IB 

Union Calendar No. 156 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3620 

[Report No. 116–198] 

To provide rental assistance to low-income tenants in certain multifamily 

rural housing projects financed by the Rural Housing Service of the 

Department of Agriculture, and to develop and implement a plan for 

preserving the affordability of rural rental housing, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 5, 2019 

Mr. CLAY (for himself and Mr. CLEAVER) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Financial Services 

SEPTEMBER 6, 2019 

Additional sponsors: Mrs. AXNE, Mr. LAWSON of Florida, and Mr. DAVID

SCOTT of Georgia 

SEPTEMBER 6, 2019 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 

House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on July 5, 2019] 


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A BILL 

To provide rental assistance to low-income tenants in certain 

multifamily rural housing projects financed by the Rural 

Housing Service of the Department of Agriculture, and 

to develop and implement a plan for preserving the affordability of rural rental housing, and for other purposes. 


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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 ‘‘Strategy and Investment 

5 in Rural Housing Preservation Act of 2019’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PERMANENT ESTABLISHMENT OF HOUSING PRES7 ERVATION AND REVITALIZATION PROGRAM. 

8 Title V of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1471 

9 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new 

10 section: 

11 ‘‘SEC. 545. HOUSING PRESERVATION AND REVITALIZATION 

12 PROGRAM. 

13 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall carry out 

14 a program under this section for the preservation and revi15 talization of multifamily rental housing projects financed 

16 under section 515 or both sections 514 and 516. 

17 ‘‘(b) NOTICE OF MATURING LOANS.— 

18 ‘‘(1) TO OWNERS.—On an annual basis, the Sec19 retary shall provide written notice to each owner of 

20 a property financed under section 515 or both sec21 tions 514 and 516 that will mature within the 4-year 

22 period beginning upon the provision of such notice, 

23 setting forth the options and financial incentives that 

24 are available to facilitate the extension of the loan 


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1 term or the option to decouple a rental assistance con2 tract pursuant to subsection (f). 

3 ‘‘(2) TO TENANTS.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For each property fi5 nanced under section 515 or both sections 514 

6 and 516, not later than the date that is 2 years 

7 before the date that such loan will mature, the 

8 Secretary shall provide written notice to each 

9 household residing in such property that informs 

10 them of the date of the loan maturity, the pos11 sible actions that may happen with respect to the 

12 property upon such maturity, and how to protect 

13 their right to reside in federally assisted housing 

14 after such maturity. 

15 ‘‘(B) LANGUAGE.—Notice under this para16 graph shall be provided in plain English and 

17 shall be translated to other languages in the case 

18 of any property located in an area in which a 

19 significant number of residents speak such other 

20 languages. 

21 ‘‘(c) LOAN RESTRUCTURING.—Under the program 

22 under this section, the Secretary may restructure such exist23 ing housing loans, as the Secretary considers appropriate, 

24 for the purpose of ensuring that such projects have sufficient 

25 resources to preserve the projects to provide safe and affordVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:33 Sep 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3620.RH H3620

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1 able housing for low-income residents and farm laborers, 

2 by— 

3 ‘‘(1) reducing or eliminating interest; 

4 ‘‘(2) deferring loan payments; 

5 ‘‘(3) subordinating, reducing, or reamortizing 

6 loan debt; and 

7 ‘‘(4) providing other financial assistance, includ8 ing advances, payments, and incentives (including 

9 the ability of owners to obtain reasonable returns on 

10 investment) required by the Secretary. 

11 ‘‘(d) RENEWAL OF RENTAL ASSISTANCE.—When the 

12 Secretary offers to restructure a loan pursuant to subsection 

13 (c), the Secretary shall offer to renew the rental assistance 

14 contract under section 521(a)(2) for a 20-year term that 

15 is subject to annual appropriations, provided that the 

16 owner agrees to bring the property up to such standards 

17 that will ensure its maintenance as decent, safe, and sani18 tary housing for the full term of the rental assistance con19 tract. 

