I 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5561 

To provide housing assistance for very low-income veterans. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 8, 2006 

Mr. ANDREWS (for himself and Mr. RENZI) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs and Ways and Means, for 

a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 

consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To provide housing assistance for very low-income veterans. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Homes for Heroes 

5 Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. SUPPORTIVE HOUSING FOR VERY LOW-INCOME 

7 VETERAN FAMILIES. 

8 (a) PURPOSE.—The purposes of this section are— 

9 (1) to expand the supply of permanent housing 

10 for very low-income veteran families; and 


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1 (2) to provide supportive services through such 

2 housing to support the needs of such veteran fami3 lies. 

4 (b) AUTHORITY.—The Secretary of Housing and 

5 Urban Development shall, to the extent amounts are made 

6 available for assistance under this section and the Sec7 retary receives approvable applications for such assistance, 

8 provide assistance to private nonprofit organizations and 

9 consumer cooperatives to expand the supply of supportive 

10 housing for very low-income veteran families. Such assist11 ance shall be available for use to plan for and finance the 

12 construction, reconstruction, or moderate or substantial 

13 rehabilitation of a structure or a portion of a structure, 

14 or the acquisition of a structure, to be used as supportive 

15 housing for very low-income veteran families in accordance 

16 with this section. Assistance may also cover the cost of 

17 real property acquisition, site improvement, conversion, 

18 demolition, relocation, and other expenses that the Sec19 retary determines are necessary to expand the supply of 

20 supportive housing for very low-income veteran families. 

21 (c) FORMS OF ASSISTANCE.—Assistance under this 

22 section shall be made available in the following forms: 

23 (1) PLANNING GRANTS.—Assistance may be 

24 provided as a grant for costs of planning a project 


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1 to be used as supportive housing for very low-income 

2 veteran families. 

3 (2) CAPITAL ADVANCES.—Assistance may be 

4 provided as capital advance under this paragraph for 

5 a project, which shall— 

6 (A) bear no interest; 

7 (B) not be required to be repaid so long as 

8 the housing remains available for occupancy by 

9 very low-income veteran families in accordance 

10 with this section; and 

11 (C) be in an amount calculated in accord12 ance with the development cost limitation estab13 lished pursuant to subsection (h). 

14 (3) PROJECT RENTAL ASSISTANCE.—Assistance 

15 may be provided as project rental assistance, under 

16 an annual contract that— 

17 (A) obligates the Secretary to make 

18 monthly payments to cover any part of the 

19 costs attributed to units occupied (or, as ap20 proved by the Secretary, held for occupancy) by 

21 very low-income veteran families that is not met 

22 from project income; 

23 (B) provides for the project not more than 

24 the sum of the initial annual project rentals for 

25 all units so occupied and any initial utility alVerDate Aug 31 2005 22:11 Jun 11, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5561.IH H5561

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1 lowances for such units, as approved by the 

2 Secretary; 

3 (C) any contract amounts not used by a 

4 project in any year shall remain available to the 

5 project until the expiration of the contract; 

6 (D) provides that the Secretary shall, to 

7 the extent appropriations for such purpose are 

8 available, adjust the annual contract amount if 

9 the sum of the project income and the amount 

10 of assistance payments available under this 

11 paragraph are inadequate to provide for reason12 able project costs. 

13 (d) TENANT RENT CONTRIBUTION.—A very low-in14 come veteran family shall pay as rent for a dwelling unit 

15 assisted under this section the highest of the following 

16 amounts, rounded to the nearest dollar: 

17 (1) 30 percent of the veteran family’s adjusted 

18 monthly income. 

19 (2) 10 percent of the veteran family’s monthly 

20 income. 

21 (3) If the veteran family is receiving payments 

22 for welfare assistance from a public agency and a 

23 part of such payments, adjusted in accordance with 

24 the veteran family’s actual housing costs, is specifi25 cally designated by such agency to meet the veteran 


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1 family’s housing costs, the portion of such payments 

2 which is so designated. 

3 (e) TERM OF COMMITMENT.— 

4 (1) USE LIMITATIONS.—All units in housing as5 sisted under this section shall be made available for 

6 occupancy by very low-income veteran families for 

7 not less than 15 years. 

8 (2) CONTRACT TERMS.—The initial term of a 

9 contract entered into under subsection (c)(2) shall 

10 be 60 months. The Secretary shall, to the extent ap11 proved in appropriation Acts, extend any expiring 

12 contract for a term of not less than 12 months. In 

13 order to facilitate the orderly extension of expiring 

14 contracts, the Secretary may make commitments to 

15 extend expiring contracts during the year prior to 

16 the date of expiration. 

17 (f) APPLICATIONS.—Amounts made available under 

18 this section shall be allocated by the Secretary among ap19 provable applications submitted by private nonprofit orga20 nizations and consumer cooperatives. Applications for as21 sistance under this section shall be submitted by an appli22 cant in such form and in accordance with such procedures 

23 as the Secretary shall establish. Such applications shall 

24 contain— 

25 (1) a description of the proposed housing; 


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1 (2) a description of the assistance the applicant 

2 seeks under this section; 

3 (3) a description of (A) the supportive services 

4 to be provided to the persons occupying such hous5 ing; (B) the manner in which such services will be 

6 provided to such persons, including, in the case of 

7 frail elderly persons (as such term is defined in sec8 tion 202 of the Housing Act of 1959 (12 U.S.C. 

