IB 

Union Calendar No. 24 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1227 

[Report No. 110–51, Part I] 

To assist in the provision of affordable housing to low-income families affected 

by Hurricane Katrina. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 28, 2007 

Ms. WATERS (for herself and Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts) introduced the 

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

and in addition to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, 

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 

MARCH 16, 2007 

Reported from the Committee on Financial Services with an amendment 

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

MARCH 16, 2007 

Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure discharged; committed to the 

Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered 

to be printed 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on February 28, 2007] 

A BILL 

To assist in the provision of affordable housing to low-income 

families affected by Hurricane Katrina. 


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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 ‘‘Gulf Coast Hurricane 

5 Housing Recovery Act of 2007’’. 

6 TITLE I—COMMUNITY 

7 DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANTS 

8 SEC. 101. FLEXIBILITY OF FEDERAL FUNDS FOR ROAD 

9 HOME PROGRAM. 

10 (a) FLEXIBILITY OF FUNDS.—Subject to subsection (b) 

11 and notwithstanding any other provision of law, of the 

12 amounts previously made available to the State of Lou13 isiana under the Hazard Mitigation Grants program of the 

14 Federal Emergency Management Agency, $1,175,000,000 of 

15 such unexpended amounts shall be made available as pro16 vided in this section. The amount specified in subsection 

17 (c) shall be available as provided in such subsection and 

18 the remainder shall be considered to have been made avail19 able to such State under the terms of the heading relating 

20 to ‘‘Department of Housing and Urban Development— 

21 Community Planning and Development—Community De22 velopment Fund’’ in chapter 9 of title II of Public Law 

23 109–234 (120 Stat. 472) and approved by the Secretary of 

24 Housing and Urban Development for use under the Road 

25 Home Program of such State. 


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1 (b) MONTHLY REPORTS ON PROGRAM.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—The State of Louisiana shall 

3 submit reports under this subsection regarding the 

4 Road Home Program to the Committee on Financial 

5 Services of the House of Representatives and the Com6 mittee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of 

7 the Senate. Each report under this subsection shall 

8 describe and analyze the implementation, status, and 

9 effectiveness of the Road Home Program and shall in10 clude the following information, for the applicable re11 porting period and for the entire period of the pro12 gram: 

13 (A) The number of applications submitted 

14 for assistance under the program. 

15 (B) The number of households for which as16 sistance has been provided under the program. 

17 (C) The average amount of assistance pro18 vided for each household under the program and 

19 the total amount of assistance provided under 

20 the program. 

21 (D) The number of personnel involved in 

22 executing all aspects of the program. 

23 (E) Actions taken to improve the program 

24 and recommendations for further such improve25 ments. 


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1 (2) REPORTING PERIODS.—The first report 

2 under this subsection shall be submitted not later than 

3 the expiration of the 30-day period that begins upon 

4 the date of the enactment of this Act and reports shall 

5 be submitted not later than the expiration of each suc6 cessive 30-day period thereafter during the term of the 

7 program. 

8 (c) NEW ORLEANS REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY

9 PILOT PROGRAM.— 

10 (1) AVAILABILITY OF AMOUNTS.—Of the unex11 pended amounts referred to in subsection (a), the Sec12 retary of Housing and Urban Development shall 

13 make $15,000,000 available to the New Orleans Rede14 velopment Authority (in this subsection referred to as 

15 the ‘‘Redevelopment Authority’’), subject to paragraph 

16 (3), only for use to carry out the pilot program under 

17 this subsection. 

18 (2) PURPOSE.—The pilot program under this 

19 subsection shall fund, through the combination of 

20 amounts provided under this subsection with public 

21 and private capital from other sources, the purchase 

22 or costs associated with the acquisition of individual 

23 parcels of land in New Orleans, Louisiana, by the Re24 development Authority to be aggregated, assembled, 

25 and sold for the purpose of development by private 


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1 entities only in accordance with, and subject to, the 

2 Orleans Parish Recovery Plan, developed and adopted 

3 by the City of New Orleans. 

4 (3) CERTIFICATIONS.—The Secretary of Housing 

5 and Urban Development may make amounts avail6 able pursuant to paragraph (1) to the Redevelopment 

7 Authority only upon the submission to the Secretary 

8 of certifications, sufficient in the determination of the 

9 Secretary to ensure that the Redevelopment Author10 ity— 

11 (A) has the authority to purchase land for 

12 resale for the purpose of development in accord13 ance with the pilot program under this sub14 section; 

15 (B) has bonding authority (either on its 

16 own or through a State bonding agency) or has 

17 credit enhancements sufficient to support public/ 

18 private financing to acquire land for the pur19 poses of the pilot program under this subsection; 

20 (C) has the authority and capacity to en21 sure clean title to land sold under the pilot pro22 gram and to indemnify against environmental 

23 and other liabilities; 

24 (D) will provide a first right to purchase 

25 any land acquired by the Redevelopment AuthorVerDate Aug 31 2005 21:26 Mar 16, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H1227.RH H1227

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1 ity to the seller who sold the land to the Redevel2 opment Authority; and 

3 (E) has in place sufficient internal controls 

4 to ensure that funds made available under this 

5 subsection may not be used to fund salaries or 

6 other administrative costs of the employees of the 

7 Redevelopment Authority. 

8 (4) DEVELOPMENT REQUIREMENTS.—In car9 rying out the pilot program under this subsection, the 

10 Redevelopment Authority shall— 

11 (A) sell land acquired under the pilot pro12 gram only as provided in paragraph (2); 

13 (B) use any proceeds from the sale of such 

14 land to replenish funds available for use under 

15 the pilot program for the purpose of acquiring 

16 new parcels of land or to repay any private fi17 nancing for such purchases; 

18 (C) sell land only— 

19 (i) to purchasers who agree to develop 

20 such sites for sale to the public; or 

21 (ii) to purchasers pursuant to para22 graph (3)(D); and 

23 (D) in the case of a purchaser of land pur24 suant to paragraph (3)(D), ensure that the devel25 oper of any adjacent parcels sold by the RedevelVerDate Aug 31 2005 21:26 Mar 16, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H1227.RH H1227

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1 opment Authority makes an offer to the pur2 chaser to develop such land for a fee. 

