H10654 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE October 2, 2008 

b 1315 

Many of these programs provide financial assistance directly to crime 

victims. Others help victims receive 

proper notification of case developments, and still other assistance may 

come in the form of providing staff for 

victims’ rights organizations and legal 

assistance to victims. Some of these 

victims are elderly, some are poor, and 

some are people that just can’t afford 

any legal costs at all. 

Violent crime victims may be emotionally and physically traumatized 

and therefore unable to assert their 

rights effectively, and victims of identity theft may be financially devastated as a result of loss of savings or 

destroyed credit. 

So I am very pleased to bring this 

measure to the floor, and I urge support for it. 

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of 

my time. 

Mr. CANNON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 

myself such time as I may consume. 

I rise in support of S. 3641, a bill to 

authorize funding for the National 

Crime Victim Law Institute to provide 

support for victims of crime under 

Crime Victims Legal Assistance Programs as part of the Victims of Crime 

Act of 1984. 

In 2007, over 1.4 million Americans 

were victims of violent crime and nearly 10 million were victims of property 

crime. All too often, many of these victims are not given a voice in criminal 

proceedings. Many crime victim organizations around the country such as 

the National Crime Victim Law Institute work tirelessly every day to ensure that the interests and needs of 

crime victims are represented throughout the trial process. 

The National Crime Victim Law Institute, housed at the Lewis and Clark 

Law School, was founded in 1997 as a 

resource for crime victims and crime 

victim lawyers to further the enforcement of crime victims’ rights in criminal and civil proceedings. 

The institute is a national network 

of pro bono legal clinics that represent 

victims of crime in State, Federal, and 

tribal courts as they assert and seek 

enforcement of their rights. Since 2004 

the institute has successfully launched 

and provided ongoing assistance to 

these legal clinics. This network of 

clinics has provided legal counsel to 

over 1,000 crime victims in criminal 

cases, thereby ensuring victims’ rights 

and voices are honored. 

The institute ensures the success of 

the clinics through regular legal research and expert consultation on the 

clinics’ cases and through rigorous 

training in victim law for each clinic 

and its partners. 

S. 3641 ensures that the valuable 

work of the institute will continue and 

that crime victims will be given justice 

by the courts and made whole again by 

their offenders. 

I urge my colleagues to support this 

legislation. 

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance 

of my time. 

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 

back the balance of my time. 

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The 

question is on the motion offered by 

the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. 

CONYERS) that the House suspend the 

rules and pass the Senate bill, S. 3641. 

The question was taken. 

The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the 

opinion of the Chair, two-thirds being 

in the affirmative, the ayes have it. 

Mr. CANNON. Mr. Speaker, on that I 

demand the yeas and nays. 

The yeas and nays were ordered. 

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 

Chair’s prior announcement, further 

proceedings on this motion will be 

postponed. 

f 

HOMELESS EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE AND RAPID TRANSITION 

TO HOUSING ACT OF 2008 

Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 

pass the bill (H.R. 7221) to amend the 

McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance 

Act to reauthorize the Act, and for 

other purposes, as amended. 

The Clerk read the title of the bill. 

The text of the bill is as follows: 

H.R. 7221 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in 

Congress assembled, 

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE AND TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

the ‘‘Homeless Emergency Assistance and 

Rapid Transition to Housing Act of 2008’’. 

(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Findings and purposes. 

Sec. 3. Definition of homelessness. 

Sec. 4. United States Interagency Council on 

Homelessness. 

TITLE I—HOUSING ASSISTANCE 

GENERAL PROVISIONS 

Sec. 101. Definitions. 

Sec. 102. Community homeless assistance 

planning boards. 

Sec. 103. General provisions. 

Sec. 104. Protection of personally identifying information by victim 

service providers. 

Sec. 105. Authorization of appropriations. 

TITLE II—EMERGENCY SOLUTIONS 

GRANTS PROGRAM 

Sec. 201. Grant assistance. 

Sec. 202. Eligible activities. 

Sec. 203. Participation in Homeless Management Information System. 

TITLE III—CONTINUUM OF CARE 

PROGRAM 

Sec. 301. Continuum of care. 

Sec. 302. Eligible activities. 

Sec. 303. High performing communities. 

Sec. 304. Program requirements. 

Sec. 305. Selection criteria, allocation 

amounts, and funding. 

Sec. 306. Research. 

TITLE IV—RURAL HOUSING STABILITY 

ASSISTANCE PROGRAM 

Sec. 401. Rural housing stability assistance. 

Sec. 402. GAO study of homelessness and 

homeless assistance in rural 

areas. 

TITLE V—REPEALS AND CONFORMING 

AMENDMENTS 

Sec. 501. Repeals. 

Sec. 502. Conforming amendments. 

Sec. 503. Effective date. 

Sec. 504. Regulations. 

Sec. 505. Amendment to table of contents. 

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 

(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that— 

(1) a lack of affordable housing and limited 

scale of housing assistance programs are the 

primary causes of homelessness; and 

(2) homelessness affects all types of communities in the United States, including 

rural, urban, and suburban areas. 

(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act 

are— 

(1) to consolidate the separate homeless assistance programs carried out under title IV 

of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance 

Act (consisting of the supportive housing 

program and related innovative programs, 

the safe havens program, the section 8 assistance program for single-room occupancy 

dwellings, and the shelter plus care program) 

into a single program with specific eligible 

activities; 

(2) to codify in Federal law the continuum 

of care planning process as a required and integral local function necessary to generate 

the local strategies for ending homelessness; 

and 

(3) to establish a Federal goal of ensuring 

that individuals and families who become 

homeless return to permanent housing within 30 days. 

SEC. 3. DEFINITION OF HOMELESSNESS. 

(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 103 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 

U.S.C. 11302) is amended— 

(1) by redesignating subsections (b) and (c) 

as subsections (c) and (d); and 

(2) by striking subsection (a) and inserting 

the following: 

‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this Act, 

the terms ‘homeless’, ‘homeless individual’, 

and ‘homeless person’ means— 

‘‘(1) an individual or family who lacks a 

fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence; 

‘‘(2) an individual or family with a primary 

nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used 

as a regular sleeping accommodation for 

human beings, including a car, park, abandoned building, bus or train station, airport, 

or camping ground; 

‘‘(3) an individual or family living in a supervised publicly or privately operated shelter designated to provide temporary living 

arrangements (including hotels and motels 

paid for by Federal, State, or local government programs for low-income individuals or 

by charitable organizations, congregate shelters, and transitional housing); 

‘‘(4) an individual who resided in a shelter 

or place not meant for human habitation and 

who is exiting an institution where he or she 

temporarily resided; 

‘‘(5) an individual or family who— 

‘‘(A) will imminently lose their housing, 

including housing they own, rent, or live in 

without paying rent, are sharing with others, 

and rooms in hotels or motels not paid for by 

Federal, State, or local government programs for low-income individuals or by charitable organizations, as evidenced by— 

‘‘(i) a court order resulting from an eviction action that notifies the individual or 

family that they must leave within 14 days; 

‘‘(ii) the individual or family having a primary nighttime residence that is a room in 

a hotel or motel and where they lack the resources necessary to reside there for more 

than 14 days; or 

‘‘(iii) credible evidence indicating that the 

owner or renter of the housing will not allow 

the individual or family to stay for more 

than 14 days, and any oral statement from an 


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October 2, 2008 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE H10655 

individual or family seeking homeless assistance that is found to be credible shall be considered credible evidence for purposes of this 

clause; 

‘‘(B) has no subsequent residence identified; and 

‘‘(C) lacks the resources or support networks needed to obtain other permanent 

housing; and 

‘‘(6) unaccompanied youth and homeless 

families with children and youth defined as 

homeless under other Federal statutes who— 

‘‘(A) have experienced a long-term period 

without living independently in permanent 

housing; 

‘‘(B) have experienced persistent instability as measured by frequent moves over 

such period; and 

‘‘(C) can be expected to continue in such 

status for an extended period of time because 

of chronic disabilities, chronic physical 

health or mental health conditions, substance addiction, histories of domestic violence or childhood abuse, the presence of a 

child or youth with a disability, or multiple 

barriers to employment. 

‘‘(b) DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND OTHER DANGEROUS OR LIFE-THREATENING CONDITIONS.— 

Notwithstanding any other provision of this 

section, the Secretary shall consider to be 

homeless any individual or family who is 

fleeing, or is attempting to flee, domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, 

stalking, or other dangerous or life-threatening conditions in the individual’s or family’s current housing situation, including 

where the health and safety of children are 

jeopardized, and who have no other residence 

and lack the resources or support networks 

to obtain other permanent housing.’’. 

(b) REGULATIONS.—Not later than the expiration of the 6-month period beginning upon 

the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

Secretary of Housing and Urban Development shall issue regulations that provide 

sufficient guidance to recipients of funds 

under title IV of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act to allow uniform and 

consistent implementation of the requirements of section 103 of such Act, as amended 

by subsection (a) of this section. This subsection shall take effect on the date of the 

enactment of this Act. 

(c) CLARIFICATION OF EFFECT ON OTHER

LAWS.—This section and the amendments 

made by this section to section 103 of the 

McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act 

(42 U.S.C. 11302) may not be construed to affect, alter, limit, annul, or supersede any 

other provision of Federal law providing a 

definition of ‘‘homeless’’, ‘‘homeless individual’’, or ‘‘homeless person’’ for purposes 

other than such Act, except to the extent 

that such provision refers to such section 103 

or the definition provided in such section 103. 

SEC. 4. UNITED STATES INTERAGENCY COUNCIL 

ON HOMELESSNESS. 

(a) IN GENERAL.—Title II of the McKinneyVento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 

11311 et seq.) is amended— 

(1) in section 201 (42 U.S.C. 11311), by inserting before the period at the end the following 

‘‘whose mission shall be to coordinate the 

Federal response to homelessness and to create a national partnership at every level of 

government and with the private sector to 

reduce and end homelessness in the Nation 

while maximizing the effectiveness of the 

Federal Government in contributing to the 

end of homelessness’’; 

(2) in section 202 (42 U.S.C. 11312)— 

(A) in subsection (a)— 

(i) by redesignating paragraph (16) as paragraph (22); and 

(ii) by inserting after paragraph (15) the 

following: 

‘‘(16) The Commissioner of Social Security, 

or the designee of the Commissioner. 

‘‘(17) The Attorney General of the United 

States, or the designee of the Attorney General. 

‘‘(18) The Director of the Office of Management and Budget, or the designee of the Director. 

‘‘(19) The Director of the Office of FaithBased and Community Initiatives, or the 

designee of the Director. 

‘‘(20) The Director of USA FreedomCorps, 

or the designee of the Director.’’; 

(B) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘annually’’ and inserting ‘‘four times each year, 

and the rotation of the positions of Chairperson and Vice Chairperson required under 

subsection (b) shall occur at the first meeting of each year’’; and 

(C) by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘(e) ADMINISTRATION.—The Executive Director of the Council shall report to the 

Chairman of the Council.’’; 

(3) in section 203(a) (42 U.S.C. 11313(a))— 

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

(4), (5), (6), and (7) as paragraphs (2), (3), (4), 

(5), (9), (10), and (11), respectively; 

(B) by inserting before paragraph (2), as so 

redesignated by subparagraph (A), the following: 

‘‘(1) not later than 12 months after the date 

of the enactment of the Homeless Emergency 

Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing 

Act of 2008, develop, make available for public comment, and submit to the President 

and to Congress a National Strategic Plan to 

End Homelessness, and shall update such 

plan annually;’’; 

(C) in paragraph (5), as redesignated by 

subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘at least 2, but 

in no case more than 5’’ and inserting ‘‘not 

less than 5, but in no case more than 10’’; 

(D) by inserting after paragraph (5), as so 

redesignated by subparagraph (A), the following: 

‘‘(6) encourage the creation of State Interagency Councils on Homelessness and the 

formulation of jurisdictional 10-year plans to 

end homelessness at State, city, and county 

levels; 

‘‘(7) annually obtain from Federal agencies 

their identification of consumer-oriented entitlement and other resources for which persons experiencing homelessness may be eligible and the agencies’ identification of improvements to ensure access; develop mechanisms to ensure access by persons experiencing homelessness to all Federal, State, 

and local programs for which the persons are 

eligible, and to verify collaboration among 

entities within a community that receive 

Federal funding under programs targeted for 

persons experiencing homelessness, and 

other programs for which persons experiencing homelessness are eligible, including 

mainstream programs identified by the Government Accountability Office in the reports 

entitled ‘Homelessness: Coordination and 

Evaluation of Programs Are Essential’, 

issued February 26, 1999, and ‘Homelessness: 

Barriers to Using Mainstream Programs’, 

issued July 6, 2000; 

‘‘(8) conduct research and evaluation related to its functions as defined in this section; 

‘‘(9) develop joint Federal agency and other 

initiatives to fulfill the goals of the agency;’’; 

(E) in paragraph (10), as so redesignated by 

subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

end; 

(F) in paragraph (11), as so redesignated by 

subparagraph (A), by striking the period at 

the end and inserting a semicolon; 

(G) by adding at the end the following new 

paragraphs: 

‘‘(12) develop constructive alternatives to 

criminalizing homelessness and eliminate 

laws and policies that prohibit sleeping, 

feeding, sitting, resting, or lying in public 

spaces when there are no suitable alternatives, result in the destruction of a homeless person’s property without due process, 

or are selectively enforced against homeless 

persons; and 

‘‘(13) not later than the expiration of the 6- 

month period beginning upon completion of 

the study requested in a letter to the Acting 

Comptroller General from the Chair and 

ranking member of the House Financial 

Services Committee and several other members regarding various definitions of homelessness in Federal statutes, convene a meeting of representatives of all Federal agencies 

and committees of the House of Representatives and the Senate having jurisdiction over 

any Federal program to assist homeless individuals or families, local and State governments, academic researchers who specialize 

in homelessness, nonprofit housing and service providers that receive funding under any 

Federal program to assist homeless individuals or families, organizations advocating on 

behalf of such nonprofit providers and homeless persons receiving housing or services 

under any such Federal program, and homeless persons receiving housing or services 

under any such Federal program, at which 

meeting such representatives shall discuss 

all issues relevant to whether the definitions 

of ‘homeless’ under paragraphs (1) through 

(4) of section 103(a) of the McKinney-Vento 

Homeless Assistance Act, as amended by section 3 of the Homeless Emergency Assistance 

and Rapid Transition to Housing Act of 2008, 

should be modified by the Congress, including whether there is a compelling need for a 

uniform definition of homelessness under 

Federal law, the extent to which the differences in such definitions create barriers 

for individuals to accessing services and to 

collaboration between agencies, and the relative availability, and barriers to access by 

persons defined as homeless, of mainstream 

programs identified by the Government Accountability Office in the two reports identified in paragraph (7) of this subsection; and 

shall submit transcripts of such meeting, 

and any majority and dissenting recommendations from such meetings, to each 

committee of the House of Representatives 

and the Senate having jurisdiction over any 

Federal program to assist homeless individuals or families not later than the expiration 

of the 60-day period beginning upon conclusion of such meeting.’’. 

(4) in section 203(b)(1) (42 U.S.C. 11313(b))— 

(A) by striking ‘‘Federal’’ and inserting 

‘‘national’’; 

(B) by striking ‘‘; and’’ and inserting ‘‘and 

pay for expenses of attendance at meetings 

which are concerned with the functions or 

activities for which the appropriation is 

made;’’; 

(5) in section 205(d) (42 U.S.C. 11315(d)), by 

striking ‘‘property.’’ and inserting ‘‘property, both real and personal, public and private, without fiscal year limitation, for the 

purpose of aiding or facilitating the work of 

the Council.’’; and 

(6) by striking section 208 (42 U.S.C. 11318) 

and inserting the following: 

‘‘SEC. 208. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated 

to carry out this title $3,000,000 for fiscal 

year 2009 and such sums as may be necessary 

for fiscal years 2010. Any amounts appropriated to carry out this title shall remain 

available until expended.’’. 

(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments 

made by subsection (a) shall take effect on, 

and shall apply beginning on, the date of the 

enactment of this Act. 


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TITLE I—HOUSING ASSISTANCE GENERAL 

PROVISIONS 

SEC. 101. DEFINITIONS. 

Subtitle A of title IV of the McKinneyVento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 

11361 et seq.) is amended— 

(1) by striking the subtitle heading and inserting the following: 

‘‘Subtitle A—General Provisions’’; 

(2) by redesignating sections 401 and 402 (42 

U.S.C. 11361, 11362) as sections 403 and 406, respectively; and 

(3) by inserting before section 403 (as so redesignated by paragraph (2) of this section) 

the following new section: 

‘‘SEC. 401. DEFINITIONS. 

‘‘For purposes of this title: 

‘‘(1) AT RISK OF HOMELESSNESS.—The term 

‘at risk of homelessness’ means, with respect 

to an individual or family, that the individual or family— 

‘‘(A) has income below 30 percent of median income for the geographic area; 

‘‘(B) has insufficient resources immediately available to attain housing stability; 

and 

‘‘(C)(i) has moved frequently because of 

economic reasons; 

‘‘(ii) is living in the home of another because of economic hardship; 

‘‘(iii) has been notified that their right to 

occupy their current housing or living situation will be terminated; 

‘‘(iv) lives in a hotel or motel; 

‘‘(v) lives in severely overcrowded housing; 

‘‘(vi) is exiting an institution; or 

‘‘(vii) otherwise lives in housing that has 

characteristics associated with instability 

and an increased risk of homelessness. 

Such term includes all families with children 

and youth defined as homeless under other 

Federal statutes. 