20 ‘‘(e) RESTRICTIVE USE AGREEMENTS.— 

21 ‘‘(1) REQUIREMENT.—As part of the preserva22 tion and revitalization agreement for a project, the 

23 Secretary shall obtain a restrictive use agreement that 

24 obligates the owner to operate the project in accord25 ance with this title. 


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1 ‘‘(2) TERM.— 

2 ‘‘(A) NO EXTENSION OF RENTAL ASSIST3 ANCE CONTRACT.—Except when the Secretary 

4 enters into a 20-year extension of the rental as5 sistance contract for the project, the term of the 

6 restrictive use agreement for the project shall be 

7 consistent with the term of the restructured loan 

8 for the project. 

9 ‘‘(B) EXTENSION OF RENTAL ASSISTANCE

10 CONTRACT.—If the Secretary enters into a 20- 

11 year extension of the rental assistance contract 

12 for a project, the term of the restrictive use agree13 ment for the project shall be for 20 years. 

14 ‘‘(C) TERMINATION.—The Secretary may 

15 terminate the 20-year use restrictive use agree16 ment for a project prior to the end of its term 

17 if the 20-year rental assistance contract for the 

18 project with the owner is terminated at any time 

19 for reasons outside the owner’s control. 

20 ‘‘(f) DECOUPLING OF RENTAL ASSISTANCE.— 

21 ‘‘(1) RENEWAL OF RENTAL ASSISTANCE CON22 TRACT.—If the Secretary determines that a maturing 

23 loan for a project cannot reasonably be restructured 

24 in accordance with subsection (c) and the project was 

25 operating with rental assistance under section 521, 


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1 the Secretary may renew the rental assistance con2 tract, notwithstanding any provision of section 521, 

3 for a term, subject to annual appropriations, of at 

4 least 10 years but not more than 20 years. 

5 ‘‘(2) RENTS.—Any agreement to extend the term 

6 of the rental assistance contract under section 521 for 

7 a project shall obligate the owner to continue to main8 tain the project as decent, safe and sanitary housing 

9 and to operate the development in accordance with 

10 this title, except that rents shall be based on the lesser 

11 of— 

12 ‘‘(A) the budget-based needs of the project; 

13 or 

14 ‘‘(B) (ii) the operating cost adjustment fac15 tor as a payment standard as provided under 

16 section 524 of the Multifamily Assisted Housing 

17 Reform and Affordability Act of 1997 (42 U.S.C. 

18 1437 note). 

19 ‘‘(g) MULTIFAMILY HOUSING TRANSFER TECHNICAL

20 ASSISTANCE.—Under the program under this section, the 

21 Secretary may provide grants to qualified non-profit orga22 nizations and public housing agencies to provide technical 

23 assistance, including financial and legal services, to bor24 rowers under loans under this title for multifamily housing 

25 to facilitate the acquisition of such multifamily housing 


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1 properties in areas where the Secretary determines there is 

2 a risk of loss of affordable housing. 

3 ‘‘(h) TRANSFER OF RENTAL ASSISTANCE.—After the 

4 loan or loans for a rental project originally financed under 

5 section 515 or both sections 514 and 516 have matured or 

6 have been prepaid and the owner has chosen not to restruc7 ture the loan pursuant to subsection (c), a tenant residing 

8 in such project shall have 18 months prior to loan matura9 tion or prepayment to transfer the rental assistance as10 signed to the tenant’s unit to another rental project origi11 nally financed under section 515 or both sections 514 and 

12 516, and the owner of the initial project may rent the ten13 ant’s previous unit to a new tenant without income restric14 tions. 

15 ‘‘(i) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Of any amounts 

16 made available for the program under this section for any 

17 fiscal year, the Secretary may use not more than $1,000,000 

18 for administrative expenses for carrying out such program. 

19 ‘‘(j) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

20 authorized to be appropriated for the program under this 

21 section $200,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2020 through 

22 2024.’’. 


