IV 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 634 

Expressing that the United States is obligated to permanently end the 

unhoused crisis by 2027 and uphold, protect, and enforce the civil and 

human rights of unhoused individuals, including the human rights to 

housing, universal health care, livable wages, education, employment opportunities, access to public facilities, free movement in public spaces, 

privacy, confidentiality, internet access, vote, freedom from harassment 

by law enforcement, private businesses, property owners, and housed 

residents, and equal rights to health care, legal representation, and 

social services without discrimination based on housing status. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 28, 2023 

Ms. BUSH (for herself, Ms. TLAIB, Ms. NORTON, Ms. LEE of California, Ms. 

JAYAPAL, Mr. BOWMAN, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Ms. CLARKE of New 

York, Mr. CARSON, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. CASAR, 

Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ, Mr. MCGOVERN, Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia, Ms. 

PRESSLEY, and Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ) submitted the following resolution; 

which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committees on Energy and Commerce, Education and the 

Workforce, the Judiciary, Agriculture, 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 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing that the United States is obligated to permanently end the unhoused crisis by 2027 and uphold, 

protect, and enforce the civil and human rights of 

unhoused individuals, including the human rights to 

housing, universal health care, livable wages, education, 


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•HRES 634 IH 

employment opportunities, access to public facilities, free 

movement in public spaces, privacy, confidentiality, internet access, vote, freedom from harassment by law enforcement, private businesses, property owners, and 

housed residents, and equal rights to health care, legal 

representation, and social services without discrimination 

based on housing status. 

Whereas there are currently between 582,000 and 1,500,000 

unhoused individuals residing in the United States; 

Whereas the population of unhoused individuals in the United 

States is disproportionately comprised of Black, brown, 

and Indigenous people, women, children, veterans, undocumented immigrants, people with mental, developmental, and physical disabilities and substance use disorders, and members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, 

transgender, gender nonconforming, and queer community; 

Whereas older adults are the largest growing segment of the 

homeless population and nearly 40 percent of older 

Americans rely only on Social Security income in retirement, leaving housing stability out of reach for most 

older Americans; 

Whereas Black Americans make up more than 40 percent of 

the unhoused population, but represent 13 percent of the 

general population, and Indigenous people are similarly 

disproportionately overrepresented within the unhoused 

population; 

Whereas children under the age of 18 comprise almost 40 

percent of the total unhoused population in the United 

States; 


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Whereas 4,200,000 children and youth experience homelessness each year in the United States; 

Whereas 420,000 children are not connected with a school 

system because of homelessness each year in the United 

States; 

Whereas lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, gender nonconforming, and queer individuals, including children, are 

forced to accept inappropriate or unsafe accommodations 

to access publicly funded emergency shelters; 

Whereas survivors of domestic violence, partner violence, sexual assault, and stalking are faced with the impossible 

choice of living with an abusive person or becoming 

unhoused due to a lack of an adequate housing safety 

net; 

Whereas the root causes contributing to the unhoused crisis 

are poverty, a lack of affordable housing options, systemic racism, chronically low wages, underemployment 

and unemployment, gentrification, housing discrimination, mass incarceration, immigration status, criminalization of poverty, domestic violence, discrimination against 

lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, gender nonconforming, and queer individuals, trauma, disabilities, personal and medical debt, a lack of affordable childcare, 

natural disasters, institutionalization, and unexpected 

loss of household income; 

Whereas in the wake of a deadly global pandemic and a 

compounding economic crisis that resulted in massive job 

loss, rates of housing insecurity have skyrocketed as millions of people across the Nation faced financial instability; 


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•HRES 634 IH 

Whereas the pandemic significantly increased the number of 

unhoused children and youth due to high unemployment, 

unstable living conditions, and job insecurity, leaving millions of children and youth vulnerable to criminalization, 

exposure to extreme weather, disease, malnutrition, mental and physical disorders, substance use disorders, sex 

trafficking, kidnapping, physical and sexual assault, and 

premature death; 