‘‘(2) CHRONICALLY HOMELESS.— 

‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘chronically 

homeless’ means, with respect to an individual or family, that the individual or family— 

‘‘(i) is homeless and lives or resides in a 

place not meant for human habitation, a safe 

haven, or in an emergency shelter; 

‘‘(ii) has been homeless and living or residing in a place not meant for human habitation, a safe haven, or in an emergency 

shelter continuously for at least 1 year or on 

at least four separate occasions in the last 3 

years; and 

‘‘(iii) has an adult head of household (or a 

minor head of household if no adult is 

present in the household) with a diagnosable 

substance use disorder, serious mental illness, developmental disability (as defined in 

section 102 of the Developmental Disabilities 

Assistance and Bill of Rights Act of 2000 (42 

U.S.C. 15002)), post traumatic stress disorder, 

cognitive impairments resulting from a 

brain injury, or chronic physical illness or 

disability, including the co-occurrence of 

two or more of those conditions. 

‘‘(B) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—A person who 

currently lives or resides in an institutional 

care facility, including a jail, substance 

abuse or mental health treatment facility, 

hospital or other similar facility, and has resided there for fewer than 90 days shall be 

considered chronically homeless if such person met all of the requirements described in 

subparagraph (A) prior to entering that facility. 

‘‘(3) COLLABORATIVE APPLICANT.—The term 

‘collaborative applicant’ means an entity 

that— 

‘‘(A) carries out the duties specified in section 402; 

‘‘(B) serves as the applicant for project 

sponsors who jointly submit a single application for a grant under subtitle C in accordance with a collaborative process; and 

‘‘(C) if the entity is a legal entity and is 

awarded such grant, receives such grant directly from the Secretary. 

‘‘(4) COLLABORATIVE APPLICATION.—The 

term ‘collaborative application’ means an 

application for a grant under subtitle C 

that— 

‘‘(A) satisfies section 422; and 

‘‘(B) is submitted to the Secretary by a 

collaborative applicant. 

‘‘(5) CONSOLIDATED PLAN.—The term ‘Consolidated Plan’ means a comprehensive housing affordability strategy and community 

development plan required in part 91 of title 

24, Code of Federal Regulations. 

‘‘(6) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible 

entity’ means, with respect to a subtitle, a 

public entity, a private entity, or an entity 

that is a combination of public and private 

entities, that is eligible to directly receive 

grant amounts under such subtitle. 

‘‘(7) FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN AND YOUTH DEFINED AS HOMELESS UNDER OTHER FEDERAL

STATUTES.—The term ‘families with children 

and youth defined as homeless under other 

Federal statutes’ means any children or 

youth that are defined as ‘homeless’ under 

any Federal statute other than this subtitle, 

but are not defined as homeless under section 103, and shall also include the parent, 

parents, or guardian of such children or 

youth under subtitle B of title VII this Act 

(42 U.S.C. 11431 et seq.). 

‘‘(8) GEOGRAPHIC AREA.—The term ‘geographic area’ means a State, metropolitan 

city, urban county, town, village, or other 

nonentitlement area, or a combination or 

consortia of such, in the United States, as 

described in section 106 of the Housing and 

Community Development Act of 1974 (42 

U.S.C. 5306). 

‘‘(9) HOMELESS INDIVIDUAL WITH A DISABILITY.— 

‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘homeless individual with a disability’ means an individual who is homeless, as defined in section 

103, and has a disability that— 

‘‘(i)(I) is expected to be long-continuing or 

of indefinite duration; 

‘‘(II) substantially impedes the individual’s 

ability to live independently; 

‘‘(III) could be improved by the provision of 

more suitable housing conditions; and 

‘‘(IV) is a physical, mental, or emotional 

impairment, including an impairment caused 

by alcohol or drug abuse, post traumatic 

stress disorder, or brain injury; 

‘‘(ii) is a developmental disability, as defined in section 102 of the Developmental 

Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act 

of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 15002); or 

‘‘(iii) is the disease of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome or any condition arising 

from the etiologic agency for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. 

‘‘(B) RULE.—Nothing in clause (iii) of subparagraph (A) shall be construed to limit eligibility under clause (i) or (ii) of subparagraph (A). 

‘‘(10) LEGAL ENTITY.—The term ‘legal entity’ means— 

‘‘(A) an entity described in section 501(c)(3) 

of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 

U.S.C. 501(c)(3)) and exempt from tax under 

section 501(a) of such Code; 

‘‘(B) an instrumentality of State or local 

government; or 

‘‘(C) a consortium of instrumentalities of 

State or local governments that has constituted itself as an entity. 

‘‘(11) METROPOLITAN CITY; URBAN COUNTY; 

NONENTITLEMENT AREA.—The terms ‘metropolitan city’, ‘urban county’, and ‘nonentitlement area’ have the meanings given 

such terms in section 102(a) of the Housing 

and Community Development Act of 1974 (42 

U.S.C. 5302(a)). 

‘‘(12) NEW.—The term ‘new’ means, with respect to housing, that no assistance has been 

provided under this title for the housing. 

‘‘(13) OPERATING COSTS.—The term ‘operating costs’ means expenses incurred by a 

project sponsor operating transitional housing or permanent housing under this title 

with respect to— 

‘‘(A) the administration, maintenance, repair, and security of such housing; 

‘‘(B) utilities, fuel, furnishings, and equipment for such housing; or 

‘‘(C) coordination of services as needed to 

ensure long-term housing stability. 

‘‘(14) OUTPATIENT HEALTH SERVICES.—The 

term ‘outpatient health services’ means outpatient health care services, mental health 

services, and outpatient substance abuse 

services. 

‘‘(15) PERMANENT HOUSING.—The term ‘permanent housing’ means community-based 

housing without a designated length of stay, 

and includes both permanent supportive 

housing and permanent housing without supportive services. 

‘‘(16) PERSONALLY IDENTIFYING INFORMATION.—The term ‘personally identifying information’ means individually identifying 

information for or about an individual, including information likely to disclose the location of a victim of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking, including— 

‘‘(A) a first and last name; 

‘‘(B) a home or other physical address; 

‘‘(C) contact information (including a postal, e-mail or Internet protocol address, or 

telephone or facsimile number); 

‘‘(D) a social security number; and 

‘‘(E) any other information, including date 

of birth, racial or ethnic background, or religious affiliation, that, in combination with 

any other non-personally identifying information, would serve to identify any individual. 

‘‘(17) PRIVATE NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION.— 

The term ‘private nonprofit organization’ 

means an organization— 

‘‘(A) no part of the net earnings of which 

inures to the benefit of any member, founder, contributor, or individual; 

‘‘(B) that has a voluntary board; 

‘‘(C) that has an accounting system, or has 

designated a fiscal agent in accordance with 

requirements established by the Secretary; 

and 

‘‘(D) that practices nondiscrimination in 

the provision of assistance. 

‘‘(18) PROJECT.—The term ‘project’ means, 

with respect to activities carried out under 

subtitle C, eligible activities described in 

section 423(a), undertaken pursuant to a specific endeavor, such as serving a particular 

population or providing a particular resource. 

‘‘(19) PROJECT-BASED.—The term ‘projectbased’ means, with respect to rental assistance, that the assistance is provided pursuant to a contract that— 

‘‘(A) is between— 

‘‘(i) the recipient or a project sponsor; and 

‘‘(ii) an owner of a structure that exists as 

of the date the contract is entered into; and 

‘‘(B) provides that rental assistance payments shall be made to the owner and that 

the units in the structure shall be occupied 

by eligible persons for not less than the term 

of the contract. 

‘‘(20) PROJECT SPONSOR.—The term ‘project 

sponsor’ means, with respect to proposed eligible activities, the organization directly responsible for carrying out the proposed eligible activities. 

‘‘(21) RECIPIENT.—Except as used in subtitle B, the term ‘recipient’ means an eligible entity who— 


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October 2, 2008 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE H10657 

‘‘(A) submits an application for a grant 

under section 422 that is approved by the 

Secretary; 

‘‘(B) receives the grant directly from the 

Secretary to support approved projects described in the application; and 

‘‘(C)(i) serves as a project sponsor for the 

projects; or 

‘‘(ii) awards the funds to project sponsors 

to carry out the projects. 

‘‘(22) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ 

means the Secretary of Housing and Urban 

Development. 

‘‘(23) SERIOUS MENTAL ILLNESS.—The term 

‘serious mental illness’ means a severe and 

persistent mental illness or emotional impairment that seriously limits a person’s 

ability to live independently. 

‘‘(24) SOLO APPLICANT.—The term ‘solo applicant’ means an entity that is an eligible 

entity, directly submits an application for a 

grant under subtitle C to the Secretary, and, 

if awarded such grant, receives such grant 

directly from the Secretary. 

‘‘(25) SPONSOR-BASED.—The term ‘sponsorbased’ means, with respect to rental assistance, that the assistance is provided pursuant to a contract that— 

‘‘(A) is between— 

‘‘(i) the recipient or a project sponsor; and 

‘‘(ii) an independent entity that— 

‘‘(I) is a private organization; and 

‘‘(II) owns or leases dwelling units; and 

‘‘(B) provides that rental assistance payments shall be made to the independent entity and that eligible persons shall occupy 

such assisted units. 

‘‘(26) STATE.—Except as used in subtitle B, 

the term ‘State’ means each of the several 

States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States 

Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the 

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, and any other territory or possession 

of the United States. 

‘‘(27) SUPPORTIVE SERVICES.—The term 

‘supportive services’ means services that address the special needs of people served by a 

project, including— 

‘‘(A) the establishment and operation of a 

child care services program for families experiencing homelessness; 

‘‘(B) the establishment and operation of an 

employment assistance program, including 

providing job training; 

‘‘(C) the provision of outpatient health 

services, food, and case management; 

‘‘(D) the provision of assistance in obtaining permanent housing, employment counseling, and nutritional counseling; 

‘‘(E) the provision of outreach services, advocacy, life skills training, and housing 

search and counseling services; 

‘‘(F) the provision of mental health services, trauma counseling, and victim services; 

‘‘(G) the provision of assistance in obtaining other Federal, State, and local assistance 

available for residents of supportive housing 

(including mental health benefits, employment counseling, and medical assistance, but 

not including major medical equipment); 

‘‘(H) the provision of legal services for purposes including requesting reconsiderations 

and appeals of veterans and public benefit 

claim denials and resolving outstanding warrants that interfere with an individual’s ability to obtain and retain housing; 

‘‘(I) the provision of— 

‘‘(i) transportation services that facilitate 

an individual’s ability to obtain and maintain employment; and 

‘‘(ii) health care; and 

‘‘(J) other supportive services necessary to 

obtain and maintain housing. 

‘‘(28) TENANT-BASED.—The term ‘tenantbased’ means, with respect to rental assistance, assistance that— 

‘‘(A) allows an eligible person to select a 

housing unit in which such person will live 

using rental assistance provided under subtitle C, except that if necessary to assure 

that the provision of supportive services to a 

person participating in a program is feasible, 

a recipient or project sponsor may require 

that the person live— 

‘‘(i) in a particular structure or unit for 

not more than the first year of the participation; 

‘‘(ii) within a particular geographic area 

for the full period of the participation, or the 

period remaining after the period referred to 

in subparagraph (A); and 

‘‘(B) provides that a person may receive 

such assistance and move to another structure, unit, or geographic area if the person 

has complied with all other obligations of 

the program and has moved out of the assisted dwelling unit in order to protect the 

health or safety of an individual who is or 

has been the victim of domestic violence, 

dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking, 

and who reasonably believed he or she was 

imminently threatened by harm from further violence if he or she remained in the assisted dwelling unit. 

‘‘(29) TRANSITIONAL HOUSING.—The term 

‘transitional housing’ means housing the 

purpose of which is to facilitate the movement of individuals and families experiencing homelessness to permanent housing 

within 24 months or such longer period as 

the Secretary determines necessary. 

‘‘(30) UNIFIED FUNDING AGENCY.—The term 

‘unified funding agency’ means a collaborative applicant that performs the duties described in section 402(g). 

‘‘(31) UNDERSERVED POPULATIONS.—The 

term ‘underserved populations’ includes populations underserved because of geographic 

location, underserved racial and ethnic populations, populations underserved because of 

special needs (such as language barriers, disabilities, alienage status, or age), and any 

other population determined to be underserved by the Secretary, as appropriate. 

‘‘(32) VICTIM SERVICE PROVIDER.—The term 

‘victim service provider’ means a private 

nonprofit organization whose primary mission is to provide services to victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking. Such term includes rape 

crisis centers, battered women’s shelters, domestic violence transitional housing programs, and other programs. 

‘‘(33) VICTIM SERVICES.—The term ‘victim 

services’ means services that assist domestic 

violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or 

stalking victims, including services offered 

by rape crisis centers and domestic violence 

shelters, and other organizations, with a documented history of effective work concerning domestic violence, dating violence, 

sexual assault, or stalking.’’. 

SEC. 102. COMMUNITY HOMELESS ASSISTANCE 

PLANNING BOARDS. 

Subtitle A of title IV of the McKinneyVento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 

11361 et seq.) is amended by inserting after 

section 401 (as added by section 101(3) of this 

Act) the following new section: 

‘‘SEC. 402. COLLABORATIVE APPLICANTS. 

‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT AND DESIGNATION.—A 

collaborative applicant shall be established 

for a geographic area by the relevant parties 

in that geographic area to— 

‘‘(1) submit an application for amounts 

under this subtitle; and 

‘‘(2) perform the duties specified in subsection (f) and, if applicable, subsection (g). 

‘‘(b) NO REQUIREMENT TO BE A LEGAL ENTITY.—An entity may be established to serve 

as a collaborative applicant under this section without being a legal entity. 

‘‘(c) REMEDIAL ACTION.—If the Secretary 

finds that a collaborative applicant for a geographic area does not meet the requirements of this section, or if there is no collaborative applicant for a geographic area, 

the Secretary may take remedial action to 

ensure fair distribution of grant amounts 

under subtitle C to eligible entities within 

that area. Such measures may include designating another body as a collaborative applicant, or permitting other eligible entities to 

apply directly for grants. 

‘‘(d) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this section shall be construed to displace conflict of 

interest or government fair practices laws, 

or their equivalent, that govern applicants 

for grant amounts under subtitles B and C. 

‘‘(e) APPOINTMENT OF AGENT.— 

‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 

a collaborative applicant may designate an 

agent to— 

‘‘(A) apply for a grant under section 422(c); 

‘‘(B) receive and distribute grant funds 

awarded under subtitle C; and 

‘‘(C) perform other administrative duties. 

‘‘(2) RETENTION OF DUTIES.—Any collaborative applicant that designates an agent 

pursuant to paragraph (1) shall regardless of 

such designation retain all of its duties and 

responsibilities under this title. 

‘‘(f) DUTIES.—A collaborative applicant 

shall— 

‘‘(1) design a collaborative process for the 

development of an application under subtitle 

C, and for evaluating the outcomes of 

projects for which funds are awarded under 

subtitle B, in such a manner as to provide information necessary for the Secretary— 

‘‘(A) to determine compliance with— 

‘‘(i) the program requirements under section 426; and 

‘‘(ii) the selection criteria described under 

section 427; and 

‘‘(B) to establish priorities for funding 

projects in the geographic area involved; 

‘‘(2) participate in the Consolidated Plan 

for the geographic area served by the collaborative applicant; and 

‘‘(3) ensure operation of, and consistent 

participation by, project sponsors in a community-wide homeless management information system (in this subsection referred to as 

‘HMIS’) that— 

‘‘(A) collects unduplicated counts of individuals and families experiencing homelessness; 

‘‘(B) analyzes patterns of use of assistance 

provided under subtitles B and C for the geographic area involved; 

‘‘(C) provides information to project sponsors and applicants for needs analyses and 

funding priorities; and 

‘‘(D) is developed in accordance with standards established by the Secretary, including 

standards that provide for— 

‘‘(i) encryption of data collected for purposes of HMIS; 

‘‘(ii) documentation, including keeping an 

accurate accounting, proper usage, and disclosure, of HMIS data; 

‘‘(iii) access to HMIS data by staff, contractors, law enforcement, and academic researchers; 

‘‘(iv) rights of persons receiving services 

under this title; 

‘‘(v) criminal and civil penalties for unlawful disclosure of data; and 

‘‘(vi) such other standards as may be determined necessary by the Secretary. 

‘‘(g) UNIFIED FUNDING.— 

‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In addition to the duties 

described in subsection (f), a collaborative 

applicant shall receive from the Secretary 

and distribute to other project sponsors in 

the applicable geographic area funds for 

projects to be carried out by such other 

project sponsors, if— 

‘‘(A) the collaborative applicant— 


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‘‘(i) applies to undertake such collection 

and distribution responsibilities in an application submitted under this subtitle; and 

‘‘(ii) is selected to perform such responsibilities by the Secretary; or 

‘‘(B) the Secretary designates the collaborative applicant as the unified funding agency in the geographic area, after— 

‘‘(i) a finding by the Secretary that the applicant— 

‘‘(I) has the capacity to perform such responsibilities; and 

‘‘(II) would serve the purposes of this Act 

as they apply to the geographic area; and 

‘‘(ii) the Secretary provides the collaborative applicant with the technical assistance necessary to perform such responsibilities as such assistance is agreed to by the 

collaborative applicant. 

‘‘(2) REQUIRED ACTIONS BY A UNIFIED FUNDING AGENCY.—A collaborative applicant that 

is either selected or designated as a unified 

funding agency for a geographic area under 

paragraph (1) shall— 

‘‘(A) require each project sponsor who is 

funded by a grant received under subtitle C 

to establish such fiscal control and fund accounting procedures as may be necessary to 

assure the proper disbursal of, and accounting for, Federal funds awarded to the project 

sponsor under subtitle C in order to ensure 

that all financial transactions carried out 

under subtitle C are conducted, and records 

maintained, in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles; and 

‘‘(B) arrange for an annual survey, audit, 

or evaluation of the financial records of each 

project carried out by a project sponsor funded by a grant received under subtitle C. 