3 (5) INAPPLICABILITY OF STAFFORD ACT LIMITA4 TIONS.—Any requirements or limitations under or 

5 pursuant to the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 

6 and Emergency Assistance Act relating to use of 

7 properties acquired with amounts made available 

8 under such Act for certain purposes, restricting devel9 opment of such properties, or limiting subsequent 

10 alienation of such properties shall not apply to 

11 amounts provided under this subsection or properties 

12 acquired under the pilot program with such amounts. 

13 (6) GAO STUDY AND REPORT.—Upon the expira14 tion of the 2-year period beginning on the date of the 

15 enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the 

16 United States shall conduct a study of the pilot pro17 gram carried out under this subsection to determine 

18 the effectiveness and limitations of, and potential im19 provements for, such program. Not later than 90 days 

20 after the expiration of such period, the Comptroller 

21 General shall submit a report to the Committee on Fi22 nancial Services of the House of Representatives and 

23 the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Af24 fairs of the Senate regarding the results of the study. 

25 (d) ONGOING GAO REPORTS ON USE OF AMOUNTS.— 


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1 (1) QUARTERLY REPORTS.—During the period 

2 that amounts made available under subsection (a) are 

3 being expended under the Road Home Program of the 

4 Louisiana Recovery Authority, the Comptroller Gen5 eral of the United States shall submit reports on a 

6 quarterly basis to the Committee on Financial Serv7 ices of the House of Representatives and the Com8 mittee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of 

9 the Senate, and to the Secretary of Housing and 

10 Urban Development. Such reports shall describe and 

11 account for the use of all such amounts expended dur12 ing the applicable quarterly period and identify any 

13 waste, fraud, or abuse involved in the use of such 

14 amounts. 

15 (2) MONITORING.—The Comptroller General 

16 shall monitor the total amount made available under 

17 subsection (a) that has been expended by such Author18 ity and, pursuant to such monitoring— 

19 (A) upon determining that at least two per20 cent of such amount has been expended, shall in21 clude in the first quarterly report thereafter a 

22 written determination of such expenditure; and 

23 (B) upon determining, at any time after the 

24 determination under subparagraph (A), that the 

25 portion of such total amount expended at such 


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1 time that was subject to waste, fraud, or abuse 

2 exceeds 10 percent, shall include in the first 

3 quarterly report thereafter a certification to that 

4 effect. 

5 (3) ACTIONS IN RESPONSE TO WASTE, FRAUD, 

6 AND ABUSE.—If at any time the Comptroller General 

7 submits a report under paragraph (1) that includes 

8 a certification under paragraph (2)(B)— 

9 (A) the Committees referred to paragraph 

10 (1) shall each hold hearings within 60 days to 

11 identify the reasons for such waste, fraud, and 

12 abuse; and 

13 (B) the Comptroller General shall submit a 

14 report to such Committees and the Secretary of 

15 Housing and Urban Development within 90 

16 days recommending actions to be taken to pre17 vent further waste fraud and abuse in expendi18 ture of such amounts. 

19 SEC. 102. TREATMENT OF BENEFITS FROM OTHER PRO20 GRAMS UNDER ROAD HOME PROGRAM. 

21 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, to the ex22 tent that amounts made available under the heading ‘‘De23 partment of Housing and Urban Development-Community 

24 Planning and Development—Community Development 

25 Fund’’ in chapter 9 of title I of division B of Public Law 


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1 109–148 (119 Stat. 2779), under such heading in chapter 

2 9 of title II of Public Law 109–234 (120 Stat. 472), and 

3 under section 101 of this title, are used by the Louisiana 

4 Recovery Authority under the Road Home program, the 

5 procedures preventing duplication of benefits established 

6 pursuant to the penultimate proviso under such heading in 

7 Public Law 109–148 (119 Stat. 2781) and the 15th proviso 

8 under such heading in Public Law 109–234 (120 Stat. 473) 

9 shall not apply with respect to any benefits received from 

10 hazard insurance, flood insurance, or disaster payments 

11 from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, except 

12 to the extent that the inapplicability of such procedures 

13 would result in a windfall gain under the Road Home Pro14 gram to any person. 

15 SEC. 103. ELIMINATION OF PROHIBITION OF USE FOR 

16 MATCH REQUIREMENT. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi18 sion of law, any amounts made available before the date 

19 of the enactment of this Act for activities under the commu20 nity development block grant program under title I of the 

21 Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 (42 

22 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.) for expenses related to disaster relief, 

23 long-term recovery, and restoration of infrastructure in the 

24 areas impacted or distressed by the consequences of Hurri25 cane Katrina, Rita, or Wilma in States for which the PresiVerDate Aug 31 2005 21:26 Mar 16, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H1227.RH H1227

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1 dent declared a major disaster, or made available before 

2 such date of enactment for such activities for such expenses 

3 in the areas impacted or distressed by the consequences of 

4 Hurricane Dennis, may be used by a State or locality as 

5 a matching requirement, share, or contribution for any 

6 other Federal program. 

