I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 252 

To provide housing assistance for very low-income veterans. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 9, 2015 

Mr. AL GREEN of Texas (for himself, Ms. BORDALLO, Mr. HASTINGS, Mr. 

LIPINSKI, Ms. PINGREE, Mr. HONDA, Mr. RUSH, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. 

PETERS, Ms. HAHN, Mr. SERRANO, Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas, Mr. 

HINOJOSA, Mr. CARSON of Indiana, Ms. KAPTUR, Ms. MOORE, Mr. RANGEL, Mr. MCDERMOTT, and Mr. MCGOVERN) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in 

addition to the Committee on 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 ‘‘Comprehensive Homes 

5 for Heroes Act of 2015’’. 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 252 IH

1 SEC. 2. SPECIAL ASSISTANT FOR VETERANS AFFAIRS IN OF2 FICE OF SECRETARY OF HOUSING AND 

3 URBAN DEVELOPMENT. 

4 Section 4 of the Department of Housing and Urban 

5 Development Act (42 U.S.C. 3533) is amended by adding 

6 at the end the following new subsection: 

7 ‘‘(g) SPECIAL ASSISTANT FOR VETERANS AF8 FAIRS.— 

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

10 Department a Special Assistant for Veterans Af11 fairs, who shall be in the Office of the Secretary. 

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

13 Veterans Affairs shall be appointed based solely on 

14 merit and shall be covered under the provisions of 

15 title 5, United States Code, governing appointments 

16 in the competitive service. 

17 ‘‘(3) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Special Assist18 ant for Veterans Affairs shall be responsible for— 

19 ‘‘(A) ensuring veterans have access to 

20 housing and homeless assistance under each 

21 program of the Department providing either 

22 such assistance; 

23 ‘‘(B) coordinating all programs and activi24 ties of the Department relating to veterans; 

25 ‘‘(C) serving as a liaison for the Depart26 ment with the Department of Veterans Affairs, 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 252 IH

1 including establishing and maintaining relation2 ships with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; 

3 ‘‘(D) serving as a liaison for the Depart4 ment, and establishing and maintaining rela5 tionships with officials of State, local, regional, 

6 and nongovernmental organizations concerned 

7 with veterans; 

8 ‘‘(E) providing information and advice re9 garding— 

10 ‘‘(i) sponsoring housing projects for 

11 veterans assisted under programs adminis12 tered by the Department; or 

13 ‘‘(ii) assisting veterans in obtaining 

14 housing or homeless assistance under pro15 grams administered by the Department; 

16 ‘‘(F) preparing the annual report under 

17 section 8 of Comprehensive Homes for Heroes 

18 Act of 2015; and 

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

20 be assigned to the Special Assistant by the Sec21 retary or by law.’’. 

22 SEC. 3. SUPPORTIVE HOUSING FOR VERY LOW-INCOME 

23 VETERAN FAMILIES. 

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


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 252 IH

1 (1) to expand the supply of permanent housing 

2 for very low-income veteran families; and 

3 (2) to provide supportive services through such 

4 housing to support the needs of such veteran fami5 lies. 

6 (b) AUTHORITY.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Housing 

8 and Urban Development shall, to the extent amounts 

9 are made available for assistance under this section 

10 and the Secretary receives approvable applications 

11 for such assistance, provide assistance to private 

12 nonprofit organizations and consumer cooperatives 

13 to expand the supply of supportive housing for very 

14 low-income veteran families. 

15 (2) NATURE OF ASSISTANCE.—The assistance 

16 provided under paragraph (1)— 

17 (A) shall be available for use to plan for 

18 and finance the acquisition, construction, recon19 struction, or moderate or substantial rehabilita20 tion of a structure or a portion of a structure 

21 to be used as supportive housing for very low22 income veteran families in accordance with this 

23 section; and 

24 (B) may also cover the cost of real prop25 erty acquisition, site improvement, conversion, 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 252 IH

1 demolition, relocation, and other expenses that 

2 the Secretary determines are necessary to ex3 pand the supply of supportive housing for very 

4 low-income veteran families. 

5 (3) CONSULTATION.—In meeting the require6 ment of paragraph (1), the Secretary shall consult 

7 with— 

8 (A) the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; and 

9 (B) the Special Assistant for Veterans Af10 fairs, as such Special Assistant was established 

11 under section 4(g) of the Department of Hous12 ing and Urban Development Act. 

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

14 section shall be made available in the following forms: 

15 (1) PLANNING GRANTS.—Assistance may be 

16 provided as a grant for costs of planning a project 

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

18 veteran families. 

19 (2) CAPITAL ADVANCES.—Assistance may be 

20 provided as a capital advance under this paragraph 

21 for a project, such advance shall— 

22 (A) bear no interest; 

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

24 the housing remains available for occupancy by 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
6 

•HR 252 IH

1 very low-income veteran families in accordance 

2 with this section; and 

3 (C) be in an amount calculated in accord4 ance with the development cost limitation estab5 lished pursuant to subsection (i). 

6 (3) PROJECT RENTAL ASSISTANCE.—Assistance 

7 may be provided as project rental assistance, under 

8 an annual contract that— 

9 (A) obligates the Secretary to make 

10 monthly payments to cover any part of the 

11 costs attributed to units occupied (or, as ap12 proved by the Secretary, held for occupancy) by 

13 very low-income veteran families that is not met 

14 from project income; 

15 (B) provides for the project not more than 

16 the sum of the initial annual project rentals for 

17 all units so occupied and any initial utility al18 lowances for such units, as approved by the 

19 Secretary; 

20 (C) provides that any contract amounts 

21 not used by a project in any year shall remain 

22 available to the project until the expiration of 

23 the contract; 

24 (D) provides that upon the expiration of 

25 each contract term, the Secretary shall adjust 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
7 

•HR 252 IH

1 the annual contract amount to provide for rea2 sonable project costs, and any increases, includ3 ing adequate reserves, supportive services, and 

4 service coordinators, except that any contract 

5 amounts not used by a project during a con6 tract term shall not be available for such ad7 justments upon renewal; and 

8 (E) provides that in the event of emer9 gency situations that are outside the control of 

10 the owner, the Secretary shall increase the an11 nual contract amount, subject to reasonable re12 view and limitations as the Secretary shall pro13 vide. 

