IIB 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5735 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 18, 2018 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and 

Urban Affairs 

AN ACT 

To amend the United States Housing Act of 1937 to establish a demonstration program to set aside section 8 housing vouchers for supportive and transitional housing for 

individuals recovering from opioid use disorders or other 

substance use disorders, 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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Transitional Housing 

3 for Recovery in Viable Environments Demonstration Pro4 gram Act’’ or the ‘‘THRIVE Act’’. 

5 SEC. 2. DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM TO STUDY THE IMPACT 

6 OF USING RENTAL VOUCHERS FOR SUP7 PORTIVE HOUSING FOR INDIVIDUALS RECOV8 ERING FROM OPIOID USE DISORDERS OR 

9 OTHER SUBSTANCE USE DISORDERS. 

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

11 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)) is amended by adding at the 

12 end the following new paragraph: 

13 ‘‘(21) RENTAL VOUCHER DEMONSTRATION PRO14 GRAM FOR SUPPORTIVE HOUSING FOR INDIVIDUALS

15 RECOVERING FROM OPIOID USE DISORDERS OR

16 OTHER SUBSTANCE USE DISORDERS.— 

17 ‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary 

18 shall establish a demonstration program under 

19 which the Secretary shall set aside, allocate, 

20 and distribute directly to eligible entities, from 

21 amounts made available for rental assistance 

22 under this subsection, the amounts specified in 

23 subparagraph (B) for an eligible entity to pro24 vide a voucher for such assistance to a covered 

25 individual through a supportive housing pro26 gram that provides treatment for opioid use disVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:17 Jun 19, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5735.RFS H5735

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1 orders or other substance use disorders (as ap2 plicable), coordination with workforce develop3 ment providers, and such assistance, as deter4 mined by the entity. 

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

6 this subparagraph is, for fiscal year 2019, the 

7 amount necessary to provide the lesser of— 

8 ‘‘(i) 0.5 percent of the total number of 

9 vouchers renewed under this subsection 

10 during the fiscal year ending immediately 

11 before the date of the enactment of this 

12 paragraph; or 

13 ‘‘(ii) 10,000 vouchers. 

14 ‘‘(C) CRITERIA FOR ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.— 

15 An eligible entity shall— 

16 ‘‘(i) provide an evidence-based treat17 ment program and demonstrate the ability 

18 to coordinate with workforce development 

19 providers for individuals recovering from 

20 an opioid use disorder or other substance 

21 use disorder, as applicable, that meet 

22 standards established by the Secretary; 

23 and 

24 ‘‘(ii) demonstrate prior experience ad25 ministering rental assistance vouchers, 


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1 demonstrate prior experience administering 

2 supportive housing programs under the 

3 McKinney-Vento Homeless Act, or dem4 onstrate a partnership with a public hous5 ing agency or a housing program of a 

6 State, unit of local government, or Indian 

7 tribe (as such term is defined in section 4 

8 of the Native American Housing and Self9 Determination Act of 1996 (25 U.S.C. 

10 4103)) that ensures effective administra11 tion of rental assistance vouchers. 

12 ‘‘(D) APPLICATION.—To receive a rental 

13 assistance voucher under this paragraph, an eli14 gible entity shall submit an application to the 

15 Secretary that shall include— 

16 ‘‘(i) a description of the terms of 

17 treatment program, coordination with 

18 workforce development providers, and rent19 al assistance to be provided to a covered 

20 individual, and assurances that such de21 scription shall be communicated to covered 

22 individuals that receive vouchers pursuant 

23 to the demonstration program established 

24 under this paragraph; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) a transitional plan that begins on 

2 the date on which a covered individual 

3 completes the treatment program of the el4 igible entity that includes information on 

5 additional treatment, coordination with 

6 workforce development opportunities, and 

7 housing resources and services available to 

8 such covered individual; and 

9 ‘‘(iii) evidence sufficient to dem10 onstrate that the local government having 

11 jurisdiction over the location of any sup12 portive housing facility to be used by the 

13 eligible entity in connection with the dem14 onstration program under this paragraph 

15 permits such facilities in such location. 

16 ‘‘(E) SELECTION.—In selecting eligible en17 tities to receive rental assistance vouchers 

18 under this paragraph, the Secretary shall— 

19 ‘‘(i) ensure that such eligible enti20 ties— 

21 ‘‘(I) are diverse; 

22 ‘‘(II) represent an appropriate 

23 balance of eligible entities located in 

24 urban and rural areas, including trib25 al communities; 


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1 ‘‘(III) have adequate resources 

2 for treatment, recovery, and sup3 portive services; 

4 ‘‘(IV) fully comply with the Fair 

5 Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 3601 et seq.) 