Whereas the Emergency Rental Assistance Program provided 

$46,000,000,000 to keep countless tenants housed during 

the COVID–19 pandemic, along with stimulus checks, expanded unemployment benefits, child tax credits, and increased Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program allocations; 

Whereas low-income renters face increasingly high rents and 

rising housing instability, and without the supports provided by pandemic-era benefit programs, safe, stable, and 

affordable housing remains out of reach; 

Whereas, since July 2009, Federal minimum wage has remained stagnant at an abysmal $7.25, forcing low-wage 

workers to work two to three jobs to afford housing and 

basic needs; 

Whereas, from 2009 to 2021, the median rent across the 

United States increased 42 percent, from $817 a month 

to $1,163; 

Whereas, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, in 2023 the housing wage, defined as an annual 

estimate of the hourly wage full-time workers must earn 

to afford a rental home at fair market rent without 

spending more than 30 percent of their incomes, was 

$28.58 per hour for a modest two-bedroom rental home 


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•HRES 634 IH 

and $23.67 per hour for a modest one-bedroom rental 

home; 

Whereas, in no State, metropolitan area, or county can a fulltime minimum-wage worker afford a modest two-bedroom 

rental home, and a full-time minimum-wage worker cannot afford a modest one-bedroom rental home in more 

than 92 percent of United States counties; 

Whereas the gap between wages and housing costs is largest 

for people of color, and particularly women of color, as 

a result of decades of racist housing policies that have led 

to people of color facing disproportionate challenges accessing decent and affordable homes; 

Whereas lack of access to public restrooms, handwashing facilities, laundry facilities, showers, and garbage removal 

services severely deteriorates overall quality of life and 

greatly increases the chance of unhoused individuals contracting communicable diseases, impacting both housed 

and unhoused communities and threatening public health; 

Whereas health disparities significantly contribute to a broken social system that creates and maintains poverty, 

and the unhoused crisis is a public health crisis, resulting 

in unhoused persons suffering from significantly higher 

rates of chronic health conditions and premature death 

than housed persons, and vastly increasing the spread of 

communicable diseases throughout unhoused and housed 

communities; 

Whereas unhoused persons exhibit higher rates of depression, 

anxiety, psychological distress, physical health problems, 

substance use disorders, and mental trauma than housed 

persons, combined with increased difficulties in accessing 

health services due to a lack of stable living environment, 


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•HRES 634 IH 

functioning communication devices, physical distance, and 

knowledge of programs and procedures, among other 

structural barriers, thereby exacerbating the public health 

crisis; 

Whereas inadequate access to healthy, affordable, and fresh 

food options, and severe restrictions on the usage of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) benefits foster conditions of 

chronic malnutrition and food insecurity for unhoused 

persons, particularly youth, significantly weakening their 

ability to stave off infections and diseases and contributing to compounding public health crises; 

Whereas unhoused people lack the necessary stable, safe, and 

supportive environment to comply with treatment plans 

and heal from illnesses and are often prematurely discharged from medical facilities, thereby exacerbating existing medical conditions and hindering the recovery and 

treatment processes; 

Whereas, according to the National Coalition for the Homeless, human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome and the unhoused crisis are intricately related—as many as 50 percent of people living 

with human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome in the United States are at risk of 

becoming unhoused due to high medical costs and healthrelated job loss, and since human immunodeficiency 

virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome targets the 

immune system, unhoused people living with human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome do not have the ability to fight off disease due to 


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factors related to malnutrition, access to hygiene facilities, and exposure to extreme weather conditions; 

Whereas the compounding physical and psychological trauma 

stemming from lack of access to housing, health care, 

safety, food, water, restrooms, showers, laundry facilities, 

electricity, internet, technology, property storage, and leisure, combined with exposure to extreme weather conditions, and higher rates of personal violence, including 

physical and sexual assaults endured by unhoused individuals, inevitably worsens the mental health of individuals and makes it more difficult to access permanent 

housing and employment, as well as social, medical, and 

mental health services; 