9 1701q)), evidence of such residential supervision as 

10 the Secretary determines is necessary to facilitate 

11 the adequate provision of such services; and (C) the 

12 public or private sources of assistance that can rea13 sonably be expected to fund or provide such services; 

14 (4) a certification from the public official re15 sponsible for submitting a housing strategy for the 

16 jurisdiction to be served in accordance with section 

17 105 of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable 

18 Housing Act that the proposed project is consistent 

19 with the approved housing strategy; and 

20 (5) such other information or certifications that 

21 the Secretary determines to be necessary or appro22 priate to achieve the purposes of this section. 

23 The Secretary shall not reject an application on technical 

24 grounds without giving notice of that rejection and the 


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1 basis therefor to the applicant and affording the applicant 

2 an opportunity to respond. 

3 (g) SELECTION CRITERIA.—The Secretary shall es4 tablish selection criteria for assistance under this section, 

5 which shall include— 

6 (1) criteria based upon— 

7 (A) the ability of the applicant to develop 

8 and operate the proposed housing; 

9 (B) the need for supportive housing for 

10 very low-income veteran families in the area to 

11 be served; 

12 (C) the extent to which the proposed size 

13 and unit mix of the housing will enable the ap14 plicant to manage and operate the housing effi15 ciently and ensure that the provision of sup16 portive services will be accomplished in an eco17 nomical fashion; 

18 (D) the extent to which the proposed de19 sign of the housing will meet the physical needs 

20 of very low-income veteran families; 

21 (E) the extent to which the applicant has 

22 demonstrated that the supportive services iden23 tified pursuant to subsection (f)(4) will be pro24 vided on a consistent, long-term basis; 


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1 (F) the extent to which the proposed de2 sign of the housing will accommodate the provi3 sion of supportive services that are expected to 

4 be needed, either initially or over the useful life 

5 of the housing, by the very low-income veterans 

6 the housing is intended to serve; and 

7 (G) such other factors as the Secretary de8 termines to be appropriate to ensure that funds 

9 made available under this section are used ef10 fectively; 

11 (2) a preference in such selection for applica12 tions proposing housing to be reserved for occupancy 

13 by very low-income veteran families who are home14 less (as such term is defined in section 103 of the 

15 McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 

16 U.S.C. 11302); and 

17 (3) criteria appropriate to consider the need for 

18 supportive housing for very low-income veteran fami19 lies in nonmetropolitan areas and by Indian tribes. 

20 (h) PROVISION OF SUPPORTIVE SERVICES TO VET21 ERAN FAMILIES.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the provi23 sions of this section, the Secretary shall ensure that 

24 housing assisted under this section provides a range 

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1 come veteran families occupying such housing, which 

2 may include services for— 

3 (A) outreach; 

4 (B) health (including counseling, mental 

5 health, substance abuse, and post-traumatic 

6 stress disorder) diagnosis and treatment; 

7 (C) habilitation and rehabilitation; 

8 (D) case management; 

9 (E) daily living; 

10 (F) personal financial planning; 

11 (G) transportation; 

12 (H) vocation; 

13 (I) employment and training; 

14 (J) education; 

15 (K) assistance in obtaining veterans bene16 fits and public benefits, including health and 

17 medical care provided by the Department of 

18 Veterans Affairs; 

19 (L) assistance in obtaining income support; 

20 (M) assistance in obtaining health insur21 ance; 

22 (N) fiduciary and representative payee; 

23 (O) legal aid; 

24 (P) child care; 

25 (Q) housing counseling; 


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1 (R) service coordination; and 

2 (S) other services necessary for maintain3 ing independent living. 

4 (2) LOCAL COORDINATION OF SERVICES.—The 

5 Secretary shall ensure that owners of housing as6 sisted under this section have the managerial capac7 ity to— 

8 (A) assess on an ongoing basis the service 

9 needs of residents; 

10 (B) coordinate the provision of supportive 

11 services and tailor such services to the indi12 vidual needs of residents; and 

13 (C) seek on a continuous basis new sources 

14 of assistance to ensure the long-term provision 

15 of supportive services. 

16 Any cost associated with this subsection shall be an 

17 eligible cost under subsections (c)(3) and (i). 

18 (i) FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE FOR SERVICES.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Veterans 

20 Affairs shall, to the extent amounts are available for 

21 assistance under this subsection pursuant to sub22 section (o)(2), provide financial assistance for the 

23 provision of supportive services, and for coordinating 

24 the provision of such services, to very low-income 

25 veteran families occupying housing assisted under 


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1 this section. Such assistance shall be made through 

2 payments to owners of such housing for each resi3 dent of the housing based on the formula established 

4 under paragraph (2). 

