II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2172 

To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve grants, payments, and 

technical assistance provided by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to 

serve homeless veterans, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 22, 2021 

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

to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

A BILL 

To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve grants, 

payments, and technical assistance provided by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to serve homeless veterans, 

and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

5 ‘‘Building Solutions for Veterans Experiencing Homeless6 ness Act of 2021’’. 

7 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

8 this Act is as follows: 


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Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Adjustments of grants awarded by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs for 

comprehensive service programs to serve homeless veterans. 

Sec. 3. Increase in maximum rates of per diem payments provided by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs for services furnished to homeless 

veterans. 

Sec. 4. Technical assistance provided by Secretary of Veterans Affairs to certain grant recipients. 

Sec. 5. Report and action on shallow subsidy program under the Supportive 

Services for Veteran Families program. 

Sec. 6. Housing and health care navigators grant program. 

Sec. 7. Grant program for substance use and alcohol use disorder recovery for 

homeless veterans. 

Sec. 8. Increase and extension of authorization of appropriations for homeless 

veterans reintegration programs. 

Sec. 9. Pilot program on grants to improve public transportation services for 

veterans. 

Sec. 10. Pilot program on grants for care for elderly homeless veterans. 

Sec. 11. Report by Comptroller General of the United States on affordable 

housing for veterans. 

1 SEC. 2. ADJUSTMENTS OF GRANTS AWARDED BY THE SEC2 RETARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS FOR COM3 PREHENSIVE SERVICE PROGRAMS TO SERVE 

4 HOMELESS VETERANS. 

5 (a) ELIMINATION OF MATCHING REQUIREMENT.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 2011(c) of title 38, 

7 United States Codes, is amended— 

8 (A) by striking paragraph (2); and 

9 (B) by redesignating paragraph (3) as 

10 paragraph (2). 

11 (2) APPLICABILITY.—The amendments made 

12 by paragraph (1) shall apply with respect to any 

13 grant awarded under section 2011 of title 38, 

14 United States Code, on or after the date of the en15 actment of this Act. 


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1 (3) SUNSET.—Section 4201(b)(2) of the John2 ny Isakson and David P. Roe, M.D. Veterans Health 

3 Care and Benefits Improvement Act of 2020 (Public 

4 Law 116–315; 134 Stat. 5009; 38 U.S.C. 2011 

5 note) is amended— 

6 (A) by striking ‘‘Subsection (c)(2)’’ and in7 serting the following: 

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (c)(2)’’; 

9 and 

10 (B) by adding at the end the following new 

11 subparagraph: 

12 ‘‘(B) SUNSET.—Subparagraph (A) shall 

13 cease to be effective on the date of the enact14 ment of the Building Solutions for Veterans 

15 Experiencing Homelessness Act of 2021.’’. 

16 (b) ELIMINATION OF PROPERTY DISPOSITION RE17 QUIREMENTS.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—A recipient of a grant 

19 awarded under section 2011 of title 38, United 

20 States Code, on or after the date of the enactment 

21 of this Act for a project described in subsection 

22 (b)(1) of such section shall not be subject to any 

23 property disposition requirements relating to the 

24 grant under subsection (c) or (f) of section 61.67 of 

25 title 38, Code of Federal Regulations, section 


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1 200.311(c) of title 2, Code of Federal Regulations, 

2 or successor regulations. 

3 (2) SUNSET.—Section 4201(b)(6) of the John4 ny Isakson and David P. Roe, M.D. Veterans Health 

5 Care and Benefits Improvement Act of 2020 (Public 

6 Law 116–315; 134 Stat. 5010; 38 U.S.C. 2011 

7 note) is amended— 

8 (A) by striking ‘‘During’’ and inserting the 

9 following: 

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—During’’; and 

11 (B) by adding at the end the following new 

12 subparagraph: 

13 ‘‘(B) SUNSET.—Subparagraph (A) shall 

14 cease to be effective on the date of the enact15 ment of the Building Solutions for Veterans 

16 Experiencing Homelessness Act of 2021.’’. 

17 SEC. 3. INCREASE IN MAXIMUM RATES OF PER DIEM PAY18 MENTS PROVIDED BY THE SECRETARY OF 

19 VETERANS AFFAIRS FOR SERVICES FUR20 NISHED TO HOMELESS VETERANS. 

21 Section 2012(a)(2)(B) of title 38, United States 

22 Code, is amended— 

23 (1) in clause (i)(II)(aa)(BB), by striking ‘‘115’’ 

24 and inserting ‘‘200’’; and 


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1 (2) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘150’’ and insert2 ing ‘‘200’’. 