Whereas the criminalization of unhoused individuals and 

communities through the creation of State and local ordinances that ban panhandling, loitering, sleeping in tents 

or vehicles, eating in public, and third parties distributing 

food to unhoused people violates the basic human and 

civil rights of unhoused individuals to exist in public 

without fear of law enforcement surveillance, harassment, 

violence, destruction of property, fines, vehicle impoundment, or arrest; 

Whereas the vicious cycle of mass incarceration forces people 

to lose employment, homes, student loans, and financial 

assistance, and makes access to housing, gainful employment, education, and public assistance extraordinarily 

difficult for individuals reentering the community from 

the criminal and juvenile justice systems or with criminal 

records, thereby contributing to higher recidivism rates 

and exacerbating the unhoused crisis; 

Whereas unhoused individuals lack the resources necessary to 

obtain adequate legal representation and are often denied 


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•HRES 634 IH 

relief or damages through courts when they have been 

unfairly targeted by law enforcement officers, private 

businesses, property owners, or housed residents and 

have had their constitutional rights violated; 

Whereas encampment sweeps, evictions, and cleanups, the removal of outdoor living spaces, or impounding vehicles 

being used as residences exacerbates the complex issues 

faced by unhoused individuals and fails to address the 

lack of affordable and accessible housing options; 

Whereas neighborhood protection orders criminalize people 

without homes and needlessly bar individuals from accessing social services that will help them transition to 

permanent supportive housing; 

Whereas unhoused people are disproportionately impacted by 

the climate crisis because chronic exposure to climate induced extreme weather and disasters including hurricanes, wildfire, freezing temperatures, and extreme heat 

conditions leaves unhoused persons susceptible to hypothermia, hyperthermia, frostbite, sunburn, heat exhaustion, and death; 

Whereas hostile architecture and defensive urban design 

transform public spaces into impractical and 

unwelcoming environments for both housed and unhoused 

communities, by making benches thinner or with armrests to prevent laying down, building bus stops with no 

seating or shelter, deliberately placing gaps in awnings 

that allow in rain, adding rocks to parks, trails, and 

highway underpasses, installing devices that prohibit sitting, or adding spikes, rocks, or studs to flat surfaces to 

render them dysfunctional; 


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•HRES 634 IH 

Whereas the Department of Housing and Urban Development point-in-time method to count the number of sheltered and unsheltered individuals in the United States 

undercounts children, youth, older adults, and families by 

not accounting for individuals who fall in and out of 

homelessness throughout the year, people who are sheltered with family or friends, or individuals temporarily 

residing in hotels, motels, medical facilities, and jails, and 

is limited to a count one night per year during one of the 

coldest months; 

Whereas inadequate statistical methods for counting 

unhoused individuals severely limit the capacity of policymakers to develop accurate, data-driven legislation; 

Whereas the long-term solution for ending the unhoused crisis is a housing first approach that provides adequate, accessible, and affordable permanent housing for unhoused 

individuals, without preconditions and low or no barriers 

to entry, and permanently fosters conditions that prevent 

persons from becoming unhoused; 

Whereas rates of homelessness continue to rise, the overburdened repair backlog for public housing units is estimated 

at over $70,000,000,000, and the overburdened tenantbased ‘‘section 8’’ rental assistance program, also known 

as a housing choice voucher, is not funded by Congress 

at the level necessary to match the ever-increasing demand for housing assistance; 

Whereas emergency shelters, transitional housing programs, 

permanent supportive housing initiatives, and rapid rehousing programs are inadequately funded and unable to 

keep up with the constant demand to provide adequate 

temporary, transitional, or permanent housing for 

unhoused individuals; 