14 (d) TENANT RENT CONTRIBUTION.—A very low-in15 come veteran family shall pay as rent for a dwelling unit 

16 assisted under this section the highest of the following 

17 amounts, rounded to the nearest dollar: 

18 (1) Thirty percent of the veteran family’s ad19 justed monthly income. 

20 (2) Ten percent of the veteran family’s monthly 

21 income. 

22 (3) If the veteran family is receiving payments 

23 for welfare assistance from a public agency and a 

24 part of such payments, adjusted in accordance with 

25 the veteran family’s actual housing costs, is specifiVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:44 Jan 17, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H252.IH H252

smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
8 

•HR 252 IH

1 cally designated by such agency to meet the veteran 

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

3 which is so designated. 

4 (e) TERM OF COMMITMENT.— 

5 (1) USE LIMITATIONS.—All units in housing as6 sisted under this section shall be made available for 

7 occupancy by very low-income veteran families for 

8 not less than 15 years. 

9 (2) CONTRACT TERMS FOR PROJECT RENTAL

10 ASSISTANCE.— 

11 (A) INITIAL TERM.—The initial term of a 

12 contract entered into under subsection (c)(3) 

13 shall be 60 months. 

14 (B) EXTENSION.—The Secretary shall, 

15 subject only to the availability of amounts pro16 vided in appropriation Acts, renew the contract 

17 entered into under subsection (c)(3) for 10 con18 secutive 1-year terms, the first such term begin19 ning upon the expiration of such 60-month pe20 riod. 

21 (C) AUTHORITY OF SECRETARY TO MAKE

22 EARLY COMMITMENTS.—In order to facilitate 

23 the orderly extension of expiring contracts, the 

24 Secretary may make commitments to extend exVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:44 Jan 17, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H252.IH H252

smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
9 

•HR 252 IH

1 piring contracts during the year prior to the 

2 date of expiration. 

3 (f) APPLICATIONS.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Amounts made available 

5 under this section shall be allocated by the Secretary 

6 among approvable applications submitted by private 

7 nonprofit organizations and consumer cooperatives. 

8 (2) CONTENT OF APPLICATION.— 

9 (A) IN GENERAL.—Applications for assist10 ance under this section shall be submitted by an 

11 applicant in such form and in accordance with 

12 such procedures as the Secretary shall estab13 lish. 

14 (B) REQUIRED CONTENT.—Applications 

15 for assistance under this section shall contain— 

16 (i) a description of the proposed hous17 ing; 

18 (ii) a description of the assistance the 

19 applicant seeks under this section; 

20 (iii) a description of— 

21 (I) the supportive services to be 

22 provided to the persons occupying 

23 such housing; 

24 (II) the manner in which such 

25 services will be provided to such perVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:44 Jan 17, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H252.IH H252

smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
10 

•HR 252 IH

1 sons, including, in the case of frail el2 derly persons (as such term is defined 

3 in section 202 of the Housing Act of 

4 1959 (12 U.S.C. 1701q)), evidence of 

5 such residential supervision as the 

6 Secretary determines is necessary to 

7 facilitate the adequate provision of 

8 such services; and 

9 (III) the public or private sources 

10 of assistance that can reasonably be 

11 expected to fund or provide such serv12 ices; 

13 (iv) a certification from the public of14 ficial responsible for submitting a housing 

15 strategy for the jurisdiction to be served in 

16 accordance with section 105 of the Cran17 ston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing 

18 Act (42 U.S.C. 12705) that the proposed 

19 project is consistent with the approved 

20 housing strategy; and 

21 (v) such other information or certifi22 cations that the Secretary determines to be 

23 necessary or appropriate to achieve the 

24 purposes of this section. 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
11 

•HR 252 IH

1 (3) REJECTION.—The Secretary shall not reject 

2 any application for assistance under this section on 

3 technical grounds without giving notice of that rejec4 tion and the basis therefore to the applicant. 

5 (g) INITIAL SELECTION CRITERIA AND PROC6 ESSING.— 

7 (1) SELECTION CRITERIA.—The Secretary shall 

8 establish selection criteria for assistance under this 

9 section, which shall include— 

10 (A) criteria based upon— 

11 (i) the ability of the applicant to de12 velop and operate the proposed housing; 

13 (ii) the need for supportive housing 

14 for very low-income veteran families in the 

15 area to be served; 

16 (iii) the extent to which the proposed 

17 size and unit mix of the housing will en18 able the applicant to manage and operate 

19 the housing efficiently and ensure that the 

20 provision of supportive services will be ac21 complished in an economical fashion; 

22 (iv) the extent to which the proposed 

23 design of the housing will meet the service24 connected disability needs of very low-in25 come veteran families; 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
12 

•HR 252 IH

1 (v) the extent to which the applicant 

2 has demonstrated that the supportive serv3 ices identified pursuant to subsection 

4 (f)(2)(B)(iii) will be provided on a con5 sistent, long-term basis; 

6 (vi) the extent to which the proposed 

7 design of the housing will accommodate the 

8 provision of supportive services that are ex9 pected to be needed, either initially or over 

10 the useful life of the housing, by the very 

11 low-income veterans the housing is in12 tended to serve; 

13 (vii) the extent to which the applicant 

14 has ensured that a service coordinator will 

15 be employed or otherwise retained for the 

16 housing, who has the managerial capacity 

17 and responsibility for carrying out the ac18 tions described in clauses (i) and (ii) of 

19 subsection (h)(2)(A); and 

20 (viii) such other factors as the Sec21 retary determines to be appropriate to en22 sure that funds made available under this 

23 section are used effectively; 

24 (B) a preference in such selection for ap25 plications proposing housing to be reserved for 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
13 

•HR 252 IH

1 occupancy by very low-income veteran families 

2 who are homeless (as such term is defined in 

3 section 103 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless 

4 Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11302)); and 

5 (C) criteria appropriate to consider the 

6 need for supportive housing for very low-income 

7 veteran families in nonmetropolitan areas and 

8 by Indian tribes. 