3 SEC. 4. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PROVIDED BY SECRETARY 

4 OF VETERANS AFFAIRS TO CERTAIN GRANT 

5 RECIPIENTS. 

6 (a) SUPPORTIVE SERVICES FOR VERY LOW-INCOME

7 FAMILIES IN PERMANENT HOUSING.—Section 2044(e) of 

8 title 38, United States Code, is amended by striking para9 graph (2) and inserting the following new paragraph (2): 

10 ‘‘(2) Not less than two percent of the amounts avail11 able under paragraph (1) in any fiscal year may be avail12 able to provide technical assistance under subsection (d).’’. 

13 (b) COMPREHENSIVE SERVICE PROGRAMS.—Section 

14 2011 of title 38, United States Code, is amended by add15 ing at the end the following new subsection: 

16 ‘‘(i) TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—(1) 

17 The Secretary shall provide training and technical assist18 ance to each recipient of a grant under this section regard19 ing the planning, development, and provision of services 

20 for which the grant is made. 

21 ‘‘(2) The Secretary may provide the training and 

22 technical assistance described in paragraph (1) directly or 

23 through grants or contracts with such public or nonprofit 

24 private entities as the Secretary considers appropriate. 


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1 ‘‘(3) Not less than two percent of amounts designated 

2 for the administration of grants under this section in any 

3 fiscal year shall be used to provide training and technical 

4 assistance under this subsection.’’. 

5 SEC. 5. REPORT AND ACTION ON SHALLOW SUBSIDY PRO6 GRAM UNDER THE SUPPORTIVE SERVICES 

7 FOR VETERAN FAMILIES PROGRAM. 

8 (a) REPORT REQUIRED.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year 

10 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec11 retary of Veterans Affairs shall submit to the Com12 mittee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the 

13 Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of 

14 Representatives a report on program for providing 

15 rental subsidies under section 62.34(a)(8) of title 

16 38, Code of Federal Regulations (or any successor 

17 regulation) (in this section referred to as the ‘‘pro18 gram’’). 

19 (2) ELEMENTS.—The report required by para20 graph (1) shall include the following: 

21 (A) The number of veterans and families 

22 served under the program during the 1-year pe23 riod preceding the date of the enactment of this 

24 Act, disaggregated, if such information is avail25 able, by— 


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1 (i) race and ethnicity; 

2 (ii) gender; 

3 (iii) geographic location; and 

4 (iv) age. 

5 (B) A description of support provided to 

6 special populations under the program, includ7 ing elderly veterans, women veterans, children 

8 of veterans, disabled veterans, veterans 

9 transitioning from certain institutions, and mi10 nority veterans. 

11 (C) A description of the decision-making 

12 process of the Department of Veterans Affairs 

13 regarding which locations would be eligible for 

14 coverage under the program. 

15 (D) An assessment of whether increasing 

16 the payment rate under the program is nec17 essary. 

18 (E) An assessment of whether it is feasible 

19 and beneficial to expand the program nation20 ally. 

21 (F) An assessment of the efficacy of the 

22 increased payments provided under the program 

23 based on increases in number of veterans served 

24 and number of veterans transitioned into per25 manent housing. 


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1 (b) INCREASE IN PAYMENT RATE.—If the assess2 ment described in subsection (a)(2)(D) finds that increas3 ing the payment rate under the program is necessary, the 

4 Secretary shall issue such regulations as may be necessary 

5 to increase such rate. 

6 (c) EXPANSION OF PROGRAM.—If the assessment de7 scribed in subsection (a)(2)(E) finds that it is feasible and 

8 beneficial to expand the program nationally, the Secretary 

9 shall so expand the program not later than two years after 

10 date on which the report required by subsection (a)(1) is 

11 submitted. 

