I 
115TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6701 
To require the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to improve 
services for survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, 
or stalking. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 4, 2018 
Mr. POE of Texas (for himself and Mr. O’HALLERAN) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services 
A BILL 
To require the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development 
to improve services for survivors of domestic violence, 
dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Help End Abusive Liv-
ing Situations Act’’ or the ‘‘HEALS Act’’. 
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act— 
(1) the term ‘‘domestic violence’’ has the mean-
ing given the term in section 40002(a) of the Vio-
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lence Against Women Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C. 
13925(a)); 
(2) the term ‘‘domestic violence project’’ means 
a project administered by a victim service provider 
designed to meet the needs of survivors of domestic 
violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking; 
(3) the term ‘‘homeless individual’’ has the 
meaning given the term in section 103 of the 
McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 
U.S.C. 11302); 
(4) the terms ‘‘homeless individual with a dis-
ability’’, 
‘‘permanent 
housing’’, 
‘‘tenant-based’’, 
‘‘transitional housing’’, and ‘‘victim service provider’’ 
have the meanings given those terms in section 401 
of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 
U.S.C. 11360); 
(5) the term ‘‘rapid re-housing project’’ means 
supportive services and short- or medium-term ten-
ant-based rental assistance, as necessary, to help a 
homeless individual, with or without a disability, 
move into permanent housing; and 
(6) the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary 
of Housing and Urban Development. 
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SEC. 3. STRENGTHENING HOUSING RESOURCES PROTEC-
TIONS FOR VICTIMS OF DOMESTIC VIO-
LENCE, DATING VIOLENCE, SEXUAL ASSAULT, 
AND STALKING. 
Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Secretary shall take the following measures 
to improve services provided to survivors of domestic vio-
lence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking: 
(1) STRATEGIC PLAN.—The Secretary shall cre-
ate a section in the next strategic plan of the De-
partment of Housing and Urban Development re-
quired under section 306 of title 5, United States 
Code, that— 
(A) outlines a thorough response to the 
housing needs of survivors of domestic violence, 
dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking and 
their families; 
(B) provides that, for purposes of scoring 
applicants in the notice of funding availability 
for the Continuum of Care program authorized 
under subtitle C of title IV of the McKinney- 
Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 
11381 et seq.) in any fiscal year, the Secretary 
shall give equal consideration to— 
(i) rapid re-housing projects; 
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(ii) projects that provide permanent 
supportive housing; and 
(iii) domestic violence projects that 
maximize client choice, including transi-
tional housing; 
(C) authorizes any defunded transitional 
housing project to reapply for funding; and 
(D) authorizes rapid re-rehousing projects 
to provide not less than 6 months and not more 
than 24 months of assistance. 
(2) EVALUATION.—The Secretary shall de-
velop— 
(A) measurable criteria upon which appli-
cants are evaluated to demonstrate their col-
laboration with victim service providers to de-
velop local policy priorities focused on survivors 
of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual as-
sault, or stalking, including survivor-centered 
coordinated entry processes that appropriately 
assess and prioritize those survivors and take 
into account the safety and confidentiality 
needs of those survivors; and 
(B) mechanisms that promote the provi-
sion of technical assistance and support for pro-
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grams to improve outcomes instead of reallo-
cating or not awarding funds. 
(3) RESEARCH AGENDA.—The Secretary shall 
develop a research agenda that focuses on survivors 
of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, 
and stalking and the housing modalities that best 
support them, especially the critical safety concerns 
and the link between trauma and residential sta-
bility. 
SEC. 4. INCREASING ACCESS TO SAFE HOUSING FOR SUR-
VIVORS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, DATING VI-
OLENCE, SEXUAL ASSAULT, AND STALKING. 
Section 427(b) of the McKinney-Vento Homeless As-
sistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11386a(b)) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (1)(F)— 
(A) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘or’’ at the 
end; 
(B) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘and’’ and 
the end and inserting ‘‘or’’; and 
(C) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(iii) success in meeting the safety 
and trauma needs of survivors of domestic 
violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or 
stalking, including access to safe housing; 
and’’; and 
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(2) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(4) CRITERIA
FOR
VICTIM
SERVICES
PRO-
VIDERS.—With respect to recipients that are victim 
service providers, the Secretary shall evaluate the 
provider based on the ability to meet the safety and 
trauma needs of victims served by the provider, in-
cluding access to safe housing.’’. 
SEC. 5. REPORT TO CONGRESS. 
Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a re-
port on— 
(1) the trends in allocating resources beginning 
after the date of enactment of the Homeless Emer-
gency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing 
Act of 2009 (Public Law 111–22; 123 Stat. 1663) 
to address the housing needs of survivors of domes-
tic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and 
stalking; and 
(2) the increase in the allocation of resources 
for domestic violence projects beginning after the 
date of enactment of this Act. 
Æ 
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