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•HRES 634 IH 

Whereas the cost of maintaining an unhoused population 

places undue financial burden on taxpayers of an amount 

between $30,000 and $50,000 each year for each chronically unhoused person because of the costs of incarceration, medical treatments, jails, detention centers, psychiatric and rehabilitation institutions, congregate shelter 

that does not lead to permanent housing, law enforcement costs of encampment cleanups and evictions, and 

the criminalization of unhoused people; 

Whereas there are nearly 16,000,000 vacant homes in the 

United States that are available to house individuals and 

families, and the cost to end the unhoused crisis is at 

least $20,000,000,000, nearly 2 percent of the 2024 fiscal year defense budget of $886,300,000,000; 

Whereas a lack of political will at the Federal, State, and 

local levels of government drastically restricts the amount 

of funding available for States, counties, cities, and municipalities to provide services and resources to unhoused 

communities; and 

Whereas addressing the roots of the housing affordability crisis requires a sustained commitment to investing in new 

affordable, accessible housing, preserving affordable rental homes that already exist, bridging the gap between incomes and rent through universal rental assistance, providing emergency assistance to stabilize renters when 

they experience financial shocks, and establishing strong 

renter protections: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, 

2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

3 This resolution may be cited as the ‘‘Unhoused Per4 sons Bill of Rights’’. 


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•HRES 634 IH 

1 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHING PROTECTIONS FOR UNHOUSED IN2 DIVIDUALS FROM VIOLATIONS OF THEIR 

3 RIGHTS. 

4 (a) PROTECTED RIGHTS OF UNHOUSED INDIVID5 UALS.—It is the sense of the House of Representatives 

6 that the United States must protect the fundamental civil 

7 and human rights of unhoused individuals, including— 

8 (1) the right to decent, affordable, and acces9 sible housing, livable wages, and universal health 

10 care; 

11 (2) the right for persons reentering the commu12 nity from the criminal justice system to access pub13 lic housing, voucher programs, rental assistance pro14 grams, employment, higher education grants, schol15 arships, and Federal student loans without discrimi16 nation on the basis of their criminal record; 

17 (3) the rights, privileges, or access of an indi18 vidual to public services, parks, sidewalks, transpor19 tation, buildings, or facilities without discrimination 

20 on the basis of their housing status; 

21 (4) the right to uninhibited access to public 

22 parks, transportation, facilities, sidewalks, buildings, 

23 and restrooms without discrimination on the basis of 

24 their housing status; 

25 (5) the right to access safe and clean restroom 

26 facilities, safe and clean drinking water, public 


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1 handwashing facilities, and public electricity sources 

2 without discrimination on the basis of their housing 

3 status; 

4 (6) the right to access 24-hour and disaster 

5 emergency shelters, transitional housing, social serv6 ices, public housing, and voucher programs without 

7 discrimination on the basis of their housing status; 

8 (7) the right not to be subject to penalties for 

9 standing, walking, resting, or sleeping in a public 

10 place or vehicle in a nonobstructive manner, includ11 ing relying on tents, sleeping bags, additional cloth12 ing, or other supplies intended to make sleep com13 fortable and possible; 

14 (8) the right to pray, meditate, or practice reli15 gion in public spaces without being subject to crimi16 nal or civil sanctions, harassment, or arrest; 

17 (9) the right to solicit donations in public 

18 spaces without being subject to criminal or civil 

19 sanctions, harassment, or arrest in a manner that 

20 violates the right to free speech; 

21 (10) the right to engage in lawful self-employ22 ment, including the right to seek self-employment in 

23 junk removal and recycling that requires the collec24 tion, possession, redemption, and storage of goods 


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1 for reuse and recycling, without being subject to 

2 criminal or civil sanctions, harassment, or arrest; 

3 (11) the right to not face discrimination while 

4 seeking employment or public assistance due to a 

5 lack of permanent mailing address, or the use of a 

6 mailing address from a shelter, library, or social 

7 service provider; 

8 (12) the right to internet access and technology 

9 that will enable accessing the internet; 

10 (13) the right to obtain copies of identification 

11 documents, including social security cards, without 

12 difficulty or discrimination based on housing status; 