12 SEC. 6. HOUSING AND HEALTH CARE NAVIGATORS GRANT 

13 PROGRAM. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter II of chapter 20 of 

15 title 38, United States Code, is amended— 

16 (1) by redesignating section 2014 as section 

17 2015; and 

18 (2) by inserting after section 2013 the following 

19 new section 2014: 

20 ‘‘§ 2014. Housing and health care navigators grant 

21 program 

22 ‘‘(a) PROGRAM REQUIRED.—The Secretary shall es23 tablish and carry out a program under which the Sec24 retary shall provide services to assist veterans with naviVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:15 Jul 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2172.IS S2172

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1 gating housing and health care resources in order to im2 prove the retention of housing by and overall health of— 

3 ‘‘(1) veterans who were previously homeless and 

4 are transitioning to permanent housing; and 

5 ‘‘(2) veterans who are at risk of becoming 

6 homeless. 

7 ‘‘(b) GRANTS.—(1) The Secretary shall carry out the 

8 program established under subsection (a) through the 

9 award of grants. 

10 ‘‘(2) In awarding grants under paragraph (1), the 

11 Secretary shall give priority to organizations that dem12 onstrate the capability to provide services described in 

13 subsection (a), particularly organizations that are success14 fully providing or have successfully provided transitional 

15 housing services using amounts provided by the Secretary 

16 under sections 2012 and 2061 of this title. 

17 ‘‘(c) STAFFING.—In areas where individuals who 

18 meet the licensure and certification requirements to pro19 vide services described in subsection (a) are in high de20 mand as determined by the Secretary, a grantee under the 

21 program may provide such services through one or more 

22 individuals with a master’s degree in social work who are 

23 undergoing training to meet such requirements, if such in24 dividuals are under the supervision of an individual who 

25 meets such requirements. 


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1 ‘‘(d) SERVICES.—Services provided under this section 

2 shall include services to assist veterans with navigating re3 sources provided by the Federal Government and State, 

4 local, and Tribal governments. 

5 ‘‘(e) REPORT ON SERVICES PROVIDED.—The Sec6 retary shall require each recipient of a grant awarded 

7 under subsection (b)(1) to submit to the Secretary a re8 port that describes the services provided or coordinated 

9 with amounts under such grant.’’. 

10 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 20013(a) 

11 of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act 

12 (38 U.S.C. 2011 note) is amended by striking ‘‘2014’’ and 

13 inserting ‘‘2015’’. 

14 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

15 at the beginning of chapter 20 of such title is amended 

16 by striking the item relating to section 2014 and inserting 

17 the following new items: 

‘‘2014. Housing and health care navigators grant program. 

‘‘2015. Authorization of appropriations.’’. 

18 SEC. 7. GRANT PROGRAM FOR SUBSTANCE USE AND ALCO19 HOL USE DISORDER RECOVERY FOR HOME20 LESS VETERANS. 

21 (a) PILOT PROGRAM REQUIRED.—Not later than 180 

22 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec23 retary of Veterans Affairs shall commence carrying out a 

24 pilot program under which the Secretary shall award 


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1 grants to eligible entities for the provision or coordination 

2 of services for recovery from substance use disorder or al3 cohol use disorder for veterans who were previously home4 less and are transitioning to permanent housing and vet5 erans who are at risk of becoming homeless. 

6 (b) DURATION.—The Secretary shall carry out the 

7 pilot program during the five-year period beginning on the 

8 date of the commencement of the pilot program. 

9 (c) AWARD OF GRANTS.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the pilot 

11 program, the Secretary shall award a grant to an el12 igible entity for each veteran with substance use dis13 order or alcohol use disorder participating in the 

14 pilot program for which the eligible entity is pro15 viding or coordinating the provision of recovery serv16 ices for substance use disorder or alcohol use dis17 order, as the case may be, under the pilot program. 

18 (2) INTERVALS OF PAYMENT AND MAXIMUM

19 AMOUNTS.—The Secretary may establish intervals of 

20 payment for the administration of grants under this 

21 section and a maximum amount to be awarded, in 

22 accordance with the services being provided and the 

23 duration of such services. 