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1 SEC. 3. ELIGIBILITY FOR RURAL HOUSING VOUCHERS. 

2 Section 542 of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 

3 1490r) is amended by adding at the end the following new 

4 subsection: 

5 ‘‘(c) ELIGIBILITY OF HOUSEHOLDS IN SECTION 514, 

6 515, AND 516 PROJECTS.—The Secretary may provide 

7 rural housing vouchers under this section for any low-in8 come household (including those not receiving rental assist9 ance) residing in a property financed with a loan made 

10 or insured under section 514 or 515 (42 U.S.C. 1484, 1485) 

11 which has been prepaid, has been foreclosed, or has matured 

12 after September 30, 2005, or residing in a property assisted 

13 under section 514 or 516 that is owned by a nonprofit orga14 nization or public agency.’’. 

15 SEC. 4. AMOUNT OF VOUCHER ASSISTANCE. 

16 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in the 

17 case of any rural housing voucher provided pursuant to sec18 tion 542 of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1490r), 

19 the amount of the monthly assistance payment for the 

20 household on whose behalf such assistance is provided shall 

21 be determined as provided in subsection (a) of such section 

22 542. 

23 SEC. 5. USE OF AVAILABLE RENTAL ASSISTANCE. 

24 Subsection (d) of section 521 of the Housing Act of 

25 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1490a(d)) is amended by adding at the 

26 end the following new paragraph: 


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1 ‘‘(3) In the case of any rental assistance contract au2 thority that becomes available because of the termination 

3 of assistance on behalf of an assisted family— 

4 ‘‘(A) at the option of the owner of the rental 

5 project, the Secretary shall provide the owner a period 

6 of 6 months before such assistance is made available 

7 pursuant to subparagraph (B) during which the 

8 owner may use such assistance authority to provide 

9 assistance of behalf of an eligible unassisted family 

10 that— 

11 ‘‘(i) is residing in the same rental project 

12 that the assisted family resided in prior to such 

13 termination; or 

14 ‘‘(ii) newly occupies a dwelling unit in such 

15 rental project during such period; and 

16 ‘‘(B) except for assistance used as provided in 

17 subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall use such re18 maining authority to provide such assistance on be19 half of eligible families residing in other rental 

20 projects originally financed under section 515 or both 

21 sections 514 and 516 of this Act.’’. 

22 SEC. 6. FUNDING FOR MULTIFAMILY TECHNICAL IMPROVE23 MENTS. 

24 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary 

25 of Agriculture $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2020 for improvVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:33 Sep 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3620.RH H3620

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1 ing the technology of the Department of Agriculture used 

2 to process loans for multifamily housing and otherwise 

3 managing such housing. Such improvements shall be made 

4 within the 5-year period beginning upon the appropriation 

5 of such amounts and such amount shall remain available 

6 until the expiration of such 5-year period. 

7 SEC. 7. PLAN FOR PRESERVING AFFORDABILITY OF RENTAL 

8 PROJECTS. 

9 (a) PLAN.—The Secretary of Agriculture (in this sec10 tion referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall submit a written 

11 plan to the Congress, not later than the expiration of the 

12 6-month period beginning on the date of the enactment of 

13 this Act, for preserving the affordability for low-income 

14 families of rental projects for which loans were made under 

15 section 515 or made to nonprofit or public agencies under 

16 section 514 and avoiding the displacement of tenant house17 holds, which shall— 

18 (1) set forth specific performance goals and 

19 measures; 

20 (2) set forth the specific actions and mechanisms 

21 by which such goals will be achieved; 

22 (3) set forth specific measurements by which 

23 progress towards achievement of each goal can be 

24 measured; 


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1 (4) provide for detailed reporting on outcomes; 

2 and 

3 (5) include any legislative recommendations to 

4 assist in achievement of the goals under the plan. 