13 (14) the right to vote, register to vote, and re14 ceive documentation necessary to prove identity for 

15 voting without discrimination due to housing status 

16 or use of a shelter, library, or social service provider 

17 for an address; 

18 (15) the right to receive emergency and non19 emergency medical care without discrimination based 

20 on housing status; 

21 (16) the right for unhoused children to access 

22 high-quality education without discrimination due to 

23 their housing status; 

24 (17) the right to confidentiality of personal and 

25 medical records, documentation, and information; 


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1 (18) the right to a reasonable expectation of 

2 privacy in personal property to the same extent as 

3 personal property in a permanent residence; and 

4 (19) the right to protest, gather in groups, and 

5 conduct community outreach without harassment by 

6 law enforcement or private citizens. 

7 (b) PROTECTIONS OF UNHOUSED INDIVIDUALS.—It 

8 is the sense of the House of Representatives that the 

9 United States must establish regulations and enforcement 

10 tools to protect unhoused individuals from the violation 

11 of their fundamental civil and human rights, including 

12 protections from— 

13 (1) law enforcement against undue surveillance, 

14 mistreatment, harassment, destruction of personal 

15 property, vehicle impoundment, and unjustified de16 tention, searches, ticketing, and arrests; and 

17 (2) private businesses, property owners, includ18 ing business improvement districts, and housed resi19 dents against discrimination, harassment, mistreat20 ment, assault, detention, banishment, and destruc21 tion of private property. 

22 (c) PROTECTIONS FOR THIRD PARTIES PROVIDING

23 SERVICES TO UNHOUSED INDIVIDUALS.—It is the sense 

24 of the House of Representatives that the United States 

25 must establish blanket legal protections for third parties 


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1 distributing food, beverages, clothing, or providing services 

2 to unhoused individuals and communities. 

3 (d) CIVIL ACTIONS FOR A VIOLATION OF THE

4 RIGHTS OF UNHOUSED INDIVIDUALS.—It is the sense of 

5 the House of Representatives that the United States must 

6 establish a process such that in any civil action alleging 

7 a violation of rights described previously, a court may 

8 award appropriate damages and all attorney’s fees and 

9 costs to a prevailing plaintiff, and the court may take into 

10 consideration housing status and apply leniency while at11 tempting to compile records, receipts, and documentation 

12 from the plaintiff. 

13 SEC. 3. ACTIONS IN PURSUIT OF PROTECTION OF THE 

14 RIGHTS OF UNHOUSED INDIVIDUALS. 

15 (a) FUNDING.—The House of Representatives shall 

16 strive to provide funding for the following: 

17 (1) The House of Representatives shall strive to 

18 allocate— 

19 (A) not less than $20,000,000,000 from 

20 the defense budget to permanently end and pre21 vent the unhoused crisis in the United States; 

22 (B) $140,000,000,000 every 5 years in the 

23 Public Housing Capital Fund to urge the Sub24 committee on Transportation, Housing and 

25 Urban Development, and Related Agencies of 


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1 the Committee on Appropriations of the House 

2 of Representatives to preserve public housing 

3 units for future generations; 

4 (C) full funding for the Public Housing 

5 Operating Fund to better support this impor6 tant source of affordable housing until the 

7 United States has permanently ended and pre8 vented the unhoused crisis; 

9 (D) $40,000,000,000 annually in the De10 partment of Housing and Urban Development 

11 National Housing Trust Fund to build and pre12 serve homes affordable to the lowest-income and 

13 most marginalized households in the United 

14 States; 

15 (E) $3,000,000,000 annually for a perma16 nent Emergency Rental Assistance Program ad17 ministered by the Department of Housing and 

18 Urban Development; 

19 (F) the highest level of funding possible for 

20 city, county, State, Indian Tribal governments, 

21 and local governments to build and maintain 

22 24-hour public restrooms, handwashing sta23 tions, showers, laundry facilities, and water 

24 fountains in proportion to their respective 

25 unhoused population; and 


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1 (G) robust funding for States, Indian Trib2 al governments, cities, localities, and munici3 palities to provide trash cans, recycling bins, 

4 sharps disposal containers, and frequent gar5 bage removal services to unhoused camps and 

6 common areas in coordination with local 

7 unhoused advocates and community-based orga8 nizations. 