24 (3) PREFERENCE.—In awarding grants under 

25 paragraph (1), the Secretary shall give preference to 


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1 eligible entities providing or coordinating the provi2 sion of recovery services for substance use disorder 

3 or alcohol use disorder for veterans with substance4 use dependency who face barriers in accessing sub5 stance-use recovery services from the Department of 

6 Veterans Affairs. 

7 (4) EQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION.—The Secretary 

8 shall ensure that, to the extent practicable, grant 

9 amounts awarded under paragraph (1) are equitably 

10 distributed across geographic regions, including 

11 rural and Tribal communities. 

12 (5) NOTIFICATION OF SOURCE OF AMOUNTS.— 

13 Each eligible entity awarded a grant under para14 graph (1) shall notify each veteran receiving services 

15 paid for with amounts under such grant that such 

16 services are being paid for, in whole or in part, by 

17 the Department. 

18 (6) REPORT ON SERVICES PROVIDED.—The 

19 Secretary shall require each eligible entity awarded 

20 a grant under paragraph (1) to submit to the Sec21 retary a report that describes the services provided 

22 or coordinated with amounts under such grant. 

23 (d) GRANT APPLICATION.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity seeking 

25 the award of a grant under this section shall submit 


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1 to the Secretary an application therefor in such 

2 form, in such manner, and containing such commit3 ments and information as the Secretary considers 

4 necessary to carry out this section. 

5 (2) CONTENTS OF APPLICATION.—Each appli6 cation submitted by an eligible entity under para7 graph (1) shall contain the following: 

8 (A) A description of the recovery services 

9 for substance use disorder or alcohol use dis10 order proposed to be provided by the eligible en11 tity under the pilot program and the identified 

12 need for those services. 

13 (B) A description of the types of veterans 

14 with substance use disorder or alcohol use dis15 order proposed to be provided such recovery 

16 services. 

17 (C) An estimate of the number of veterans 

18 with substance use disorder or alcohol use dis19 order proposed to be provided such recovery 

20 services. 

21 (D) Evidence of the experience of the eligi22 ble entity in providing such recovery services to 

23 veterans with substance use disorder or alcohol 

24 use disorder. 


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1 (E) A description of the managerial capac2 ity of the eligible entity— 

3 (i) to assess continually the needs of 

4 veterans with substance use disorder or al5 cohol use disorder for such recovery serv6 ices; 

7 (ii) to coordinate the provision of such 

8 recovery services with services provided by 

9 the Department; and 

10 (iii) to tailor such recovery services to 

11 the needs of veterans with substance use 

12 disorder or alcohol use disorder. 

13 (3) CRITERIA FOR SELECTION.— 

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall es15 tablish criteria for the selection of eligible enti16 ties to be awarded grants under this section. 

17 (B) ELEMENTS.—Criteria established 

18 under subparagraph (A) with respect to an eli19 gible entity shall include the following: 

20 (i) Relevant accreditation as may be 

21 required by each State in which the eligible 

22 entity operates. 

23 (ii) Experience coordinating care or 

24 providing treatment for veterans or mem25 bers of the Armed Forces. 


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1 (e) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall provide 

3 training and technical assistance to eligible entities 

4 awarded grants under this section regarding the 

5 planning, development, and provision of recovery 

6 services for substance use disorder or alcohol use 

7 disorder under this section. 

8 (2) PROVISION OF TRAINING.—The Secretary 

9 may provide the training required under paragraph 

10 (1) directly or through grants or contracts with such 

11 public or nonprofit private entities as the Secretary 

12 considers appropriate for purposes of this section, 

13 including through grants awarded under section 

14 2064 of title 38, United States Code. 

15 (f) COLLECTION OF INFORMATION.—To the extent 

16 practicable, the Secretary may collect information from an 

17 eligible entity awarded a grant under this section relating 

18 to a substance use disorder or alcohol use disorder of a 

19 veteran participating in the pilot program for inclusion in 

20 the electronic health record of the Department for such 

21 veteran for the sole purpose of improving care provided 

22 to such veteran. 

23 (g) STUDY ON EFFECTIVENESS OF PILOT PRO24 GRAM.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall conduct 

2 a study on the effectiveness of the pilot program in 

3 meeting the needs of veterans with substance use 

4 disorder or alcohol use disorder. 