7 (b) EFFICIENT ENVIRONMENT REVIEW.—Notwith8 standing any other provision of law, when a State, unit 

9 of general local government, or Indian tribe, or Department 

10 of Hawaiian Home Lands uses amounts referred to in sub11 section (a), the release of which would otherwise be subject 

12 to environmental reviews under the procedures authorized 

13 under section 104(g) of the Housing and Community Devel14 opment Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5304(g)), to match or sup15 plement the federal assistance provided under sections 402, 

16 403, 406, 407, or 502 of Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 

17 and Emergency Assistance Act, and the Director of the Fed18 eral Emergency Management Agency conducts an environ19 mental review that encompasses all activities assisted by 

20 such matching funds, the Director’s environmental review 

21 shall satisfy all of the environmental responsibilities that 

22 would otherwise be assumed by the State, unit of general 

23 local government, Indian tribe, or Department of Hawaiian 

24 Home Lands under such section 104(g), and the require25 ments and procedures of such provision, including assumpVerDate Aug 31 2005 21:26 Mar 16, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H1227.RH H1227

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1 tion of environmental review responsibilities and submis2 sion and approval of a request for release of funds and cer3 tification, shall be inapplicable, if, prior to its commitment 

4 of any matching funds for such activities, the State, unit 

5 of general local government, Indian tribe, or Department 

6 of Hawaiian Home Lands notifies the Director and the Sec7 retary of Housing and Urban Development that it elects 

8 to defer to the Director’s environmental review responsibil9 ities. If a deferral is elected under this subsection, the Direc10 tor shall be the responsible party for any liability under 

11 the applicable law if the environmental review as described 

12 in the preceding sentence is deficient in any manner. 

13 SEC. 104. REIMBURSEMENT OF CDBG AMOUNTS USED FOR 

14 RENTAL HOUSING ASSISTANCE. 

15 There are authorized to be appropriated, from any 

16 amounts made available before the date of the enactment 

17 of this Act under any provision of law to the Federal Emer18 gency Management Agency for disaster relief under the Rob19 ert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance 

20 Act relating to the consequences of Hurricane Katrina, 

21 Rita, or Wilma that remain unobligated, and from any 

22 amounts made available before such date of enactment 

23 under any provision of law to such Agency for such disaster 

24 relief relating to the consequences of Hurricane Dennis that 

25 remain unobligated, such sums as may be necessary for the 


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1 Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to provide 

2 assistance under title I of the Housing and Community De3 velopment Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.) to metropoli4 tan cities and urban counties that used amounts previously 

5 made available under such title to provide rental housing 

6 assistance for families residing in such city or county pur7 suant to evacuation from their previous residences because 

8 of such hurricanes in the amount necessary to provide each 

9 such city and county with an amount equal to the aggregate 

10 amount of previous assistance under such title so used. 

11 TITLE II—PUBLIC HOUSING 

12 SEC. 201. SURVEY OF PUBLIC HOUSING RESIDENTS. 

13 (a) SURVEY.—The Secretary of Housing and Urban 

14 Development shall provide for the conducting of a survey, 

15 using appropriate scientific research methods, by an inde16 pendent entity or organization, to determine, of the house17 holds who as of August 28, 2005, resided in public housing 

18 (as such term is defined in section 3(b) of the United States 

19 Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437a(b))) operated or ad20 ministered by the Housing Authority of New Orleans, in 

21 Louisiana— 

22 (1) which and how many such households intend 

23 to return to residences in dwelling units described in 

24 section 202(d) of this Act, when presented with the 

25 options of— 


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1 (A) returning to residence in a repaired 

2 public housing or comparable dwelling unit in 

3 New Orleans; or 

4 (B) continuing to receive rental housing as5 sistance from the Federal Government; and 

6 (2) when such households intend to return. 

7 (b) PARTICIPATION OF RESIDENTS.—The Secretary 

8 shall solicit recommendations from resident councils and 

9 residents of public housing operated or administered by 

10 such Housing Authority in designing and conducting the 

11 survey under subsection (a). 

12 (c) PROPOSED SURVEY DOCUMENT.—The Secretary 

13 shall submit the full research design of the proposed docu14 ment to be used in conducting the survey to the Committee 

15 on Financial Services of the House of Representatives and 

16 the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs 

17 of the Senate not less than 10 business days before the com18 mencement of such survey. 

19 (d) REPORT.—The Secretary shall submit a report the 

20 Committees referred to in subsection (c) detailing the results 

21 of the survey conducted under subsection (a) not later than 

22 60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act. 


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1 SEC. 202. RIGHT OF RETURN FOR PREVIOUS RESIDENTS OF 

2 PUBLIC HOUSING. 

3 (a) REQUIREMENT TO PROVIDE DWELLING UNITS.— 

4 Not later than August 1, 2007, the Housing Authority of 

5 New Orleans shall make available for occupancy, subject to 

6 subsection (b), a number of dwelling units (including those 

7 currently occupied) described in subsection (d) that is not 

8 less than the greater of— 

9 (1) 3,000; or 

10 (2) the number of households who have indicated, 

11 in the survey conducted pursuant to section 201, that 

12 they intend to return to residence in public housing 

13 operated or administered by such public housing 

14 agency. 

15 (b) RIGHT OF RETURN.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject only to subsection (c), 

17 the Housing Authority of New Orleans shall make 

18 available, upon the request of any household who, as 

19 of August 28, 2005, was a tenant of public housing 

20 operated or administered by such public housing 

21 agency, occupancy for such household in a dwelling 

22 unit provided pursuant to subsection (a). As a condi23 tion of exercising a right under this paragraph to oc24 cupancy in such a dwelling unit, not later than Au25 gust 1, 2007, a tenant shall provide notice to such 

26 Housing Authority of intent to exercise such right 


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1 and shall identify a date that the tenant intends to 

2 occupy such a dwelling unit, which shall not be later 

3 than October 1, 2007. 

4 (2) PREFERENCES.—In making dwelling units 

5 available to households pursuant to paragraph (1), 

6 such Housing Authority shall provide preference to 

7 each such household for occupancy in a dwelling unit 

8 in the following locations, in the following order: 

9 (A) A dwelling unit in the same public 

10 housing project occupied by the household as of 

11 August 28, 2005, if available. 

12 (B) A dwelling unit in the same census 

13 tract in which was located the public housing 

14 dwelling unit occupied by the household as of 

15 August 28, 2005, if available. 

16 (C) A dwelling unit in a census tract adja17 cent to the census tract in which was located the 

18 public housing dwelling unit occupied by the 

19 household as of August 28, 2005, if available. 

