I 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5521 

To amend the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 to setaside community development block grant amounts in each fiscal year 

for grants to local chapters of veterans service organizations for rehabilitation of their facilities. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 7, 2012 

Mr. WALSH of Illinois introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Financial Services 

A BILL 

To amend the Housing and Community Development Act 

of 1974 to set-aside community development block grant 

amounts in each fiscal year for grants to local chapters 

of veterans service organizations for rehabilitation of 

their facilities. 

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 ‘‘Renovate and Enhance 

5 Veterans’ Meeting Halls and Posts Act of 2012’’ or the 

6 ‘‘REVAMP Act of 2012’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. COMPETITIVE GRANTS TO VETERANS SERVICE OR2 GANIZATIONS FOR FACILITY REHABILITA3 TION. 

4 (a) GRANTS.—Section 107 of the Housing and Com5 munity Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5307) is 

6 amended by adding at the end the following new sub7 section: 

8 ‘‘(g) COMPETITIVE GRANTS TO VETERANS SERVICE

9 ORGANIZATIONS FOR FACILITY REHABILITATION.— 

10 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY.—Using the amounts made 

11 available under section 106(a)(1) in each fiscal year 

12 for grants under this subsection, the Secretary shall 

13 make grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible vet14 erans service organizations for use for repairs and 

15 rehabilitation of existing facilities of such organiza16 tions. 

17 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE VETERANS SERVICE ORGANIZA18 TIONS.—For purposes of this subsection, the term 

19 ‘eligible veterans service organization’ means— 

20 ‘‘(A) an entity that is exempt from tax21 ation pursuant to section 501(c)(19) of the In22 ternal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 

23 501(c)(19)) and is organized on a local or area 

24 basis; and 

25 ‘‘(B) a local or area chapter, post, or other 

26 unit of a national, regional, Statewide, or other 


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1 larger entity of which local or area chapters, 

2 posts, or units are members, that is exempt 

3 from taxation pursuant to section 501(c)(19) of 

4 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 

5 501(c)(19)). 

6 Such term does not include any such national, re7 gional, Statewide, or other larger entity. 

8 ‘‘(3) LIMITATIONS.— 

9 ‘‘(A) AMOUNT.—No eligible veterans serv10 ice organization may receive grant amounts 

11 under this subsection, from the amounts made 

12 available for any single fiscal year, in an 

13 amount exceeding the lesser of— 

14 ‘‘(i) the cost of the proposed repair or 

15 rehabilitation; or 

16 ‘‘(ii) $250,000, as such amount is ad17 justed annually according to an inflation 

18 index as the Secretary shall provide. 

19 ‘‘(B) TIMING.—Any eligible veterans serv20 ice organization that receives grant amounts 

21 under this subsection from amounts made avail22 able for a fiscal year shall be ineligible for any 

23 grant from any amounts made available for 

24 such grants for any of the succeeding 5 fiscal 

25 years. 


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1 ‘‘(4) APPLICATIONS.—Applications for assist2 ance under this subsection may be submitted only by 

3 eligible veterans service organizations, and shall be 

4 in such form and in accordance with such proce5 dures as the Secretary shall establish. Such applica6 tions shall include a plan for the proposed repair or 

7 rehabilitation activities to be conducted using grant 

8 amounts under this subsection. 

9 ‘‘(5) SELECTION; CRITERIA.—The Secretary 

10 shall select applications to receive grants under this 

11 subsection pursuant to a competition and based on 

12 criteria for such selection, which shall include— 

13 ‘‘(A) the extent of need for such assist14 ance; 

15 ‘‘(B) the quality of the plan proposed for 

16 repair or rehabilitation of the facility involved; 

17 ‘‘(C) the capacity or potential capacity of 

18 the applicant to successfully carry out the plan; 

19 and 

20 ‘‘(D) such other factors as the Secretary 

21 determines to be appropriate. 

22 ‘‘(6) PROHIBITION OF CONSTRUCTION OR AC23 QUISITION.—No amounts from a grant under this 

24 subsection may be used for the construction or ac25 quisition of a new facility.’’. 


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1 (b) FUNDING.—Subsection (a) of section 106 of the 

2 Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 (42 

3 U.S.C. 5306(a)) is amended— 

4 (1) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘After’’ and 

5 all that follows through ‘‘paragraph (2)’’ and insert6 ing the following: ‘‘After reserving such amounts for 

7 veterans service organizations under paragraph (1), 

8 for Indian tribes under paragraph (2), and for insu9 lar areas under paragraph (3)’’; 

10 (2) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘and (3)’’ and 

11 inserting ‘‘(3), and (4)’’; 

12 (3) by redesignating paragraphs (1), (2), (3), 

13 and (4), as so amended, as paragraphs (2), (3), (4), 

14 and (5), respectively; and 

15 (4) by inserting before paragraph (2) the fol16 lowing new paragraph: 

17 ‘‘(1) For each fiscal year, the Secretary shall 

18 reserve, for grants under section 107(g), 2 percent 

19 of the amount approved in appropriation Acts under 

20 section 103 for grants for such fiscal year (excluding 

21 the amounts provided for use in accordance with sec22 tion 107).’’. 

23 (c) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary of Housing and 

24 Urban Development shall issue any regulations necessary 

25 to carry out sections 106(a)(4) and 107(g) of the Housing 


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1 and Community Development Act of 1974, as added by 

2 the amendments made by this section, not later than the 

3 expiration of the 90-day period beginning on the date of 

4 the enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


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