5 (2) COMPARISON.—In conducting the study re6 quired by paragraph (1), the Secretary shall com7 pare the results of the pilot program with other pro8 grams of the Department dedicated to the delivery 

9 to veterans of recovery services for substance use 

10 disorder or alcohol use disorder. 

11 (3) CRITERIA.—In making the comparison re12 quired by paragraph (2), the Secretary shall examine 

13 the following: 

14 (A) The satisfaction of veterans targeted 

15 by the programs described in paragraph (2). 

16 (B) The health status of such veterans. 

17 (C) The mental wellness of such veterans. 

18 (D) The degree to which such programs 

19 encourage such veterans to engage in produc20 tive activity. 

21 (E) The number of veterans using such 

22 programs, disaggregated by— 

23 (i) veterans who have received care 

24 from the Department during the two-year 


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1 period preceding the conduct of the study; 

2 and 

3 (ii) veterans who have not received 

4 care from the Department during such pe5 riod. 

6 (F) The number of veterans who are still 

7 homeless or at-risk of homelessness one year 

8 after completion of receipt of recovery services 

9 under such programs. 

10 (G) The number of veterans who still have 

11 a substance use disorder or alcohol use disorder 

12 within 180 days of discharge from receipt of 

13 services provided under this section. 

14 (4) REPORT.—Not later than one year after the 

15 commencement of the pilot program, and annually 

16 thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to the Com17 mittee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the 

18 Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of 

19 Representatives a report on the results of the study 

20 required by paragraph (1). 

21 (h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

22 (1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti23 ty’’ means any of the following: 

24 (A) An incorporated private institution or 

25 foundation— 


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1 (i) no part of the net earnings of 

2 which inures to the benefit of any member, 

3 founder, contributor, or individual; 

4 (ii) that has a governing board that is 

5 responsible for the operation of the recov6 ery services for substance use disorder or 

7 alcohol use disorder provided under this 

8 section; and 

9 (iii) that is approved by the Secretary 

10 with respect to financial responsibility. 

11 (B) A for-profit limited partnership, the 

12 sole general partner of which is an organization 

13 meeting the requirements of subparagraph (A). 

14 (C) A corporation wholly owned and con15 trolled by an organization meeting the require16 ments of subparagraph (A). 

17 (D) A tribally designated housing entity 

18 (as defined in section 4 of the Native American 

19 Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act 

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

21 (2) SUBSTANCE USE DISORDER OR ALCOHOL

22 USE DISORDER.—The term ‘‘substance use disorder 

23 or alcohol use disorder’’, with respect to a veteran, 

24 means the veteran has been diagnosed with, or is 


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1 seeking treatment for, substance use disorder or al2 cohol use disorder, as determined by the Secretary. 

3 SEC. 8. INCREASE AND EXTENSION OF AUTHORIZATION OF 

4 APPROPRIATIONS FOR HOMELESS VETERANS 

5 REINTEGRATION PROGRAMS. 

6 Section 2021(e)(1)(F) of title 38, United States 

7 Code, is amended— 

8 (1) by striking ‘‘$50,000,000’’ and inserting 

9 ‘‘$75,000,000’’; and 

10 (2) by striking ‘‘2022’’ and inserting ‘‘2025’’. 

11 SEC. 9. PILOT PROGRAM ON GRANTS TO IMPROVE PUBLIC 

12 TRANSPORTATION SERVICES FOR VETERANS. 

13 (a) GRANT PROGRAM REQUIRED.—Not later than 

14 one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

15 Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall commence carrying out 

16 a pilot program to assess the feasibility and advisability 

17 of awarding grants to eligible entities to improve public 

18 transportation services for veterans. 

19 (b) DURATION.—The Secretary shall carry out the 

20 pilot program during the five-year period beginning on the 

21 date on which the pilot program commences. 

22 (c) AWARD OF GRANTS.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the pilot 

24 program, the Secretary shall award grants to eligible 

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1 portation services that provide veterans access to lo2 cations of facilities or organizations that serve vet3 erans, including— 

4 (A) facilities of the Department of Vet5 erans Affairs; and 

6 (B) organizations that provide services to 

7 veterans using funds provided by the Depart8 ment. 