‘‘(h) CONFLICT OF INTEREST.—No board 

member of a collaborative applicant may 

participate in decisions of the collaborative 

applicant concerning the award of a grant, or 

provision of other financial benefits, to such 

member or the organization that such member represents.’’. 

SEC. 103. GENERAL PROVISIONS. 

Subtitle A of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11361 et seq.) is 

amended by inserting after section 403 (as so 

redesignated by section 101(2) of this Act) the 

following new sections: 

‘‘SEC. 404. PREVENTING INVOLUNTARY FAMILY 

SEPARATION. 

‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—After the expiration of 

the 2-year period that begins upon the date 

of the enactment of the Homeless Emergency 

Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing 

Act of 2008, and except as provided in subsection (b), any project sponsor receiving 

funds under this title to provide emergency 

shelter, transitional housing, or permanent 

housing to families with children under age 

18 shall not deny admission to any family 

based on the age of any child under age 18. 

‘‘(b) EXCEPTION.—Notwithstanding the requirement under subsection (a), project 

sponsors of transitional housing receiving 

funds under this title may target transitional housing resources to families with 

children of a specific age only if the project 

sponsor— 

‘‘(1) operates a transitional housing program that has a primary purpose of implementing an evidence-based practice that requires that housing units be targeted to families with children in a specific age group; 

and 

‘‘(2) provides such assurances, as the Secretary shall require, that an equivalent appropriate alternative living arrangement for 

the whole family or household unit has been 

secured. 

‘‘SEC. 405. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE. 

‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

make available technical assistance to private nonprofit organizations and other nongovernmental entities, States, metropolitan 

cities, urban counties, and counties that are 

not urban counties, to implement effective 

planning processes for preventing and ending 

homelessness, to improve their capacity to 

prepare collaborative applications, to prevent the separation of families in emergency 

shelter or other housing programs, and to 

adopt and provide best practices in housing 

and services for persons experiencing homeless. 

‘‘(b) RESERVATION.—The Secretary shall reserve not more than 1 percent of the funds 

made available for any fiscal year for carrying out subtitles B and C, to provide technical assistance under subsection (a).’’. 

SEC. 104. PROTECTION OF PERSONALLY IDENTIFYING INFORMATION BY VICTIM 

SERVICE PROVIDERS. 

Subtitle A of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11361 et seq.), 

as amended by the preceding provisions of 

this title, is further amended by adding at 

the end the following new section: 

‘‘SEC. 407. PROTECTION OF PERSONALLY IDENTIFYING INFORMATION BY VICTIM 

SERVICE PROVIDERS. 

‘‘In the course of awarding grants or implementing programs under this title, the Secretary shall instruct any victim service provider that is a recipient or subgrantee not to 

disclose for purposes of the Homeless Management Information System any personally 

identifying information about any client. 

The Secretary may, after public notice and 

comment, require or ask such recipients and 

subgrantees to disclose for purposes of the 

Homeless Management Information System 

non-personally identifying information that 

has been de-identified, encrypted, or otherwise encoded. Nothing in this section shall 

be construed to supersede any provision of 

any Federal, State, or local law that provides greater protection than this subsection 

for victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking.’’. 

SEC. 105. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

Subtitle A of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11361 et seq.), 

as amended by the preceding provisions of 

this title, is further amended by adding at 

the end the following new section: 

‘‘SEC. 408. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated 

to carry out this title $2,200,000,000 for fiscal 

year 2009 and such sums as may be necessary 

for fiscal year 2010.’’. 

TITLE II—EMERGENCY SOLUTIONS 

GRANTS PROGRAM 

SEC. 201. GRANT ASSISTANCE. 

Subtitle B of title IV of the McKinneyVento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 

11371 et seq.) is amended— 

(1) by striking the subtitle heading and inserting the following: 

‘‘Subtitle B—Emergency Solutions Grants 

Program’’; 

(2) by striking section 417 (42 U.S.C. 11377); 

(3) by redesignating sections 413 through 

416 (42 U.S.C. 11373–6) as sections 414 through 

417, respectively; and 

(4) by striking section 412 (42 U.S.C. 11372) 

and inserting the following: 

‘‘SEC. 412. GRANT ASSISTANCE. 

‘‘The Secretary shall make grants to 

States and local governments (and to private 

nonprofit organizations providing assistance 

to persons experiencing homelessness or at 

risk of homelessness, in the case of grants 

made with reallocated amounts) for the purpose of carrying out activities described in 

section 415. 

‘‘SEC. 413. AMOUNT AND ALLOCATION OF ASSISTANCE. 

‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Of the amount made 

available to carry out this subtitle and subtitle C for a fiscal year, the Secretary shall 

allocate nationally 20 percent of such 

amount for activities described in section 

415. The Secretary shall be required to certify that such allocation will not adversely 

affect the renewal of existing projects under 

this subtitle and subtitle C for those individuals or families who are homeless. 

‘‘(b) ALLOCATION.—An entity that receives 

a grant under section 412, and serves an area 

that includes 1 or more geographic areas (or 

portions of such areas) served by collaborative applicants that submit applications 

under subtitle C, shall allocate the funds 

made available through the grant to carry 

out activities described in section 415, in 

consultation with the collaborative applicants.’’; and 

(5) in section 414(b) (42 U.S.C. 11373(b)), as 

so redesignated by paragraph (3) of this section, by striking ‘‘amounts appropriated’’ 

and all that follows through ‘‘for any’’ and 

inserting ‘‘amounts appropriated under section 408 and made available to carry out this 

subtitle for any’’. 

SEC. 202. ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES. 

The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance 

Act is amended by striking section 415 (42 

U.S.C. 11374), as so redesignated by section 

201(3) of this Act, and inserting the following 

new section: 

‘‘SEC. 415. ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES. 

‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Assistance provided 

under section 412 may be used for the following activities: 

‘‘(1) The renovation, major rehabilitation, 

or conversion of buildings to be used as 

emergency shelters. 

‘‘(2) The provision of essential services related to emergency shelter or street outreach, including services concerned with employment, health, education, family support 

services for homeless youth, substance abuse 

services, victim services, or mental health 

services, if— 

‘‘(A) such essential services have not been 

provided by the local government during any 

part of the immediately preceding 12-month 

period or the Secretary determines that the 

local government is in a severe financial deficit; or 

‘‘(B) the use of assistance under this subtitle would complement the provision of 

those essential services. 

‘‘(3) Maintenance, operation, insurance, 

provision of utilities, and provision of furnishings related to emergency shelter. 

‘‘(4) Provision of rental assistance to provide short-term or medium-term housing to 

homeless individuals or families or individuals or families at risk of homelessness. 

Such rental assistance may include tenantbased or project-based rental assistance. 

‘‘(5) Housing relocation or stabilization 

services for homeless individuals or families 

or individuals or families at risk of homelessness, including housing search, mediation or outreach to property owners, legal 

services, credit repair, providing security or 

utility deposits, utility payments, rental assistance for a final month at a location, assistance with moving costs, or other activities that are effective at— 

‘‘(A) stabilizing individuals and families in 

their current housing; or 

‘‘(B) quickly moving such individuals and 

families to other permanent housing. 

‘‘(b) MAXIMUM ALLOCATION FOR EMERGENCY

SHELTER ACTIVITIES.—A grantee of assistance provided under section 412 for any fiscal 

year may not use an amount of such assistance for activities described in paragraphs 

(1) through (3) of subsection (a) that exceeds 

the greater of— 

‘‘(1) 60 percent of the aggregate amount of 

such assistance provided for the grantee for 

such fiscal year; or 


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‘‘(2) the amount expended by such grantee 

for such activities during fiscal year most recently completed before the effective date 

under section 503 of the Homeless Emergency 

Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing 

Act of 2008.’’. 

SEC. 203. PARTICIPATION IN HOMELESS MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM. 

Section 416 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11375), as so redesignated by section 201(3) of this Act, is 

amended by adding at the end the following 

new subsection: 

‘‘(f) PARTICIPATION IN HMIS.—The Secretary shall ensure that recipients of funds 

under this subtitle ensure the consistent participation by emergency shelters and homelessness prevention and rehousing programs 

in any applicable community-wide homeless 

management information system.’’. 

TITLE III—CONTINUUM OF CARE 

PROGRAM 

SEC. 301. CONTINUUM OF CARE. 

The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance 

Act is amended— 

(1) by striking the subtitle heading for subtitle C of title IV (42 U.S.C. 11381 et seq.) and 

inserting the following: 

‘‘Subtitle C—Continuum of Care Program’’; 

and 

(2) by striking sections 421 and 422 (42 

U.S.C. 11381 and 11382) and inserting the following new sections: 

‘‘SEC. 421. PURPOSES. 

‘‘The purposes of this subtitle are— 

‘‘(1) to promote community-wide commitment to the goal of ending homelessness; 

‘‘(2) to provide funding for efforts by nonprofit providers and State and local governments to quickly rehouse homeless individuals and families while minimizing the trauma and dislocation caused to individuals, 

families, and communities by homelessness; 

‘‘(3) to promote access to, and effective utilization of, mainstream programs described 

in section 203(a)(7) and programs funded with 

State or local resources; and 

‘‘(4) to optimize self-sufficiency among individuals and families experiencing homelessness. 

‘‘SEC. 422. CONTINUUM OF CARE APPLICATIONS 

AND GRANTS. 

‘‘(a) PROJECTS.—The Secretary shall award 

grants, on a competitive basis, and using the 

selection criteria described in section 427, to 

carry out eligible activities under this subtitle for projects that meet the program requirements under section 426, either by directly awarding funds to project sponsors or 

by awarding funds to unified funding agencies. 

‘‘(b) NOTIFICATION OF FUNDING AVAILABILITY.—The Secretary shall release a notification of funding availability for grants 

awarded under this subtitle for a fiscal year 

not later than 3 months after the date of the 

enactment of the appropriate Act making 

appropriations for the Department of Housing and Urban Development for such fiscal 

year. 

‘‘(c) APPLICATIONS.— 

‘‘(1) SUBMISSION TO THE SECRETARY.—To be 

eligible to receive a grant under subsection 

(a), a project sponsor or unified funding 

agency in a geographic area shall submit an 

application to the Secretary at such time 

and in such manner as the Secretary may require, and containing such information as 

the Secretary determines necessary— 

‘‘(A) to determine compliance with the program requirements and selection criteria 

under this subtitle; and 

‘‘(B) to establish priorities for funding 

projects in the geographic area. 

‘‘(2) ANNOUNCEMENT OF AWARDS.— 

‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

subparagraph (B), the Secretary shall announce, within 5 months after the last date 

for the submission of applications described 

in this subsection for a fiscal year, the 

grants conditionally awarded under subsection (a) for that fiscal year. 

‘‘(B) TRANSITION.—For a period of up to 2 

years beginning after the effective date 

under section 503 of the Homeless Emergency 

Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing 

Act of 2008, the Secretary shall announce, 

within 6 months after the last date for the 

submission of applications described in this 

subsection for a fiscal year, the grants conditionally awarded under subsection (a) for 

that fiscal year. 

‘‘(d) OBLIGATION, DISTRIBUTION, AND UTILIZATION OF FUNDS.— 

‘‘(1) REQUIREMENTS FOR OBLIGATION.— 

‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 9 months 

after the announcement referred to in subsection (c)(2), each recipient or project sponsor shall meet all requirements for the obligation of those funds, including site control, 

matching funds, and environmental review 

requirements, except as provided in subparagraphs (B) and (C). 

‘‘(B) ACQUISITION, REHABILITATION, OR CONSTRUCTION.—Not later than 24 months after 

the announcement referred to in subsection 

(c)(2), each recipient or project sponsor seeking the obligation of funds for acquisition of 

housing, rehabilitation of housing, or construction of new housing for a grant announced under subsection (c)(2) shall meet 

all requirements for the obligation of those 

funds, including site control, matching 

funds, and environmental review requirements. 

‘‘(C) EXTENSIONS.—At the discretion of the 

Secretary, and in compelling circumstances, 

the Secretary may extend the date by which 

a recipient or project sponsor shall meet the 

requirements described in subparagraphs (A) 

and (B) if the Secretary determines that 

compliance with the requirements was delayed due to factors beyond the reasonable 

control of the recipient or project sponsor. 

Such factors may include difficulties in obtaining site control for a proposed project, 

completing the process of obtaining secure 

financing for the project, obtaining approvals from State or local governments, or completing the technical submission requirements for the project. 

‘‘(2) OBLIGATION.—Not later than 45 days 

after a recipient or project sponsor meets the 

requirements described in paragraph (1), the 

Secretary shall obligate the funds for the 

grant involved. 

‘‘(3) DISTRIBUTION.—A recipient that receives funds through such a grant— 

‘‘(A) shall distribute the funds to project 

sponsors (in advance of expenditures by the 

project sponsors); and 

‘‘(B) shall distribute the appropriate portion of the funds to a project sponsor not 

later than 45 days after receiving a request 

for such distribution from the project sponsor. 

‘‘(4) EXPENDITURE OF FUNDS.—The Secretary may establish a date by which funds 

made available through a grant announced 

under subsection (c)(2) for a homeless assistance project shall be entirely expended by 

the recipient or project sponsors involved. 

The date established under this paragraph 

shall not occur before the expiration of the 

24-month period beginning on the date that 

funds are obligated for activities described 

under paragraphs (1) or (2) of section 423(a). 

The Secretary shall recapture the funds not 

expended by such date. The Secretary shall 

reallocate the funds for another homeless assistance and prevention project that meets 

the requirements of this subtitle to be carried out, if possible and appropriate, in the 

same geographic area as the area served 

through the original grant. 

‘‘(e) RENEWAL FUNDING FOR UNSUCCESSFUL

APPLICANTS.—The Secretary may renew 

funding for a specific project previously 

funded under this subtitle that the Secretary 

determines meets the purposes of this subtitle, and was included as part of a total application that met the criteria of subsection 

(c), even if the application was not selected 

to receive grant assistance. The Secretary 

may renew the funding for a period of not 

more than 1 year, and under such conditions 

as the Secretary determines to be appropriate. 

‘‘(f) CONSIDERATIONS IN DETERMINING RENEWAL FUNDING.—When providing renewal 

funding for leasing, operating costs, or rental assistance for permanent housing, the 

Secretary shall make adjustments proportional to increases in the fair market rents 

in the geographic area. 

‘‘(g) MORE THAN ONE APPLICATION FOR A

GEOGRAPHIC AREA.—If more than one collaborative applicant applies for funds for a 

geographic area, the Secretary shall award 

funds to the collaborative applicant with the 

highest score based on the selection criteria 

set forth in section 427. 

‘‘(h) APPEALS.— 

‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish a timely appeal procedure for grant 

amounts awarded or denied under this subtitle pursuant to a collaborative application 

or solo application for funding. 

‘‘(2) PROCESS.—The Secretary shall ensure 

that the procedure permits appeals submitted by entities carrying out homeless 

housing and services projects (including 

emergency shelters and homelessness prevention programs), and all other applicants 

under this subtitle. 

‘‘(i) SOLO APPLICANTS.—A solo applicant 

may submit an application to the Secretary 

for a grant under subsection (a) and be 

awarded such grant on the same basis as 

such grants are awarded to other applicants 

based on the criteria described in section 427, 

but only if the Secretary determines that 

the solo applicant has attempted to participate in the continuum of care process but 

was not permitted to participate in a reasonable manner. The Secretary may award such 

grants directly to such applicants in a manner determined to be appropriate by the Secretary. 

‘‘(j) FLEXIBILITY TO SERVE PERSONS DEFINED AS HOMELESS UNDER OTHER FEDERAL

LAWS.— 

‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A collaborative applicant may use not more than 10 percent of 

funds awarded under this subtitle (continuum of care funding) for any of the types 

of eligible activities specified in paragraphs 

(1) through (7) of section 423(a) to serve families with children and youth defined as 

homeless under other Federal statutes, or 

homeless families with children and youth 

defined as homeless under section 103(a)(6), 

but only if the applicant demonstrates that 

the use of such funds is of an equal or greater 

priority or is equally or more cost effective 

in meeting the overall goals and objectives 

of the plan submitted under section 

427(b)(1)(B), especially with respect to children and unaccompanied youth. 

‘‘(2) LIMITATIONS.—The 10 percent limitation under paragraph (1) shall not apply to 

collaborative applicants in which the rate of 

homelessness, as calculated in the most recent point in time count, is less than onetenth of 1 percent of total population. 

‘‘(3) TREATMENT OF CERTAIN POPULATIONS.— 

‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding section 

103(a) and subject to subparagraph (B), funds 

awarded under this subtitle may be used for 

eligible activities to serve unaccompanied 

youth and homeless families and children defined as homeless under section 103(a)(6) only 

pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection 


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and such families and children shall not otherwise be considered as homeless for purposes of this subtitle. 

‘‘(B) AT RISK OF HOMELESSNESS.—Subparagraph (A) may not be construed to prevent 

any unaccompanied youth and homeless families and children defined as homeless under 

section 103(a)(6) from qualifying for, and 

being treated for purposes of this subtitle as, 

at risk of homelessness or from eligibility 

for any projects, activities, or services carried out using amounts provided under this 

subtitle for which individuals or families 

that are at risk of homelessness are eligible.’’. 

SEC. 302. ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES. 

The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance 

Act is amended by striking section 423 (42 

U.S.C. 11383) and inserting the following new 

section: 

‘‘SEC. 423. ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES. 

‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Grants awarded under 

section 422 to qualified applicants shall be 

used to carry out projects that serve homeless individuals or families that consist of 

one or more of the following eligible activities: 

‘‘(1) Construction of new housing units to 

provide transitional or permanent housing. 

‘‘(2) Acquisition or rehabilitation of a 

structure to provide transitional or permanent housing, other than emergency shelter, 

or to provide supportive services. 

‘‘(3) Leasing of property, or portions of 

property, not owned by the recipient or 

project sponsor involved, for use in providing 

transitional or permanent housing, or providing supportive services. 