6 and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 

7 U.S.C. 2000a et seq.); 

8 ‘‘(V) appropriately reflect the im9 pact that opioids are having in tribal 

10 communities; and 

11 ‘‘(VI) provide supportive and 

12 transitional housing programs in di13 verse geographic regions with high 

14 rates of mortality due to opioid use 

15 disorders or other substance use dis16 orders, as applicable, based on data of 

17 the Centers for Disease Control and 

18 Prevention; and 

19 ‘‘(ii) consider, in consultation with the 

20 Secretary of Health and Human Services 

21 and the Secretary of Labor— 

22 ‘‘(I) the success of each recipient 

23 eligible entity at helping individuals 

24 complete the treatment program of 

25 the eligible entity and refrain from ilVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:17 Jun 19, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5735.RFS H5735

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1 licit opioid or other substance usage, 

2 as applicable; 

3 ‘‘(II) the coordination with work4 force development providers by the eli5 gible entity; 

6 ‘‘(III) the percentage of partici7 pants in unsubsidized employment 

8 during the second and fourth calendar 

9 quarter after exit from the program; 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(IV) the percentage of partici12 pants in the treatment program of the 

13 eligible entity that do not relapse into 

14 opioid or other substance usage, as 

15 applicable. 

16 ‘‘(F) REISSUANCE OF VOUCHER.—Upon 

17 termination of the provision of rental assistance 

18 through a voucher to a covered individual, the 

19 eligible entity that initially offered such voucher 

20 may use such voucher to provide rental assist21 ance to another covered individual. 

22 ‘‘(G) DURATION.—The Secretary shall not 

23 make rental assistance available under this 

24 paragraph after the expiration of the 5-year peVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:17 Jun 19, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5735.RFS H5735

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1 riod beginning on the date of the enactment of 

2 this paragraph. 

3 ‘‘(H) WAIVERS.—The Secretary may, 

4 through publication of a notice in the Federal 

5 Register, waive or specify alternative require6 ments for any provision of statue or regulation 

7 governing the use of vouchers under this sub8 section (except for requirements relating to fair 

9 housing, nondiscrimination, labor standards, or 

10 the environment) upon a finding by the Sec11 retary that such waiver or alternative require12 ment is necessary for the purposes of this para13 graph. 

14 ‘‘(I) REPORTS.— 

15 ‘‘(i) BY THE ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—An 

16 eligible entity that receives a rental assist17 ance voucher under this paragraph shall 

18 submit to the Secretary— 

19 ‘‘(I) annually, the transitional 

20 plan described in subparagraph 

21 (D)(ii) and information on each cov22 ered individual’s housing upon termi23 nation of the provision of rental as24 sistance through a voucher to such 

25 covered individual in a manner that 


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1 protects the privacy of such covered 

2 individual; and 

3 ‘‘(II) not later than 4 years after 

4 the date of the enactment of this 

5 paragraph, a plan describing the 

6 treatment and housing options for any 

7 covered individual assisted by such 

8 voucher who will not have completed 

9 the program before the day that is 5 

10 years after such date of enactment. 

11 ‘‘(ii) BY THE SECRETARY.—The Sec12 retary shall submit to Congress a report 

13 that analyzes the impact of rental assist14 ance provided under this paragraph— 

15 ‘‘(I) not later than 2 years after 

16 the date of the enactment of this 

17 paragraph; and 

18 ‘‘(II) not later than 4 years after 

19 the date of the enactment of this 

20 paragraph. 

21 ‘‘(J) DEFINITIONS.—In this paragraph: 

22 ‘‘(i) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘el23 igible entity’ means a tribally designated 

24 housing entity (as such term is defined in 

25 section 4 of the Native American Housing 


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1 and Self-Determination Act of 1996 (24 

2 U.S.C. 4103)), or a nonprofit organization, 

3 that meets the criteria described under 

4 subparagraph (C). 

5 ‘‘(ii) COVERED INDIVIDUAL.—The 

6 term ‘covered individual’ means an indi7 vidual recovering from an opioid use dis8 order or other substance use disorder.’’. 

9 SEC. 3. REPEAL OF RENTAL VOUCHER DEMONSTRATION 

10 PROGRAM. 

11 Effective the day that is 5 years after the date of 

12 the enactment of this Act, paragraph (21) of section 8(o) 

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

14 1437f(o)), as added by this Act, is repealed. 

15 SEC. 4. DEMONSTRATION CLOSE-OUT. 

16 An eligible entity that provided vouchers for rental 

17 assistance under paragraph (21) of section 8(o) of the 

18 United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)), 

19 as added by this Act, shall return any such vouchers to 

20 the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development not 

21 later than the day that is 5 years after the date of the 

22 enactment of this Act for use only for renewals of expiring 

23 contracts for such assistance. 


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1 SEC. 5. NO ADDITIONAL FUNDS AUTHORIZED. 

2 No additional funds are authorized to be appro3 priated to carry out the requirements of this Act and the 

4 amendments made by this Act. Such requirements shall 

5 be carried out using amounts otherwise authorized to be 

6 appropriated. 

Passed the House of Representatives June 14, 2018. 

Attest: KAREN L. HAAS, 

Clerk. 


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