I 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4888 

To provide a path to end homelessness in the United States, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 23, 2016 

Ms. MAXINE WATERS of California introduced the following bill; which was 

referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the 

Committee on the Budget, 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 a path to end homelessness in the United States, 

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. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Ending Homelessness 

5 Act of 2016’’. 

6 SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds that— 

8 (1) although the United States has experienced 

9 a reduction in veteran homelessness after a surge of 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 4888 IH

1 new Federal funding targeted to homeless veterans 

2 starting in fiscal year 2008, major progress towards 

3 the national goals for ending homelessness in our 

4 Nation has virtually stalled in the absence of in5 creased funding; 

6 (2) according to the Department of Housing 

7 and Urban Development’s 2015 point-in-time count, 

8 there were 564,708 people experiencing homeless9 ness in the United States on any given night, includ10 ing 83,170 chronically homeless individuals; 

11 (3) between 2014 and 2015, homelessness 

12 among major city Continuum of Care programs, 

13 which account for 48 percent of all homeless people 

14 in the U.S., increased by 3 percent; 

15 (4) homelessness in many major cities has 

16 reached crisis proportions and some cities have de17 clared that homelessness has reached a state of 

18 emergency; and 

19 (5) the Federal Government must renew its 

20 commitment to the national goals to end homeless21 ness. 

22 SEC. 3. EMERGENCY RELIEF FUNDING. 

23 Title IV of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance 

24 Act (42 U.S.C. 11360 et seq) is amended— 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 4888 IH

1 (1) by redesignating section 491 (42 U.S.C. 

2 11408; relating to rural housing stability grant pro3 gram) as section 441; 

4 (2) by redesignating section 592 (42 U.S.C. 

5 11408a; relating to use of FMHA inventory for 

6 transitional housing for homeless persons and for 

7 turnkey housing) as section 442; and 

8 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub9 title: 

10 ‘‘Subtitle E—5-Year Path To End 

11 Homelessness 

12 ‘‘SEC. 451. EMERGENCY RELIEF FUNDING. 

13 ‘‘(a) DIRECT APPROPRIATIONS.—There is appro14 priated out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise 

15 appropriated for each of fiscal years 2017 through 2021, 

16 $1,000,000,000, to remain available until expended, for 

17 emergency relief grants under this section to address the 

18 unmet needs of homeless populations in jurisdictions with 

19 the highest need. 

20 ‘‘(b) FORMULA GRANTS.— 

21 ‘‘(1) ALLOCATION.—Amounts appropriated 

22 under subsection (a) for a fiscal year shall be allo23 cated among collaborative applicants that comply 

24 with section 402, in accordance with the funding forVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:22 Mar 25, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4888.IH H4888

emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 4888 IH

1 mula established under paragraph (2) of this sub2 section. 

3 ‘‘(2) FORMULA.—The Secretary shall, in con4 sultation with the United States Interagency Council 

5 on Homeless, establish a formula for allocating 

6 grant amounts under this section to address the 

7 unmet needs of homeless populations in jurisdictions 

8 with the highest need, using the best currently avail9 able data that targets need based on key structural 

10 determinants of homelessness in the geographic area 

11 represented by a collaborative applicant, which shall 

12 include data providing accurate counts of— 

13 ‘‘(A) the poverty rate in the geographic 

14 area represented by the collaborative applicant; 

15 ‘‘(B) shortages of affordable housing for 

16 low-, very low-, and extremely low-income 

17 households in the geographic area represented 

18 by the collaborative applicant; 

19 ‘‘(C) the number of overcrowded housing 

20 units in the geographic area represented by the 

21 collaborative applicant; 

22 ‘‘(D) the number of unsheltered homeless 

23 individuals and the number of chronically home24 less individuals; and 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 4888 IH

1 ‘‘(E) any other factors that the Secretary 

2 considers appropriate. 

3 ‘‘(3) GRANTS.—For each fiscal year for which 

4 amounts are made available under subsection (a), 

5 the Secretary shall make a grant to each collabo6 rative applicant for which an amount is allocated 

7 pursuant to application of the formula established 

8 pursuant to paragraph (2) of this subsection in an 

9 amount that is equal to the formula amount deter10 mined for such collaborative applicant. 

11 ‘‘(4) TIMING.— 

12 ‘‘(A) FORMULA TO BE DEVISED SWIFT13 LY.—The funding formula required under para14 graph (2) shall be established not later than 60 

15 days after the date of enactment of this section. 