‘‘(4) Provision of rental assistance to provide transitional or permanent housing to eligible persons. The rental assistance may include tenant-based, project-based, or sponsor-based rental assistance. Project-based 

rental assistance, sponsor-based rental assistance, and operating cost assistance contracts carried out by project sponsors receiving grants under this section may, at the discretion of the applicant and the project sponsor, have an initial term of 15 years, with assistance for the first 5 years paid with funds 

authorized for appropriation under this Act, 

and assistance for the remainder of the term 

treated as a renewal of an expiring contract 

as provided in section 429. Project-based 

rental assistance may include rental assistance to preserve existing permanent supportive housing for homeless individuals and 

families. 

‘‘(5) Payment of operating costs for housing units assisted under this subtitle or for 

the preservation of housing that will serve 

homeless individuals and families and for 

which another form of assistance is expiring 

or otherwise no longer available. 

‘‘(6) Supportive services for individuals and 

families who are currently homeless, who 

have been homeless in the prior 6 months but 

are currently residing in permanent housing, 

or who were previously homeless and are 

currently residing in permanent supportive 

housing. 

‘‘(7) Provision of rehousing services, including housing search, mediation or outreach to property owners, credit repair, providing security or utility deposits, rental assistance for a final month at a location, assistance with moving costs, or other activities that— 

‘‘(A) are effective at moving homeless individuals and families immediately into housing; or 

‘‘(B) may benefit individuals and families 

who in the prior 6 months have been homeless, but are currently residing in permanent 

housing. 

‘‘(8) In the case of a collaborative applicant 

that is a legal entity, performance of the duties described under section 402(f)(3). 

‘‘(9) Operation of, participation in, and ensuring consistent participation by project 

sponsors in, a community-wide homeless 

management information system. 

‘‘(10) In the case of a collaborative applicant that is a legal entity, payment of administrative costs related to meeting the requirements described in paragraphs (1) and 

(2) of section 402(f), for which the collaborative applicant may use not more than 3 

percent of the total funds made available in 

the geographic area under this subtitle for 

such costs. 

‘‘(11) In the case of a collaborative applicant that is a unified funding agency under 

section 402(g), payment of administrative 

costs related to meeting the requirements of 

that section, for which the unified funding 

agency may use not more than 3 percent of 

the total funds made available in the geographic area under this subtitle for such 

costs, in addition to funds used under paragraph (10). 

‘‘(12) Payment of administrative costs to 

project sponsors, for which each project 

sponsor may use not more than 10 percent of 

the total funds made available to that 

project sponsor through this subtitle for 

such costs. 

‘‘(b) MINIMUM GRANT TERMS.—The Secretary may impose minimum grant terms of 

up to 5 years for new projects providing permanent housing. 

‘‘(c) USE RESTRICTIONS.— 

‘‘(1) ACQUISITION, REHABILITATION, AND NEW

CONSTRUCTION.—A project that consists of activities described in paragraph (1) or (2) of 

subsection (a) shall be operated for the purpose specified in the application submitted 

for the project under section 422 for not less 

than 15 years. 

‘‘(2) OTHER ACTIVITIES.—A project that consists of activities described in any of paragraphs (3) through (12) of subsection (a) shall 

be operated for the purpose specified in the 

application submitted for the project under 

section 422 for the duration of the grant period involved. 

‘‘(3) CONVERSION.—If the recipient or 

project sponsor carrying out a project that 

provides transitional or permanent housing 

submits a request to the Secretary to carry 

out instead a project for the direct benefit of 

low-income persons, and the Secretary determines that the initial project is no longer 

needed to provide transitional or permanent 

housing, the Secretary may approve the 

project described in the request and authorize the recipient or project sponsor to carry 

out that project. 

‘‘(d) REPAYMENT OF ASSISTANCE AND PREVENTION OF UNDUE BENEFITS.— 

‘‘(1) REPAYMENT.—If a recipient or project 

sponsor receives assistance under section 422 

to carry out a project that consists of activities described in paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection (a) and the project ceases to provide 

transitional or permanent housing— 

‘‘(A) earlier than 10 years after operation 

of the project begins, the Secretary shall require the recipient or project sponsor to 

repay 100 percent of the assistance; or 

‘‘(B) not earlier than 10 years, but earlier 

than 15 years, after operation of the project 

begins, the Secretary shall require the recipient or project sponsor to repay 20 percent 

of the assistance for each of the years in the 

15-year period for which the project fails to 

provide that housing. 

‘‘(2) PREVENTION OF UNDUE BENEFITS.—Except as provided in paragraph (3), if any 

property is used for a project that receives 

assistance under subsection (a) and consists 

of activities described in paragraph (1) or (2) 

of subsection (a), and the sale or other disposition of the property occurs before the expiration of the 15-year period beginning on 

the date that operation of the project begins, 

the recipient or project sponsor who received 

the assistance shall comply with such terms 

and conditions as the Secretary may prescribe to prevent the recipient or project 

sponsor from unduly benefitting from such 

sale or disposition. 

‘‘(3) EXCEPTION.—A recipient or project 

sponsor shall not be required to make the repayments, and comply with the terms and 

conditions, required under paragraph (1) or 

(2) if— 

‘‘(A) the sale or disposition of the property 

used for the project results in the use of the 

property for the direct benefit of very low-income persons; 

‘‘(B) all of the proceeds of the sale or disposition are used to provide transitional or 

permanent housing meeting the requirements of this subtitle; 

‘‘(C) project-based rental assistance or operating cost assistance from any Federal 

program or an equivalent State or local program is no longer made available and the 

project is meeting applicable performance 

standards, provided that the portion of the 

project that had benefitted from such assistance continues to meet the tenant income 

and rent restrictions for low-income units 

under section 42(g) of the Internal Revenue 

Code of 1986; or 

‘‘(D) there are no individuals and families 

in the geographic area who are homeless, in 

which case the project may serve individuals 

and families at risk of homelessness. 

‘‘(e) STAFF TRAINING.—The Secretary may 

allow reasonable costs associated with staff 

training to be included as part of the activities described in subsection (a). 

‘‘(f) ELIGIBILITY FOR PERMANENT HOUSING.— 

Any project that receives assistance under 

subsection (a) and that provides projectbased or sponsor-based permanent housing 

for homeless individuals or families with a 

disability, including projects that meet the 

requirements of subsection (a) and subsection (d)(2)(A) of section 428 may also serve 

individuals who had previously met the requirements for such project prior to moving 

into a different permanent housing project. 

‘‘(g) ADMINISTRATION OF RENTAL ASSISTANCE.—Provision of permanent housing rental assistance shall be administered by a 

State, unit of general local government, or 

public housing agency.’’. 

SEC. 303. HIGH PERFORMING COMMUNITIES. 

The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance 

Act is amended by striking section 424 (42 

U.S.C. 11384) and inserting the following: 

‘‘SEC. 424. INCENTIVES FOR HIGH-PERFORMING 

COMMUNITIES. 

‘‘(a) DESIGNATION AS A HIGH-PERFORMING

COMMUNITY.— 

‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall designate, on an annual basis, which collaborative applicants represent high-performing 

communities. 

‘‘(2) CONSIDERATION.—In determining 

whether to designate a collaborative applicant as a high-performing community under 

paragraph (1), the Secretary shall establish 

criteria to ensure that the requirements described under paragraphs (1)(B) and (2)(B) of 

subsection (d) are measured by comparing 

homeless individuals and families under 

similar circumstances, in order to encourage 

projects in the geographic area to serve 

homeless individuals and families with more 

severe barriers to housing stability. 

‘‘(3) 2-YEAR PHASE IN.—In each of the first 

2 years after the effective date under section 

503 of the Homeless Emergency Assistance 

and Rapid Transition to Housing Act of 2008, 

the Secretary shall designate not more than 

ten collaborative applicants as high-performing communities. 

‘‘(4) EXCESS OF QUALIFIED APPLICANTS.—If, 

during the 2-year period described under 


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paragraph (2), more than ten collaborative 

applicants could qualify to be designated as 

high-performing communities, the Secretary 

shall designate the ten that have, in the discretion of the Secretary, the best performance based on the criteria described under 

subsection (d). 

‘‘(5) TIME LIMIT ON DESIGNATION.—The designation of any collaborative applicant as a 

high-performing community under this subsection shall be effective only for the year in 

which such designation is made. The Secretary, on an annual basis, may renew any 

such designation. 

‘‘(b) APPLICATION.— 

‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A collaborative applicant seeking designation as a high-performing community under subsection (a) 

shall submit an application to the Secretary 

at such time, and in such manner as the Secretary may require. 

‘‘(2) CONTENT OF APPLICATION.—In any application submitted under paragraph (1), a 

collaborative applicant shall include in such 

application— 

‘‘(A) a report showing how any money received under this subtitle in the preceding 

year was expended; and 

‘‘(B) information that such applicant can 

meet the requirements described under subsection (d). 

‘‘(3) PUBLICATION OF APPLICATION.—The 

Secretary shall— 

‘‘(A) publish any report or information 

submitted in an application under this section in the geographic area represented by 

the collaborative applicant; and 

‘‘(B) seek comments from the public as to 

whether the collaborative applicant seeking 

designation as a high-performing community 

meets the requirements described under subsection (d). 

‘‘(c) USE OF FUNDS.—Funds awarded under 

section 422(a) to a project sponsor who is located in a high-performing community may 

be used— 

‘‘(1) for any of the eligible activities described in section 423; or 

‘‘(2) for any of the eligible activities described in paragraphs (4) and (5) of section 

415(a). 

‘‘(d) DEFINITION OF HIGH-PERFORMING COMMUNITY.—For purposes of this section, the 

term ‘high-performing community’ means a 

geographic area that demonstrates through 

reliable data that all five of the following requirements are met for that geographic area: 

‘‘(1) TERM OF HOMELESSNESS.—The mean 

length of episodes of homelessness for that 

geographic area— 

‘‘(A) is less than 20 days; or 

‘‘(B) for individuals and families in similar 

circumstances in the preceding year was at 

least 10 percent less than in the year before. 

‘‘(2) FAMILIES LEAVING HOMELESSNESS.—Of 

individuals and families— 

‘‘(A) who leave homelessness, fewer than 5 

percent of such individuals and families become homeless again at any time within the 

next 2 years; or 

‘‘(B) in similar circumstances who leave 

homelessness, the percentage of such individuals and families who become homeless 

again within the next 2 years has decreased 

by at least 20 percent from the preceding 

year. 

‘‘(3) COMMUNITY ACTION.—The communities 

that compose the geographic area have— 

‘‘(A) actively encouraged homeless individuals and families to participate in homeless 

assistance services available in that geographic area; and 

‘‘(B) included each homeless individual or 

family who sought homeless assistance services in the data system used by that community for determining compliance with this 

subsection. 

‘‘(4) EFFECTIVENESS OF PREVIOUS ACTIVITIES.—If recipients in the geographic area 

have used funding awarded under section 

422(a) for eligible activities described under 

section 415(a) in previous years based on the 

authority granted under subsection (c), that 

such activities were effective at reducing the 

number of individuals and families who became homeless in that community. 

‘‘(5) FLEXIBILITY TO SERVE PERSONS DEFINED

AS HOMELESS UNDER OTHER FEDERAL LAWS.— 

With respect to collaborative applicants exercising the authority under section 422(j) to 

serve homeless families with children and 

youth defined as homeless under other Federal statutes, effectiveness in achieving the 

goals and outcomes identified in subsection 

427(b)(1)(F) according to such standards as 

the Secretary shall promulgate. 

‘‘(e) COOPERATION AMONG ENTITIES.—A collaborative applicant designated as a highperforming community under this section 

shall cooperate with the Secretary in distributing information about successful efforts 

within the geographic area represented by 

the collaborative applicant to reduce homelessness.’’. 

SEC. 304. PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS. 

Section 426 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11386) is 

amended— 

(1) by striking subsections (a), (b), and (c) 

and inserting the following: 

‘‘(a) SITE CONTROL.—The Secretary shall 

require that each application include reasonable assurances that the applicant will own 

or have control of a site for the proposed 

project not later than the expiration of the 

12-month period beginning upon notification 

of an award for grant assistance, unless the 

application proposes providing supportive 

housing assistance under section 423(a)(3) or 

housing that will eventually be owned or 

controlled by the families and individuals 

served. An applicant may obtain ownership 

or control of a suitable site different from 

the site specified in the application. If any 

recipient or project sponsor fails to obtain 

ownership or control of the site within 12 

months after notification of an award for 

grant assistance, the grant shall be recaptured and reallocated under this subtitle. 

‘‘(b) REQUIRED AGREEMENTS.—The Secretary may not provide assistance for a proposed project under this subtitle unless the 

collaborative applicant involved agrees— 

‘‘(1) to ensure the operation of the project 

in accordance with the provisions of this 

subtitle; 

‘‘(2) to monitor and report to the Secretary 

the progress of the project; 

‘‘(3) to ensure, to the maximum extent 

practicable, that individuals and families experiencing homelessness are involved, 

through employment, provision of volunteer 

services, or otherwise, in constructing, rehabilitating, maintaining, and operating facilities for the project and in providing supportive services for the project; 

‘‘(4) to require certification from all 

project sponsors that— 

‘‘(A) they will maintain the confidentiality 

of records pertaining to any individual or 

family provided family violence prevention 

or treatment services through the project; 

‘‘(B) that the address or location of any 

family violence shelter project assisted 

under this subtitle will not be made public, 

except with written authorization of the person responsible for the operation of such 

project; 

‘‘(C) they will establish policies and practices that are consistent with, and do not restrict the exercise of rights provided by, subtitle B of title VII, and other laws relating to 

the provision of educational and related 

services to individuals and families experiencing homelessness; 

‘‘(D) in the case of programs that provide 

housing or services to families, they will designate a staff person to be responsible for ensuring that children being served in the program are enrolled in school and connected to 

appropriate services in the community, including early childhood programs such as 

Head Start, part C of the Individuals with 

Disabilities Education Act, and programs authorized under subtitle B of title VII of this 

Act(42 U.S.C. 11431 et seq.); and 

‘‘(E) they will provide data and reports as 

required by the Secretary pursuant to the 

Act; 

‘‘(5) if a collaborative applicant is a unified 

funding agency under section 402(g) and receives funds under subtitle C to carry out 

the payment of administrative costs described in section 423(a)(11), to establish such 

fiscal control and fund accounting procedures as may be necessary to assure the 

proper disbursal of, and accounting for, such 

funds in order to ensure that all financial 

transactions carried out with such funds are 

conducted, and records maintained, in accordance with generally accepted accounting 

principles; 

‘‘(6) to monitor and report to the Secretary 

the provision of matching funds as required 

by section 430; 

‘‘(7) to take the educational needs of children into account when families are placed 

in emergency or transitional shelter and 

will, to the maximum extent practicable, 

place families with children as close as possible to their school of origin so as not to 

disrupt such children’s education; and 

‘‘(8) to comply with such other terms and 

conditions as the Secretary may establish to 

carry out this subtitle in an effective and efficient manner.’’; 

(2) by redesignating subsection (d) as subsection (c); 

(3) in the first sentence of subsection (c) 

(as so redesignated by paragraph (2) of this 

subsection), by striking ‘‘recipient’’ and inserting ‘‘recipient or project sponsor’’; 

(4) by striking subsection (e); 

(5) by redesignating subsections (f), (g), and 

(h), as subsections (d), (e), and (f), respectively; 

(6) in the first sentence of subsection (e) 

(as so redesignated by paragraph (5) of this 

section), by striking ‘‘recipient’’ each place 

it appears and inserting ‘‘recipient or project 

sponsor’’; 

(7) by striking subsection (i); and 

(8) by redesignating subsection (j) as subsection (g). 

SEC. 305. SELECTION CRITERIA, ALLOCATION 

AMOUNTS, AND FUNDING. 

The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance 

Act is amended— 

(1) by repealing section 429 (42 U.S.C. 

11389); and 

(2) by redesignating sections 427 and 428 (42 

U.S.C. 11387, 11388) as sections 432 and 433, respectively; and 

(3) by inserting after section 426 the following new sections: 

‘‘SEC. 427. SELECTION CRITERIA. 

‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

award funds to recipients through a national 

competition between geographic areas based 

on criteria established by the Secretary. 

‘‘(b) REQUIRED CRITERIA.— 

‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The criteria established 

under subsection (a) shall include— 

‘‘(A) the previous performance of the recipient regarding homelessness, including 

performance related to funds provided under 

section 412 (except that recipients applying 

from geographic areas where no funds have 

been awarded under this subtitle, or under 

subtitles C, D, E, or F of title IV of this Act, 

as in effect prior to the date of the enactment of the Homeless Emergency Assistance 


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and Rapid Transition to Housing Act of 2008, 

shall receive full credit for performance 

under this subparagraph), measured by criteria that shall be announced by the Secretary, that shall take into account barriers 

faced by individual homeless people, and 

that shall include— 

‘‘(i) the length of time individuals and families remain homeless; 

‘‘(ii) the extent to which individuals and 

families who leave homelessness experience 

additional spells of homelessness; 

‘‘(iii) the thoroughness of grantees in the 

geographic area in reaching homeless individuals and families; 

‘‘(iv) overall reduction in the number of 

homeless individuals and families; 

‘‘(v) jobs and income growth for homeless 

individuals and families; 

‘‘(vi) success at reducing the number of individuals and families who become homeless; 

‘‘(vii) other accomplishments by the recipient related to reducing homelessness; and 

‘‘(viii) for collaborative applicants that 

have exercised the authority under section 

422(j) to serve families with children and 

youth defined as homeless under other Federal statutes, success in achieving the goals 

and outcomes identified in section 

427(b)(1)(F); 

‘‘(B) the plan of the recipient, which shall 

describe— 

‘‘(i) how the number of individuals and 

families who become homeless will be reduced in the community; 

‘‘(ii) how the length of time that individuals and families remain homeless will be reduced; 

‘‘(iii) how the recipient will collaborate 

with local education authorities to assist in 

the identification of individuals and families 

who become or remain homeless and are informed of their eligibility for services under 

subtitle B of title VII of this Act (42 U.S.C. 