20 (D) A dwelling unit in the neighborhood in 

21 which was located the public housing dwelling 

22 unit occupied by the household as of August 28, 

23 2005, if available. 

24 (c) PROHIBITION OF EXCLUSION.—The Housing Au25 thority of New Orleans, and any other manager of replaceVerDate Aug 31 2005 21:26 Mar 16, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H1227.RH H1227

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1 ment dwelling units set forth in this section shall not, in2 cluding through the application of any waiting list or eligi3 bility, screening, occupancy, or other policy or practice, 

4 prevent any household referred to in subsection (b)(1) from 

5 occupying a replacement dwelling unit provided pursuant 

6 to subsection (a), except to the extent that any other provi7 sion of Federal law prohibits occupancy or tenancy of such 

8 household in the type of housing of the replacement dwelling 

9 unit provided for such household. 

10 (d) REPLACEMENT DWELLING UNITS.—A dwelling 

11 unit described in this subsection is— 

12 (1) a dwelling unit in public housing operated 

13 or administered by the Housing Authority of New Or14 leans; or 

15 (2) a dwelling unit in other comparable housing 

16 for which the amount required to be contributed by 

17 the tenant for rent is comparable to the amount re18 quired to be contributed by the tenant for rental of a 

19 comparable public housing dwelling unit. 

20 (e) RELOCATION ASSISTANCE.—The Housing Author21 ity of New Orleans shall provide, to each household provided 

22 occupancy in a dwelling unit pursuant to subsection (b), 

23 assistance under the Uniform Relocation Assistance and 

24 Real Property Acquisitions Policy Act of 1970 (42 U.S.C. 

25 4601 et seq.) for relocation to such dwelling unit. 


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1 SEC. 203. ONE-FOR-ONE REPLACEMENT OF ALL PUBLIC 

2 HOUSING DWELLING UNITS. 

3 (a) CONDITIONS ON DEMOLITION.—After the date of 

4 the enactment of this Act, the Housing Authority of New 

5 Orleans may not demolish or dispose of any dwelling unit 

6 of public housing operated or administered by such agency 

7 (including any uninhabitable unit and any unit previously 

8 approved for demolition) except pursuant to a plan for re9 placement of such units in accordance with, and approved 

10 by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development pur11 suant to, subsection (b). 

12 (b) PLAN REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary may not 

13 approve a plan that provides for demolition or disposition 

14 of any dwelling unit of public housing referred to in sub15 section (a) unless— 

16 (1) such plan is developed with the active par17 ticipation of the resident councils of, and residents of 

18 public housing operated or administered by, such 

19 Housing Authority and with the City of New Orleans, 

20 at every phase of the planning and approval process, 

21 through a process that provides opportunity for com22 ment on specific proposals for redevelopment, demoli23 tion, or disposition; 

24 (2) not later than 60 days before the date of the 

25 approval of such plan, such Housing Authority has 


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1 convened and conducted a public hearing regarding 

2 the demolition or disposition proposed in the plan; 

3 (3) such plan provides that for each such dwell4 ing unit demolished or disposed of, such public hous5 ing agency will provide an additional dwelling unit 

6 through— 

7 (A) the acquisition or development of addi8 tional public housing dwelling units; or 

9 (B) the acquisition, development, or con10 tracting (including through project-based assist11 ance) of additional dwelling units that are sub12 ject to requirements regarding eligibility for oc13 cupancy, tenant contribution toward rent, and 

14 long-term affordability restrictions which are 

15 comparable to public housing units; 

16 (4) such plan provides for the implementation of 

17 a right for households to occupancy housing in ac18 cordance with section 202; 

19 (5) such plan provides priority in making units 

20 available under paragraph (3) to residents identified 

21 in section 201; 

22 (6) such plan provides that the proposed demoli23 tion or disposition and relocation will be carried out 

24 in a manner that affirmatively furthers fair housing, 


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1 as described in subsection (e) of section 808 of the 

2 Civil Rights Act of 1968; and 

3 (7) to the extent that such plan provides for the 

4 provision of replacement or additional dwelling units, 

5 or redevelopment, in phases over time, such plan pro6 vides that the ratio of dwelling units described in sub7 paragraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (3) that are 

8 provided in any such single phase to the total number 

9 of dwelling units provided in such phase is not less 

10 than the ratio of the aggregate number of such dwell11 ing units provided under the plan to the total number 

12 of dwelling units provided under the plan. 

13 (c) INAPPLICABLE PROVISIONS.—Subparagraphs (B) 

14 and (D) of section 8(o)(13) of the United States Housing 

15 Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)(13)) shall not apply with 

16 respect to vouchers used to comply with the requirements 

17 of subsection (b)(3) of this section. 

18 (d) MONITORING.—The Secretary of Housing and 

19 Urban Development shall provide for the appropriate field 

20 offices of the Department to monitor and supervise enforce21 ment of this section and plans approved under this section 

22 and to consult, regarding such monitoring and enforcement, 

23 with resident councils of, and residents of public housing 

24 operated or administered by, the Housing Authority of New 

25 Orleans and with the City of New Orleans. 


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1 SEC. 204. PROTECTION FOR PUBLIC HOUSING RESIDENTS 

2 IN HURRICANE AREAS. 

3 (a) CONDITIONS ON TRANSFER.—During the two year 

4 period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, 

5 a public housing agency may not transfer ownership of any 

6 public housing dwelling units described in subsection (h) 

7 unless the transferee enters into such binding commitments 

8 as the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development con9 siders necessary to maintain, for the longest feasible period, 

10 the requirements regarding eligibility for occupancy in such 

11 dwelling units and tenant contribution toward rent for such 

12 dwelling units that are applicable to such units as public 

13 housing dwelling units. 

14 (b) CONDITIONS ON DEMOLITION.—After the date of 

15 the enactment of this Act, a public housing agency may not 

16 dispose or demolish any dwelling units described in sub17 section (h), except pursuant to a plan for replacement of 

18 such units in accordance with, and approved by the Sec19 retary of Housing and Urban Development pursuant to, 

20 subsection (c). 

21 (c) PLAN REQUIREMENT.—The Secretary of Housing 

22 and Urban Development may not approve a plan that pro23 vides for demolition or disposition of any dwelling unit of 

24 public housing described in subsection (h) unless such plan 

25 complies with the requirements under paragraphs (1), (2), 

26 (3), (6), and (7) of section 203(b), except that such paraVerDate Aug 31 2005 21:26 Mar 16, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00021 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H1227.RH H1227

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1 graphs shall be applied for purposes this subsection by sub2 stituting ‘‘the public housing agency’’ and ‘‘applicable unit 

3 of general local government’’ for ‘‘such Housing Authority’’ 

4 and ‘‘City of New Orleans’’, respectively. 

5 (d) RELOCATION ASSISTANCE.—A public housing 

6 agency shall provide, to each household relocated pursuant 

7 to a plan under this section for demolition or disposition, 

8 assistance under the Uniform Relocation Assistance and 

9 Real Property Acquisitions Policy Act of 1970 for reloca10 tion to their new residence. 

11 (e) RIGHT OF RETURN.—A public housing agency ad12 ministering or operating public housing dwelling units de13 scribed in subsection (h) has the obligation— 

14 (1) to use its best efforts to locate tenants dis15 placed from such public housing as a result of Hurri16 cane Katrina or Rita; and 

17 (2) to provide such residents occupancy in public 

18 housing dwelling units of such agency that become 

19 available for occupancy, and to ensure such residents 

20 a means to exercise such right of return. 

21 (f) INAPPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN PROJECT-BASED

22 VOUCHER LIMITATIONS.—Subparagraphs (B) and (D) of 

23 section 8(o)(13) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 

24 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)(13)) shall not apply with respect to any 


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1 project-based vouchers used to comply with the requirements 

2 of a plan under subsection (c). 

3 (g) PROHIBITION ON DISPLACEMENT FROM HABIT4 ABLE UNITS.—A public housing agency may not displace 

5 a tenant from any public housing dwelling unit described 

6 in subsection (h) that is administered or operated by such 

7 agency and is habitable (including during any period of 

8 rehabilitation), unless the agency provides a suitable and 

9 comparable dwelling unit for such tenant in the same local 

10 community as such public housing dwelling unit. 

11 (h) COVERED PUBLIC HOUSING DWELLING UNITS.— 

12 The public housing dwelling units described in this sub13 section are any such dwelling units located in any area 

14 for which major disaster or emergency was declared by the 

15 President pursuant to the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 

16 and Emergency Assistance Act as a result of Hurricane 

17 Katrina or Rita of 2005, except that such dwelling units 

18 shall not include any public housing dwelling units oper19 ated or administered by the Housing Authority of New Or20 leans. 

21 SEC. 205. REPORTS ON PROPOSED CONVERSIONS OF PUB22 LIC HOUSING UNITS. 

23 Not later than the expiration of the 15-day period be24 ginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec25 retary of Housing and Urban Development shall submit to 


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1 the Committee on Financial Services of the House of Rep2 resentatives and the Committee on Banking, Housing, and 

3 Urban Affairs of the Senate a detailed report identifying 

4 all public housing projects located in areas impacted by 

5 Hurricane Katrina or Rita of 2005, for which plans exist 

6 to transfer ownership to other entities or agencies. Such re7 port shall include the following information for each such 

8 project: 

9 (1) The name and location. 

10 (2) The number of dwelling units. 

11 (3) The proposed new owner. 

12 (4) The existing income eligibility and rent pro13 visions. 

14 (5) Duration of existing affordability restric15 tions. 

16 (6) The proposed date of transfer. 

17 (7) Any other relevant information regarding the 

18 project. 

19 SEC. 206. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR RE20 PAIR AND REHABILITATION. 

21 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as 

22 may be necessary to carry out activities eligible for funding 

23 under the Capital Fund under section 9 of the United 

24 States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437g) for the re25 pair, rehabilitation, and development of public housing of 


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1 the Housing Authority of New Orleans, and for community 

2 and supportive services for the residents of public housing 

3 operated or administered by the Housing Authority of New 

4 Orleans. 

5 SEC. 207. COMPLIANCE OF EXISTING REQUESTS FOR PRO6 POSALS. 

7 Each request for qualification or proposal issued before 

8 the date of the enactment of this Act with respect to any 

9 public housing operated or administered by the Housing 

10 Authority of New Orleans shall, notwithstanding any exist11 ing terms of such requests, be subject to and comply with 

12 all provisions of this title and, to the extent necessary to 

13 so comply, such Housing Authority shall reissue such re14 quests. 

15 SEC. 208. REPORTS ON COMPLIANCE. 

16 Not later than the expiration of the 30-day period be17 ginning on the date of the enactment of this Act and not 

18 later than the expiration of each calendar quarter there19 after, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development 

20 shall submit a detailed report regarding compliance with 

21 the requirements of this title, including the resident partici22 pation requirement under section 203(b)(1), to the Com23 mittee on Financial Services of the House of Representa24 tives, the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Af25 fairs of the Senate, the resident councils of, and residents 


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1 of public housing operated or administered by, the Housing 

2 Authority of New Orleans, and the City of New Orleans. 

3 SEC. 209. REQUIREMENTS REGARDING PUBLIC HOUSING 

4 CONSTRUCTION WORKERS. 

5 Any entity that receives any Federal funds made 

6 available pursuant to this title for construction, develop7 ment, rehabilitation, or repair of public housing shall verify 

8 that all workers employed by such entity and engaged in 

9 such activities— 

10 (1) have an immigration status that allows them 

11 to legally be so employed; and 

12 (2) have a valid form of identification or docu13 mentation indicating such immigration status. 