9 (2) DELEGATED PROCESSING.— 

10 (A) DELEGATION TO STATE OR LOCAL

11 HOUSING AUTHORITY.—In issuing a capital ad12 vance under this subsection for any project for 

13 which financing for the purposes described in 

14 subsection (b)(2) is provided by a combination 

15 of a capital advance under subsection (c)(2) 

16 and sources other than this section, within 30 

17 days of award of the capital advance, the Sec18 retary shall delegate review and processing of 

19 such projects to a State or local housing agency 

20 that— 

21 (i) is in geographic proximity to the 

22 property; 

23 (ii) has demonstrated experience in 

24 and capacity for underwriting multifamily 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
14 

•HR 252 IH

1 housing loans that provide housing and 

2 supportive services; 

3 (iii) may or may not be providing low4 income housing tax credits in combination 

5 with the capital advance under this section; 

6 and 

7 (iv) agrees to issue a firm commit8 ment within 12 months of delegation. 

9 (B) PROCESSING BY SECRETARY.—The 

10 Secretary shall retain the authority to process 

11 capital advances in cases in which no State or 

12 local housing agency has applied to provide del13 egated processing pursuant to this paragraph or 

14 no such agency has entered into an agreement 

15 with the Secretary to serve as a delegated proc16 essing agency. 

17 (C) PROCESSING FEES.—An agency to 

18 which review and processing is delegated pursu19 ant to subparagraph (A) may assess a reason20 able fee which shall be included in the capital 

21 advance amounts and may recommend project 

22 rental assistance amounts in excess of those ini23 tially awarded by the Secretary. The Secretary 

24 shall develop a schedule for reasonable fees 

25 under this subparagraph to be paid to delegated 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
15 

•HR 252 IH

1 processing agencies, which shall take into con2 sideration any other fees to be paid to the agen3 cy for other funding provided to the project by 

4 the agency, including bonds, tax credits, and 

5 other gap funding. 

6 (D) AUTHORITY RETAINED BY SEC7 RETARY.—Under such delegated system, the 

8 Secretary shall retain the authority to approve 

9 rents and development costs and to execute a 

10 capital advance within 60 days of receipt of the 

11 commitment from the State or local agency. 

12 The Secretary shall provide to such agency and 

13 the project sponsor, in writing, the reasons for 

14 any reduction in capital advance amounts or 

15 project rental assistance and such reductions 

16 shall be subject to appeal. 

17 (h) PROVISION OF SUPPORTIVE SERVICES TO VET18 ERAN FAMILIES.— 

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

20 and Urban Development shall coordinate with the 

21 Secretary of Veterans Affairs to ensure that any 

22 housing assistance provided to veterans or veteran 

23 families includes a range of services tailored to the 

24 needs of the very low-income veteran families occuVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:44 Jan 17, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H252.IH H252

smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
16 

•HR 252 IH

1 pying such housing, which may include services 

2 for— 

3 (A) outreach; 

4 (B) health (including counseling, mental 

5 health, substance abuse, post-traumatic stress 

6 disorder, and traumatic brain injury) diagnosis 

7 and treatment; 

8 (C) habilitation and rehabilitation; 

9 (D) case management; 

10 (E) daily living; 

11 (F) personal financial planning; 

12 (G) transportation; 

13 (H) vocation; 

14 (I) employment and training; 

15 (J) education; 

16 (K) assistance in obtaining veterans bene17 fits and public benefits; 

18 (L) assistance in obtaining income support; 

19 (M) assistance in obtaining health insur20 ance; 

21 (N) fiduciary and representative payee; 

22 (O) legal aid; 

23 (P) child care; 

24 (Q) housing counseling; 

25 (R) service coordination; and 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
17 

•HR 252 IH

1 (S) other services necessary for maintain2 ing independent living. 

3 (2) LOCAL COORDINATION OF SERVICES.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Hous5 ing and Urban Development shall coordinate 

6 with the Secretary of the Department of Vet7 erans Affairs to ensure that owners of housing 

8 assisted under this section have the managerial 

9 capacity to— 

10 (i) assess on an ongoing basis the 

11 service needs of residents; 

12 (ii) coordinate the provision of sup13 portive services and tailor such services to 

14 the individual needs of residents; and 

15 (iii) seek on a continuous basis new 

16 sources of assistance to ensure the long17 term provision of supportive services. 

18 (B) CLASSIFICATION OF COSTS.—Any cost 

19 associated with this subsection relating to the 

20 coordination of services shall be an eligible cost 

21 under subsection (c)(3). 

22 (i) DEVELOPMENT COST LIMITATIONS.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall periodi24 cally establish reasonable development cost limita25 tions by market area for various types and sizes of 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
18 

•HR 252 IH

1 supportive housing for very low-income veteran fami2 lies by publishing a notice of the cost limitations in 

3 the Federal Register. 

4 (2) CONSIDERATIONS.—The cost limitations es5 tablished under paragraph (1) shall reflect— 

6 (A) the cost of construction, reconstruc7 tion, or moderate or substantial rehabilitation 

8 of supportive housing for very low-income vet9 eran families that meets applicable State and 

10 local housing and building codes; 

11 (B) the cost of movables necessary to the 

12 basic operation of the housing, as determined 

13 by the Secretary; 

14 (C) the cost of special design features nec15 essary to make the housing accessible to very 

16 low-income veteran families; 

17 (D) the cost of community space necessary 

18 to accommodate the provision of supportive 

19 services to veteran families; 

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

21 cost of meeting the energy efficiency standards 

22 promulgated by the Secretary in accordance 

23 with section 109 of the Cranston-Gonzalez Na24 tional Affordable Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 

25 12709); and 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
19 

•HR 252 IH

1 (F) the cost of land, including necessary 

2 site improvement. 

3 (3) USE OF DATA.—In establishing development 

4 cost limitations for a given market area under this 

5 subsection, the Secretary shall use data that reflect 

6 currently prevailing costs of construction, recon7 struction, or moderate or substantial rehabilitation, 

8 and land acquisition in the area. 