5 (2) FORMULA.—The Secretary of Veterans Af6 fairs shall establish a formula to determine the rate 

7 of the payments to be provided under this sub8 section. The formula shall determine a rate for each 

9 resident of the housing assisted under this section 

10 (which shall be adjusted not less than annually to 

11 take into consideration changes in the cost of living). 

12 (j) DEVELOPMENT COST LIMITATIONS.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall periodi14 cally establish development cost limitations by mar15 ket area for various types and sizes of supportive 

16 housing for very low-income veteran families by pub17 lishing a notice of the cost limitations in the Federal 

18 Register. The cost limitations shall reflect— 

19 (A) the cost of construction, reconstruc20 tion, or moderate or substantial rehabilitation 

21 of supportive housing for very low-income vet22 eran families that meets applicable State and 

23 local housing and building codes; 


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1 (B) the cost of movables necessary to the 

2 basic operation of the housing, as determined 

3 by the Secretary; 

4 (C) the cost of special design features nec5 essary to make the housing accessible to very 

6 low-income veteran families; 

7 (D) the cost of congregate space necessary 

8 to accommodate the provision of supportive 

9 services to veteran families; 

10 (E) if the housing is newly constructed, the 

11 cost of meeting the energy efficiency standards 

12 promulgated by the Secretary in accordance 

13 with section 109 of the Cranston-Gonzalez Na14 tional Affordable Housing Act; and 

15 (F) the cost of land, including necessary 

16 site improvement. 

17 In establishing development cost limitations for a 

18 given market area under this subsection, the Sec19 retary shall use data that reflect currently prevailing 

20 costs of construction, reconstruction, or moderate or 

21 substantial rehabilitation, and land acquisition in the 

22 area. For purposes of this paragraph, the term 

23 ‘‘congregate space’’ shall include space for cafeterias 

24 or dining halls, community rooms or buildings, child 

25 care centers, workshops, adult day health facilities, 


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1 or other outpatient health facilities, or other essen2 tial service facilities. Neither this section nor any 

3 other provision of law may be construed as prohib4 iting or preventing the location and operation, in a 

5 project assisted under this section, of commercial fa6 cilities for the benefit of residents of the project and 

7 the community in which the project is located, ex8 cept that assistance made available under this sec9 tion may not be used to subsidize any such commer10 cial facility. 

11 (2) ACQUISITION.—In the case of existing hous12 ing and related facilities to be acquired, the cost lim13 itations shall include— 

14 (A) the cost of acquiring such housing, 

15 (B) the cost of rehabilitation, alteration, 

16 conversion, or improvement, including the mod17 erate or substantial rehabilitation thereof, and 

18 (C) the cost of the land on which the hous19 ing and related facilities are located. 

20 (3) ANNUAL ADJUSTMENTS.—The Secretary 

21 shall adjust the cost limitation not less than annu22 ally to reflect changes in the general level of con23 struction, reconstruction, and moderate and substan24 tial rehabilitation costs. 

25 (4) INCENTIVES FOR SAVINGS.— 


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1 (A) SPECIAL HOUSING ACCOUNT.—The 

2 Secretary shall use the development cost limita3 tions established under paragraph (1) or (2) to 

4 calculate the amount of financing to be made 

5 available to individual owners. Owners which 

6 incur actual development costs that are less 

7 than the amount of financing shall be entitled 

8 to retain 50 percent of the savings in a special 

9 housing account. Such percentage shall be in10 creased to 75 percent for owners which add en11 ergy efficiency features which— 

12 (i) exceed the energy efficiency stand13 ards promulgated by the Secretary in ac14 cordance with section 109 of the Cranston15 Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act; 

16 (ii) substantially reduce the life-cycle 

17 cost of the housing; 

18 (iii) reduce gross rent requirements; 

19 and 

20 (iv) enhance tenant comfort and con21 venience. 

22 (B) USES.—The special housing account 

23 established under subparagraph (A) may be 

24 used (i) to provide services to residents of the 

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1 serves, or (ii) for such other purposes as deter2 mined by the Secretary. 

3 (5) DESIGN FLEXIBILITY.—The Secretary shall, 

4 to the extent practicable, give owners the flexibility 

5 to design housing appropriate to their location and 

6 proposed resident population within broadly defined 

7 parameters. 

8 (6) USE OF FUNDS FROM OTHER SOURCES.— 

9 An owner shall be permitted voluntarily to provide 

10 funds from sources other than this section for amen11 ities and other features of appropriate design and 

12 construction suitable for supportive housing under 

13 this section if the cost of such amenities is (A) not 

14 financed with the advance, and (B) is not taken into 

15 account in determining the amount of Federal as16 sistance or of the rent contribution of tenants. Not17 withstanding any other provision of law, assistance 

18 amounts provided under this section may be treated 

19 as amounts not derived from a Federal grant. 

20 (k) TENANT SELECTION.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—An owner shall adopt writ22 ten tenant selection procedures that are satisfactory 

23 to the Secretary as (A) consistent with the purpose 

24 of improving housing opportunities for very low-in25 come veteran families; and (B) reasonably related to 


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1 program eligibility and an applicant’s ability to per2 form the obligations of the lease. Such tenant selec3 tion procedures shall comply with subtitle C of title 

4 VI of the Housing and Community Development Act 

5 of 1992 and any regulations issued under such sub6 title. Owners shall promptly notify in writing any re7 jected applicant of the grounds for any rejection. 