14 TITLE III—DISASTER VOUCHER 

15 PROGRAM AND PROJECT16 BASED RENTAL ASSISTANCE 

17 SEC. 301. EXTENSION OF DVP PROGRAM. 

18 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Dis19 aster Voucher Program of the Department of Housing and 

20 Urban Development, established pursuant to Public Law 

21 109–148 (119 Stat. 2779) and the authority of the Sec22 retary of Housing and Urban Development to waive re23 quirements under section 8 of the United States Housing 

24 Act of 1937 in administering assistance under such pro25 gram, shall be extended until January 1, 2008. 


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1 SEC. 302. CLARIFICATION OF VOUCHER ALLOCATION FOR2 MULA FOR FISCAL YEAR 2007. 

3 In carrying out section 21033 of the Continuing Ap4 propriations Resolution, 2007, to provide renewal funding 

5 for tenant-based rental housing assistance under section 8 

6 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 for each public 

7 housing agency, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Devel8 opment shall make, for any public housing agency impacted 

9 by Hurricane Katrina, Rita, or Wilma, such adjustments 

10 as are appropriate to provide adequate funding to adjust 

11 for reduced voucher leasing rates and increased housing 

12 costs arising from such hurricanes. 

13 SEC. 303. PRESERVATION OF PROJECT-BASED HOUSING AS14 SISTANCE PAYMENTS CONTRACTS FOR 

15 DWELLING UNITS DAMAGED OR DESTROYED. 

16 (a) TOLLING OF CONTRACT TERM.—Notwithstanding 

17 any other provision of law, a project-based housing assist18 ance payments contract for a covered assisted multifamily 

19 housing project shall not expire or be terminated because 

20 of the damage or destruction of dwelling units in the project 

21 by Hurricane Katrina or Rita. The expiration date of the 

22 contract shall be deemed to be the later of the date specified 

23 in the contract or a date that is not less than three months 

24 after the dwelling units in the project or in a replacement 

25 project are first made habitable. 


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1 (b) OWNER PROPOSALS FOR REUSE OR RE-SITING.— 

2 The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development shall 

3 promptly review and shall approve all feasible proposals 

4 made by owners of covered assisted multifamily housing 

5 projects submitted to the Secretary, not later than October 

6 1, 2007, that provide for the rehabilitation of the project 

7 and the resumption of use of the assistance under the con8 tract for the project, or, alternatively, for the transfer, pur9 suant to subsection (c), of the contract or, in the case of 

10 a project with an interest reduction payments contract, of 

11 the remaining budget authority under the contact, to an12 other multifamily housing project. 

13 (c) TRANSFER OF CONTRACT.—In the case of any cov14 ered assisted multifamily housing project, the Secretary of 

15 Housing and Urban Development shall— 

16 (1) in the case of a project with a project-based 

17 rental assistance payments contract described in sub18 paragraph (A), (B), or (C) of subsection (d)(2), trans19 fer the contract to another appropriate and habitable 

20 existing project or a project to be constructed (having 

21 the same or a different owner); and 

22 (2) in the case of a project with an interest re23 duction payments contract pursuant to section 236 of 

24 the National Housing Act, use the remaining budget 

25 authority under the contract for interest reduction 


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1 payments to reduce financing costs with respect to 

2 dwelling units in other habitable projects not cur3 rently so assisted, and such dwelling units shall be 

4 subject to the low-income affordability restrictions ap5 plicable to projects for which such payments are made 

6 under section 236 of the National Housing Act. 

7 A project to which a project-based rental assistance pay8 ments contract is transferred may have a different number 

9 of units or bedroom configuration than the damaged or de10 stroyed project if approximately the same number of indi11 viduals are expected to occupy the subsidized units in the 

12 replacement project as occupied the damaged or destroyed 

13 project. 

14 (d) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section: 

15 (1) COVERED ASSISTED MULTIFAMILY HOUSING

16 PROJECT.—The term ‘‘assisted multifamily housing 

17 project’’ means a multifamily housing project that— 

18 (A) as of the date of the enactment of this 

19 Act, is subject to a project-based rental assistance 

20 payments contract (including pursuant to sub21 section (a) of this section); and 

22 (B) that was damaged or destroyed by Hur23 ricane Katrina or Hurricane Rita of 2005. 


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1 (2) PROJECT-BASED RENTAL ASSISTANCE PAY2 MENTS CONTRACT.—The term ‘‘project-based rental 

3 assistance payments contract’’ includes— 

4 (A) a contract entered into pursuant to sec5 tion 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 

6 (42 U.S.C. 1437f); 

7 (B) a contract for project rental assistance 

8 pursuant to section 202(c)(2) of the Housing Act 

9 of 1959 (12 U.S.C. 1701q(c)(2)); 

10 (C) a contract for project rental assistance 

11 pursuant to section 811(d)(2) of the Cranston12 Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act (42 

13 U.S.C. 8013(d)(2)); and 

14 (D) an interest reduction payments contract 

15 pursuant to section 236 of the National Housing 

16 Act (12 U.S.C. 1715z–1). 

17 SEC. 304. TENANT REPLACEMENT VOUCHERS FOR ALL LOST 

18 UNITS. 

19 There is authorized to be appropriated for fiscal year 

20 2008 such sums as may be necessary to provide tenant re21 placement vouchers under section 8 of the United States 

22 Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f) for the number of 

23 households that is equal to— 

24 (1) the number of assisted dwelling units (wheth25 er occupied or unoccupied) located in covered assisted 


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1 multifamily housing projects (as such term is defined 

2 in section 303(d) of this Act) that are not approved 

3 for reuse or re-siting by the Secretary; plus 

4 (2) the number of public housing dwelling units 

5 that, as of August 28, 2005, were located in areas af6 fected by Hurricane Katrina and were considered for 

7 purposes of allocating operating and capital assist8 ance under section 9 of the United States Housing 

9 Act of 1937 (whether occupied or unoccupied), that 

10 will not be put back into use for occupancy; plus 

11 (3) the number of public housing dwelling units 

12 that, as of September 24, 2005, were located in areas 

13 affected by Hurricane Rita and were considered for 

14 purposes of allocating operating and capital assist15 ance under section 9 of the United States Housing 

16 Act of 1937 (whether occupied or unoccupied), that 

17 will not be put back into use for occupancy; minus 

18 (4) the number of previously awarded enhanced 

19 vouchers for assisted dwelling units and tenant pro20 tection vouchers for public housing units covered 

21 under this section. 