9 (4) COMMUNITY SPACE.—For purposes of para10 graph (2), a community space shall include space for 

11 cafeterias or dining halls, community rooms or build12 ings, workshops, child care, adult day health facili13 ties or other outpatient health facilities, or other es14 sential service facilities. 

15 (5) COMMERCIAL FACILITIES.—Neither this 

16 section nor any other provision of law may be con17 strued as prohibiting or preventing the location and 

18 operation, in a project assisted under this section, of 

19 commercial facilities for the benefit of residents of 

20 the project and the community in which the project 

21 is located, except that assistance made available 

22 under this section may not be used to subsidize any 

23 such commercial facility. 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
20 

•HR 252 IH

1 (6) ACQUISITION.—In the case of existing hous2 ing and related facilities to be acquired, the cost lim3 itations shall include— 

4 (A) the cost of acquiring such housing; 

5 (B) the cost of rehabilitation, alteration, 

6 conversion, or improvement, including the mod7 erate or substantial rehabilitation thereof; and 

8 (C) the cost of the land on which the hous9 ing and related facilities are located. 

10 (7) ANNUAL ADJUSTMENTS.—The Secretary 

11 shall adjust the cost limitation not less than annu12 ally to reflect changes in the general level of con13 struction, reconstruction, and moderate and substan14 tial rehabilitation costs. 

15 (8) INCENTIVES FOR SAVINGS.— 

16 (A) SPECIAL HOUSING ACCOUNT.— 

17 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

18 use the development cost limitations estab19 lished under paragraph (1) or (6) to cal20 culate the amount of financing to be made 

21 available to individual owners. 

22 (ii) ACTUAL DEVELOPMENTAL COSTS

23 LESS THAN FINANCING.—Owners which 

24 incur actual development costs that are 

25 less than the amount of financing shall be 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
21 

•HR 252 IH

1 entitled to retain 50 percent of the savings 

2 in a special housing account. 

3 (iii) BONUS FOR ENERGY EFFI4 CIENCY.—The percentage established 

5 under clause (ii) shall be increased to 75 

6 percent for owners which add energy effi7 ciency features which— 

8 (I) exceed the energy efficiency 

9 standards promulgated by the Sec10 retary in accordance with section 109 

11 of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Af12 fordable Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 

13 12709); 

14 (II) substantially reduce the life15 cycle cost of the housing; and 

16 (III) reduce gross rent require17 ments. 

18 (B) USES.—The special housing account 

19 established under subparagraph (A) may be 

20 used— 

21 (i) to provide services to residents of 

22 the housing or funds set aside for replace23 ment reserves; or 

24 (ii) for such other purposes as deter25 mined by the Secretary. 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
22 

•HR 252 IH

1 (9) DESIGN FLEXIBILITY.—The Secretary shall, 

2 to the extent practicable, give owners the flexibility 

3 to design housing appropriate to their location and 

4 proposed resident population within broadly defined 

5 parameters. 

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

7 An owner shall be permitted voluntarily to provide 

8 funds from sources other than this section for amen9 ities and other features of appropriate design and 

10 construction suitable for supportive housing under 

11 this section if the cost of such amenities is— 

12 (A) not financed with the advance; and 

13 (B) is not taken into account in deter14 mining the amount of Federal assistance or of 

15 the rent contribution of tenants. 

16 (j) TENANT SELECTION.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—An owner shall adopt writ18 ten tenant selection procedures that are— 

19 (A) satisfactory to the Secretary and which 

20 are— 

21 (i) consistent with the purpose of im22 proving housing opportunities for very low23 income veteran families; and 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
23 

•HR 252 IH

1 (ii) reasonably related to program eli2 gibility and an applicant’s ability to per3 form the obligations of the lease; and 

4 (B) compliant with subtitle C of title VI of 

5 the Housing and Community Development Act 

6 of 1992 (42 U.S.C. 13601 et seq.) and any reg7 ulations issued under such subtitle. 

8 (2) NOTIFICATION OF REJECTION.—Owners 

9 shall promptly notify in writing any rejected appli10 cant of the grounds for any rejection. 

11 (3) INFORMATION REGARDING HOUSING.— 

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

13 provide, to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs 

14 and the Secretary of Labor, information regard15 ing the availability of the housing assisted 

16 under this section. 

17 (B) SHARING OF INFORMATION WITH AD18 DITIONAL AGENCIES.—Within 30 days of re19 ceipt of the information, the Secretary of Vet20 erans Affairs and the Secretary of Labor shall 

21 provide such information to agencies in the area 

22 of the housing that receive assistance from the 

23 Department of Veterans Affairs and the De24 partment of Labor for providing medical care, 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
24 

•HR 252 IH

1 housing, supportive services or employment and 

2 training services to homeless veterans. 

3 (k) MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS.— 

4 (1) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary 

5 shall make available appropriate technical assistance 

6 to ensure that prospective applicants are able to par7 ticipate more fully in the program carried out under 

8 this section. 

9 (2) CIVIL RIGHTS COMPLIANCE.—Each owner 

10 shall certify, to the satisfaction of the Secretary, 

11 that assistance made available under this section will 

12 be conducted and administered in conformity with 

13 title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 

14 2000a et seq.), the Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 

15 3601 et seq.), and other Federal, State, and local 

16 laws prohibiting discrimination and promoting equal 

17 opportunity. 

18 (3) OWNER DEPOSIT.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall re20 quire an owner of housing, assisted under this 

21 section, to deposit an amount not to exceed 

22 $15,000 in a special escrow account to ensure 

23 the owner’s commitment to the housing. Such 

24 amount shall be used only to cover operating 

25 deficits during the first three years of operVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:44 Jan 17, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00024 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H252.IH H252

smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
25 

•HR 252 IH

1 ations and shall not be used to cover construc2 tion shortfalls or inadequate initial project rent3 al assistance amounts. 