8 (2) INFORMATION REGARDING HOUSING.—The 

9 Secretary shall provide, to the Secretary of Veterans 

10 Affairs and the Secretary of Labor, information re11 garding the availability of the housing assisted under 

12 this section. Within 30 days of receipt of the infor13 mation, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and Sec14 retary of Labor shall provide such information to 

15 agencies in the area of the housing that receive as16 sistance from the Department of Veterans Affairs 

17 and the Department of Labor for providing medical 

18 care, housing, supportive services or employment 

19 and training services to homeless veterans. 

20 (l) MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS.— 

21 (1) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary 

22 shall make available appropriate technical assistance 

23 to ensure that prospective applicants and owners are 

24 able to participate more fully in the program carried 

25 out under this section. 


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1 (2) CIVIL RIGHTS COMPLIANCE.—Each owner 

2 shall certify, to the satisfaction of the Secretary, 

3 that assistance made available under this section will 

4 be conducted and administered in conformity with 

5 title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Fair 

6 Housing Act, and other Federal, State, and local 

7 laws prohibiting discrimination and promoting equal 

8 opportunity. 

9 (3) OWNER DEPOSIT.— 

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall re11 quire an owner of housing assisted under this 

12 section to deposit an amount not to exceed 

13 $15,000 in a special escrow account to ensure 

14 the owner’s commitment to the housing. 

15 (B) REDUCTION OF REQUIREMENT.—The 

16 Secretary may reduce or waive the owner de17 posit specified under paragraph (3) for indi18 vidual applicants if the Secretary finds that 

19 such waiver or reduction is necessary to achieve 

20 the purposes of this section and the applicant 

21 demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Sec22 retary that it has the capacity to manage and 

23 maintain the housing in accordance with this 

24 section. The Secretary shall reduce or waive the 

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1 graph (3) in the case of a nonprofit applicant 

2 that is not affiliated with a national sponsor, as 

3 determined by the Secretary. 

4 (4) NOTICE OF APPEAL.—The Secretary shall 

5 notify an owner not less than 30 days prior to can6 celing any reservation of assistance provided under 

7 this section. During the 30-day period following the 

8 receipt of a notice under the preceding sentence, an 

9 owner may appeal the proposed cancellation. Such 

10 appeal, including review by the Secretary, shall be 

11 completed not later than 45 days after the appeal is 

12 filed. 

13 (5) LABOR.— 

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

15 take such action as may be necessary to ensure 

16 that all laborers and mechanics employed by 

17 contractors and subcontractors in the construc18 tion of housing with 12 or more units assisted 

19 under this section shall be paid wages at rates 

20 not less than the rates prevailing in the locality 

21 involved for the corresponding classes of labor22 ers and mechanics employed on construction of 

23 a similar character, as determined by the Sec24 retary of Labor in accordance with subchapter 


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1 IV of chapter 31 of title 40, United States 

2 Code. 

3 (B) EXEMPTION.—Subparagraph (A) shall 

4 not apply to any individual who— 

5 (i) performs services for which the in6 dividual volunteered; 

7 (ii)(I) does not receive compensation 

8 for such services; or 

9 (II) is paid expenses, reasonable bene10 fits, or a nominal fee for such services; and 

11 (iii) is not otherwise employed at any 

12 time in the construction work. 

13 (6) ACCESS TO RESIDUAL RECEIPTS.—The Sec14 retary shall authorize the owner of a housing project 

15 assisted under this section to use any residual re16 ceipts held for the project in excess of $500 per unit 

17 (or in excess of such other amount prescribed by the 

18 Secretary based on the needs of the project) for ac19 tivities to retrofit and renovate the project described 

20 under section 802(d)(3) of the Cranston-Gonzalez 

21 National Affordable Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 

22 8011(d)(3)) or to provide supportive services to resi23 dents of the project. Any owner that uses residual 

24 receipts under this paragraph shall submit to the 

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1 ing the uses of the residual receipts. In determining 

2 the amount of project rental assistance to be pro3 vided to a project under subsection (c)(3) of this sec4 tion, the Secretary may take into consideration the 

5 residual receipts held for the project only if, and to 

6 the extent that, excess residual receipts are not used 

7 under this paragraph. 

8 (7) OCCUPANCY STANDARDS AND OBLIGA9 TIONS.—Each owner shall operate housing assisted 

10 under this section in compliance with subtitle C of 

11 title VI of the Housing and Community Develop12 ment Act of 1992 (relating to standards and obliga13 tions of residency) and any regulations issued under 

14 such subtitle. 

15 (8) USE OF PROJECT RESERVES.—Amounts for 

16 project reserves for a project assisted under this sec17 tion may be used for costs, subject to reasonable 

18 limitations as the Secretary determines appropriate, 

19 for reducing the number of dwelling units in the 

20 project. Such use shall be subject to the approval of 

21 the Secretary to ensure that the use is designed to 

22 retrofit units that are currently obsolete or unmar23 ketable. 

24 (m) DEFINITIONS.— 


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1 (1) CONSUMER COOPERATIVE.—The term ‘‘con2 sumer cooperative’’ has the same meaning given 

3 such term for purposes of the supportive housing for 

4 the elderly program under section 202 of the Hous5 ing Act of 1959 (12 U.S.C. 1701q). 

6 (2) VERY LOW-INCOME VETERAN FAMILY.—The 

7 term ‘‘very low-income veteran family’’ means a vet8 eran family whose income does not exceed 50 per9 cent of the median income for the area, as deter10 mined by the Secretary with adjustments for smaller 

11 and larger families, except that the Secretary may 

12 establish income ceiling higher or lower than 50 per13 cent of the median for the area on the basis of the 

14 Secretary’s findings that such variations are nec15 essary because of prevailing levels of construction 

16 costs or fair market rents (as determined under sec17 tion 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 

18 U.S.C. 1437f), or unusually high or low family in19 comes. 

20 (3) OWNER.—The term ‘‘owner’’ means a pri21 vate nonprofit organization or consumer cooperative 

22 that receives assistance under this section to develop 

23 and operate supportive housing for very low-income 

24 veteran families. 


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1 (4) PRIVATE NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION.—The 

2 term ‘‘private nonprofit organization’’ means— 

3 (A) any incorporated private institution or 

4 foundation— 

5 (i) no part of the net earnings of 

6 which inures to the benefit of any member, 

7 founder, contributor, or individual; 

8 (ii) which has a governing board that 

9 is responsible for the operation of the 

10 housing assisted under this section; and 

11 (iii) which is approved by the Sec12 retary as to financial responsibility; 

13 (B) a for-profit limited partnership the 

14 sole general partner of which is an organization 

15 meeting the requirements under clauses (i), (ii), 

16 and (iii) of subparagraph (A); 

17 (C) a corporation wholly owned and con18 trolled by an organization meeting the require19 ments under clauses (i), (ii), and (iii) of sub20 paragraph (A); and 

21 (D) a tribally designated housing entity, as 

22 such term is defined in section 4 of the Native 

23 American Housing Assistance and Self-Deter24 mination Act of 1996 (25 U.S.C. 4103). 


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1 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

2 the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, 

3 except where specifically provided otherwise. 

4 (6) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ includes the 

5 several States, the District of Columbia, the Com6 monwealth of Puerto Rico, and the possessions of 

7 the United States. 

8 (7) SUPPORTIVE HOUSING FOR VERY LOW-IN9 COME VETERAN FAMILIES.—The term ‘‘supportive 

10 housing for very low-income veteran families’’ means 

11 housing that is designed to accommodate the provi12 sion of supportive services that are expected to be 

13 needed, either initially or over the useful life of the 

14 housing, by the veteran families that the housing is 

15 intended to serve. 

16 (8) VETERAN.—The term ‘‘veteran’’ has the 

17 meaning given the term in section 101 of title 38, 

18 United States Code. 

19 (9) VETERAN FAMILY.—The term ‘‘veteran 

20 family’’ includes a veteran who is a single person, a 

21 family (including families with children) whose head 

22 of household (or whose spouse) is a veteran, and one 

23 or more veterans living together with one or more 

24 persons. 


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1 (n) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.—Of any amounts made 

2 available for assistance under this section: 

3 (1) PLANNING GRANTS.—Not more than 2.5 

4 percent shall be made available for planning grants 

5 in accordance with subsection (c)(1). 

6 (2) CAPITAL ADVANCES.—Such sums as may be 

7 necessary shall be made available for capital ad8 vances in accordance with subsection (c)(2). 

9 (3) PROJECT RENTAL ASSISTANCE.—Such sums 

10 as may be necessary shall be made available for 

11 project rental assistance in accordance with sub12 section (c)(3). 

13 (4) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—Not more than 1 

14 percent shall be made available for technical assist15 ance in accordance with subsection (l)(1). 

16 (o) FUNDING.— 

17 (1) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR

18 HOUSING ASSISTANCE.—There is authorized to be 

19 appropriated for assistance under this section 

20 $200,000,000 (not including financial assistance 

21 under subsection (i)) for fiscal year 2007 and such 

22 sums as may be necessary for each fiscal year there23 after. 

24 (2) SET ASIDE OF VETERANS MEDICAL SERV25 ICES AMOUNTS FOR SUPPORTIVE SERVICES.—Of any 


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1 amounts made available in appropriation Acts for 

2 fiscal year 2007 and each fiscal year thereafter to 

3 the Department of Veterans Affairs for medical 

4 services for veterans, there shall be available for fi5 nancial assistance under subsection (i) of this sec6 tion in each such year such sums as may be nec7 essary to provide payments under subsection (i) for 

8 such fiscal year, at the full rate under the formula 

9 established pursuant to such subsection, for each 

10 resident of each housing project assisted under this 

11 section. 

12 SEC. 3. HOUSING CHOICE VOUCHERS FOR HOMELESS VET13 ERANS. 

14 Section 8(o) of the United States Housing Act of 

15 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)) is amended by striking para16 graph (19) and inserting the following new paragraph: 

17 ‘‘(19) RENTAL VOUCHERS FOR HOMELESS VET18 ERANS.— 

19 ‘‘(A) SET ASIDE.—Subject to subpara20 graph (C), the Secretary shall set aside and 

21 transfer to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, 

22 from amounts made available for rental assist23 ance under this subsection, the amount speci24 fied in subparagraph (B) for use only for pro25 viding such assistance for homeless veterans. 


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1 ‘‘(B) AMOUNT.—The amount specified in 

2 this subparagraph is, for each fiscal year, the 

3 amount necessary to provide at least 20,000 

4 vouchers for rental assistance under this sub5 section. 

6 ‘‘(C) ADMINISTRATION OF VOUCHER PRO7 GRAM.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs may 

8 use amounts transferred under this paragraph 

9 only for funding contracts for rental assistance 

10 under this paragraph to be administered by en11 tities that receive grants under section 2011 or 

12 2012 of title 38, United States Code. Subject 

13 only to the availability of amounts for rental as14 sistance under this paragraph, the Secretary of 

15 Veterans Affairs shall provide, under each such 

16 contract for rental assistance with such an enti17 ty, funding for the entity to provide at least two 

18 vouchers for rental assistance for each unit of 

19 transitional housing being made available by 

20 the entity at such time. 

21 ‘‘(D) FUNDING.—The budget authority 

22 made available under any other provisions of 

23 law for rental assistance under this subsection 

24 for fiscal year 2007 and each fiscal year there25 after is authorized to be increased in each such 


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1 fiscal year by such sums as may be necessary 

2 to provide the number of vouchers specified in 

3 subparagraph (B) for such fiscal year.’’. 

4 SEC. 4. INCLUSION OF VETERANS IN HOUSING PLANNING. 

5 (a) PUBLIC HOUSING AGENCY PLANS.—Section 

6 5A(d)(1) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 

7 U.S.C. 1437c–1(d)) is amended by striking ‘‘and disabled 

8 families’’ and inserting ‘‘, disabled families, and veterans 

9 (as such term is defined in section 101 of title 38, United 

10 States Code)’’. 

11 (b) COMPREHENSIVE HOUSING AFFORDABILITY

12 STRATEGIES.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 105 of the Cran14 ston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act (42 

15 U.S.C. 12705) is amended— 

16 (A) in subsection (b)(1), by inserting ‘‘vet17 erans (as such term is defined in section 101 of 

18 title 38, United States Code),’’ after ‘‘acquired 

19 immunodeficiency syndrome,’’; 

20 (B) in subsection (b)(20), by striking ‘‘and 

21 service’’ and inserting ‘‘veterans service and 

22 other service’’; and 

23 (C) in subsection (e)(1), by inserting ‘‘vet24 erans (as such term is defined in section 101 of 


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1 title 38, United States Code),’’ after ‘‘homeless 

2 persons,’’. 

3 (2) CONSOLIDATED PLANS.—The Secretary of 

4 Housing and Urban Development shall revise the 

5 regulations relating to submission of consolidated 

6 plans (24 C.F.R. Part 91) in accordance with the 

7 amendments made by paragraph (1) of this sub8 section to require inclusion of appropriate informa9 tion relating to veterans and veterans service agen10 cies in all such plans. 

11 SEC. 5. EXCLUSION OF VETERANS BENEFITS FROM AS12 SISTED HOUSING RENT CONSIDERATIONS. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi14 sion of law, for purposes of determining the amount of 

15 rent paid by a family for occupancy of a dwelling unit as16 sisted under a federally assisted housing program under 

17 subsection (b) or in housing assisted under a federally as18 sisted housing program, the income and the adjusted in19 come of the family shall not be considered to include any 

20 amounts received by any member of the family from the 

21 Secretary of Veterans Affairs as— 

22 (1) compensation, as defined in section 101(13) 

23 of title 38, United States Code; 

24 (2) dependency and indemnity compensation, as 

25 defined in section 101(14) of such title; and 


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1 (3) pension, as defined in section 101(15) of 

2 such title. 

3 (b) FEDERALLY ASSISTED HOUSING PROGRAM.— 

4 The federally assisted housing programs under this sub5 section are— 

6 (1) the public housing program under the 

7 United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437 

8 et seq.); 

9 (2) the tenant-based rental assistance program 

10 under section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 

11 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f), including the program 

12 under subsection (o)(19) of such section for housing 

13 rental vouchers for low-income veteran families; 

14 (3) the project-based rental assistance program 

15 under section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 

16 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f); 

17 (4) the program for housing opportunities for 

18 persons with AIDS under subtitle D of title VIII of 

19 the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing 

20 Act (42 U.S.C. 12901 et seq.); 

21 (5) the supportive housing for the elderly pro22 gram under section 202 of the Housing Act of 1959 

23 (12 U.S.C. 1701q); 

24 (6) the supportive housing for persons with dis25 abilities program under section 811 of the CranstonVerDate Aug 31 2005 22:11 Jun 11, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00029 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5561.IH H5561

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1 Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act (42 

2 U.S.C. 8013); 

3 (7) the supportive housing for the homeless pro4 gram under subtitle C of title IV of the McKinney5 Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11381 et 

6 seq.); 

7 (8) the program for moderate rehabilitation of 

8 single room occupancy dwellings for occupancy by 

9 the homeless under section 441 of the McKinney10 Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11401); 

11 (9) the shelter plus care for the homeless pro12 gram under subtitle F of title IV of the McKinney13 Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11403 et 

14 seq.); 

15 (10) the supportive housing for very low-income 

16 veteran families program under section 2 of this Act; 

17 (11) the rental assistance payments program 

18 under section 521(a)(2)(A) of the Housing Act of 

19 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1490a(a)(2)(A); 

20 (12) the rental assistance program under sec21 tion 236 of the National Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 

22 1715z–1); 

23 (13) the rural housing programs under section 

24 515 and 538 of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 

25 1485, 1490p–2); 


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1 (14) the HOME investment partnerships pro2 gram under title II of the Cranston-Gonzalez Na3 tional Affordable Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 12721 et 

4 seq.); 

5 (15) the block grant programs for affordable 

6 housing for Native Americans and Native Hawaiians 

7 under titles I through IV and VIII of the Native 

8 American Housing Assistance and Self-Determina9 tion Act of 1996 (25 U.S.C. 4111 et seq., 4221 et 

10 seq.); 

11 (16) the low-income housing tax credit program 

12 under section 42 of the Internal Revenue Code of 

13 1986 (26 U.S.C. 42); and 

14 (17) any other program for housing assistance 

15 administered by the Secretary of Housing and 

16 Urban Development or the Secretary of Agriculture 

17 under which eligibility for occupancy in the housing 

18 assisted or for housing assistance is based upon in19 come. 

20 SEC. 6. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE GRANTS FOR HOUSING AS21 SISTANCE FOR VETERANS. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Housing and 

23 Urban Development shall, to the extent amounts are made 

24 available in appropriation Acts for grants under this sec25 tion, make grants to eligible entities under subsection (b) 


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1 to provide, to nonprofit organizations, technical assistance 

2 appropriate to assist such organizations in— 

3 (1) sponsoring housing projects for veterans as4 sisted under programs administered by the Depart5 ment of Housing and Urban Development; 

6 (2) fulfilling the planning and application proc7 esses and requirements necessary under such pro8 grams administered by the Department; and 

9 (3) assisting veterans in obtaining housing or 

10 homeless assistance under programs administered by 

11 the Department. 

12 (b) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—An eligible entity under 

13 this subsection is a nonprofit entity or organization having 

14 such expertise as the Secretary shall require in providing 

15 technical assistance to providers of services for veterans. 

16 (c) SELECTION OF GRANT RECIPIENTS.—The Sec17 retary of Housing and Urban Development shall establish 

18 criteria for selecting applicants for grants under this sec19 tion to receive such grants and shall select applicants 

20 based upon such criteria. 

21 (d) FUNDING.—Of any amounts made available in 

22 fiscal year 2007 or any fiscal year thereafter to the De23 partment of Housing and Urban Development for salaries 

24 and expenses, $1,000,000 shall be available, and shall reVerDate Aug 31 2005 22:11 Jun 11, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00032 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5561.IH H5561

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1 main available until expended, for grants under this sec2 tion. 

3 SEC. 7. ANNUAL REPORT ON HOUSING ASSISTANCE TO VET4 ERANS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than December 31 of 

6 each year, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Develop7 ment shall submit to the Committees on Financial Serv8 ices, Veterans’ Affairs, and Appropriations of the House 

9 of Representatives and the Committees on Banking, Hous10 ing, and Urban Affairs, Veterans’ Affairs, and Appropria11 tions of the Senate a report on the activities relating to 

12 veterans of the Department of Housing and Urban Devel13 opment during such year. 

14 (b) CONTENTS.—Each report required under sub15 section (a) shall include the following information with re16 spect to the year for which the report is submitted: 

17 (1) The number of very low-income veteran 

18 families provided assistance under the program of 

19 supportive housing for very low-income veteran fami20 lies under section 2 of this Act, the socioeconomic 

21 characteristics of such families, the types of assist22 ance provided such families, and the number, types, 

23 and locations of owners of housing assisted under 

24 such section. 


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1 (2) The number of homeless veterans provided 

2 assistance under the program of housing choice 

3 vouchers for homeless veterans under section 

4 8(o)(19) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 

5 (as added by section 3 of this Act), the socio6 economic characteristics of such homeless veterans, 

7 and the number, types, and locations of entities con8 tracted under such section to administer the vouch9 ers. 

10 (3) A summary description of the special con11 siderations made for veterans under public housing 

12 agency plans submitted pursuant to section 5A of 

13 the United States Housing Act of 1937 and under 

14 comprehensive housing affordability strategies sub15 mitted pursuant to section 105 of the Cranston-Gon16 zalez National Affordable Housing Act. 

17 (4) A description of the technical assistance 

18 provided to organizations pursuant to grants under 

19 section 6 of this Act. 