22 Any amounts made available pursuant to this section shall, 

23 upon the request of a public housing agency for such vouch24 er assistance, be allocated to the public housing agency 

25 based the number of dwelling units described in paragraph 


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1 (1) or (2) that are located in the jurisdiction of the public 

2 housing agency. 

3 SEC. 305. VOUCHER ASSISTANCE FOR SUPPORTIVE HOUS4 ING. 

5 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as 

6 may be necessary to provide 4,500 vouchers for project-based 

7 rental assistance under section 8(o)(13) of the United States 

8 Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)(13)) for use for 

9 supportive housing dwelling units for elderly families, per10 sons with disabilities, or homeless persons. The Secretary 

11 of Housing and Urban Development shall make available 

12 to the State of Louisiana or its designee or designees, upon 

13 request, 3,000 of such vouchers. Subparagraphs (B) and (D) 

14 of section 8(o)(13) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 

15 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)(13)) shall not apply with respect to 

16 vouchers made available under this section. 

17 SEC. 306. TRANSFER OF DVP VOUCHERS TO VOUCHER PRO18 GRAM. 

19 (a) TRANSFER TO SECTION 8 VOUCHER PROGRAM.— 

20 There are authorized to be appropriated, for tenant-based 

21 assistance under section 8(o) of the United States Housing 

22 Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)), such sums as may be nec23 essary to provide vouchers for such assistance for each 

24 household that, as of the termination date of the Disaster 

25 Voucher Program referred to in section 301 of this Act, is 


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1 assisted under such program, for the period that such house2 hold is eligible for such voucher assistance. Such voucher 

3 assistance shall be administered by the public housing agen4 cy having jurisdiction of the area in which such assisted 

5 family resides as of such termination date. 

6 (b) TEMPORARY VOUCHERS.—If at any time a house7 hold for whom a voucher for rental housing assistance is 

8 provided pursuant to this section becomes ineligible for fur9 ther such rental assistance— 

10 (1) the public housing agency administering 

11 such voucher pursuant to this section may not pro12 vide rental assistance under such voucher for any 

13 other household; 

14 (2) the Secretary of Housing and Urban Devel15 opment shall recapture from such agency any remain16 ing amounts for assistance attributable to such vouch17 er and may not reobligate such amounts to any pub18 lic housing agency; and 

19 (3) such voucher shall not be taken into consider20 ation for purposes of determining any future alloca21 tion of amounts for such tenant-based rental assist22 ance for any public housing agency. 


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1 SEC. 307. IDENTIFICATION AND NOTIFICATION OF DVP-ELI2 GIBLE HOUSEHOLDS NOT ASSISTED. 

3 The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development 

4 shall make a good faith effort to identify all households who, 

5 as of the date of the enactment of this Act, are eligible for 

6 assistance under the Disaster Voucher Program referred to 

7 in section 301 but are not assisted under such program. 

8 Upon identification of each such household, the Secretary 

9 shall— 

10 (1) notify such household of the rights of the 

11 household to return a public housing or other assisted 

12 dwelling unit; and 

13 (2) to the extent that the family is eligible at 

14 such time of identification, offer the household assist15 ance under the Disaster Voucher program. 

16 TITLE IV—DAMAGES ARISING 

17 FROM FEMA ACTIONS 

18 SEC. 401. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS TO REIM19 BURSE LANDLORDS FOR DAMAGES DUE TO 

20 FEMA MANAGEMENT OF CITY LEASE PRO21 GRAM. 

22 There are authorized to be appropriated, from amounts 

23 made available before the date of the enactment of this Act 

24 under any provision of law to the Federal Emergency Man25 agement Agency for disaster relief under the Robert T. Staf26 ford Disaster Relief Emergency Assistance Act, such sums 


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•HR 1227 RH

1 as may be necessary for the Secretary of Housing and 

2 Urban Development to provide reimbursement to each land3 lord who participated in the city lease program of the Fed4 eral Emergency Management Agency pursuant to section 

5 403 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer6 gency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170b) in the amount of 

7 actual, documented damages incurred by such landlord as 

8 a result of abrogation by such Agency of commitments en9 tered into under such program. 

10 TITLE V—FHA SINGLE FAMILY 

11 HOUSING 

12 SEC. 501. TREATMENT OF NON-CONVEYABLE PROPERTIES. 

13 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in the 

14 case of any property consisting of 1- to 4-family residence 

15 that is subject to a mortgage insured under title II of the 

16 National Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 1707 et seq.) and was 

17 damaged or destroyed as a result of Hurricane Katrina or 

18 Rita of 2005, if there was no failure on the part of the 

19 mortgagee or servicer to provide hazard insurance for the 

20 property or to provide flood insurance coverage for the 

21 property to the extent such coverage is required under Fed22 eral law, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Develop23 ment— 

24 (1) may not deny conveyance of title to the prop25 erty to the Secretary and payment of the benefits of 


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•HR 1227 RH

1 such insurance on the basis of the condition of the 

2 property or any failure to repair the property; 

3 (2) may not reduce the amount of such insurance 

4 benefits to take into consideration any costs of repair5 ing the property; and 

6 (3) with respect to a property that is destroyed, 

7 condemned, demolished, or otherwise not available for 

8 conveyance of title, may pay the full benefits of such 

9 insurance to the mortgagee notwithstanding that such 

10 title is not conveyed. 