4 (B) REDUCTION OF REQUIREMENT.— 

5 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may 

6 reduce or waive the owner deposit specified 

7 under subparagraph (A) for individual ap8 plicants if the Secretary finds that such 

9 waiver or reduction is necessary to achieve 

10 the purposes of this section and the appli11 cant demonstrates to the satisfaction of 

12 the Secretary that it has the capacity to 

13 manage and maintain the housing in ac14 cordance with this section. 

15 (ii) NONPROFITS.—The Secretary 

16 may reduce or waive the requirement of 

17 the owner deposit under subparagraph (A) 

18 in the case of a nonprofit applicant that is 

19 not affiliated with a national sponsor, as 

20 determined by the Secretary. 

21 (4) NOTICE OF APPEAL.— 

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall no23 tify an owner not less than 30 days prior to 

24 canceling any reservation of assistance provided 

25 under this section. 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
26 

•HR 252 IH

1 (B) APPEAL.— 

2 (i) FILING DEADLINE.—During the 

3 30-day period following the receipt of any 

4 notice required under subparagraph (A), 

5 an owner may appeal the proposed can6 cellation. 

7 (ii) TIMING OF DECISION.—Any ap8 peal undertaken under clause (i), including 

9 review by the Secretary, shall be completed 

10 not later than 45 days after the appeal is 

11 filed. 

12 (5) LABOR.— 

13 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

14 take such action as may be necessary to ensure 

15 that all laborers and mechanics employed by 

16 contractors and subcontractors in the construc17 tion of housing with 12 or more units assisted 

18 under this section shall be paid wages at rates 

19 not less than the rates prevailing in the locality 

20 involved for the corresponding classes of labor21 ers and mechanics employed on construction of 

22 a similar character, as determined by the Sec23 retary of Labor in accordance with subchapter 

24 IV of chapter 31 of title 40, United States 

25 Code. 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
27 

•HR 252 IH

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

2 not apply to any individual who— 

3 (i) performs services for which the in4 dividual volunteered; 

5 (ii) does not receive compensation for 

6 such services or is paid expenses, reason7 able benefits, or a nominal fee for such 

8 services; and 

9 (iii) is not otherwise employed at any 

10 time in the construction work. 

11 (6) ACCESS TO RESIDUAL RECEIPTS.— 

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall au13 thorize the owner of a housing project assisted 

14 under this section to use any residual receipts 

15 held for the project in excess of $500 per unit 

16 (or in excess of such other amount prescribed 

17 by the Secretary based on the needs of the 

18 project) for activities to retrofit and renovate 

19 the project as described under section 802(d)(3) 

20 of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable 

21 Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 8011(d)(3)) or to pro22 vide supportive services to residents of the 

23 project. 

24 (B) REPORT.—Any owner that uses resid25 ual receipts under this paragraph shall submit 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
28 

•HR 252 IH

1 to the Secretary a report, not less than annu2 ally, describing the uses of the residual receipts. 

3 (C) DETERMINATION OF AMOUNT.—In de4 termining the amount of project rental assist5 ance to be provided to a project under sub6 section (c)(3) of this section, the Secretary may 

7 take into consideration the residual receipts 

8 held for the project only if, and to the extent 

9 that, excess residual receipts are not used under 

10 this paragraph. 

11 (7) OCCUPANCY STANDARDS AND OBLIGA12 TIONS.—Each owner shall operate housing assisted 

13 under this section in compliance with subtitle C of 

14 title VI of the Housing and Community Develop15 ment Act of 1992 (42 U.S.C. 13601 et seq.) and 

16 any regulations issued under such subtitle. 

17 (8) USE OF PROJECT RESERVES.— 

18 (A) IN GENERAL.—Amounts for project re19 serves for a project assisted under this section 

20 may be used for costs, subject to reasonable 

21 limitations as the Secretary determines appro22 priate, for reducing the number of dwelling 

23 units in the project. 

24 (B) APPROVAL OF SECRETARY RE25 QUIRED.—Any use described in subparagraph 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
29 

•HR 252 IH

1 (A) of amounts for project reserves for a 

2 project assisted under this section shall be sub3 ject to the approval of the Secretary to ensure 

4 that such use is designed to retrofit units that 

5 are currently obsolete or unmarketable. 

6 (9) REPAYMENT OF ASSISTANCE AND PREVEN7 TION OF UNDUE BENEFITS.— 

8 (A) REPAYMENT.—If a recipient, or a 

9 project sponsor receiving funds from the recipi10 ent, receives assistance under subsection (b) for 

11 use pursuant to paragraph (2) of such sub12 section for the construction, acquisition, or re13 habilitation of supportive housing for very low14 income veteran families and the project ceases 

15 to provide permanent housing, the Secretary 

16 shall require the recipient, or such project spon17 sor, to repay the following percentage of such 

18 assistance: 

19 (i) In the case of a project that ceases 

20 to be used for such supportive housing be21 fore the expiration of the 10-year period 

22 beginning upon commencement of the op23 eration of the project, 100 percent. 

24 (ii) In the case of a project that 

25 ceases to be used for such supportive housVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:44 Jan 17, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00029 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H252.IH H252

smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
30 

•HR 252 IH

1 ing on or after the expiration of the 10- 

2 year period beginning upon commencement 

3 of the operation of the project, but before 

4 the expiration of the 15-year period begin5 ning upon such commencement, 20 percent 

6 of the assistance for each of the years dur7 ing such 15-year period for which the 

8 project fails to provide permanent housing. 