5 (b) ADVISORY COMMITTEE.— 

6 (1) ESTABLISHMENT; PURPOSE.—The Secretary 

7 shall establish an advisory committee whose purpose 

8 shall be to assist the Secretary in preserving section 

9 515 properties and section 514 properties owned by 

10 nonprofit or public agencies through the multifamily 

11 housing preservation and revitalization program 

12 under section 545 and in implementing the plan re13 quired under subsection (a). 

14 (2) MEMBER.—The advisory shall consist of 13 

15 members, appointed by the Secretary, as follows: 

16 (A) A State Director of Rural Development 

17 for the Department of Agriculture. 

18 (B) 2 representatives of for-profit developers 

19 or owners of multifamily rural rental housing. 

20 (C) 2 representatives of non-profit devel21 opers or owners of multifamily rural rental 

22 housing. 

23 (D) 2 representatives of State housing fi24 nance agencies. 


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1 (E) 2 representatives of tenants of multi2 family rural rental housing. 

3 (F) 1 representative of a community devel4 opment financial institution that is involved in 

5 preserving the affordability of housing assisted 

6 under sections 514, 515, and 516 of the Housing 

7 Act of 1949. 

8 (G) 1 representative of a nonprofit organi9 zation that operates nationally and has actively 

10 participated in the preservation of housing as11 sisted by the Rural Housing Service by con12 ducting research regarding, and providing fi13 nancing and technical assistance for, preserving 

14 the affordability of such housing. 

15 (H) 1 representative of low-income housing 

16 tax credit investors. 

17 (I) 1 representative of regulated financial 

18 institutions that finance affordable multifamily 

19 rural rental housing developments. 

20 (3) MEETINGS.—The advisory committee shall 

21 meet not less often than once each calendar quarter. 

22 (4) FUNCTIONS.—In providing assistance to the 

23 Secretary to carry out its purpose, the advisory com24 mittee shall carry out the following functions: 


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1 (A) Assisting the Rural Housing Service of 

2 the Department of Agriculture to improve esti3 mates of the size, scope, and condition of rental 

4 housing portfolio of the Service, including the 

5 time frames for maturity of mortgages and costs 

6 for preserving the portfolio as affordable housing. 

7 (B) Reviewing current policies and proce8 dures of the Rural Housing Service regarding 

9 preservation of affordable rental housing fi10 nanced under sections 514, 515, 516, and 538 of 

11 the Housing Act of 1949, the Multifamily Preser12 vation and Revitalization Demonstration pro13 gram (MPR), and the rental assistance program 

14 and making recommendations regarding im15 provements and modifications to such policies 

16 and procedures. 

17 (C) Providing ongoing review of Rural 

18 Housing Service program results. 

19 (D) Providing reports to the Congress and 

20 the public on meetings, recommendations, and 

21 other findings of the advisory committee. 

22 (5) TRAVEL COSTS.—Any amounts made avail23 able for administrative costs of the Department of Ag24 riculture may be used for costs of travel by members 


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1 of the advisory committee to meetings of the com2 mittee. 

3 SEC. 8. COVERED HOUSING PROGRAMS. 

4 Paragraph (3) of section 41411(a) of the Violence 

5 Against Women Act of 1994 (34 U.S.C. 12491(a)(3)) is 

6 amended— 

7 (1) in subparagraph (I), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

8 the end; 

9 (2) by redesignating subparagraph (J) as sub10 paragraph (K); and 

11 (3) by inserting after subparagraph (I) the fol12 lowing new subparagraph: 

13 ‘‘(J) rural development housing voucher as14 sistance provided by the Secretary of Agriculture 

15 pursuant to section 542 of the Housing Act of 

16 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1490r), without regard to sub17 section (b) of such section, and applicable appro18 priation Acts; and’’. 


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Union Calendar No. 156 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3620 

[Report No. 116–198] 

A BILL 

To provide rental assistance to low-income tenants 

rural rental housing, and for other purposes. plement a plan for preserving the affordability of partment of Agriculture, and to develop and imnanced by the Rural Housing Service of the Dein certain multifamily rural housing projects fiSEPTEMBER 6, 2019 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Comand ordered to be printed mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 


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