11 TITLE VI—FAIR HOUSING 

12 ENFORCEMENT 

13 SEC. 601. FAIR HOUSING INITIATIVES PROGRAM. 

14 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

15 authorized to be appropriated to carry out section 561 of 

16 the Housing and Community Development Act of 1987 (42 

17 U.S.C. 3616a), in each of fiscal years 2008 and 2009, such 

18 sums as may be necessary, but not less than $5,000,000, 

19 for areas affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, of 

20 which, in each such fiscal year— 

21 (1) 60 percent shall be available only for private 

22 enforcement initiatives for qualified private enforce23 ment fair housing organizations authorized under 

24 subsection (b) of such section, and, of the amount 

25 made available in accordance with this paragraph, 


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1 the Secretary shall set aside an amount for multi2 year grants to qualified fair housing enforcement or3 ganizations; 

4 (2) 20 percent shall be available only for activi5 ties authorized under paragraphs (1) and (2) of sub6 section (c) of such section; and 

7 (3) 20 percent shall be available only for edu8 cation and outreach programs authorized under sub9 section (d) of such section. 

10 (b) LOW FUNDING.—If the total amount appropriated 

11 to carry out the Fair Housing Initiatives Program for ei12 ther fiscal year 2008 or 2009 is less than $50,000,000, not 

13 less than 5 percent of such total amount appropriated for 

14 such fiscal year shall be available for the areas described 

15 in subsection (a) for the activities described in paragraphs 

16 (1), (2), and (3) of such subsection. 

17 (c) AVAILABILITY.—Any amounts appropriated under 

18 this section shall remain available until expended. 


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1 TITLE VII—IMPROVED DISTRIBU2 TION OF FEDERAL HURRI3 CANE HOUSING FUNDS FOR 

4 HURRICANE RELIEF 

5 SEC. 701. GAO STUDY OF IMPROVED DISTRIBUTION OF FED6 ERAL HOUSING FUNDS FOR HURRICANE RE7 LIEF. 

8 (a) STUDY.—The Comptroller General of the United 

9 States shall conduct a study to examine methods of improv10 ing the distribution of Federal housing funds to assist 

11 States covered by this Act with recovery from hurricanes, 

12 which shall include identifying and analyzing— 

13 (1) the Federal and State agencies used in the 

14 past to disburse such funds and the strengths and 

15 weakness of existing programs; 

16 (2) the means by and extent to which critical in17 formation relating to hurricane recovery, such as 

18 property valuations, is shared among various State 

19 and Federal agencies; 

20 (3) program requirements that create impedi21 ments to the distribution of such funds that can be 

22 eliminated or streamlined; 

23 (4) housing laws and regulations that have 

24 caused programs to be developed in a manner that 

25 complies with statutory requirements but fails to meet 


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1 the housing objectives or needs of the States or the 

2 Federal Government; 

3 (5) laws relating to privacy and impediments 

4 raised by housing laws to the sharing, between the 

5 Federal Government and State governments, and pri6 vate industry, of critical information relating to hur7 ricane recovery; 

8 (6) methods of streamlining applications for and 

9 underwriting of Federal housing grant or loan pro10 grams; and 

11 (7) how to establish more equitable Federal hous12 ing laws regarding duplication of benefits. 

13 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 6 months after the date 

14 of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall 

15 submit to the Congress a report describing the results of the 

16 study and any recommendations regarding the issues ana17 lyzed under the study. 

18 TITLE VIII—COMMENDING AMER19 ICANS FOR THEIR REBUILD20 ING EFFORTS 

21 SEC. 801. COMMENDING AMERICANS. 

22 (a) CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS.—The Congress finds 

23 that— 

24 (1) over 500,000 individuals in the United 

25 States have volunteered their time in helping rebuild 


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1 the Gulf Coast region in the aftermath of Hurricane’s 

2 Katrina and Rita; 

3 (2) over $3,500,000,000 in cash and in-kind do4 nations have been made for hurricane victims; 

5 (3) 40,000,000 pounds of food have been distrib6 uted by Catholic Charities’ Food Bank through hurri7 cane relief efforts; 

8 (4) almost 7,000,000 hot meals have been served 

9 by Salvation Army volunteers in hurricane relief ef10 forts; 

11 (5) over 10,000,000 college students have devoted 

12 their spring and fall breaks to hurricane relief efforts; 

13 (6) almost 20,000 families displaced as a result 

14 of the hurricanes have been supported by Traveler’s 

15 Aid volunteers; 

16 (7) faith-based organizations, such as Jewish 

17 Family Services, Lutheran Disaster Response, the 

18 United Methodist Committee on Relief, Presbyterian 

19 Disaster Assistance, the National Baptist Convention 

20 of America, Inc., the Progressive National Baptist 

21 Convention, the Southern Baptist Convention, and 

22 the African Methodist Episcopal Church have contrib23 uted tens of thousands of man-hours for hurricane re24 lief; and 


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1 (8) community-based organizations, such as the 

2 Boys and Girls Club of America, Junior League, Boy 

3 and Girl Scouts of America, and the YMCA, have had 

4 thousands of members volunteer with the cleanup in 

5 the Gulf States. 

6 (b) COMMENDATION.—The Congress hereby commends 

7 the actions and efforts by the remarkable individuals and 

8 organizations who contributed to the hurricane relief effort 

9 and recognizes that the rebuilding of the Gulf Coast region 

10 rests on the selfless dedication of private individuals and 

11 community spirit. 


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Union Calendar No. 24 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1227 

[Report No. 110

–51, Part I] 

A BILL 

To assist in the provision of affordable housing to 

low-income families affected by Hurricane Katrina. 

MARCH 16, 2007 

Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure disprinted House on the State of the Union and ordered to be charged; committed to the Committee of the Whole 


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