9 (B) PREVENTION OF UNDUE BENEFITS.— 

10 Except as provided in paragraph (C), if any 

11 property is used for a project that receives as12 sistance under subsection (b) for use pursuant 

13 to paragraph (2) of such subsection for the con14 struction, acquisition or rehabilitation of sup15 portive housing for very low-income veteran 

16 families, and the sale or other disposition of the 

17 property occurs before the expiration of the 15- 

18 year period beginning upon commencement of 

19 the operation of the project, the recipient (or 

20 the project sponsor receiving funds from the re21 cipient) shall comply with such terms and con22 ditions as the Secretary may prescribe to pre23 vent the recipient (or such project sponsor) 

24 from unduly benefitting from such sale or dis25 position. 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
31 

•HR 252 IH

1 (C) EXCEPTION.—A recipient, or a project 

2 sponsor receiving funds from the recipient, shall 

3 not be required to make repayments, and com4 ply with the terms and conditions, required 

5 under subparagraph (A) or (B) if— 

6 (i) the sale or disposition of the prop7 erty used for the project results in the use 

8 of the property for the direct benefit of 

9 very-low income persons; 

10 (ii) all of the proceeds of the sale or 

11 disposition are used to provide permanent 

12 housing for very-low income veteran fami13 lies meeting the requirements of this sec14 tion; 

15 (iii) project-based rental assistance or 

16 operating cost assistance from any Federal 

17 program or an equivalent State or local 

18 program is no longer made available and 

19 the project is meeting applicable perform20 ance standards, provided that the portion 

21 of the project that had benefitted from 

22 such assistance continues to meet the ten23 ant income and rent restrictions for low-in24 come units under section 42(g) of the In25 ternal Revenue Code of 1986; or 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
32 

•HR 252 IH

1 (iv) there are no low-income veteran 

2 families in the geographic area of the prop3 erty who meet the program criteria, in 

4 which case the project may serve non-vet5 eran individuals and families having in6 comes described in subsection (l)(2) of this 

7 section. 

8 (10) CONTINUED ELIGIBILITY OF VERY LOW-IN9 COME VETERAN FAMILIES.—A veteran family resid10 ing in supportive housing assisted under this section 

11 may not be considered to lose its status as such a 

12 family for purposes of eligibility for continued occu13 pancy in such housing due to the death of any vet14 eran member of the family, including the sole vet15 eran member of the family. 

16 (l) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following defi17 nitions shall apply: 

18 (1) CONSUMER COOPERATIVE.—The term ‘‘con19 sumer cooperative’’ has the same meaning given 

20 such term for purposes of the supportive housing for 

21 the elderly program under section 202 of the Hous22 ing Act of 1959 (12 U.S.C. 1701q). 

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

24 term ‘‘very low-income veteran family’’ means a vet25 eran family whose income does not exceed 50 perVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:44 Jan 17, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00032 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H252.IH H252

smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
33 

•HR 252 IH

1 cent of the median income for the area, as deter2 mined by the Secretary with adjustments for smaller 

3 and larger families, except that the Secretary may 

4 establish an income ceiling higher or lower than 50 

5 percent of the median for the area on the basis of 

6 the Secretary’s findings that such variations are nec7 essary because of prevailing levels of construction 

8 costs or fair market rents (as determined under sec9 tion 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 

10 U.S.C. 1437f)), or unusually high or low family in11 comes. 

12 (3) OWNER.—The term ‘‘owner’’ means a pri13 vate nonprofit organization or consumer cooperative 

14 that receives assistance under this section to develop 

15 and operate supportive housing for very low-income 

16 veteran families. 

17 (4) PRIVATE NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION.—The 

18 term ‘‘private nonprofit organization’’ means— 

19 (A) any incorporated private institution or 

20 foundation— 

21 (i) no part of the net earnings of 

22 which inures to the benefit of any member, 

23 founder, contributor, or individual; 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
34 

•HR 252 IH

1 (ii) which has a governing board that 

2 is responsible for the operation of the 

3 housing assisted under this section; and 

4 (iii) which is approved by the Sec5 retary as to financial responsibility; 

6 (B) a for-profit limited partnership the 

7 sole or managing general partner of which is an 

8 organization meeting the requirements under 

9 clauses (i), (ii), and (iii) of subparagraph (A) or 

10 a corporation meeting the requirements of sub11 paragraph (C); 

12 (C) a corporation wholly owned and con13 trolled by an organization meeting the require14 ments under clauses (i), (ii), and (iii) of sub15 paragraph (A); and 

16 (D) a tribally designated housing entity, as 

17 such term is defined in section 4 of the Native 

18 American Housing Assistance and Self-Deter19 mination Act of 1996 (25 U.S.C. 4103). 

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

21 the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, 

22 except where specifically provided otherwise. 

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

24 several States, the District of Columbia, the ComVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:44 Jan 17, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00034 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H252.IH H252

smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
35 

•HR 252 IH

1 monwealth of Puerto Rico, and the possessions of 

2 the United States. 

3 (7) SUPPORTIVE HOUSING FOR VERY LOW-IN4 COME VETERAN FAMILIES.—The term ‘‘supportive 

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

6 housing that is designed to accommodate the provi7 sion of supportive services that are expected to be 

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

9 housing, by the veteran families that the housing is 

10 intended to serve. 

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

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

13 United States Code. 

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

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

16 family (including families with children) whose head 

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

18 or more veterans living together with one or more 

19 persons. 

20 (m) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.—Of any amounts made 

21 available for assistance under this section: 

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

23 percent shall be available for planning grants in ac24 cordance with subsection (c)(1). 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
36 

•HR 252 IH

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

2 necessary shall be available for capital advances in 

3 accordance with subsection (c)(2). 

4 (3) PROJECT RENTAL ASSISTANCE.—Such sums 

5 as may be necessary shall be available for project 

6 rental assistance in accordance with subsection 

7 (c)(3). 

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

9 percent shall be available for technical assistance in 

10 accordance with subsection (k)(1). 

11 (n) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR

12 HOUSING ASSISTANCE.—There is authorized to be appro13 priated for assistance under this section $200,000,000 for 

14 fiscal year 2015 and such sums as may be necessary for 

15 each fiscal year thereafter. 

16 SEC. 4. HOUSING CHOICE VOUCHERS FOR HOMELESS VET17 ERANS. 

18 Section 8(o)(19) of the United States Housing Act 

19 of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)(19)) is amended to read as 

20 follows: 

21 ‘‘(19) RENTAL VOUCHERS FOR HOMELESS VET22 ERANS.— 

23 ‘‘(A) ADDITIONAL VOUCHERS.—In addition 

24 to any amount made available for rental assist25 ance under this subsection, the Secretary shall 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
37 

•HR 252 IH

1 make available the amount specified in subpara2 graph (B), for use only for providing rental as3 sistance for homeless veterans in conjunction 

4 with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. 

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

6 this subparagraph is, for each fiscal year, the 

7 amount necessary to provide not fewer than 

8 20,000 vouchers for rental assistance under this 

9 subsection. 

10 ‘‘(C) CONTINUED ELIGIBILITY OF HOME11 LESS VETERAN FAMILIES.—If any veteran 

12 member of a household for which rental assist13 ance is being provided under this paragraph, in14 cluding the sole veteran member of the house15 hold, dies, such household may not be consid16 ered, due to such death, to lose its status as the 

17 household of a homeless veteran for purposes 

18 of— 

19 ‘‘(i) eligibility for continued assistance 

20 under this paragraph; or 

21 ‘‘(ii) continued occupancy in the 

22 dwelling unit in which such family is resid23 ing using such assistance at the time of 

24 such death. 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
38 

•HR 252 IH

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

2 made available under any other provisions of 

3 law for rental assistance under this subsection 

4 for fiscal year 2015 and each fiscal year there5 after is authorized to be increased in each such 

6 fiscal year by such sums as may be necessary 

7 to provide the number of vouchers specified in 

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

9 SEC. 5. INCLUSION OF VETERANS IN HOUSING PLANNING. 

10 (a) PUBLIC HOUSING AGENCY PLANS.—Section 

11 5A(d)(1) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 

12 U.S.C. 1437c–1(d)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘and dis13 abled families’’ and inserting ‘‘, disabled families, and vet14 erans (as such term is defined in section 101 of title 38, 

15 United States Code)’’. 

16 (b) COMPREHENSIVE HOUSING AFFORDABILITY

17 STRATEGIES.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 105 of the Cran19 ston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act (42 

20 U.S.C. 12705) is amended— 

21 (A) in subsection (b)(1), by inserting ‘‘vet22 erans (as such term is defined in section 101 of 

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

24 immunodeficiency syndrome,’’; 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
39 

•HR 252 IH

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

2 service’’ and inserting ‘‘veterans service, and 

3 other service’’; and 

4 (C) in subsection (e)(1), by inserting ‘‘vet5 erans (as such term is defined in section 101 of 

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

7 persons,’’. 

8 (2) CONSOLIDATED PLANS.—The Secretary of 

9 Housing and Urban Development shall revise the 

10 regulations relating to submission of consolidated 

11 plans (part 91 of title 24, Code of Federal Regula12 tions) in accordance with the amendments made by 

13 paragraph (1) of this subsection to require inclusion 

14 of appropriate information relating to veterans and 

15 veterans service agencies in all such plans. 

16 SEC. 6. EXCLUSION OF VETERANS BENEFITS FROM AS17 SISTED HOUSING RENT CONSIDERATIONS. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi19 sion of law, for purposes of determining the amount of 

20 rent paid by a family for occupancy of a dwelling unit as21 sisted under a federally assisted housing program under 

22 subsection (b) or in housing assisted under any other fed23 erally assisted housing program, the income and the ad24 justed income of the family shall not be considered to inVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:44 Jan 17, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00039 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H252.IH H252

smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
40 

•HR 252 IH

1 clude any amounts received by any member of the family 

2 from the Secretary of Veterans Affairs as— 

3 (1) compensation, as such term is defined in 

4 section 101(13) of title 38, United States Code; and 

5 (2) dependency and indemnity compensation, as 

6 such term is defined in section 101(14) of such title. 

7 (b) FEDERALLY ASSISTED HOUSING PROGRAM.— 

8 The federally assisted housing programs under this sub9 section are— 

10 (1) the public housing program under the 

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

12 et seq.); 

13 (2) the tenant-based rental assistance program 

14 under section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 

15 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f), including the program 

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

17 rental vouchers for low-income veteran families; 

18 (3) the project-based rental assistance program 

19 under section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 

20 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f); 

21 (4) the program for housing opportunities for 

22 persons with AIDS under subtitle D of title VIII of 

23 the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing 

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


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
41 

•HR 252 IH

1 (5) the supportive housing for the elderly pro2 gram under section 202 of the Housing Act of 1959 

3 (12 U.S.C. 1701q); 

4 (6) the supportive housing for persons with dis5 abilities program under section 811 of the Cranston6 Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act (42 

7 U.S.C. 8013); 

8 (7) the supportive housing for the homeless pro9 gram under subtitle C of title IV of the McKinney10 Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11381 et 

11 seq.); 

12 (8) the program for moderate rehabilitation of 

13 single room occupancy dwellings for occupancy by 

14 the homeless under section 441 of the McKinney15 Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11401); 

16 (9) the shelter plus care for the homeless pro17 gram under subtitle F of title IV of the McKinney18 Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11403 et 

19 seq.); 

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

21 veteran families program under section 3 of this Act; 

22 (11) the rental assistance payments program 

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

24 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1490a(a)(2)(A)); 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
42 

•HR 252 IH

1 (12) the rental assistance program under sec2 tion 236 of the National Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 

3 1715z–1); 

4 (13) the rural housing programs under sections 

5 515 and 538 of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 

6 1485, 1490p–2); 

7 (14) the HOME investment partnerships pro8 gram under title II of the Cranston-Gonzalez Na9 tional Affordable Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 12721 et 

10 seq.); 

11 (15) the block grant programs for affordable 

12 housing for Native Americans and Native Hawaiians 

13 under titles I through IV and VIII of the Native 

14 American Housing Assistance and Self-Determina15 tion Act of 1996 (25 U.S.C. 4111 et seq., 4221 et 

16 seq.); 

17 (16) any other program for housing assistance 

18 administered by the Secretary of Housing and 

19 Urban Development or the Secretary of Agriculture 

20 under which eligibility for occupancy in the housing 

21 assisted or for housing assistance is based upon in22 come; 

23 (17) low-income housing credits allocated pur24 suant to section 42 of the Internal Revenue Code of 

25 1986; and 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
43 

•HR 252 IH

1 (18) tax-exempt bonds issued for qualified resi2 dential rental projects pursuant to section 142(d) of 

3 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 

4 SEC. 7. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE GRANTS FOR HOUSING AS5 SISTANCE FOR VETERANS. 

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

7 Urban Development shall, to the extent amounts are made 

8 available in appropriation Acts for grants under this sec9 tion, make grants to eligible entities under subsection (b) 

10 to provide to nonprofit organizations technical assistance 

11 appropriate to assist such organizations in— 

12 (1) sponsoring housing projects for veterans as13 sisted under programs administered by the Depart14 ment of Housing and Urban Development; 

15 (2) fulfilling the planning and application proc16 esses and requirements necessary under such pro17 grams administered by the Department; and 

18 (3) assisting veterans in obtaining housing or 

19 homeless assistance under programs administered by 

20 the Department. 