11431 et seq.); 

‘‘(iv) the extent to which the recipient 

will— 

‘‘(I) address the needs of all relevant subpopulations; 

‘‘(II) incorporate comprehensive strategies 

for reducing homelessness, including the 

interventions referred to in section 428(d); 

‘‘(III) set quantifiable performance measures; 

‘‘(IV) set timelines for completion of specific tasks; 

‘‘(V) identify specific funding sources for 

planned activities; and 

‘‘(VI) identify an individual or body responsible for overseeing implementation of 

specific strategies; and 

‘‘(v) whether the recipient proposes to exercise authority to use funds under section 

422(j), and if so, how the recipient will 

achieve the goals and outcomes identified in 

section 427(b)(1)(F); 

‘‘(C) the methodology of the recipient used 

to determine the priority for funding local 

projects under section 422(c)(1), including the 

extent to which the priority-setting process— 

‘‘(i) uses periodically collected information 

and analysis to determine the extent to 

which each project has resulted in rapid return to permanent housing for those served 

by the project, taking into account the severity of barriers faced by the people the 

project serves; 

‘‘(ii) considers the full range of opinions 

from individuals or entities with knowledge 

of homelessness in the geographic area or an 

interest in preventing or ending homelessness in the geographic area; 

‘‘(iii) is based on objective criteria that 

have been publicly announced by the recipient; and 

‘‘(iv) is open to proposals from entities 

that have not previously received funds 

under this subtitle; 

‘‘(D) the extent to which the amount of assistance to be provided under this subtitle to 

the recipient will be supplemented with resources from other public and private 

sources, including mainstream programs 

identified by the Government Accountability 

Office in the two reports described in section 

203(a)(7); 

‘‘(E) demonstrated coordination by the recipient with the other Federal, State, local, 

private, and other entities serving individuals and families experiencing homelessness 

and at risk of homelessness in the planning 

and operation of projects; 

‘‘(F) for collaborative applicants exercising 

the authority under section 422(j) to serve 

homeless families with children and youth 

defined as homeless under other Federal 

statutes, program goals and outcomes, which 

shall include— 

‘‘(i) preventing homelessness among the 

subset of such families with children and 

youth who are at highest risk of becoming 

homeless, as such term is defined for purposes of this title; or 

‘‘(ii) achieving independent living in permanent housing among such families with 

children and youth, especially those who 

have a history of doubled-up and other temporary housing situations or are living in a 

temporary housing situation due to lack of 

available and appropriate emergency shelter, 

through the provision of eligible assistance 

that directly contributes to achieving such 

results including assistance to address 

chronic disabilities, chronic physical health 

or mental health conditions, substance addiction, histories of domestic violence or 

childhood abuse, or multiple barriers to employment; and 

‘‘(G) such other factors as the Secretary 

determines to be appropriate to carry out 

this subtitle in an effective and efficient 

manner. 

‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL CRITERIA.—In addition to 

the criteria required under paragraph (1), the 

criteria established under paragraph (1) shall 

also include the need within the geographic 

area for homeless services, determined as 

follows and under the following conditions: 

‘‘(A) NOTICE.—The Secretary shall inform 

each collaborative applicant, at a time concurrent with the release of the notice of 

funding availability for the grants, of the pro 

rata estimated grant amount under this subtitle for the geographic area represented by 

the collaborative applicant. 

‘‘(B) AMOUNT.— 

‘‘(i) FORMULA.—Such estimated grant 

amounts shall be determined by a formula, 

which shall be developed by the Secretary, 

by regulation, not later than the expiration 

of the 2-year period beginning upon the date 

of the enactment of the Homeless Emergency 

Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing 

Act of 2008, that is based upon factors that 

are appropriate to allocate funds to meet the 

goals and objectives of this subtitle. 

‘‘(ii) COMBINATIONS OR CONSORTIA.—For a 

collaborative applicant that represents a 

combination or consortium of cities or counties, the estimated need amount shall be the 

sum of the estimated need amounts for the 

cities or counties represented by the collaborative applicant. 

‘‘(iii) AUTHORITY OF SECRETARY.—Subject 

to the availability of appropriations, the 

Secretary shall increase the estimated need 

amount for a geographic area if necessary to 

provide 1 year of renewal funding for all expiring contracts entered into under this subtitle for the geographic area. 

‘‘(3) HOMELESSNESS COUNTS.—The Secretary 

shall not require that communities conduct 

an actual count of homeless people other 

than those described in paragraphs (1) 

through (4) of section 103(a) of this Act (42 

U.S.C. 11302(a)). 

‘‘(c) ADJUSTMENTS.—The Secretary may 

adjust the formula described in subsection 

(b)(2) as necessary— 

‘‘(1) to ensure that each collaborative applicant has sufficient funding to renew all 

qualified projects for at least one year; and 

‘‘(2) to ensure that collaborative applicants 

are not discouraged from replacing renewal 

projects with new projects that the collaborative applicant determines will better be 

able to meet the purposes of this Act. 

‘‘SEC. 428. ALLOCATION OF AMOUNTS AND INCENTIVES FOR SPECIFIC ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES. 

‘‘(a) MINIMUM ALLOCATION FOR PERMANENT

HOUSING FOR HOMELESS INDIVIDUALS AND

FAMILIES WITH DISABILITIES.— 

‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—From the amounts made 

available to carry out this subtitle for a fiscal year, a portion equal to not less than 30 

percent of the sums made available to carry 

out subtitle B and this subtitle, shall be used 

for permanent housing for homeless individuals with disabilities and homeless families 

that include such an individual who is an 

adult or a minor head of household if no 

adult is present in the household. 

‘‘(2) CALCULATION.—In calculating the portion of the amount described in paragraph (1) 

that is used for activities that are described 

in paragraph (1), the Secretary shall not 

count funds made available to renew contracts for existing projects under section 429. 

‘‘(3) ADJUSTMENT.—The 30-percent figure in 

paragraph (1) shall be reduced proportionately based on need under section 427(b)(2) in 

geographic areas for which subsection (e) applies in regard to subsection (d)(2)(A). 

‘‘(4) SUSPENSION.—The requirement established in paragraph (1) shall be suspended for 

any year in which available funding for 

grants under this subtitle would not be sufficient to renew for 1-year existing grants that 

would otherwise be funded under this subtitle. 

‘‘(5) TERMINATION.—The requirement established in paragraph (1) shall terminate upon 

a finding by the Secretary that since the beginning of 2001 at least 150,000 new units of 

permanent housing for homeless individuals 

and families with disabilities have been 

funded under this subtitle. 

‘‘(b) SET-ASIDE FOR PERMANENT HOUSING

FOR HOMELESS FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN.— 

From the amounts made available to carry 

out this subtitle for a fiscal year, a portion 

equal to not less than 10 percent of the sums 

made available to carry out subtitle B and 

this subtitle for that fiscal year shall be used 

to provide or secure permanent housing for 

homeless families with children. 

‘‘(c) TREATMENT OF AMOUNTS FOR PERMANENT OR TRANSITIONAL HOUSING.—Nothing in 

this Act may be construed to establish a 

limit on the amount of funding that an applicant may request under this subtitle for 

acquisition, construction, or rehabilitation 

activities for the development of permanent 

housing or transitional housing. 

‘‘(d) INCENTIVES FOR PROVEN STRATEGIES.— 

‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall provide bonuses or other incentives to geographic areas for using funding under this 

subtitle for activities that have been proven 

to be effective at reducing homelessness generally, reducing homelessness for a specific 

subpopulation, or achieving homeless prevention and independent living goals as set 

forth in section 427(b)(1)(F). 

‘‘(2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—For purposes 

of this subsection, activities that have been 

proven to be effective at reducing homelessness generally or reducing homelessness for 

a specific subpopulation includes— 


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‘‘(A) permanent supportive housing for 

chronically homeless individuals and families; 

‘‘(B) for homeless families, rapid rehousing 

services, short-term flexible subsidies to 

overcome barriers to rehousing, support 

services concentrating on improving incomes 

to pay rent, coupled with performance measures emphasizing rapid and permanent rehousing and with leveraging funding from 

mainstream family service systems such as 

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families 

and Child Welfare services; and 

‘‘(C) any other activity determined by the 

Secretary, based on research and after notice 

and comment to the public, to have been 

proven effective at reducing homelessness 

generally, reducing homelessness for a specific subpopulation, or achieving homeless 

prevention and independent living goals as 

set forth in section 427(b)(1)(F). 

‘‘(3) BALANCE OF INCENTIVES FOR PROVEN

STRATEGIES.—To the extent practicable, in 

providing bonuses or incentives for proven 

strategies, the Secretary shall seek to maintain a balance among strategies targeting 

homeless individuals, families, and other 

subpopulations. The Secretary shall not implement bonuses or incentives that specifically discourage collaborative applicants 

from exercising their flexibility to serve 

families with children and youth defined as 

homeless under other Federal statutes. 

‘‘(e) INCENTIVES FOR SUCCESSFUL IMPLEMENTATION OF PROVEN STRATEGIES.—If any geographic area demonstrates that it has fully 

implemented any of the activities described 

in subsection (d) for all homeless individuals 

and families or for all members of subpopulations for whom such activities are targeted, 

that geographic area shall receive the bonus 

or incentive provided under subsection (d), 

but may use such bonus or incentive for any 

eligible activity under either section 423 or 

paragraphs (4) and (5) of section 415(a) for 

homeless people generally or for the relevant 

subpopulation. 

‘‘SEC. 429. RENEWAL FUNDING AND TERMS OF ASSISTANCE FOR PERMANENT HOUSING. 

‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Of the total amount 

available in the account or accounts designated for appropriations for use in connection with section 8 of the United States 

Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f), the Secretary shall use such sums as may be necessary for the purpose of renewing expiring 

contracts for leasing, rental assistance, or 

operating costs for permanent housing. 

‘‘(b) RENEWALS.—The sums made available 

under subsection (a) shall be available for 

the renewal of contracts in the case of tenant-based assistance, successive 1-year 

terms, and in the case of project-based assistance, successive terms of up to 15 years 

at the discretion of the applicant or project 

sponsor and subject to the availability of annual appropriations, for rental assistance 

and housing operation costs associated with 

permanent housing projects funded under 

this subtitle, or under subtitle C or F (as in 

effect on the day before the effective date of 

the Homeless Emergency Assistance and 

Rapid Transition to Housing Act of 2008). 

The Secretary shall determine whether to 

renew a contract for such a permanent housing project on the basis of certification by 

the collaborative applicant for the geographic area that— 

‘‘(1) there is a demonstrated need for the 

project; and 

‘‘(2) the project complies with program requirements and appropriate standards of 

housing quality and habitability, as determined by the Secretary. 

‘‘(c) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this section shall be construed as prohibiting the 

Secretary from renewing contracts under 

this subtitle in accordance with criteria set 

forth in a provision of this subtitle other 

than this section. 

‘‘SEC. 430. MATCHING FUNDING. 

‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A collaborative applicant in a geographic area in which funds are 

awarded under this subtitle shall specify 

contributions from any source other than a 

grant awarded under this subtitle, including 

renewal funding of projects assisted under 

subtitles C, D, and F of this title as in effect 

before the effective date under section 503 of 

the Homeless Emergency Assistance and 

Rapid Transition to Housing Act of 2008, that 

shall be made available in the geographic 

area in an amount equal to not less than 25 

percent of the funds provided to recipients in 

the geographic area, except that grants for 

leasing shall not be subject to any match requirement. 

‘‘(b) LIMITATIONS ON IN-KIND MATCH.—The 

cash value of services provided to the residents or clients of a project sponsor by an 

entity other than the project sponsor may 

count toward the contributions in subsection 

(a) only when documented by a memorandum 

of understanding between the project sponsor and the other entity that such services 

will be provided. 

‘‘(c) COUNTABLE ACTIVITIES.—The contributions required under subsection (a) may consist of— 

‘‘(1) funding for any eligible activity described under section 423; and 

‘‘(2) subject to subsection (b), in-kind provision of services of any eligible activity described under section 423. 

‘‘SEC. 431. APPEAL PROCEDURE. 

‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—With respect to funding 

under this subtitle, if certification of consistency with the consolidated plan pursuant 

to section 403 is withheld from an applicant 

who has submitted an application for that 

certification, such applicant may appeal 

such decision to the Secretary. 

‘‘(b) PROCEDURE.—The Secretary shall establish a procedure to process the appeals described in subsection (a). 

‘‘(c) DETERMINATION.—Not later than 45 

days after the date of receipt of an appeal described in subsection (a), the Secretary shall 

determine if certification was unreasonably 

withheld. If such certification was unreasonably withheld, the Secretary shall review 

such application and determine if such applicant shall receive funding under this subtitle.’’. 

SEC. 306. RESEARCH. 

There is authorized to be appropriated 

$8,000,000, for each of fiscal years 2009 and 

2010, for research into the efficacy of interventions for homeless families, to be expended by the Secretary of Housing and 

Urban Development over the 2 years at three 

different sites to provide services for homeless families and evaluate the effectiveness 

of such services. 

TITLE IV—RURAL HOUSING STABILITY 

ASSISTANCE PROGRAM 

SEC. 401. RURAL HOUSING STABILITY ASSISTANCE. 

Subtitle G of title IV of the McKinneyVento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 

11408 et seq.) is amended— 

(1) by striking the subtitle heading and inserting the following: 

‘‘Subtitle G—Rural Housing Stability 

Assistance Program’’; and 

(2) in section 491— 

(A) by striking the section heading and inserting ‘‘RURAL HOUSING STABILITY 

GRANT PROGRAM.’’; 

(B) in subsection (a)— 

(i) by striking ‘‘rural homelessness grant 

program’’ and inserting ‘‘rural housing stability grant program’’; 

(ii) by inserting ‘‘in lieu of grants under 

subtitle C’’ after ‘‘eligible organizations’’; 

and 

(iii) by striking paragraphs (1), (2), and (3), 

and inserting the following: 

‘‘(1) rehousing or improving the housing 

situations of individuals and families who 

are homeless or in the worst housing situations in the geographic area; 

‘‘(2) stabilizing the housing of individuals 

and families who are in imminent danger of 

losing housing; and 

‘‘(3) improving the ability of the lowest-income residents of the community to afford 

stable housing.’’; 

(C) in subsection (b)(1)— 

(i) by redesignating subparagraphs (E), (F), 

and (G) as subparagraphs (I), (J), and (K), respectively; and 

(ii) by striking subparagraph (D) and inserting the following: 

‘‘(D) construction of new housing units to 

provide transitional or permanent housing to 

homeless individuals and families and individuals and families at risk of homelessness; 

‘‘(E) acquisition or rehabilitation of a 

structure to provide supportive services or to 

provide transitional or permanent housing, 

other than emergency shelter, to homeless 

individuals and families and individuals and 

families at risk of homelessness; 

‘‘(F) leasing of property, or portions of 

property, not owned by the recipient or 

project sponsor involved, for use in providing 

transitional or permanent housing to homeless individuals and families and individuals 

and families at risk of homelessness, or providing supportive services to such homeless 

and at-risk individuals and families; 

‘‘(G) provision of rental assistance to provide transitional or permanent housing to 

homeless individuals and families and individuals and families at risk of homelessness, 

such rental assistance may include tenantbased or project-based rental assistance; 

‘‘(H) payment of operating costs for housing units assisted under this title;’’; 

(D) in subsection (b)(2), by striking ‘‘appropriated’’ and inserting ‘‘transferred’’; 

(E) in subsection (c)— 

(i) in paragraph (1)(A), by striking ‘‘appropriated’’ and inserting ‘‘transferred’’; and 

(ii) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘appropriated’’ and inserting ‘‘transferred’’; 

(F) in subsection (d)— 

(i) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘; and’’ and 

inserting a semicolon; 

(ii) in paragraph (6)— 

(I) by striking ‘‘an agreement’’ and all that 

follows through ‘‘families’’ and inserting the 

following: ‘‘a description of how individuals 

and families who are homeless or who have 

the lowest incomes in the community will be 

involved by the organization’’; and 

(II) by striking the period at the end, and 

inserting a semicolon; and 

(iii) by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘(7) a description of consultations that 

took place within the community to ascertain the most important uses for funding 

under this section, including the involvement of potential beneficiaries of the 

project; and 

‘‘(8) a description of the extent and nature 

of homelessness and of the worst housing situations in the community.’’; 

(G) by striking subsections (f) and (g) and 

inserting the following: 

‘‘(f) MATCHING FUNDING.— 

‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An organization eligible 

to receive a grant under subsection (a) shall 

specify matching contributions from any 

source other than a grant awarded under this 

subtitle, that shall be made available in the 

geographic area in an amount equal to not 

less than 25 percent of the funds provided for 

the project or activity, except that grants 


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for leasing shall not be subject to any match 

requirement. 

‘‘(2) LIMITATIONS ON IN-KIND MATCH.—The 

cash value of services provided to the beneficiaries or clients of an eligible organization 

by an entity other than the organization 

may count toward the contributions in paragraph (1) only when documented by a memorandum of understanding between the organization and the other entity that such services will be provided. 

‘‘(3) COUNTABLE ACTIVITIES.—The contributions required under paragraph (1) may consist of— 

‘‘(A) funding for any eligible activity described under subsection (b); and 

‘‘(B) subject to paragraph (2), in-kind provision of services of any eligible activity described under subsection (b). 