16 ‘‘(B) DISTRIBUTION.—Amounts appro17 priated or otherwise made available under this 

18 section shall be distributed according to the 

19 funding formula established pursuant to para20 graph (2) not later than 30 days after the es21 tablishment of such formula. 

22 ‘‘(c) USE OF GRANTS.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraphs (2) 

24 through (4), a collaborative applicant that receives a 

25 grant under this section may use such grant 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
6 

•HR 4888 IH

1 amounts only for eligible activities under section 

2 415, 423, or 441(b). 

3 ‘‘(2) PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING RE4 QUIREMENT.— 

5 ‘‘(A) REQUIREMENT.—Except as provided 

6 in subparagraph (B), each collaborative appli7 cant that receives a grant under this section 

8 shall use not less than 75 percent of such grant 

9 amount for permanent supportive housing, in10 cluding capital costs, rental subsidies, and serv11 ices. 

12 ‘‘(B) EXEMPTION.—The Secretary shall 

13 exempt a collaborative applicant from the appli14 cability of the requirement under subparagraph 

15 (A) if the applicant demonstrates, in accordance 

16 with such standards and procedures as the Sec17 retary shall establish, that— 

18 ‘‘(i) chronic homelessness has been 

19 functionally eliminated in the geographic 

20 area served by the applicant; or 

21 ‘‘(ii) the permanent supportive hous22 ing under development in the geographic 

23 area served by the applicant is sufficient to 

24 functionally eliminate chronic homelessness 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
7 

•HR 4888 IH

1 once such units are available for occu2 pancy. 

3 The Secretary shall consider and make a deter4 mination regarding each request for an exemp5 tion under this subparagraph not later than 60 

6 days after receipt of such request. 

7 ‘‘(3) LIMITATION ON USE FOR ADMINISTRATIVE

8 EXPENSES.—Not more than 5 percent of the total 

9 amount of any grant under this section to a collabo10 rative applicant may be used for costs of administra11 tion. 

12 ‘‘(4) HOUSING FIRST REQUIREMENT.—The Sec13 retary shall ensure that each collaborative applicant 

14 that receives a grant under this section is imple15 menting, to the extent possible, and will use such 

16 grant amounts in accordance with, a Housing First 

17 model for assistance for homeless persons. 

18 ‘‘(d) RENEWAL FUNDING.—Expiring contracts for 

19 leasing, rental assistance, or permanent housing shall be 

20 treated, for purposes of section 429, as expiring contracts 

21 referred to in subsection (a) of such section. 

22 ‘‘(e) REPORTING TO CONGRESS.— 

23 ‘‘(1) INITIAL REPORT.—Not later than Sep24 tember 1, 2016, the Secretary and the United States 

25 Interagency Council on Homelessness shall submit a 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
8 

•HR 4888 IH

1 report to the Committees on Financial Services and 

2 Appropriations of the House of Representatives and 

3 the Committees on Banking, Housing, and Urban 

4 Affairs and Appropriations of the Senate describing 

5 the design and implementation of the grant program 

6 under this section, which shall include the formula 

7 required by subsection (b)(2). 

8 ‘‘(2) SEMIANNUAL STATUS REPORTS.— 

9 ‘‘(A) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—The Sec10 retary and the United States Interagency Coun11 cil on Homelessness shall submit reports to the 

12 Committees specified in paragraph (1) semi13 annually describing the operation of the grant 

14 program under this section during the pre15 ceding 6 months, including identification of the 

16 grants made and a description of the activities 

17 funded with grant amounts. 

18 ‘‘(B) COLLECTION OF INFORMATION BY

19 SECRETARY.—The Secretary shall require each 

20 collaborative applicant that receives a grant 

21 under this section to submit such information 

22 to the Secretary as may be necessary for the 

23 Secretary to comply with the reporting require24 ment under subparagraph (A). 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
9 

•HR 4888 IH

1 ‘‘SEC. 452. SPECIAL PURPOSE VOUCHERS. 

2 ‘‘(a) DIRECT APPROPRIATION.—There is appro3 priated out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise 

4 appropriated for each of fiscal years 2017 through 2021, 

5 $500,000,000, to remain available until expended, which 

6 shall be used as follows: 

7 ‘‘(1) RENTAL ASSISTANCE.—Except as provided 

8 in paragraph (2), such amount shall be used for in9 cremental assistance for rental assistance under sec10 tion 8(o) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 

11 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)) for persons and households 

12 who are homeless (as such term is defined in section 

13 103 (42 U.S.C. 11302)), which assistance shall be in 

14 addition to such assistance provided pursuant to re15 newal of expiring contracts for such assistance. 