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

22 this subsection is a nonprofit entity or organization having 

23 such expertise as the Secretary shall require in providing 

24 technical assistance to providers of services for veterans. 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
44 

•HR 252 IH

1 (c) SELECTION OF GRANT RECIPIENTS.—The Sec2 retary of Housing and Urban Development shall establish 

3 criteria for selecting applicants for grants under this sec4 tion to receive such grants and shall select applicants 

5 based upon such criteria. 

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

7 fiscal year 2015 or any fiscal year thereafter to the De8 partment of Housing and Urban Development for salaries 

9 and expenses, $1,000,000 shall be available, and shall re10 main available until expended, for grants under this sec11 tion. 

12 SEC. 8. ANNUAL REPORT ON HOUSING ASSISTANCE TO VET13 ERANS. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than December 31 each 

15 year, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development 

16 shall submit a report on the activities of the Department 

17 of Housing and Urban Development relating to veterans 

18 during such year to the following: 

19 (1) The Committee on Banking, Housing, and 

20 Urban Affairs of the Senate. 

21 (2) The Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the 

22 Senate. 

23 (3) The Committee on Appropriations of the 

24 Senate. 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
45 

•HR 252 IH

1 (4) The Committee on Financial Services of the 

2 House of Representatives. 

3 (5) The Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the 

4 House of Representatives. 

5 (6) The Committee on Appropriations of the 

6 House of Representatives. 

7 (7) The Secretary of Veterans Affairs. 

8 (b) CONTENTS.—Each report required under sub9 section (a) shall include the following information with re10 spect to the year for which the report is submitted: 

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

12 families provided assistance under the program of 

13 supportive housing for very low-income veteran fami14 lies under section 3, the socioeconomic characteris15 tics of such families, the types of assistance provided 

16 such families, and the number, types, and locations 

17 of owners of housing assisted under such section. 

18 (2) The number of homeless veterans provided 

19 assistance under the program of housing choice 

20 vouchers for homeless veterans under section 

21 8(o)(19) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 

22 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)(19)) (as amended by section 4), 

23 the socioeconomic characteristics of such homeless 

24 veterans, and the number, types, and locations of enVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:44 Jan 17, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00045 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H252.IH H252

smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
46 

•HR 252 IH

1 tities contracted under such section to administer 

2 the vouchers. 

3 (3) A summary description of the special con4 siderations made for veterans under public housing 

5 agency plans submitted pursuant to section 5A of 

6 the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 

7 1437c–1) and under comprehensive housing afford8 ability strategies submitted pursuant to section 105 

9 of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Hous10 ing Act (42 U.S.C. 12705). 

11 (4) A description of the technical assistance 

12 provided to organizations pursuant to grants under 

13 section 7. 

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

15 Assistant for Veterans Affairs. 

16 (6) A description of the efforts of the Depart17 ment of Housing and Urban Development to coordi18 nate the delivery of housing and services to veterans 

19 with other Federal departments and agencies, in20 cluding the Department of Defense, Department of 

21 Justice, Department of Labor, Department of 

22 Health and Human Services, Department of Vet23 erans Affairs, Interagency Council on Homelessness, 

24 and the Social Security Administration. 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
47 

•HR 252 IH

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

2 Urban Development of administering the programs 

3 and activities relating to veterans. 

4 (8) Any other information that the Secretary 

5 considers relevant in assessing the programs and ac6 tivities of the Department of Housing and Urban 

7 Development relating to veterans. 

8 (c) ASSESSMENT OF HOUSING NEEDS OF VERY LOW9 INCOME VETERAN FAMILIES.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—For the first report sub11 mitted pursuant to subsection (a) and every fifth re12 port thereafter, the Secretary of Housing and Urban 

13 Development shall— 

14 (A) conduct an assessment of the housing 

15 needs of very low-income veteran families (as 

16 such term is defined in section 3); and 

17 (B) shall include in each such report find18 ings regarding such assessment. 

19 (2) CONTENT.—Each assessment under this 

20 subsection shall include— 

21 (A) conducting a survey of, and direct 

22 interviews with, a representative sample of very 

23 low-income veteran families (as such term is de24 fined in section 3) to determine past and cur25 rent— 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
48 

•HR 252 IH

1 (i) socioeconomic characteristics of 

2 such veteran families; 

3 (ii) barriers to such veteran families 

4 obtaining safe, quality, and affordable 

5 housing; 

6 (iii) levels of homelessness among 

7 such veteran families; and 

8 (iv) levels and circumstances of, and 

9 barriers to, receipt by such veteran families 

10 of rental housing and homeownership as11 sistance; and 

12 (B) such other information that the Sec13 retary determines, in consultation with the Sec14 retary of Veterans Affairs and national non15 governmental organizations concerned with vet16 erans, homelessness, and very low-income hous17 ing, may be useful to the assessment. 

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

19 an entity other than the Department of Housing and 

20 Urban Development to conduct the assessment 

21 under this subsection, such entity shall be a non22 governmental organization determined by the Sec23 retary to have appropriate expertise in quantitative 

24 and qualitative social science research. 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
49 

•HR 252 IH

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

2 pursuant to section 501 of the Housing and Urban 

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

4 programs of research, studies, testing, or demonstra5 tion relating to the mission or programs of the De6 partment of Housing and Urban Development for 

7 any fiscal year in which an assessment under this 

8 subsection is required pursuant to paragraph (1) of 

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

10 expended for costs of the assessment under this sub11 section. 

Æ 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS