I
103D CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 3888
To amend the United States Housing Act of 1937 to improve the programs
for public and Indian housing, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FEBRUARY 23, 1994
Mrs. ROUKEMA introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs
A BILL
To amend the United States Housing Act of 1937 to improve
the programs for public and Indian housing, and for
other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE AND TABLE OF CONTENTS.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Public and Indian
Housing Amendments of 1994’’.
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—
Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents.
TITLE I—ENHANCED PROGRAM FLEXIBILITY
Sec. 101. Revitalization of severely distressed public housing.
Sec. 102. Public housing design and cost flexibility.
Sec. 103. HOPE homeownership programs.
Sec. 104. Disallowances of earned income for residents who obtain employment.
Sec. 105. Ceiling rents based on reasonable rental value.
Sec. 106. Resident management program.
TITLE II—TECHNICAL AND OTHER AMENDMENTS
Sec. 201. Correction to definition of ‘‘family’’.
Sec. 202. Repeal of limitation on income adjustments.
Sec. 203. Identification of CIAP replacement needs.
Sec. 204. Applicability of public housing amendments to Indian housing.
Sec. 205. Project-based accounting.
Sec. 206. Operating subsidy adjustments for anticipated fraud recoveries.
Sec. 207. Labor standards for construction contracts under United States
Housing Act of 1937.
Sec. 208. Technical assistance for lead hazard reduction grantees.
Sec. 209. Environmental review in connection with grants for lead-based paint
hazard reduction.
Sec. 210. Fire safety in federally assisted housing.
Sec. 211. Changes to payment in lieu of taxes.
TITLE I—ENHANCED PROGRAM
FLEXIBILITY
SEC. 101. REVITALIZATION OF SEVERELY DISTRESSED PUB-
LIC HOUSING.
(a) 
REPEAL
OF
DESIGNATION
OF
ELIGIBLE
PROJECTS.—Subsection (b) of section 24 of the United
States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437v(b)) is here-
by repealed.
(b) PLANNING GRANTS.—Subsection (c) of section
24 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 is amend-
ed—
(1) in paragraph (2) by striking ‘‘$200,000’’
and inserting ‘‘$300,000’’;
(2) by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the
following new paragraph:
‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES.—A planning grant
under this subsection may be used for activities to
develop revitalization programs for severely dis-
tressed public housing, including—
‘‘(A) obtaining studies, training, and tech-
nical assistance relating to different options for
revitalization, including redesign, reconstruc-
tion, conversion, demolition, disposition, and re-
placement and including the feasibility, costs,
and impact on the neighborhood of such op-
tions;
‘‘(B) grants to qualified resident organiza-
tions to ensure resident involvement in all
phases of the planning and implementation
processes;
‘‘(C) improvements to stabilize the develop-
ment, including security;
‘‘(D) conducting workshops and surveys to
ascertain the attitudes and concerns of the
neighboring community and the need for phys-
ical improvements in the neighborhood;
‘‘(E) planning for community service and
support service activities to be carried out by
the public housing agency, the residents, other
members of the community, and other persons
and organizations willing to contribute to the
social, economic, or physical improvement of the
community;
‘‘(F) preliminary architectural and engi-
neering work;
‘‘(G) planning for economic development,
youth corps, job training, and self-sufficiency
activities that promote the economic self-suffi-
ciency of residents under the revitalization pro-
gram;
‘‘(H) designing suitable relocation and re-
placement housing plans, in situations where
partial or total demolition is considered;
‘‘(I) planning for necessary management
improvements; and
‘‘(J) preparation of an application for an
implementation grant under this section.’’;
(3) in paragraph (4)—
(A) by redesignating subparagraph (E) as
subparagraph (F); and
(B) by striking subparagraphs (C) and (D)
and inserting the following new subparagraphs:
‘‘(C) identification and description of the
public housing project involved, including its
major physical, management, and social needs,
and a general description of the resident popu-
lation of the project, including family sizes and
incomes;
‘‘(D) a description of the planning activi-
ties for community service and support services
to be carried out by the public housing agency,
the residents, other members of the community,
and other persons and organizations willing to
contribute to the social, economic, or physical
improvement of the community;
‘‘(E) a certification by the public housing
agency that the application has been submitted
to the public official responsible under section
105 of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Afford-
able Housing Act for submitting the com-
prehensive housing affordability strategy for the
participating jurisdiction in which the project is
located; and’’; and
(4) in paragraph (5)—
(A) in the matter preceding subparagraph
(A), by striking ‘‘, by regulation, establish’’ and
inserting ‘‘establish, by notice published in the
Federal Register,’’;
(B) by striking subparagraph (A) and in-
serting the following new subparagraph:
‘‘(A) the capabilities of the applicant and
of any entities associated with the applicant in
carrying out the revitalization program;’’;
(C) in subparagraph (B), by inserting
‘‘proposed resident’’ after ‘‘interest and’’;
(D) in subparagraph (C), by inserting
‘‘proposed’’ after ‘‘extent of’’;
(E) by striking subparagraph (E); and
(F) by redesignating subparagraphs (F)
and (G) as subparagraphs (E) and (F), respec-
tively.