9 (2) The House of Representatives shall strive to 

10 provide the highest possible funding level for Federal 

11 housing and supportive services programs, includ12 ing— 

13 (A) the Department of Housing and Urban 

14 Development Continuum of Care (CoC) pro15 gram; 

16 (B) the Department of Housing and 

17 Urban Development Emergency Solutions 

18 Grants (ESG) program; 

19 (C) the Department of Housing and Urban 

20 Development-Veterans Affairs Supportive Hous21 ing (HUD–VASH) program; 

22 (D) the Department of Housing and 

23 Urban Development Community Development 

24 Block Grants (CDBG) program; 


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1 (E) the Violence Against Women Act 

2 (VAWA) transitional housing assistance grants 

3 program for survivors of domestic violence, dat4 ing violence, sexual assault, and stalking; 

5 (F) the Substance Abuse and Mental 

6 Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) 

7 Grants for the Benefit of Homeless Individuals 

8 (GBHI) program; 

9 (G) the Substance Abuse and Mental 

10 Health Services Administration Treatment for 

11 Individuals Experiencing Homelessness (TIEH) 

12 program; 

13 (H) the Substance Abuse and Mental 

14 Health Services Administration Projects for As15 sistance in Transition from Homelessness 

16 (PATH) program; 

17 (I) Health Resources and Services Admin18 istration health center programs, particularly 

19 the Health Care for the Homeless program; 

20 (J) the Health Resources and Services Ad21 ministration Primary Care Human Immuno22 deficiency Virus Prevention (PCHP) program; 

23 and 


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1 (K) the Department of Education McKin2 ney-Vento Education for Homeless Children 

3 and Youth (EHCY) Act program. 

4 (3) The House of Representatives shall strive to 

5 provide the highest level of funding to— 

6 (A) permanently provide nutritious, 

7 healthy, and expansive universal school meals 

8 for K–12 students; 

9 (B) drastically expand eligibility, income 

10 thresholds, and time limitations and remove all 

11 purchase restrictions for the Supplemental Nu12 trition Assistance Program (SNAP), Temporary 

13 Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) pro14 gram, and Special Supplemental Nutrition Pro15 gram for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC); 

16 and 

17 (C) remove food assistance restrictions on 

18 the purchase of hot foods and ready-to-eat 

19 foods at retailers that accept the Supplemental 

20 Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). 

21 (4) The House of Representatives shall strive to 

22 provide robust Federal funding and resources to ag23 gressively enforce fair housing and civil rights laws. 


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1 (b) LOW-INCOME HOUSING.—The House of Rep2 resentatives shall strive to increase the availability of low3 income housing by— 

4 (1) funding the construction of permanent low5 income housing to replenish all of the units that 

6 have been removed from the stock since 1978; 

7 (2) fully funding subsidies to operate additional 

8 units to meet demand; and 

9 (3) repealing the Faircloth Amendment to allow 

10 a net increase in the number of public housing units. 

11 (c) HOUSING CHOICE VOUCHERS.—The House of 

12 Representatives shall strive to provide universal housing 

13 choice vouchers to all eligible households through the ten14 ant-based ‘‘section 8’’ rental assistance program. 

