18 Supportive Services for Veterans Families program. 

19 (7) The location and operating hours of facili20 ties that provide services to housing unstable vet21 erans under the Supportive Services for Veterans 

22 Families program. 

23 (8) The COVID–19 pandemic and other health 

24 related issues. 


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1 (9) Such other significant barriers as the Sec2 retary considers appropriate. 

3 (e) EVALUATION AND ASSESSMENT OF EFFECTS OF

4 COUNSELING.— 

5 (1) EFFECTS.—In conducting the study under 

6 subsection (a)(3), the Secretary shall conduct re7 search on the ability to evaluate and assess the po8 tential effects of financial and credit counseling serv9 ices on housing unstable veterans with respect to the 

10 following: 

11 (A) The effects of such services on employ12 ment by comparing the veterans who received 

13 such services and the veterans who did not re14 ceive such services. 

15 (B) The effects of such services on housing 

16 status by comparing the veterans who received 

17 such services and the veterans who did not re18 ceive such services. 

19 (C) The effects of such services on income 

20 by comparing the veterans who received such 

21 services and the veterans who did not receive 

22 such services. 

23 (D) The effects of such services on credit 

24 score by comparing the veterans who received 


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1 such services and the veterans who did not re2 ceive such services. 

3 (E) The effects of such services on other 

4 outcomes the Secretary determines appropriate. 

5 (2) DATA AND RECOMMENDATIONS.—In car6 rying out paragraph (1), the Secretary shall— 

7 (A) determine the relevant data that is 

8 available to the Secretary and determine the 

9 confidence of the Secretary with respect to ac10 cessing any additional data the Secretary may 

11 require; and 

12 (B) provide recommendations regarding 

13 the optimal research or evaluation design that 

14 would generate the greatest insights and value. 

15 (f) DISCHARGE BY CONTRACT.—The Secretary may 

16 seek to enter into a contract with a qualified independent 

17 entity or organization to carry out the study and research 

18 required under this section, including such an entity or 

19 organization that is able to access credit scores, data 

20 maintained by the Internal Revenue Service, and other 

21 date beneficial to studying income. 

22 (g) MANDATORY REVIEW OF DATA BY CERTAIN

23 ELEMENTS OF DEPARTMENT.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall ensure 

25 that the head of each element of the Department of 


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1 Veterans Affairs specified in paragraph (2) reviews 

2 the results of the study conducted under subsection 

3 (a). The head of each such element shall submit to 

4 the Deputy Under Secretary for Health for Oper5 ations and Management the findings of the head 

6 with respect to the study, including recommenda7 tions regarding what data the Secretary should col8 lect from grantees under the Supportive Services for 

9 Veterans Families program. 

10 (2) SPECIFIED ELEMENTS.—The elements of 

11 the Department of Veterans Affairs specified in this 

12 paragraph are the following: 

13 (A) The Advisory Committee on Homeless 

14 Veterans established under section 2066 of title 

15 38, United States Code. 

16 (B) The Advisory Committee on Women 

17 Veterans established under section 542 of title 

18 38, United States Code. 

19 (C) The Advisory Committee on Minority 

20 Veterans established under section 544 of title 

21 38, United States Code. 

22 (D) The Homeless Programs Office of the 

23 Veterans Health Administration. 

24 (E) The Office of Tribal Government Rela25 tions of the Department. 


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1 (h) REPORTS.— 

2 (1) INTERIM REPORT.—Not later than one year 

3 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec4 retary shall submit to Congress an interim report on 

5 the study under subsection (a). 

6 (2) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than 30 months 

7 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec8 retary shall submit to Congress a report on the 

9 study under subsection (a). The report shall in10 clude— 

11 (A) the findings of the head of each ele12 ment of the Department specified under sub13 section (g)(2); and 

14 (B) recommendations for such administra15 tive and legislative action as the Secretary con16 siders appropriate. 

17 (i) DEFINITION.—In this section: 

18 (1) The term ‘‘housing unstable veteran’’ means 

19 a veteran that is without a permanent place to live 

20 that is fit for human habitation. 

21 (2) The term ‘‘Supportive Services for Veterans 

22 Families program’’ means the program established 

23 pursuant to section 2044 of title 38, United States 

24 Code. 

Æ 


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