9 (2) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—For purposes of this 

10 section, an eligible entity is any State, Tribal, coun11 ty, or city government that— 

12 (A) is providing public transportation serv13 ices as of the date on which the pilot program 

14 commences; or 

15 (B) has a proven ability and intention to 

16 establish public transportation infrastructure. 

17 (3) INTERVALS OF PAYMENT AND MAXIMUM

18 GRANT AMOUNT.—The Secretary may establish in19 tervals of payment for the administration of grants 

20 under this section and a maximum grant amount to 

21 be awarded, in accordance with the services being 

22 provided and the duration of such services. 

23 (4) COORDINATION AND CONSULTATION.—In 

24 awarding grants under this section, the Secretary 


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1 may coordinate and consult with the Secretary of 

2 Transportation. 

3 (5) EQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION.—The Secretary 

4 of Veterans Affairs shall ensure that, to the extent 

5 practicable, grants awarded under this section are 

6 equitably distributed across geographic regions, in7 cluding rural and Tribal communities. 

8 (d) GRANT APPLICATION.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity seeking 

10 the award of a grant under this section shall submit 

11 to the Secretary an application therefor in such 

12 form, in such manner, and containing such commit13 ments and information as the Secretary considers 

14 necessary to carry out this section. 

15 (2) CONTENTS OF APPLICATION.—Each appli16 cation submitted by an eligible entity under para17 graph (1) shall contain the following: 

18 (A) A description of the public transpor19 tation services that the entity intends to provide 

20 under the grant. 

21 (B) A list of all sites accessed by the pub22 lic transportation services to be provided. 

23 (C) The schedule of such services. 


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1 (D) A list of the locations of facilities and 

2 organizations that serve veterans that will be 

3 accessed by such services. 

4 (E) An estimate of the number of veterans 

5 that would use such services. 

6 (F) Evidence of the ability of the entity to 

7 provide such services. 

8 (e) NOTIFICATION TO VETERANS.—Each eligible en9 tity awarded a grant under this section shall notify vet10 erans of the expansion or establishment of public transpor11 tation services to locations of facilities or organizations 

12 that serve veterans and that those services are available 

13 in whole or in part due to funds provided by the Depart14 ment. 

15 (f) REPORT ON SERVICES PROVIDED.—The Sec16 retary shall require each eligible entity awarded a grant 

17 under this section to submit to the Secretary a report that 

18 describes the expansion, retention, or establishment of 

19 public transportation services provided with amounts 

20 under such grant. 

21 (g) REPORT.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year 

23 after the date on which the first grant is awarded 

24 under this section, the Secretary shall submit to the 

25 Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and 


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1 the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of 

2 Representatives a report on the services provided 

3 under the pilot program. 

4 (2) ELEMENTS.—The report required by para5 graph (1) shall include the following: 

6 (A) The geographic location of each recipi7 ent of a grant under this section. 

8 (B) The estimated number of veterans 

9 served by each such grant recipient. 

10 (C) An assessment of whether use of facili11 ties of the Department has increased due to ac12 cess to public transportation provided under 

13 grants awarded under this section, if informa14 tion for such an assessment is available. 

15 SEC. 10. PILOT PROGRAM ON GRANTS FOR CARE FOR EL16 DERLY HOMELESS VETERANS. 

17 (a) PILOT PROGRAM REQUIRED.—Not later than one 

18 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec19 retary of Veterans Affairs shall commence carrying out a 

20 pilot program to assess the feasibility and advisability of 

21 awarding grants to eligible entities to meet the health care 

22 needs of elderly veterans who were previously homeless 

23 and are transitioning to permanent housing. 

24 (b) AWARD OF GRANTS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the pilot 

2 program, the Secretary shall award grants to eligible 

3 entities for the purpose described in subsection (a). 

4 (2) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—For purposes of this 

5 section, an eligible entity is any organization that is 

6 successfully providing transitional housing services 

7 using amounts provided by the Secretary under sec8 tions 2012 and 2061 of title 38, United States Code, 

9 as of the date on which the entity applies for a grant 

10 under this section. 

11 (3) INTERVALS OF PAYMENT AND MAXIMUM

12 GRANT AMOUNT.—The Secretary may establish in13 tervals of payment for the administration of grants 

14 under this section and a maximum grant amount to 

15 be awarded, in accordance with the services being 

16 provided by staff hired using grant amounts and the 

17 duration of such services. 