15 (d) RUNAWAY AND HOMELESS YOUTH AND TRAF16 FICKING PREVENTION ACT CONSOLIDATED PROGRAMS.— 

17 The House of Representatives shall strive to reauthorize 

18 and provide at least $300,000,000 to the Runaway and 

19 Homeless Youth and Trafficking Prevention Act consoli20 dated programs, including the street outreach program. 

21 (e) FAIR HOUSING ACT PROTECTIONS.—The House 

22 of Representatives shall strive to— 

23 (1) bolster and enforce tenant protections 

24 against discrimination as described in the Fair 

25 Housing Act; and 


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•HRES 634 IH 

1 (2) expand the Fair Housing Act to ban dis2 crimination based on previous housing status, ad3 verse effects of domestic violence, sexual orientation, 

4 gender identity, marital status, and source of in5 come, particularly in shelters, transitional housing 

6 programs, permanent supportive housing initiatives, 

7 and rapid rehousing programs. 

8 (f) DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVEL9 OPMENT REQUIREMENTS.—The House of Representatives 

10 shall strive to require the Department of Housing and 

11 Urban Development to— 

12 (1) develop policies, guidelines, and procedures 

13 for permanently eradicating the unhoused crisis by 

14 2027; 

15 (2) work in coordination with tenant advocates 

16 community-based organizations to develop, imple17 ment, and enforce regulations that disrupt and re18 verse trends of neighborhood displacement, 

19 gentrification, and redlining that disproportionately 

20 impact communities of color, particularly Black and 

21 brown communities; 

22 (3) develop, implement, and enforce regulations 

23 to immediately remove barriers which prevent people 

24 with criminal backgrounds and undocumented immiVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:43 Jul 29, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00021 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR634.IH HR634

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•HRES 634 IH 

1 grants from accessing public housing, section 8 

2 vouchers, and rental assistance programs; 

3 (4) work in partnership with community-based 

4 organizations and advocates to bolster criminal jus5 tice reentry programs and wraparound services to 

6 prevent individuals from becoming unhoused 

7 postrelease; 

8 (5) develop, implement, and enforce perform9 ance standards and regulations for immediately 

10 making all public shelters, transitional housing pro11 grams, and supportive services available 24 hours 

12 each day, and prohibit these programs from profiling 

13 unhoused individuals, denying services, and discrimi14 nating against individuals based on their medical 

15 conditions and treatments, gender identity, criminal 

16 background, immigration status, and other protected 

17 classes of the Fair Housing Act; 

18 (6) work in coordination with the Department 

19 of Health and Human Services, the Health Re20 sources and Services Administration, and related 

21 health agencies to provide 24-hour medical respite 

22 programs to cities, counties, Indian Tribal Govern23 ments, and States to allow unhoused people to fully 

24 recover from medical conditions or injuries without 

25 fear of premature discharge; 


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•HRES 634 IH 

1 (7) develop and implement processes to 

2 prioritize funding allocations directly to grassroots 

3 and community-based organizations, as well as orga4 nizations led by impacted individuals who provide di5 rect supportive and housing, medical, and emergency 

6 services to unhoused persons; 

7 (8) develop and implement more accurate meth8 ods of counting unhoused individuals throughout the 

9 duration of the year, accounting for individuals re10 siding inside of housing structures with family and 

11 friends, undocumented immigrants, unhoused indi12 viduals in jails, medical, and rehabilitation facilities, 

13 and those who experience temporary homelessness 

14 throughout the year; 

15 (9) make the Homeless Management Informa16 tion System (HMIS) more comprehensive by imple17 menting biennial gaps analyses to identify gaps in 

18 access to housing or services appropriate to meet the 

19 needs of unhoused persons and make recommenda20 tions to improve the system components that worsen 

21 the quality of life for unhoused persons, including— 

22 (A) the accessibility of information and 

23 barriers to accessing existing housing resources 

24 and services; 


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•HRES 634 IH 

1 (B) the geographic and physical location of 

2 programs within the respective region; 

3 (C) the quality of outreach in identifying 

4 and targeting unhoused individuals and families 

5 for services; 

6 (D) the ability of prevention services to 

7 prevent individuals from becoming unhoused in 

8 the first place; and 

9 (E) the quality of access to supportive 

10 services and resources for unhoused persons in 

11 emergency shelters, transitional housing pro12 grams, permanent supportive housing, and 