‘‘(g) SELECTION CRITERIA.—The Secretary 

shall establish criteria for selecting recipients of grants under subsection (a), including— 

‘‘(1) the participation of potential beneficiaries of the project in assessing the need 

for, and importance of, the project in the 

community; 

‘‘(2) the degree to which the project addresses the most harmful housing situations 

present in the community; 

‘‘(3) the degree of collaboration with others 

in the community to meet the goals described in subsection (a); 

‘‘(4) the performance of the organization in 

improving housing situations, taking account of the severity of barriers of individuals and families served by the organization; 

‘‘(5) for organizations that have previously 

received funding under this section, the extent of improvement in homelessness and the 

worst housing situations in the community 

since such funding began; 

‘‘(6) the need for such funds, as determined 

by the formula established under section 

427(b)(2); and 

‘‘(7) any other relevant criteria as determined by the Secretary.’’; 

(H) in subsection (h)— 

(i) in paragraph (1)(A)— 

(I) by striking ‘‘The’’ and inserting ‘‘Not 

later than 18 months after funding is first 

made available pursuant to the amendments 

made by title IV of the Homeless Emergency 

Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing 

Act of 2008, the’’; and 

(II) by striking ‘‘providing housing and 

other assistance to homeless persons’’ and 

inserting ‘‘meeting the goals described in 

subsection (a)’’; 

(ii) in paragraph (1)(B), by striking ‘‘address homelessness in rural areas’’ and inserting ‘‘meet the goals described in subsection (a) in rural areas’’; and 

(iii) in paragraph (2)— 

(I) by striking ‘‘The’’ and inserting ‘‘Not 

later than 24 months after funding is first 

made available pursuant to the amendment 

made by title IV of the Homeless Emergency 

Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing 

Act of 2008, the’’; 

(II) by striking ‘‘, not later than 18 months 

after the date on which the Secretary first 

makes grants under the program,’’; and 

(III) by striking ‘‘prevent and respond to 

homelessness’’ and inserting ‘‘meet the goals 

described in subsection (a)’’; 

(I) in subsection (k)— 

(i) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘rural 

homelessness grant program’’ and inserting 

‘‘rural housing stability grant program’’; and 

(ii) in paragraph (2)— 

(I) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘; or’’ 

and inserting a semicolon; 

(II) in subparagraph (B)(ii), by striking 

‘‘rural census tract.’’ and inserting ‘‘county 

where at least 75 percent of the population is 

rural; or’’; and 

(III) by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘(C) any area or community, respectively, 

located in a State that has population density of less than 30 persons per square mile 

(as reported in the most recent decennial 

census), and of which at least 1.25 percent of 

the total acreage of such State is under Federal jurisdiction, provided that no metropolitan city (as such term is defined in section 

102 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974) in such State is the sole 

beneficiary of the grant amounts awarded 

under this section.’’; 

(J) in subsection (l)— 

(i) by striking the subsection heading and 

inserting ‘‘PROGRAM FUNDING.—’’; and 

(ii) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting 

the following: 

‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall determine the total amount of funding attributable under section 427(b)(2) to meet the 

needs of any geographic area in the Nation 

that applies for funding under this section. 

The Secretary shall transfer any amounts 

determined under this subsection from the 

Community Homeless Assistance Program 

and consolidate such transferred amounts for 

grants under this section, except that the 

Secretary shall transfer an amount not less 

than 5 percent of the amount available under 

this subtitle for grants under this section.’’; 

and 

(K) by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘(m) DIVISION OF FUNDS.— 

‘‘(1) AGREEMENT AMONG GEOGRAPHIC

AREAS.—If the Secretary receives an application or applications to provide services in a 

geographic area under this subtitle, and also 

under subtitle C, the Secretary shall consult 

with all applicants from the geographic area 

to determine whether all agree to proceed 

under either this subtitle or under subtitle 

C. 

‘‘(2) DEFAULT IF NO AGREEMENT.—If no 

agreement is reached under paragraph (1), 

the Secretary shall proceed under this subtitle or under subtitle C, depending on which 

results in the largest total grant funding to 

the geographic area.’’. 

SEC. 402. GAO STUDY OF HOMELESSNESS AND 

HOMELESS ASSISTANCE IN RURAL 

AREAS. 

(a) STUDY AND REPORT.—Not later than the 

expiration of the 12-month period beginning 

on the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

Comptroller General of the United States 

shall conduct a study to examine homelessness and homeless assistance in rural areas 

and rural communities and submit a report 

to the Congress on the findings and conclusion of the study. The report shall contain 

the following matters: 

(1) A general description of homelessness, 

including the range of living situations 

among homeless individuals and homeless 

families, in rural areas and rural communities of the United States, including tribal 

lands and colonias. 

(2) An estimate of the incidence and prevalence of homelessness among individuals and 

families in rural areas and rural communities of the United States. 

(3) An estimate of the number of individuals and families from rural areas and rural 

communities who migrate annually to nonrural areas and non-rural communities for 

homeless assistance. 

(4) A description of barriers that individuals and families in and from rural areas and 

rural communities encounter when seeking 

to access homeless assistance programs, and 

recommendations for removing such barriers. 

(5) A comparison of the rate of homelessness among individuals and families in and 

from rural areas and rural communities compared to the rate of homelessness among individuals and families in and from non-rural 

areas and non-rural communities. 

(6) A general description of homeless assistance for individuals and families in rural 

areas and rural communities of the United 

States. 

(7) A description of barriers that homeless 

assistance providers serving rural areas and 

rural communities encounter when seeking 

to access Federal homeless assistance programs, and recommendations for removing 

such barriers. 

(8) An assessment of the type and amount 

of Federal homeless assistance funds awarded to organizations serving rural areas and 

rural communities and a determination as to 

whether such amount is proportional to the 

distribution of homeless individuals and 

families in and from rural areas and rural 

communities compared to homeless individuals and families in non-rural areas and nonrural communities. 

(9) An assessment of the current roles of 

the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Department of Agriculture, and 

other Federal departments and agencies in 

administering homeless assistance programs 

in rural areas and rural communities and 

recommendations for distributing Federal 

responsibilities, including homeless assistance program administration and 

grantmaking, among the departments and 

agencies so that service organizations in 

rural areas and rural communities are most 

effectively reached and supported. 

(b) ACQUISITION OF SUPPORTING INFORMATION.—In carrying out the study under this 

section, the Comptroller General shall seek 

to obtain views from the following persons: 

(1) The Secretary of Agriculture. 

(2) The Secretary of Housing and Urban 

Development. 

(3) The Secretary of Health and Human 

Services. 

(4) The Secretary of Education. 

(5) The Secretary of Labor. 

(6) The Secretary of Veterans Affairs. 

(7) The Executive Director of the United 

States Interagency Council on Homelessness. 

(8) Project sponsors and recipients of 

homeless assistance grants serving rural 

areas and rural communities. 

(9) Individuals and families in or from 

rural areas and rural communities who have 

sought or are seeking Federal homeless assistance services. 

(10) National advocacy organizations concerned with homelessness, rural housing, and 

rural community development. 

(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall 

take effect on the date of the enactment of 

this Act. 

TITLE V—REPEALS AND CONFORMING 

AMENDMENTS 

SEC. 501. REPEALS. 

Subtitles D, E, and F of title IV of the 

McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act 

(42 U.S.C. 11391 et seq., 11401 et seq., and 11403 

et seq.) are hereby repealed. 

SEC. 502. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 

(a) CONSOLIDATED PLAN.—Section 403(1) of 

the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance 

Act (as so redesignated by section 101(2) of 

this Act), is amended— 

(1) by striking ‘‘current housing affordability strategy’’ and inserting ‘‘consolidated plan’’; and 

(2) by inserting before the comma the following: ‘‘(referred to in such section as a 

‘comprehensive housing affordability strategy’)’’. 

(b) PERSONS EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS.—Section 103 of the McKinney-Vento 

Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11302), as 

amended by the preceding provisions of this 

Act, is further amended by adding at the end 

the following new subsection: 

‘‘(e) PERSONS EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS.—Any references in this Act to homeless individuals (including homeless persons) 


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or homeless groups (including homeless persons) shall be considered to include, and to 

refer to, individuals experiencing homelessness or groups experiencing homelessness, 

respectively.’’. 

(c) RURAL HOUSING STABILITY ASSISTANCE.—Title IV of the McKinney-Vento 

Homeless Assistance Act is amended by redesignating subtitle G (42 U.S.C. 11408 et 

seq.), as amended by the preceding provisions 

of this Act, as subtitle D. 

SEC. 503. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

Except as specifically provided otherwise 

in this Act, this Act and the amendments 

made by this Act shall take effect on, and 

shall apply beginning on— 

(1) the expiration of the 18-month period 

beginning on the date of the enactment of 

this Act, or 

(2) the expiration of the 3-month period beginning upon publication by the Secretary of 

Housing and Urban Development of final regulations pursuant to section 504, 

whichever occurs first. 

SEC. 504. REGULATIONS. 

(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 12 months 

after the date of the enactment of this Act, 

the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development shall promulgate regulations governing the operation of the programs that 

are created or modified by this Act. 

(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall 

take effect on the date of the enactment of 

this Act. 

SEC. 505. AMENDMENT TO TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

The table of contents in section 101(b) of 

the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance 

Act (42 U.S.C. 11301 note) is amended by 

striking the item relating to the heading for 

title IV and all that follows through the 

item relating to section 492 and inserting the 

following new items: 

‘‘TITLE IV—HOUSING ASSISTANCE 

‘‘Subtitle A—General Provisions 

‘‘Sec. 401. Definitions. 

‘‘Sec. 402. Collaborative applicants. 

‘‘Sec. 403. Housing affordability strategy. 

‘‘Sec. 404. Preventing involuntary family 

separation 

‘‘Sec. 405. Technical assistance. 

‘‘Sec. 406. Discharge coordination policy. 

‘‘Sec. 407. Protection of personally identifying information by victim 

service providers. 

‘‘Sec. 408. Authorization of appropriations. 

‘‘Subtitle B—Emergency Solutions Grants 

Program 

‘‘Sec. 411. Definitions. 

‘‘Sec. 412. Grant assistance. 

‘‘Sec. 413. Amount and allocation of assistance. 

‘‘Sec. 414. Allocation and distribution of assistance. 

‘‘Sec. 415. Eligible activities. 

‘‘Sec. 416. Responsibilities of recipients. 

‘‘Sec. 417. Administrative provisions. 

‘‘Sec. 418. Administrative costs. 

‘‘Subtitle C—Continuum of Care Program 

‘‘Sec. 421. Purposes. 

‘‘Sec. 422. Continuum of care applications 

and grants. 

‘‘Sec. 423. Eligible activities. 

‘‘Sec. 424. Incentives for high-performing 

communities. 

‘‘Sec. 425. Supportive services. 

‘‘Sec. 426. Program requirements. 

‘‘Sec. 427. Selection criteria. 

‘‘Sec. 428. Allocation of amounts and incentives for specific eligible activities. 

‘‘Sec. 429. Renewal funding and terms of assistance for permanent housing. 

‘‘Sec. 430. Matching funding. 

‘‘Sec. 431. Appeal procedure. 

‘‘Sec. 432. Regulations. 

‘‘Sec. 433. Reports to Congress. 

‘‘Subtitle D—Rural Housing Stability 

Assistance Program 

‘‘Sec. 491. Rural housing stability assistance. 

‘‘Sec. 492. Use of FHMA inventory for transitional housing for homeless 

persons and for turnkey housing.’’. 

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 

Wisconsin (Ms. MOORE) and the gentlewoman from Illinois (Mrs. BIGGERT) 

each will control 20 minutes. 

The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Wisconsin. 

GENERAL LEAVE

Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 

Members may have 5 legislative days 

within which to revise and extend their 

remarks on this legislation and to insert extraneous material thereon. 

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there 

objection to the request of the gentlewoman from Wisconsin? 

There was no objection. 

Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 

consume. 

Mr. Speaker, I would like to start out 

by giving sincere thanks to everyone 

who has been involved in this issue. It 

has really been a struggle arriving at 

this point because the ability to determine who is exactly homeless has such 

infinite proportions that it has been 

very difficult to come to an agreement. 

However, the substance of this bill, the 

majority of the players support this on 

all sides of the debate. That would be 

on both sides of the aisle and in both 

Chambers. 

But an enormous amount of thanks is 

due to certain people. I’m especially 

grateful to our chairman, BARNEY

FRANK; Chairwoman WATERS; Representative ANDRE CARSON; Representative GEOFF DAVIS; and, of course, my 

very good friend and colleague, Representative JUDY BIGGERT; and their 

staffs, who have done a tremendous 

deal of work on this bill; and all of the 

advocates who have worked so patiently with us. 

But we wouldn’t be here today, Mr. 

Speaker, if it weren’t for the outstanding work of our dear departed colleague, my dear late friend, Representative Julia Carson of Indiana, who 

worked so hard on this issue for so 

many years and whose work has 

brought us to where we are today. 

We need to keep in mind the enormous scope of this problem in light of 

the housing rescue issue that we are 

dealing with here in this House either 

tonight or tomorrow. This credit crisis 

hits the poorest among us. We are expecting no less than 61⁄2 million foreclosures in the next few years, and 

these families, of course, are at grave 

risk of becoming homeless. Whether 

they’re doubled up with a family member, sleeping in a shelter, or spending 

the nights on the street, our cities and 

towns are due to face a tidal wave of 

people in need. At the same time, we 

know that 1.6 million people already 

experience homelessness at some point 

in a given year. 

The mobility of kids due to housing 

insecurity and the education they receive is another huge problem. It is 

nearly impossible for a child to receive 

a quality education when they aren’t 

sure where they’ll be sleeping at night 

or even which school they will be attending in the morning. I think about 

the at-risk status of families and children in my own district, where 80 percent of the kids in our school system 

are eligible for free or reduced lunch. 

This bill provides a great deal of support for these families. 

First, we expand HUD’s definition of 

homelessness. This bill includes all 

families who are due to lose their current housing within a 14-day period because they’re doubled up or because 

they’ve received a notice that they 

must move. We have doubled the 

amount of time that HUD currently 

recognizes these families under that 

standard from 7 days to 14 days. This 

bill specifically clarifies that anyone 

fleeing a domestic violence situation is 

homeless. We provide double funding 

for the Emergency Solutions Program, 

up to 20 percent of all funds, and then 

require that at least half of that money 

be spent on so-called homelessness prevention activities, which would be 

those who are ‘‘couch surfing,’’ that is, 

they are spending the night from couch 

to couch; they’re doubled up; or otherwise fall outside of HUD’s current definition. We also provide localities with 

additional flexibility to use up to 10 

percent of their continuum of care 

funding to serve doubled-up families. 

Finally, we have provisions to include 

children and their families who are defined as homeless under other Federal 

statutes. 

This bill is not perfect, but few pieces 

of legislation are. 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, 

COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND COMMERCE, 

Washington, DC, October 1, 2008. 

Hon. BARNEY FRANK, 

Chairman, Committee on Financial Services, 

Washington, DC. 

DEAR CHAIRMAN FRANK: I write regarding 

H.R. 840, the ‘‘Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing Act of 

2007’’. The bill includes provisions concerning grants to provide health services to 

homeless individuals. 

The Committee on Energy and Commerce 

has a jurisdictional interest in such provisions. I support H.R. 840 and do not intend to 

seek a sequential referral of the bill. My understanding is that you acknowledge the jurisdiction of the Committee, and you agree 

with me that my decision to forgo a sequential referral does not in any way prejudice 

the Committee with respect to any of its jurisdictional prerogatives, including the appointment of conferees, on this bill or similar legislation in the future. 

I request that you send a letter to me confirming my understanding regarding the bill, 

and that you include our letters on this matter in the Congressional Record during consideration of the bill on the House floor. I appreciate your cooperation. 

Sincerely, 

JOHN D. DINGELL, 

Chairman. 


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H10666 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE October 2, 2008 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, 

COMMITTEE ON FINANCIAL SERVICES, 

Washington, DC, October 1, 2008. 

Hon. JOHN D. DINGELL, 

Chairman, Committee on Energy and Commerce, 

House of Representatives, Washington, DC. 

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: Thank you for your 

letter concerning H.R. 840, the Homeless 

Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition 

to Housing Act of 2008. This bill was introduced on February 6, 2007, and was referred 

to the Committee on Financial Services. The 

bill was ordered reported by the Committee 

on Financial Services on July 31, 2008. 

I am pleased to confirm our agreement on 

this bill. I recognize that certain provisions 

in the bill fall within the jurisdiction of the 

Committee on Energy and Commerce under 

rule X of the Rules of the House of Representatives. However, I appreciate your 

willingness to forgo action in order to allow 

the bill to come to the floor expeditiously. I 

agree that your decision will not prejudice 

the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

with respect to its jurisdictional prerogatives on this or similar legislation. 

I will include this exchange of correspondence in the Congressional Record. Thank you 

again for your cooperation in this important 

matter. 

BARNEY FRANK, 

Chairman. 

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of 

my time. 

Mrs. BIGGERT. Mr. Speaker, as an 

original cosponsor of this bill, I rise in 

support of the Homeless Emergency 

Act and Rapid Transition to Housing 

Act of 2008, or the HEARTH Act. I 

would also like to thank Congressman 

GEOFF DAVIS of Kentucky and, if she 

were here today, the original House 

version sponsor, the late Congresswoman Julia Carson for introducing 

this bill, H.R. 840. In addition, I would 

like to thank Chairman FRANK, subcommittee Chairwoman WATERS, and 

Ranking Members BACHUS and CAPITO

for working together with Congressman DAVIS and me to give homeless 

children a fighting chance in this country. 

I would also like to thank all of the 

staff on both sides of the aisle for all of 

their hard work: Scott Olson, Jonathan 

Harwitz, Cindy Chetti, Tallman Johnson, Lauren O’Brien, Aaron Spurck, 

Andre Stevens, Kathleen Taylor, Clinton Jones, Nicole Austin. A tremendous thanks for all they have done. 