18 (4) EQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION.—The Secretary 

19 shall ensure that, to the extent practicable, grant 

20 amounts awarded under paragraph (1) are equitably 

21 distributed across geographic regions, including 

22 rural and Tribal communities. 

23 (c) USE OF GRANT AMOUNTS.—The recipient of a 

24 grant under the pilot program— 


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1 (1) shall use grant amounts for the hiring of 

2 nursing staff to care for elderly veterans requiring 

3 assistance with activities of daily living who were 

4 previously homeless and are transitioning to perma5 nent housing; and 

6 (2) may use such amounts for supplies and in7 frastructure needs associated with the duties of such 

8 staff. 

9 (d) REPORT ON SERVICES PROVIDED.—The Sec10 retary shall require each eligible entity awarded a grant 

11 under this section to submit to the Secretary a report that 

12 describes the services provided or coordinated with 

13 amounts under such grant. 

14 (e) DURATION.—The Secretary shall carry out the 

15 pilot program during the five-year period beginning on the 

16 date on which the pilot program commences. 

17 (f) REPORT TO CONGRESS.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

19 after the date on which the pilot program com20 mences, and annually thereafter until the program 

21 terminates, the Secretary shall submit to the Com22 mittee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the 

23 Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of 

24 Representatives a report on the effectiveness of the 

25 program. 


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1 (2) ELEMENTS.—The report required by para2 graph (1) shall include the number of veterans 

3 served by the pilot program under the care of a staff 

4 member the funding for whom is provided by a 

5 grant under the program, disaggregated by— 

6 (A) geographic location; 

7 (B) gender; 

8 (C) age; 

9 (D) race and ethnicity; 

10 (E) whether or not a veteran received care 

11 from the Department during the two-year pe12 riod preceding the date on which the veteran 

13 began participating in the program; 

14 (F) the number of veterans who 

15 transitioned into permanent housing as a result 

16 of participation in the program; and 

17 (G) with respect to veterans who did not 

18 transition into permanent housing as a result of 

19 participation in the program, the main reasons 

20 for not so transitioning. 

21 SEC. 11. REPORT BY COMPTROLLER GENERAL OF THE 

22 UNITED STATES ON AFFORDABLE HOUSING 

23 FOR VETERANS. 

24 (a) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than two years 

25 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the CompVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:15 Jul 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00026 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2172.IS S2172

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1 troller General of the United States shall submit to the 

2 Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the 

3 Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Rep4 resentatives a report on the availability of affordable hous5 ing for veterans who have or are participating in any pro6 gram administered by the Homeless Programs Office of 

7 the Department of Veterans Affairs. 

8 (b) CONTENTS.—The report required by subsection 

9 (a) shall include, with respect to the one-year period pre10 ceding the date of the enactment of this Act, the following: 

11 (1) The number of veterans using housing 

12 vouchers under the program carried out under sec13 tion 8(o)(19) of the United States Housing Act of 

14 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)(19)) (commonly referred 

15 to as ‘‘HUD–VASH’’). 

16 (2) The number of veterans who were allocated 

17 a housing voucher described in paragraph (1) but 

18 who have been unable to attain permanent housing. 

19 (3) The number of available housing vouchers 

20 described in paragraph (1) that are unused. 

21 (4) The number of veterans who were dis22 charged from transitional housing provided using 

23 amounts provided under sections 2061 and 2012 of 

24 title 38, United States Code, and did not transition 

25 to permanent housing due to a shortage of— 


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1 (A) case managers under the program de2 scribed in paragraph (1); 

3 (B) housing vouchers described in such 

4 paragraph; or 

5 (C) housing that meets the requirements 

6 and limitations with respect to such vouchers. 

7 (c) DISAGGREGATION.—The contents of the report 

8 described in subsection (b) shall be disaggregated by hous9 ing serving individuals and families with a household in10 come that does not exceed— 

11 (1) the area median income; 

12 (2) 80 percent of the area median income; 

13 (3) 50 percent of the area median income; and 

14 (4) 30 percent of the area median income. 

Æ 


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