20 (5) A description of the activities of the Special 

21 Assistant for Veterans Affairs. 

22 (6) A description of the efforts of the Depart23 ment of Housing and Urban Development to coordi24 nate the delivery of housing and services to veterans 

25 with other Federal departments and agencies, inVerDate Aug 31 2005 22:11 Jun 11, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00034 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5561.IH H5561

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1 cluding the Department of Defense, Department of 

2 Justice, Department of Labor, Department of 

3 Health and Human Services, Department of Vet4 erans Affairs, Interagency Council on Homelessness, 

5 and the Social Security Administration. 

6 (7) The cost to the Department of Housing and 

7 Urban Development of administering the programs 

8 and activities relating to veterans. 

9 (8) Any other information that the Secretary 

10 considers relevant in assessing the programs and ac11 tivities relating to veterans of the Department of 

12 Housing and Urban Development 

13 (c) ASSESSMENT OF HOUSING NEEDS OF VERY LOW14 INCOME VETERAN FAMILIES.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—For the first report sub16 mitted pursuant to subsection (a) and every fifth re17 port thereafter, the Secretary of Housing and Urban 

18 Development shall— 

19 (A) conduct an assessment of the housing 

20 needs of very low-income veteran families (as 

21 such term is defined for purposes of section 2; 

22 and 

23 (B) shall include in each such report find24 ings regarding such assessment. 


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1 (2) CONTENT.—Each assessment under this 

2 subsection shall include— 

3 (A) conducting a survey of, and direct 

4 interviews with, a representative sample of very 

5 low-income veteran families (as such term is de6 fined for purposes of section 2) to determine 

7 past and current— 

8 (i) socioeconomic characteristics of 

9 such veteran families; 

10 (ii) barriers to such veteran families 

11 obtaining safe, quality, and affordable 

12 housing; 

13 (iii) levels of homelessness among 

14 such veteran families; 

15 (iv) levels and circumstances of, and 

16 barriers to, receipt by such veteran families 

17 of rental housing and homeownership as18 sistance; 

19 (B) such other information that the Sec20 retary determines, in consultation with the Sec21 retary of Veterans Affairs and national non22 governmental organizations concerned with vet23 erans, homelessness, and very low-income hous24 ing, may be useful to the assessment. 


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1 (3) CONDUCT.—If the Secretary contracts with 

2 an entity other than the Department of Housing and 

3 Urban Development to conduct the assessment 

4 under this subsection, such entity shall be a non5 governmental organization determined by the Sec6 retary to have appropriate expertise in quantitative 

7 and qualitative social science research. 

8 (4) FUNDING.—Of any amounts made available 

9 pursuant to section 501 of the Housing and Urban 

10 Development Act of 1970 (42 U.S.C. 1701z–1) for 

11 programs of research, studies, testing, or demonstra12 tion relating to the mission or programs of the De13 partment of Housing and Urban Development for 

14 any fiscal year in which an assessment under this 

15 subsection is required pursuant to paragraph (1) of 

16 this subsection, $1,000,000 shall be available until 

17 expended for costs of the assessment under this sub18 section. 

19 SEC. 8. SPECIAL ASSISTANT FOR VETERANS AFFAIRS IN OF20 FICE OF SECRETARY OF HUD. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 4 of the Department of 

22 Housing and Urban Development Act (42 U.S.C. 3533) 

23 is amended by adding at the end the following new sub24 section: 

25 ‘‘(f) SPECIAL ASSISTANT FOR VETERANS AFFAIRS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There shall be in the 

2 Department a Special Assistant for Veterans Af3 fairs, who shall be in the Office of the Secretary. 

4 ‘‘(2) APPOINTMENT.—The Special Assistant for 

5 Veterans Affairs shall be appointed based solely on 

6 merit and shall be covered under the provisions of 

7 title 5, United States Code, governing appointments 

8 in the competitive service. 

9 ‘‘(3) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Special Assist10 ant for Veterans Affairs shall be responsible for— 

11 ‘‘(A) ensuring veterans have access to 

12 housing and homeless assistance under each 

13 program of the Department providing either 

14 such assistance; 

15 ‘‘(B) coordinating all programs and activi16 ties of the Department relating to veterans; 

17 ‘‘(C) serving as a liaison for the Depart18 ment, and establishing and maintaining rela19 tionships with, officials of State, local, regional, 

20 and nongovernmental organizations concerned 

21 with veterans; 

22 ‘‘(D) providing information and advice re23 garding— 


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1 ‘‘(i) sponsoring housing projects for 

2 veterans assisted under programs adminis3 tered by the Department; or 

4 ‘‘(ii) assisting veterans in obtaining 

5 housing or homeless assistance under pro6 grams administered by the Department; 

7 ‘‘(E) administering the technical assistance 

8 grants program under section 6 of the Homes 

9 for Heroes Act; 

10 ‘‘(F) preparing the annual report under 

11 section 7 of such Act; and 

12 ‘‘(G) carrying out such other duties as may 

13 be assigned to the Special Assistant by the Sec14 retary or by law.’’. 

Æ 


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