Mr. Speaker, for inclusion in the 

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, I would like to 

submit additional views authored by 

Congressman GEOFF DAVIS, Congresswoman CAPITO, and me. These views 

were filed as part of our committee report to accompany H.R. 840, but they 

apply to this bill, H.R. 7221, as amended, as well. 

ADDITIONAL VIEWS

Mr. Davis of Kentucky, Mrs. Capito, and I 

acknowledge the significant work that the 

Chairman, Ranking Member, and other Members and staff have done to address many of 

the concerns we raised about addressing the 

needs of homeless unaccompanied youth, 

children, and their families in H.R. 840, a bill 

introduced by the late Rep. Julia Carson as 

well as Rep. Geoff Davis. 

There are inconsistencies in the definition 

of homeless for programs administered by 

the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) as compared to those administered by the Departments of Education, Justice, and Human Services. In the education 

section of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), and the Head 

Start Act, the same homeless definition is 

used. The Runaway and Homeless Youth Act 

program uses a similar definition. However, 

the housing component of the McKinneyVento Homeless Assistance Act uses a different definition, which excludes a majority 

of the unaccompanied youth, children, and 

families recognized as homeless by non-HUD 

federal homeless programs. 

As a result, hundreds of thousands of 

homeless students, homeless and disabled 

children, homeless infants, and homeless 

children running away from domestic violence, unsafe housing, or unstable living conditions are denied HUD homeless housing 

and services. 

Several witnesses, including Dr. Ellen 

Bassuk, an Associate Professor of Psychiatry 

at Harvard Medical School, testified before 

our Committee that many homeless children 

who are currently excluded from HUD’s 

homeless definition are prone to health and 

developmental problems. Dr. Bassuk said 

that there is documented evidence that almost 90 percent of homeless families end up 

doubled-up, which results in severe overcrowding and dangerous situations. The 

homeless children in these families are at 

significant risk of physical and sexual abuse, 

have seen people shot and killed, or have had 

their own lives threatened. Highly mobile 

homeless students suffer academically, are 

less likely to graduate, are sick more than 

the average child, and are more likely to 

have behavior problems. 

Homelessness among children is only becoming more pervasive. A study conducted 

by First Focus and the Brookings Institute 

determined that almost 2 million children 

will be affected by the foreclosure crises. 

Many of these children will become homeless, but, tragically, they will not qualify for 

HUD homeless housing assistance or services. 

H.R. 840, as introduced, would reconcile the 

definitions of homeless used among HUD and 

the other federal programs that serve homeless unaccompanied youth, children, and 

families. In addition, as introduced, the bill 

would recognize as homeless many individuals and families that are not recognized as 

homeless by these other federal programs. 

For many months, we have worked with 

Members of the Committee, staff, and government and non-government organizations 

representing various homeless constituencies to craft a new HUD definition of 

homeless that would allow homeless unaccompanied youth, children, and their families served by other federal programs to also 

be recognized by HUD as homeless and therefore qualify for HUD homeless housing and 

services. 

On July, 31, 2008, during the Committee’s 

consideration of H.R. 840, Rep. Biggert and 

Rep. Davis offered an amendment to allow 

all children and youth considered homeless 

by four other federal programs to be considered homeless by HUD. They withdrew the 

amendment because of an agreement with 

the Chairman that they would: (1) continue 

to work on language to amend HUD’s definition of homeless as the bill moved out of 

Committee toward full House consideration; 

and (2) send a joint letter requesting that 

GAO examine the issue of homeless definition discrepancies and related matters. 

Between July 31, 2008 and today, we and 

our staff have worked with the Chairman 

and Housing and Community Opportunity 

Subcommittee Chairwoman Waters, Education and Labor Committee Chairman Miller and Ranking Member McKeon, and their 

staff on a letter to GAO and new language to 

expand HUD’s definition of homeless to include more homeless unaccompanied youth, 

children, and their families. 

On September 23, 2008, we joined the abovementioned Members and sent a letter to 

GAO. In recent days, we offered language to 

Senate and House Members and staff negotiating the final language of H.R. 840 and S. 

1518 to include homeless children, unaccompanied youth, and their families in HUD’s 

definition of homeless. We are pleased that 

Senate and House Members have agreed to 

include the following language as part of 

HUD’s definition of homeless: 

Unaccompanied youth and homeless families with children and youth defined as 

homeless under other Federal statutes who— 

(A) have experienced a long term period 

without living independently in permanent 

housing, 

(B) have experienced persistent instability 

as measured by frequent moves over such period, and 

(C) can be expected to continue in such status for an extended period of time because of 

chronic disabilities, chronic physical health 

or mental health conditions, substance addiction, histories of domestic violence or 

childhood abuse, the presence of a child or 

youth with a disability, or multiple barriers 

to employment. 

It is our hope that by expanding HUD’s definition of homeless in this way, local, homeless service providers will have the flexibility to provide homeless housing and services to unaccompanied youth and children in 

involuntary and unstable shared living arrangements, such as those living temporarily 

in motels or hotels or ‘‘couch surfing’’ from 

house to house. The ultimate goal is to 

break the cycle of poverty, violence, and 

homelessness in our country by providing 

homeless unaccompanied youth and children 

with the opportunity to qualify for safe and 

stable housing so that they have a better 

chance of being healthy, performing better 

in school, and having a chance for a brighter 

future. 

In addition, I would like to submit a 

New York Times article from September 16, 2008, entitled ‘‘Capitol 

Strives to Define ‘Homeless.’’’ 

[From the New York Times, Sept. 16, 2008] 

CAPITOL STRIVES TO DEFINE ‘‘HOMELESS’’ 

(By Rachel L. Swarns) 

WASHINGTON—With unemployment and 

foreclosures rising and growing numbers of 

families struggling to find affordable housing, lawmakers in Congress are debating who 

should be considered homeless. 

For more than 20 years, federal housing 

law has counted as homeless only people living on the streets or in shelters. But now the 

House and the Senate are considering an expansion of the definition to include people 

precariously housed: those doubled up with 

friends or relatives or living day to day in 

motels, with money and options running out. 

In the House, which is expected to vote on 

the issue this month, lawmakers are discussing whether to expand the definition to 

include about a million additional people—a 

subset within the group of children and their 

families in desperate need of stable housing—or to add a much smaller group that 

would include only people fleeing their 

homes because of domestic violence and 

those who can prove they will lose their 

housing within 14 days. 

The Senate is considering a still narrower 

expansion that would include only those 

forced to move three times in one year or 

twice in 21 days. Congressional aides say senators are willing to expand the definition 


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further in consultations with the House that 

are now under way, but the Senate legislation is not expected to pass before lawmakers recess this month. 

The outcome of the discussions will most 

likely broaden the categories of people eligible for emergency shelter, housing and other 

services provided by the Department of 

Housing and Urban Development’s $1.7 billion budget for the homeless, which accounts 

for most federal spending on homelessness. 

Bush administration officials support the 

narrow expansion under consideration in the 

House. 

But none of the bills come with any additional financing. And with too few shelter 

beds and services available to help the homeless who are already living on the streets, 

the debate over whether to expand significantly the pool of people eligible for such 

limited aid has sharply divided advocates for 

the homeless and upended political alliances. 

In the House, Democratic leaders who 

pride themselves on their commitment to 

the poor find themselves arguing that there 

is simply too little money available to accommodate a broad expansion of the definition, and too little time left in the current 

Congress to accommodate any realistic expectation that new money can be added. 

Some House Republicans, meanwhile, accuse the Democrats of turning their backs on 

hundreds of thousands of struggling families 

who are forced to move from couch to couch 

and from house to house to keep a roof over 

their heads. 

Representative Barney Frank, the Massachusetts Democrat who heads the House Financial Services Committee, said, ‘‘It’s one 

of the saddest things that we deal with, and 

it’s entirely the result of inadequate funding.’’ 

‘‘When there’s not enough money to cover 

‘all of the above’, you have to do priorities,’’ 

Mr. Frank said. ‘‘The question is, Which category of people are you going to leave 

unhelped?’’ 

He and other Democrats blame President 

Bush and Republicans in Congress, saying 

they have directed critical resources toward 

tax cuts and the war in Iraq instead of making programs for the poor a priority. 

Still, Mr. Frank has promised to keep negotiating with Republicans to reach agreement on a definition before the bill goes to a 

vote. And to help ease the strain where strict 

definition intersects with limited federal 

money, the bill would also give communities 

some flexibility in spending those dollars on 

people who do not meet the definition. 

The issue is particularly complicated because HUD’s narrow definition of homelessness is not the only one used by the government. The Education Department, for instance, which assists homeless students, 

counts as homeless those children who live 

doubled up with other families or in motels. 

In the 2006–07 school year, the Education 

Department categorized 688,174 children as 

homeless. But only 32 percent of those children lived in shelters or outdoors. The rest 

failed to meet HUD’s criteria for homelessness and so were ineligible to receive emergency shelter or priority on waiting lists for 

public or subsidized housing. 

Several advocacy groups, including the National Coalition for the Homeless, argue that 

the HUD definition should more closely mirror the Education Department’s. Their efforts have been championed by two House 

Republicans, Representatives Judy Biggert 

of Illinois and Geoff Davis of Kentucky, who 

would like those children identified as homeless by the Education Department or other 

federal agencies to be eligible for HUD’s 

homelessness services. 

These advocates note that many families 

live in communities where shelters are full 

or nonexistent. In other places, some say, 

shelters sometimes bar large families, families with two parents or those with boys 

older than 10. 

‘‘I think we have to take care of our most 

vulnerable,’’ Ms. Biggert said. ‘‘Shouldn’t 

children as well as the others be a priority?’’ 

Barbara Duffield, policy director at the National Association for the Education of 

Homeless Children and Youth, echoed those 

concerns. ‘‘This is really about our nation 

acknowledging the extent of the housing crisis and the devastation it wreaks on children, youth and family,’’ she said. ‘‘The 

housing crisis is bigger than the emergency 

system put in place to address it 20 years 

ago.’’ 

Opponents of a broad expansion of the definition counter that demand for shelter beds 

already exceeds supply. About 700,000 people 

live in shelters or on the streets on any 

given day, housing officials say. But federal 

dollars finance only 170,000 beds. 

Some advocates also fear that communities would shift resources from single, 

mentally ill or addicted people to doubled-up 

families who were newly classified as homeless. Such families are typically easier to 

serve and politically more appealing. 

‘‘Nobody thinks that these families are 

having an easy time of it,’’ said Steve Berg, 

vice president for programs and policy at the 

National Alliance to End Homelessness. 

‘‘But when push comes to shove, when you’ve 

got people in apartments and people in shelters and on the streets, the people in the latter group need the help more.’’ 

No one knows precisely how many additional families would be helped by the modest expansion proposals under consideration 

in Congress, particularly since in practice, 

HUD already allows for a bit more than the 

current definition: it permits families who 

are doubled up to be considered homeless if 

they can show that they will be losing their 

housing within seven days. 

Whatever the number, ‘‘we need to deal 

with the most desperate the best that we can 

and keep working’’ toward greater expansion, said Representative Maxine Waters, the 

California Democrat who heads the House 

Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity. ‘‘We don’t 

want to create competition and have people 

at each other’s throats for limited space.’’ 

Mr. Speaker, homelessness among 

children has become more and more 

pervasive as we face increasing economic challenges. A study conducted 

by First Focus and the Brookings Institute determined that 2 million children will be unfairly affected by the 

foreclosure crisis. Many of these children will become homeless. But without this compromise bill, HUD’s very 

narrow definition of ‘‘homeless’’ will 

prevent many of these children from 

qualifying for housing assistance or 

services. 

It’s hard to believe that anyone 

would argue the issue of ‘‘who is homeless’’ when it comes to homeless children, but believe it or not, that for the 

past 15 years has been the crux of the 

debate on this bill. 

As it stands today, HUD’s definition 

includes those individuals on the street 

or in a shelter, but it excludes hundreds of thousands of children living in 

involuntary and unstable conditions, 

shared living arrangements such as 

those living temporarily in motels or 

hotels or ‘‘couch surfing’’ from house 

to house. 

Mr. Speaker, there is no question 

that these children are homeless. When 

you hear them describe their lives, you 

can’t help but understand why local 

homeless providers desperately want 

the flexibility to offer them services. 

Here’s one story from Kentucky: 

‘‘I have lived in many homes and 

shelters. Just this past year, I have 

lived in 12 different homes. I have lived 

with classmates, teachers, friends, and 

strangers. Anyone who would accept 

me was better than the street . . . I 

have always dreamed of being free. I 

want the freedom to know where I am 

going to sleep, the freedom to know 

where my belongings are, and the freedom to know that I won’t be asked to 

leave in the morning or the end of the 

week.’’ 

Mr. Speaker, it’s because of a story 

like this that last fall we began working with members of the Financial 

Services Committee, staff, and government and nongovernment organizations representing various homeless 

constituencies to craft a new definition 

that includes homeless unaccompanied 

youth, children, and their families. 

b 1330 

These are families that are already 

considered homeless by all other Federal programs, but not recognized by 

HUD as homeless, and therefore do not 

qualify for aid. 

I am pleased to report that the legislation we are considering today contains a compromise definition that will 

allow many more homeless unaccompanied youth, children, and their families, to access HUD services. There’s 

still some things to work out with this 

bill, which is why I support a 2-year reauthorization of the program. During 

that time, we can work towards fixing 

provisions in this bill that don’t seem 

to line up. 

For example, there is a provision 

that explicitly excludes from HUD’s official count of the U.S. homeless population all the homeless children and 

their families that fall under the bill’s 

new definition. That doesn’t make 

much sense. 

In addition, the bill directs HUD to 

issue new regulations relating to the 

newly defined homeless children and 

families. I had hoped that this provision would include a negotiated rulemaking process so that all of the 

stakeholders involved could reach a 

consensus before a new rule is proposed. However, HUD is not required to 

do so, and could dismiss one side, the 

children’s side, during the rulemaking 

process. It is my hope that our committee will continue to review this 

matter. 

Finally, the bill sets funding restrictions on homeless children and families. It sets up a 10 percent cap on the 

funds that local homeless providers can 

use to serve these newly included populations. Were a local homeless provider 

to reach the limit, they would be 

forced to arbitrarily turn away homeless children and families. Clearly, this 

is an issue worth revisiting. 


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H10668 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE October 2, 2008 

Mr. Speaker, despite these flaws, the 

legislation before us today will allow 

HUD to far more effectively complement the efforts of educators, service providers, and people like my friend 

and constituent, Diane Nilan, of 

Naperville, Illinois, who has worked so 

hard on this issue, as well as Barbara 

Duffield and Jeremy Rosen. 

Mr. Speaker, this Congress has supported increased housing availability 

and affordability for many low-income 

individuals, families facing foreclosure, 

and disaster victims. I ask Members to 

continue that trend, and at least allow 

homeless children to qualify for safe 

and stable housing by voting for H.R. 

7221. 

With that, I would reserve the balance of my time. 

Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin. Again, I 

want to thank my colleague for all of 

her hard work. But in addition to 

thanking her, I think it’s really important to acknowledge Senator JACK

REED and Senator ALLARD, who put a 

great deal of time into this as well. 

It’s worth mentioning that we have 

made one change to the introduced bill. 

Concerns had been raised about the factors in the bill, and whether they 

would result in adverse changes to certain communities and the funding formula. 

We fully accounted for those concerns by using more generic language 

that reinforces the goals and objectives 

of the bill. 

Mr. Speaker, I would now yield 5 

minutes to my colleague, Chair of the 

Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity, Representative MAXINE WATERS of California. 

Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in 

support of H.R. 7221, the Homeless 

Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing Act. This is a major 

piece of legislation that has taken an 

enormous amount of work to bring to 

this point. I believe that, if enacted, 

this bill would substantially improve 

HUD’s McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance programs, by far the largest 

component of the Federal response to 

homelessness, with an annual appropriation in the last fiscal year of $1.586 

billion. 

Before getting to the substance of 

the bill, first I’d like to acknowledge 

the work of Senators REED and ALLARD, who both worked diligently for 

many years on S. 1518, the Community 

Partnership to End Homelessness Act. 

Senator REED and his staff, in particular, devoted enormous amounts of 

time to this issue. Due to scheduling 

factors beyond their control, the Senate was not able to send the bill over to 

us, but H.R. 7221 certainly reflects all 

of their work, including the personal 

commitment of time by the Senators 

to come over to this side to testify before my Housing and Community Opportunity Subcommittee last October. 

I would also like to remember my 

late colleague, Representative Julia 

Carson, who introduced H.R. 840, the 

original HEARTH Act, and worked 

tirelessly on the bill until her untimely 

passing. I believe that she would be 

proud of the work we have undertaken 

to bring her bill to this consensus outcome. I am so pleased that her grandson, Representative ANDRE ́ CARSON, is 

an original cosponsor of H.R. 7221. 

I would also like to thank Representative GWEN MOORE, who stepped into 

Representative Carson’s shoes and 

spearheaded the further movement of 

this bill. I appreciate Representative 

MOORE’s commitment, because addressing homelessness—starting with reauthorizing the HUD’s McKinney-Vento 

programs for the first time in 14 

years—was a top priority for my subcommittee. This bill is informed by 2 

days of subcommittee hearings in the 

fall, at which 26 witnesses testified on 

the HEARTH Act. 

Finally, I would like to thank Representative GEOFF DAVIS and Representative JUDY BIGGERT for their 

tireless and passionate advocacy on behalf of homeless children and their 

families. Representative DAVIS is the 

lead Republican cosponsor of H.R. 840, 

the version of HEARTH that we 

marked up in the Financial Services 

Committee on July 31. Representative 

BIGGERT, formerly the ranking member 

of my subcommittee, is one of 

Congress’s leading advocates for vulnerable families and their children. I 

am proud to say that both of them, as 

well as Ranking Member CAPITO, are 

also original cosponsors of H.R. 7221. 