13 rapid rehousing programs; 

14 (10) develop policies and guidelines for imple15 menting the new method of unhoused population 

16 measurement and gaps analyses and present a re17 port to the Committee on Financial Services of the 

18 House of Representatives within 6 months of the en19 acted legislation; 

20 (11) work in coordination with the Centers for 

21 Disease Control and Prevention to develop proce22 dures to track and report the number of deaths di23 rectly caused by persons being unhoused in the 

24 United States; 


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•HRES 634 IH 

1 (12) work in coordination with all Federal 

2 agencies that service unhoused people to designate 

3 federally subsidized shelters, libraries, social service 

4 providers, and other institutions as fixed addresses 

5 to be used by multiple unhoused people to receive 

6 mail, employment opportunities, and documents, and 

7 to vote and conduct all business in a manner similar 

8 to housed people; 

9 (13) coordinate with the Department of Trans10 portation and the National Parks Service to restrict 

11 the use of Federal funding on hostile architecture 

12 projects and to remove hostile architecture from all 

13 privately owned public spaces, public parks, trails, 

14 sidewalks, buildings, and transportation facilities; 

15 (14) work in coordination with the Social Secu16 rity Administration to develop guidance and regula17 tions creating hardship exemptions for individuals 

18 who have difficulty obtaining social security docu19 mentation and benefits due to their housing status; 

20 and 

21 (15) coordinate with local community stake22 holders, housing advocates, shelters, churches, and 

23 transitional housing programs to register and receive 

24 voting ballots for unhoused persons, in coordination 


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•HRES 634 IH 

1 with the Department of Health and Human Services 

2 and related social services. 

3 (g) PUBLIC HEALTH.—The House of Representatives 

4 shall strive to require the Department of Health and 

5 Human Services to declare the unhoused crisis a public 

6 health emergency and work in coordination with the 

7 Health Resources and Services Administration to imme8 diately provide guidance to mitigate the compounding ef9 fects of the unhoused and public health crises, particularly 

10 as it relates to the COVID–19 pandemic, human immuno11 deficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, 

12 hepatitis, tuberculosis, and other communicable diseases. 

13 (h) FEDERAL GRANT PROGRAMS.—The House of 

14 Representatives shall strive to require Federal grant pro15 grams to establish guidelines for measuring direct impact 

16 to communities and holding grant awardees to the highest 

17 levels of community accountability, particularly in relation 

18 to the impact of the programs on unhoused persons dis19 proportionately impacted by criminalization and discrimi20 nation. 

21 (i) LAW ENFORCEMENT ANNUAL STATISTICS.—The 

22 House of Representatives shall— 

23 (1) encourage law enforcement agencies to com24 pile annual statistics showing the number of in25 stances of physical violence against unhoused indiVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:43 Jul 29, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00026 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR634.IH HR634

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•HRES 634 IH 

1 viduals, as well as citations, arrests, and other law 

2 enforcement activities, to track instances of crim3 inalizing unhoused populations, including camp 

4 cleanups, vagrancy violations, sleeping in public, ve5 hicle citations, street sweeps, and panhandling cita6 tions, and provide these annual statistics to the De7 partment of Justice; and 

8 (2) require the Department of Justice to com9 pile the data and statistics provided by law enforce10 ment agencies as incentivized in paragraph (1), and 

11 present an annual report to Congress. 

12 SEC. 4. REPORTS TO CONGRESS. 

13 The House of Representatives shall strive to require 

14 the Department of Justice, the Department of Housing 

15 and Urban Development, and the Department of Health 

16 and Human Services to coordinate with community advo17 cates, policymakers, and unhoused people to develop 

18 guidelines, policies, and procedures for decriminalizing 

19 unhoused individuals and communities, and providing re20 sources and direct services to unhoused communities, and 

21 make available a report to Congress not later than 6 

22 months of the enactment of the relevant legislation. 

Æ 


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