(c) IMPLEMENTATION GRANTS.—Subsection (d) of
section 24 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 is
amended—
(1) in paragraph (1), by adding at the end the
following new sentence: ‘‘Each applicant that re-
ceives an implementation grant under this section
for revitalization of a severely distressed public hous-
ing project shall carry out community service and
support service activities relating to the project as
part of the revitalization program.’’;
(2) in paragraph (2)—
(A) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘or
redevelopment’’ and inserting ‘‘conversion, dem-
olition, or disposition’’;
(B) in subparagraph (F), by inserting ‘‘,
job training, youth corps, and other’’ after
‘‘economic development’’;
(C) in subparagraph (H), by striking
‘‘transitional security activities’’ and inserting
‘‘security’’;
(D) by striking subparagraph (I) and in-
serting the following new subparagraph:
‘‘(K) support services, except that—
‘‘(i) not more than 20 percent of any
grant under this subsection may be used
for such purpose; and
‘‘(ii) an amount equal to 15 percent of
the amount of any grant under this sub-
section used for such purposes shall be
contributed from non-Federal sources, and
may be in the form of cash, administrative
costs, and the reasonable value of in-kind
contributions, and may include funding
under title I of the Housing and Commu-
nity Development Act of 1974.’’;
(E) by redesignating subparagraphs (E)
through (H) (as so amended) as subparagraphs
(G) through (J), respectively; and
(F) by inserting after subparagraph (D)
the following new subparagraphs:
‘‘(E) community service and support serv-
ice activities to be carried out by the public
housing agency, the residents, other members of
the community, and other persons and organi-
zations willing to contribute to the social, eco-
nomic, or physical improvement of the commu-
nity;
‘‘(F) replacement of public housing units
through development of replacement units by
the methods permitted under subsection (d)(3),
other than paragraph (3)(B)(i) of such sub-
section;’’;
(3) in paragraph (3)—
(A) in subparagraph (B), by inserting after
‘‘applicant’’ the following: ‘‘and any other enti-
ties to be involved in implementing activities
funded with amounts from the grant’’;
(B) in subparagraph (C), by striking
‘‘composition’’ and all that follows through ‘‘in-
come’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘resident
population, including family sizes, incomes, and
needs, together with an analysis of the relation-
ship of the implementation plan to such needs’’;
(C) in subparagraph (D), by striking ‘‘con-
sistent’’ and inserting ‘‘not inconsistent’’;
(D) by redesignating subparagraphs (D)
(as so amended) and (E) as subparagraphs (E)
and (F), respectively; and
(E) by inserting after subparagraph (C)
the following new subparagraph:
‘‘(D) a description of the community serv-
ice and support service activities to be carried
out by the public housing agency, the residents,
other members of the community, and other
persons and organizations willing to contribute
to the social, economic, or physical improvement
of the community;’’; and
(4) in paragraph (4)—
(A) in subparagraph (A), by inserting be-
fore the semicolon at the end the following:
‘‘and any other entities to be involved in imple-
menting activities funded with amounts from
the grant’’;
(B) by striking subparagraphs (D) and (E)
and inserting the following new subparagraph:
‘‘(D) the quality of the proposed revitaliza-
tion program and the suitability of the project
for such a program;’’; and
(C) by redesignating subparagraphs (F)
and (G) as subparagraphs (E) and (F), respec-
tively.
(d) EXCEPTIONS TO GENERAL PROGRAM REQUIRE-
MENTS.—Subsection (e) of section 24 of the United States
Housing Act of 1937 is amended—
(1) in paragraph (1)—
(A) by striking ‘‘this title’’ and inserting
‘‘this Act’’; and
(B) by striking ‘‘permit’’ and inserting
‘‘enable’’;
(2) by striking the first sentence of paragraph
(2) and inserting the following new sentence: ‘‘For
projects revitalized under this section, a public hous-
ing agency may—
‘‘(A) in lieu of selecting tenants pursuant
to the preferences specified under section
6(c)(4)(A)(i), select tenants pursuant to a local
system of preferences;
‘‘(B) in making dwelling units in such
projects available for occupancy, disregard the
order in which applications were made for resi-
dency in public housing dwelling units or any
waiting lists established for such residency to
provide for substantial variation in the incomes
of families residing in the project, subject to the
provisions of this Act relating to income eligi-
bility in public housing projects (as modified
under subparagraph (C));
‘‘(C) notwithstanding section 16 of this
Act, provide for low-income families to occupy
not more than 50 percent of the dwelling units
in a project, and
‘‘(D) establish ceiling rents under section
3(a)(2)(A).’’; and
(3) by adding at the end the following new
paragraphs:
‘‘(3) REPLACEMENT UNITS.—
‘‘(A) EXCEPTION
TO
SECTION
18.—Not-
withstanding the provisions of section 18(b)(3),
at the option of the public housing agency in-
volved, the dwelling units demolished, disposed
of, or otherwise eliminated in connection with
activities conducted pursuant to subsection (c)
of this section or the urban revitalization dem-
onstration program established under the De-
partments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and
Urban Development, and Independent Agencies
Appropriations Act, 1993 (Public Law 102–
389; 106 Stat. 1579), may be replaced as pro-
vided under this paragraph.
‘‘(B) CERTIFICATE AND NEW UNIT MIX.—
Each such dwelling unit demolished, disposed
of, or otherwise eliminated shall be replaced
with an additional dwelling unit through—
‘‘(i) the use of tenant-based assistance
under section 8(b) having a term of not
less than 5 years, except that not more
than one-third of such dwelling units to be
replaced by the public housing agency may
be replaced as provided under this clause;
or
‘‘(ii) any combination of additional
public housing dwelling units, units ac-
quired or otherwise provided for home-
ownership (including cooperative and con-
dominium interests) under section 5(h),
subtitles B or C of title IV of the Cran-
ston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing
Act, or other programs for homeownership
that have program requirements substan-
tially equivalent to the requirements estab-
lished under section 605 of the Housing
and Community Development Act of 1987.
‘‘(C) 
EXEMPTION
FROM
CERTAIN
RULES.—
‘‘(i) 
SITE
AND
NEIGHBORHOOD
STANDARDS.—Any 
units 
provided, 
ac-
quired, assisted, or developed by a public
housing agency to replace a public housing
dwelling unit pursuant to the requirements
of this paragraph shall not be subject to
any regulations of the Department of
Housing and Urban Development relating
to site and neighborhood standards, includ-
ing the regulations contained in sub-
sections (b), (c), or (d) of section 941.202
of title 24, Code of Federal Regulations.
‘‘(ii) TENANT
CONSULTATION.—The
demolition or disposition of any public
housing dwelling units resulting from ac-
tivities pursuant to subsection (c) shall not
be subject to section 18(b)(1).’’.
(e) ADMINISTRATION.—Subsection (g) of section 24
of the United States Housing Act of 1937 is amended to
read as follows:
‘‘(g) ADMINISTRATION.—
‘‘(1) OFFICE OF SEVERELY DISTRESSED PUB-
LIC HOUSING REVITALIZATION.—For the purpose of
carrying out the revitalization of severely distressed
public housing in accordance with this section, the
Secretary shall establish within the Department of
Housing and Urban Development an Office of Se-
verely Distressed Public Housing Revitalization.
‘‘(2) BLOCK GRANT FUNDING.—The Secretary
shall administer the activities for the revitalization
of severely distressed public housing under this sec-
tion as a single integrated program under which a
single block grant of funds is made to a public hous-
ing agency to cover—
‘‘(A) community service and support serv-
ice activities; and
‘‘(B) demolition, modernization, recon-
struction, site improvements, and replacement
housing.
‘‘(3) PROCUREMENT
OF
SERVICES.—Notwith-
standing any Federal law relating to procurement or
requiring competitive bidding in procurement, any
activities related to community service and support
service activities conducted pursuant to this section
may be procured on a sole source basis.
‘‘(4) INDEPENDENT ADMINISTRATION OF HOUS-
ING ACTIVITIES.—Activities relating to demolition,
modernization, reconstruction, site improvements,
and replacement of housing under the program
under this section shall be administered independent
of any individual program regulations, handbooks,
and notices of the Department of Housing and
Urban Development for modernization, major recon-
struction, demolition, or development.
‘‘(5) INDEPENDENT
FUNDING
GUIDELINES.—
The Secretary shall establish separate guidelines for
carrying out the program under this section, which
shall provide for—
‘‘(A) the unique integrated nature of the
program;
‘‘(B) the higher direct costs of the pro-
gram compared to public housing development;
and
‘‘(C) expediting, simplifying, and unifying
processing of applications and requests relating
to the program, and shall not provide for proc-
essing of such applications and requests under
the procedures and guidelines applicable to var-
ious other programs of the Department.’’.
(f) DEFINITIONS.—Subsection (h) of section 24 of
the United States Housing Act of 1937 is amended—
(1) by striking paragraph (5) and inserting the
following new paragraphs:
‘‘(6) SEVERELY
DISTRESSED
PUBLIC
HOUS-
ING.—The term ‘severely distressed public housing’
means a public housing project or building in a
project that—
‘‘(A) requires major redesign, reconstruc-
tion, or redevelopment, or partial or total demo-
lition, to correct serious deficiencies in the
original design (including inappropriately high
population 
density), 
deferred 
maintenance,
physical deterioration or obsolescence or major
systems, and other deficiencies in the physical
plant of the project;
‘‘(B) is occupied predominantly by families
with children who have extremely low incomes,
high rates of unemployment, and extensive de-
pendency on various forms of public assistance;
‘‘(C) has high rates of vandalism and
criminal activity (including drug-related crimi-
nal activity);
‘‘(D) has a vacancy rate, as determined by
the Secretary, of 50 percent or more;
‘‘(E) in the case of an individual building,
the building is (in the determination of the Sec-
retary) sufficiently separable from the remain-
der of the project of which the building is part
to make use of the building feasible for pur-
poses of this section; and
‘‘(F) is not assisted with amounts reserved
under section 5(j)(2).
‘‘(7) SUPPORT SERVICES.—The term ‘support
services’ includes all activities designed to assist in
increasing economic opportunities, self-sufficiency,
and improved quality of life for the residents of the
public housing project involved, including literacy
training, job training, day care, economic develop-
ment activities, and the training and services de-
scribed in subsections (e) and (f) of section 775 of
the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act.
Support services may be provided to and involve the
participation of residents of the neighborhood in
which the public housing project involved is lo-
cated.’’;
(2) by redesignating paragraphs (2) through
(4) as paragraphs (3) through (5), respectively; and
(3) by inserting after paragraph (1) the follow-
ing new paragraph:
‘‘(2) COMMUNITY SERVICE.—The term ‘commu-
nity service’ means services provided on a volunteer
or stipend basis for the social, economic, or physical
improvement of the community to be served, includ-
ing opportunities for bettering the economic situa-
tion of the participants providing the community
service, through completion of education require-
ments, job training, or alternative methods of devel-
oping skills and job readiness. The term includes the
programs for national service of the types eligible for
assistance under subtitle C of title I of the National
and Community Service Act of 1990 and programs
for youth corps and urban youth corps under section
106 the National and Community Service Trust Act
of 1993, that focus on residents of public housing
agencies and other low-income youth between the
ages of 16 and 25 and that provide structured, crew-
based, adult-supervised work and learning experi-
ences, promoting citizenship and life and employ-
ment skills, including such programs that are affili-
ated with union training and apprenticeship pro-
grams.’’.
(g) ANNUAL REPORT.—Subsection (i) of section 24
of the United States Housing Act of 1937 is amended—
(1) by striking paragraph (2);
(2) in paragraph (3) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the
end; and
meets applicable State and local housing
and building codes;
‘‘(ii) the cost of movables necessary to
the basic operation of the housing, as de-
termined by the Secretary;
‘‘(iii) the cost of special design fea-
tures necessary to make the housing acces-
sible to elderly persons or persons with dis-
abilities;
‘‘(iv) the cost of special design fea-
tures necessary to make individual dwelling
units meet the physical needs of elderly
persons or persons with disabilities;
‘‘(v) the cost of congregate space nec-
essary to accommodate the provision of
supportive services to project residents;
‘‘(vi) if the housing is newly con-
structed, the cost of meeting the energy ef-
ficiency standards promulgated by the Sec-
retary in accordance with section 109 of
the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable
Housing Act; and
‘‘(vii) the cost of land, including nec-
essary site improvement.
In establishing development cost guidelines for
a given market area under this paragraph, the
Secretary shall use data that reflect currently
prevailing costs of construction, reconstruction,
or rehabilitation, and land acquisition in the
area.
‘‘(C) RTC, FDIC, AND FHA PROPERTIES.—
In the case of existing housing and related fa-
cilities to be acquired from the Resolution Trust
Corporation under section 21A(c) of the Fed-
eral Home Loan Bank Act, from the Federal
Deposit Insurance Corporation under section 40
of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act, or from
the Secretary under section 203 of the Housing
and Community Development Amendments of
1978, the cost guidelines shall include—
‘‘(i) the cost of acquiring such hous-
ing;
‘‘(ii) the cost of rehabilitation, alter-
ation, conversion, or improvement, includ-
ing the moderate rehabilitation thereof;
and
‘‘(iii) the cost of the land on which the
housing and related facilities are located.