This is because we, as well as Chairman FRANK, remained committed to 

continuing our dialogue on the heartwrenching issue of who qualifies as 

‘‘homeless’’ under the HUD McKinneyVento programs, even after a challenging markup. Thanks to this shared 

commitment to improving HUD’s 

homeless programs, despite strong disagreement among well-intentioned 

outside stakeholders, we were able to 

negotiate a compromise that allows us 

to move forward. 

To be clear, the conversation around 

the definition is not over. Indeed, the 

leadership of the Financial Services 

and Education and Labor Committees, 

as well as Representatives BIGGERT and 

DAVIS, just sent a letter to the GAO to 

obtain the best information available 

so that we can continue the discussion 

productively. I look forward to working with them to ensure that our Nation’s most vulnerable families and 

children obtain the housing and social 

services they need. 

Notably, while we were considering 

H.R. 840, they released important new 

data on homelessness. First, the number of chronically homeless people living in the Nation’s streets and shelters 

has dropped by about 30 percent in the 

last 2 years. This impressive reduction 

of people stuck in the homeless system 

for literally years at a time is largely 

the result of targeting a portion of 

HUD McKinney-Vento resources over 

the last decade to an effective intervention—permanent supportive housing. Therefore, in reauthorizing these 

programs, we wanted to make sure not 

to lose this focus in HUD’s homeless 

programs. 

Unfortunately, HUD also reported a 

more discouraging statistic—that fully 

1.6 million people experienced homelessness over the course of the year 

studied. 

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The 

time of the gentlewoman has expired. 

Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin. I would 

yield an additional 2 minutes to the 

gentlelady. 

Ms. WATERS. Thank you very much. 

Too many of these are families with 

children. Over time, we have learned 

that the best way to stop family homelessness is to prevent families from 

having to enter the homeless system at 

all, and to move those who do enter it 

back into permanent housing as quickly as possible. In reauthorization, then, 

we also wanted to increase resources 

available to homeless and at-risk families. 

H.R. 7221 strikes the right balance 

between these two goals. In terms of 

permanent supportive housing, the bill 

ensures a continued commitment to 

this intervention, both by setting a 

floor on the annual investment HUD 

must make to new permanent supportive housing, and equally importantly, places the renewal funding of 

rental assistance and operating subsidies to existing permanent supportive 

housing on firm footing. 

With respect to homeless families 

and children, the bill, first, revolutionizes the approach of HUD’s formula 

ESG grant. Today, this program receives only 10 percent of the annual appropriation, and a mere third of that, 

about 3 percent of the total appropriation, can be spent on homeless prevention. The ‘‘Emergency Solutions Program’’ created by this bill emphasizes 

the solution we know works, namely, 

homelessness prevention. Therefore, a 

minimum of half of the now 20 percent 

of the annual appropriation dedicated 

to the new ESG program must be spent 

on homelessness prevention; that is, on 

households that don’t fall into the 

HUD definition of homelessness. 

Second, H.R. 7221 expands the definition of homelessness to include doubled-up and other poorly housed families who face the loss of their current 

housing within the next 2 weeks, as 

well as clarifying that anyone fleeing 

or attempting to flee domestic violence 

or another dangerous condition is to be 

considered homeless. 

Finally, as a result of our discussions 

after markup, we have also included 

doubled-up and otherwise poorly 

housed families who have not lived 

independently for a period of time, and 

have undergone a series of moves that 

harm children, and face significant obstacles—such as disabilities or multiple barriers to employment—to obtaining stable, independent permanent 

housing. 

Third, the newly created flexibility to use up 

to 10 percent of their funding to serve families 


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with children and unaccompanied youth defined as homeless under other Federal statutes but not under the HUD definition, acknowledges the incredibly vulnerable status of 

these families—and our duty to prevent them 

from a cycle of falling from their current doubled-up or other poorly housed situations into 

the shelters or onto the streets, or continuing 

on a merry-go-round of doubled up housing 

situations that wreak havoc on their children. 

This brings between 20 and 30 percent of 

the annual appropriation, and perhaps more, 

that will be available to homeless housing and 

services providers who want to serve families 

with children who are doubled up or otherwise 

don’t meet the HUD definition of homelessness. Rural areas receive even more flexibility 

to serve households who don’t fall under the 

expanded HUD definition of homelessness to 

rural communities, responding to what we 

heard at the hearings—that homelessness 

doesn’t look the same in rural areas as in big 

cities. In sum, we have truly maximized the resources available to homeless children and 

families. And, let’s be clear, it’s a lot of new 

resources—a multiple of 10 or more times the 

3 percent available under current law. 

I would conclude simply by noting that the 

improvements I just described are coupled 

with a significant consolidation and streamlining of HUD’s administration of the McKinney-Vento programs. In sum, this bill is a 

major step forward in Federal homeless policy 

and I urge my colleagues to support it. 

Mrs. BIGGERT. Mr. Speaker, I would 

like to yield 7 minutes to the gentleman from Kentucky, Mr. GEOFF

DAVIS, who has worked so hard on this 

issue. 

Mr. DAVIS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, we have come a long way since 

Julia Carson and I introduced the 

original version of this bill, H.R. 840, 

nearly 2 years ago. The McKinneyVento programs haven’t been reauthorized in nearly 15 years, and I am glad 

that the HEARTH Act was able to get 

this important discussion going again 

in Congress. 

The Financial Services Committee 

held two hearings on this issue last 

year, and the testimony that we heard, 

from the providers especially, had a 

large impact to give us all a reality 

check on the different types of homelessness we are facing in this Nation. 

For example, in my part of the Nation, 

in the heartland in Kentucky, I’d like 

to call it homelessness in plain sight. 

We have very few of the classic HUD 

definition of homeless but, in reality, 

the vast majority, overwhelmingly so, 

are single parents with small children; 

more often than not, a battered woman 

with small children. 

It’s especially poignant for me to be 

here today, and I have to thank my 

friend and former office neighbor, the 

late Congresswoman Julia Carson. I 

was honored that she asked me to join 

originally to work on this bill with her. 

I give special thanks to my congressional classmate, Congresswoman 

GWEN MOORE, for helping me to keep 

this issue at the top of the committee’s 

priorities. 

I’d also like to recognize the tireless 

work of all of the homeless advocates 

on this bill, members of staff here, so 

many team members, that worked hard 

in common cause but, in particular, 

one person that I have to recognize and 

thank is Linda Young from Welcome 

House in northern Kentucky. Linda 

was the one who originally brought 

this problem of leaving children and 

families out of the HUD homeless programs to my attention over 2 years 

ago. She came up to Washington to testify for us about her hands-on experience with this issue, and truly she has 

been an inspiration, not only here, but 

to thousands and thousands of the 

needy in Kentucky. 

As a fiscally conservative Republican, I fully support the Federal investment in the homeless assistance 

grant programs. A roof over one’s head 

goes a long way, but it’s truly the supportive services, combined with housing, that have the biggest impact on 

changing a person’s path in life. These 

programs lend a helping hand to people 

who want to build a future and pursue 

a dream. This type of Federal assistance has a lasting and positive impact, 

not only on the recipient, but on our 

communities and, frankly, on the Federal Treasury. 

To help children, especially now, in 

this time, in this formative time, to 

keep them from becoming part of the 

system in the long-run, a falling into 

the despair of a hopeless future, it is 

critical that we make this investment 

and we give our care providers on the 

front lines the opportunity to build relationships that will transform lives. 

My primary goal in cosponsoring the 

HEARTH Act was to increase local 

flexibility. Homelessness in Kentucky’s 

Fourth District is not the same as it is 

in California, for example. Local continuums and providers should have the 

flexibility to tailor their programs and 

grant funding to meet their unique 

needs, and not have Washington bureaucrats try to give a one-size-fits-all 

solution for the definition of homelessness. 

This is all about acknowledging that 

homelessness looks different in different parts of the country. Homelessness has many faces that for the most 

part go unseen by the public at large. 

They walk by us every day in the shopping mall and on the street. We see 

them passing us in the stores and in 

the parks and, regrettably, even in our 

churches. We look the other way because we don’t have eyes to see. But if 

we open our eyes, if we ask for that 

gift, and we see, then we are called to 

action to make a difference. 

I am thrilled to see that we have 

come to a compromise with the Senate 

on the definition issue. The compromise includes homeless families and 

unaccompanied youth identified by 

other Federal agencies. In HUD’s definition, this was a problem. 

This is a huge step towards ending 

homelessness. I thank everybody who 

has worked on this across the country, 

those here in the Chamber and on the 

Hill, those in our communities around 

the Nation, and for me, especially, I’d 

like to take a moment to share, as I 

stand in this Chamber, as I walk the 

halls of Congress tonight, and especially, for me, what I consider one of 

the most significant legislative pieces 

to affect a generation that is coming 

up now. 

b 1345 

I am humbled to be here. I was one of 

those children who had to leave in the 

middle the night. I was one of those 

children whose mother in desperation 

married somebody who probably should 

not have been married; a man who was 

violent, alcoholic, adulterous, a meanspirited individual. And I know that 

feeling to watch as a helpless 6-yearold when your mother is being hit, and 

to step between those two and to leave 

the house and to hide in the closet, the 

secret that the neighborhood knew 

nothing about. But that reality and 

that pain for us came to salvation by 

the grace of God, that there were little 

islands of opportunity where we could 

take refuge. 

The truth though for so many thousands is that is not there. They have to 

move to other towns, other school districts and other communities. What 

this does is provide that island, that 

helping hand. It helps us with our 

weaker brother. It helps us care for 

those who are around us in a way that 

I believe is responsible, both fiscally 

and obligation morally. 

I commend all who have worked on 

this, and I say God bless you for your 

efforts. 

Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time. 

Mrs. BIGGERT. Mr. Speaker, I yield 

myself such time as I may consume to 

engage in a colloquy with the chairman 

of the Housing Subcommittee of the 

Financial Services Committee. 

I would like to thank the chairwoman and express my appreciation for 

all she has done for this, and to express 

my appreciation to my other chairman, 

Mr. GEORGE MILLER, for his outstanding work on behalf of homeless 

people, and for working with our Financial Services Committee to recognize the educational and housing needs 

of homeless children and youth. I 

would also like to thank Representative MCCARTHY and Representative 

GEOFF DAVIS for their work as well. 

As you know, the Education and 

Labor Committee has jurisdiction for 

the McKinney-Vento Education For 

Homeless Children Act, the Runaway 

and Homeless Youth Act and Head 

Start. H.R. 7221 will broaden HUD’s definition of homelessness to include a 

subset of children and youth who meet 

the definition of homelessness used by 

other Federal statutes. We appreciate 

the inclusion of these children, and believe it is a step in the right direction. 

In particular, it covers those children 

and youth who, either on their own or 

as part of a family, have experienced a 

long-term period without living stably 

or independently in permanent housing. 


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H10670 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE October 2, 2008 

Madam Chairwoman, as this term 

‘‘long-term period’’ is open to interpretation, is it the committee’s intention 

that any regulation that interprets 

this provision would acknowledge that 

‘‘long-term period’’ should be viewed 

from the perspective of children and 

recognize their unique developmental 

needs? 

Ms. WATERS. Absolutely. The committee recognizes that the expansion of 

the definition of homelessness to include these children and families was 

carried out with the intention of addressing the unique experiences of children and youth who are homeless. 

Mrs. BIGGERT. Madam Chairman, it 

is also our committee’s understanding 

that the legislation before us allows 

families and youth who meet other 

Federal programs’ definitions of homelessness and have experienced instability as experienced by frequent 

moves to be considered homeless for 

HUD’s purposes. 

Am I correct in understanding that 

the intent of this provision is to ensure 

that the full measures of challenges 

facing homeless families and unaccompanied youth are addressed, including 

programs related to changes of school 

and educational progress that can be 

caused by frequent moves? 

Ms. WATERS. Yes, you are absolutely correct. 

Mrs. BIGGERT. Madam Chairman, by 

including language that acknowledges 

the various definitions of homelessness 

in other Federal statutes, is it the 

committee’s intention that HUD’s 

homeless assistance programs should 

consider information provided by these 

Federal programs in determining eligibility under this section and that HUDfunded homeless providers should be 

encouraged to engage with homeless 

providers receiving funds from other 

Federal agencies to utilize their assessments and counsel in making eligibility requirements? 

Ms. WATERS. Yes. Federal programs 

must work together to meet the needs 

of families and unaccompanied youth, 

and that collaboration should include 

information needed for eligibility decisions. 

Mrs. BIGGERT. Madam Chairman, 

lastly, we want to thank you for expanding the definition of homeless to 

include youth who are unaccompanied 

and who are experiencing several barriers simultaneously. 

Am I correct in understanding that 

the many problems experienced by 

youth because they lack a parent, legal 

guardian or consistent caregiver should 

be considered barriers for employment 

that are described in paragraph 6(c) of 

the definition? 

Ms. WATERS. Yes. We know that 

there are many obstacles that keep 

these youth from obtaining stable 

housing, including barriers to employment and their unaccompanied status, 

and we expect HUD to take the issues 

you raised into consideration. 

Mrs. BIGGERT. Again, Madam Chairman, thank you for all your work, and 

Representative GEOFF DAVIS and Representative MCCARTHY. I look forward 

to working with you moving forward 

on this issue. 

I reserve the balance of my time. 

Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I reserve the balance of my time in pursuit 

of eagerly hearing from other speakers 

that Mrs. BIGGERT may bring forth. 

Mrs. BIGGERT. I have no other 

speakers, but I would yield myself such 

time as I may consume to close. 

I spoke earlier a little bit about my 

friend and constituent Diane Nilan of 

Naperville, Illinois, who has done so 

much for the homeless. She has worked 

tirelessly for 20 years to provide a 

home for homeless children and families across the country, and I think she 

has seen firsthand the mental, physical 

and emotional degradation that children and families experience with 

homelessness. 

In her testimony before the Financial 

Services Committee last October she 

said, ‘‘Homeless service providers in 

communities of all sizes await the day 

that HUD provides the opportunity for 

people in all homeless situations to receive the assistance they need. They 

long to be free to focus on easing homelessness as it appears in their communities, on the street, doubled up or in 

motels, instead of having their hands 

tied with arbitrary rules and restrictions. They desire Federal resources to 

supplement local efforts to house and 

assist the growing number of families 

without a place to call home.’’ 

I would also like to thank Carol 

Simler of DuPage PADS and all the 

wonderful people in my district who 

help with homelessness. I know we all 

have so many stories in all of our districts. 

With that, I would urge my colleagues to vote for this bill. 

Mr. SHAYS. Mr. Speaker, I support H.R. 

7221, the Community Partnership to End 

Homelessness Act, and urge my colleagues to 

support the reauthorization of this important 

legislation. 

The Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act, now known as the McKinney-Vento 

Homeless Assistance Act, was first enacted in 

1987 as the first major, coordinated Federal 

response to homelessness. McKinney-Vento 

homeless assistance programs were last reauthorized in the Housing and Community Development Act of 1992. Since then, Congress 

has considered numerous proposals to improve the program but not completed a full reauthorization of the legislation. 

Passed in response to the rapid and dramatic growth of homelessness in the United 

States during the 1980s, the McKinney Act 

emphasized emergency measures, transitional 

measures, and long-term solutions to combat 

the homeless crisis. 

Despite the impact of the McKinney-Vento 

Act, homelessness continues to be a pervasive problem in America. It is important Congress support a comprehensive range of programs beyond emergency food, shelter and 

health care services for the homeless. 

We must promote the development of affordable housing, provide supportive services 

to those who are homeless or in vulnerable 

housing situations, acknowledge and study the 

high rates of homelessness among our Nation’s veterans and recognize the critical role 

our schools play in preventing and ending 

homelessness among children. 

I serve in the seat previously represented by 

Stewart McKinney. Stewart served as the 

ranking Republican on the House Banking 

Subcommittee on Housing, as well as the 

House Committee on the District of Columbia. 

It was in this capacity that he became especially concerned about homelessness, particularly in our capital city. 

He loved urban areas and like our colleague 

Bruce Vento, he recognized homelessness is 

a national problem that requires a national solution. 

Stewart’s commitment to exposing the depth 

of the growing problem of homelessness in 

the 1980s led him to contract pneumonia after 

sleeping on a grate outside a Federal building 

with DC area homeless. 

Shortly after his death on May 7, 1987, his 

family, friends and staff gathered to discuss 

how to continue his philosophy of caring for 

those who are the least able to care for themselves. 

They created the Stewart B. McKinney 

Foundation, an organization whose mission is 

to provide funds to care for persons with HIV 

who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. 

Today, Lucie McKinney continues the work 

Stewart began in his memory, and keeps his 

spirit alive in this precious foundation. 

Stewart was beloved by his colleagues on 

both sides of the aisle. Reading the tributes 

that were offered to Stewart on this House 

floor on the day of his death, I was struck by 

his colleagues’ appreciation for his humanity, 

warm spirit, bipartisanship, and dedication to 

doing good. 

Mrs. BIGGERT. I yield back the balance of my time. 

Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time. 

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The 

question is on the motion offered by 

the gentlewoman from Wisconsin (Ms. 

MOORE) that the House suspend the 

rules and pass the bill, H.R. 7221, as 

amended. 

The question was taken. 

The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the 

opinion of the Chair, two-thirds being 

in the affirmative, the ayes have it. 

Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays. 

The yeas and nays were ordered. 

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 

Chair’s prior announcement, further 

proceedings on this motion will be 

postponed. 

f 

MESSAGE FROM THE SENATE 

A message from the Senate by Ms. 

Curtis, one of its clerks, announced 

that the Senate has passed without 

amendment bills of the House of the 

following titles: 

H.R. 3480. An act to direct the United 

States Sentencing Commission to assure appropriate punishment enhancements for 

those involved in receiving stolen property 

where that property consists of grave markers of veterans, and for other purposes. 


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