16 ‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATIVE FEES.—The Secretary 

17 may use not more than 10 percent of such amounts 

18 provided for each fiscal year for administrative fees 

19 under 8(q) of the United States Housing Act of 

20 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(q)). The Secretary shall es21 tablish policies and procedures to provide such fees 

22 to the extent necessary to assist homeless persons 

23 and families on whose behalf rental assistance is 

24 provided to find and maintain suitable housing. 

25 ‘‘(b) ALLOCATION.—The Secretary shall make assist26 ance provided under this section available to public housVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:22 Mar 25, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4888.IH H4888

emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
10 

•HR 4888 IH

1 ing agencies based on geographical need for such assist2 ance by homeless persons and households, as identified by 

3 the Secretary, public housing agency administrative per4 formance, and other factors as specified by the Secretary. 

5 ‘‘(c) AVAILABILITY.—Assistance made available 

6 under this section shall continue to remain available only 

7 for homeless persons and households upon turn-over. 

8 ‘‘(d) RENEWAL FUNDING.—Renewal of expiring con9 tracts for rental assistance provided under subsection (a) 

10 and for administrative fees under such subsection shall, 

11 to the extent provided in appropriation Acts, be funded 

12 under the section 8 tenant-based rental assistance ac13 count. 

14 ‘‘(e) WAIVER AUTHORITY.—Upon a finding by the 

15 Secretary that a waiver or alternative requirement pursu16 ant to this subsection is necessary to ensure that homeless 

17 persons and households can obtain housing using rental 

18 assistance made available under this section, the Secretary 

19 may waive, or specify alternative requirements for, any 

20 provision of any statute or regulation that the Secretary 

21 administers in connection with the use of funds made 

22 available under this section (except for requirements re23 lated to fair housing, nondiscrimination, labor standards, 

24 and the environment) that relates to screening of appli25 cants for assistance, admission of applicants, and selection 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
11 

•HR 4888 IH

1 of tenants. The Secretary shall require public housing 

2 agencies receiving rental assistance funding made avail3 able under this section to take all reasonable actions to 

4 help assisted persons and families avoid subsequent home5 lessness. 

6 ‘‘SEC. 453. OUTREACH FUNDING. 

7 ‘‘(a) DIRECT APPROPRIATION.—There is appro8 priated out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise 

9 appropriated for each of fiscal years 2017 through 2021, 

10 $100,000,000, to remain available until expended, to the 

11 Secretary for grants under this section to provide outreach 

12 and coordinate services for persons and households who 

13 are homeless or formerly homeless. 

14 ‘‘(b) GRANTS.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall make 

16 grants under this section on a competitive basis only 

17 to collaborative applicants who comply with section 

18 402. 

19 ‘‘(2) PRIORITY.—The competition for grants 

20 under this section shall provide priority to collabo21 rative applicants who submit plans to make innova22 tive and effective use of staff funded with grant 

23 amounts pursuant to subsection (c). 

24 ‘‘(c) USE OF GRANTS.—A collaborative applicant 

25 that receives a grant under this section may use such 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
12 

•HR 4888 IH

1 grant amounts only for providing case managers, social 

2 workers, or other staff who conduct outreach and coordi3 nate services for persons and households who are homeless 

4 or formerly homeless. 

5 ‘‘(d) TIMING.— 

6 ‘‘(1) CRITERIA TO BE ESTABLISHED SWIFT7 LY.—The Secretary shall establish the criteria for 

8 the competition for grants under this section re9 quired under subsection (b) not later than 60 days 

10 after the date of enactment of this section. 

11 ‘‘(2) DISTRIBUTION.—Amounts appropriated or 

12 otherwise made available under this section shall be 

13 distributed according to the competition established 

14 by the Secretary pursuant to subsection (b) not later 

15 than 30 days after the establishment of such cri16 teria.’’. 

17 SEC. 4. HOUSING TRUST FUND. 

18 (a) ANNUAL FUNDING.—There is appropriated, out 

19 of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, 

20 for fiscal year 2017 and each fiscal year thereafter, 

21 $1,000,000,000, to remain available until expended, which 

22 shall be credited to the Housing Trust Fund established 

23 pursuant to section 1338 of the Federal Housing Enter24 prises Financial Safety and Soundness Act of 1992 (12 

25 U.S.C. 4568) for use under such section. 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
13 

•HR 4888 IH

1 (b) RENTAL ASSISTANCE.—There is appropriated, 

2 out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appro3 priated, for fiscal year 2017 and each fiscal year there4 after, $50,000,000, to remain available until expended, for 

5 incremental project-based voucher assistance or project6 based rental assistance, to be allocated to States pursuant 

7 to the formula established under section 1338 of the Fed8 eral Housing Enterprises Financial Safety and Soundness 

9 Act of 1992 (12 U.S.C. 4568), to be used solely in con10 junction with grant funds awarded under such section 

11 1338. 

12 (c) TENANT RENT CONTRIBUTION.— 

13 (1) LIMITATION.—Subparagraph (A) of section 

14 1338(c)(7) of the Federal Housing Enterprises Fi15 nancial Safety and Soundness Act of 1992 (12 

16 U.S.C. 4568(c)(7)(A)) is amended— 

17 (A) by striking ‘‘except that not less than 

18 75 percent’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘except 

19 that— 

20 ‘‘(i) not less than 75 percent’’; 

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

22 clause: 

23 ‘‘(ii) notwithstanding any other provi24 sion of law, all rental housing dwelling 

25 units shall be subject to legally binding 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
14 

•HR 4888 IH

1 commitments that ensure that the con2 tribution toward rent by a family residing 

3 in the dwelling unit shall not exceed 30 

4 percent of the adjusted income (as such 

5 term is defined in section 3(b) of the 

6 United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 

7 U.S.C. 1437a(b))) of such family; and’’. 

8 (2) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary of Housing 

9 and Urban Development shall issue regulations to 

10 implement section 1338(c)(7)(A)(ii) of the Federal 

11 Housing Enterprises Financial Safety and Sound12 ness Act of 1992, as added by the amendment made 

13 by paragraph (1)(B) of this section, not later than 

14 the expiration of the 90-day period beginning on the 

15 date of the enactment of this Act. 

16 SEC. 5. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FUNDS TO HELP STATES 

17 AND LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS ALIGN HEALTH 

18 AND HOUSING SYSTEMS. 

19 (a) FUNDING.—There is hereby made available to the 

20 Secretary of Housing and Urban Development 

21 $20,000,000, to remain available until expended, for pro22 viding technical assistance under section 405 of the 

23 McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 

24 11361(b)) in connection with expanding the Healthcare 

25 and Housing (H2) Systems Integration Initiative of the 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
15 

•HR 4888 IH

1 Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, in collabo2 ration with the United States Interagency Council on 

3 Homelessness and the Secretary of Health and Human 

4 Services. 

5 (b) USE.—In expanding the Initiative referred to in 

6 subsection (a), the Secretary shall seek to— 

7 (1) assist States and localities in integrating 

8 and aligning policies and funding between Medicaid 

9 programs, behavioral health providers, and housing 

10 providers to create supportive housing opportunities; 

11 and 

12 (2) engages State Medicaid program directors, 

13 Governors, State housing and homelessness agencies, 

14 any other relevant State offices, and any relevant 

15 local government entities, to assist States in increas16 ing use of their Medicaid programs to finance sup17 portive services for homeless persons. 

18 (c) PRIORITY.—In using amounts made available 

19 under this section, the Secretary shall give priority to use 

20 for States and localities having the highest numbers of 

21 chronically homeless persons. 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
16 

•HR 4888 IH

1 SEC. 6. PERMANENT AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS 

2 FOR MCKINNEY-VENTO HOMELESS ASSIST3 ANCE ACT GRANTS. 

4 Section 408 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assist5 ance Act (42 U.S.C. 11364) is amended to read as follows: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 408. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

7 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

8 this title such sums as may be necessary for each fiscal 

9 year.’’. 

10 SEC. 7. PERMANENT EXTENSION OF UNITED STATES 

11 INTERAGENCY COUNCIL ON HOMELESSNESS. 

12 Section 209 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assist13 ance Act (42 U.S.C. 11319) is hereby repealed. 

14 SEC. 8. EMERGENCY DESIGNATION. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—The amounts provided by this 

16 Act, and the amendments made by this Act, are des17 ignated as an emergency requirement pursuant to section 

18 4(g) of the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010 (2 

19 U.S.C. 933(g)). 

20 (b) DESIGNATION IN SENATE.—In the Senate, this 

21 Act and the amendments made by this Act are designated 

22 as an emergency requirement pursuant to section 403(a) 

23 of S. Con. Res. 13 (111th Congress), the concurrent reso24 lution on the budget for fiscal year 2010. 

Æ 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS