I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1724 
To provide emergency rental assistance vouchers to respond to the COVID– 
19 pandemic, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 9, 2021 
Ms. WATERS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Financial Services 
A BILL 
To provide emergency rental assistance vouchers to respond 
to the COVID–19 pandemic, 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. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Emergency Housing 
Voucher Act of 2021’’. 
SEC. 2. EMERGENCY RENTAL ASSISTANCE VOUCHER PRO-
GRAM. 
(a) APPROPRIATION.—In addition to amounts other-
wise made available, out of any money in the Treasury 
not otherwise appropriated, there is appropriated for an 
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additional amount to the Secretary of Housing and Urban 
Development (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Sec-
retary’’), $5,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2021, to remain 
available through fiscal year 2030, for— 
(1) incremental emergency vouchers under sub-
section (b); 
(2) renewals of the vouchers under subsection 
(b); 
(3) fees for the costs of administering vouchers 
under subsection (b) and other eligible expenses de-
fined by notice to prevent, prepare, and respond to 
coronavirus to facilitate the leasing of the emergency 
vouchers, such as security deposit assistance and 
other costs related to retention and support of par-
ticipating owners; and; 
(4) adjustments in the calendar year 2021 sec-
tion 8 renewal funding allocation, including main-
stream vouchers, for public housing agencies that ex-
perience a significant increase in voucher per-unit 
costs due to extraordinary circumstances or that, de-
spite taking reasonable cost savings measures, would 
otherwise be required to terminate rental assistance 
for families as a result of insufficient funding. 
(b) EMERGENCY VOUCHERS.— 
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(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall provide 
emergency rental assistance vouchers under sub-
section (a), which shall be tenant-based rental assist-
ance under section 8(o) of the United States Hous-
ing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)). 
(2) QUALIFYING INDIVIDUALS OR FAMILIES DE-
FINED.—For the purposes of this section, qualifying 
individuals or families are those who are— 
(A) homeless (as such term is defined in 
section 103(a) of the McKinney-Vento Home-
less Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11302(a)); 
(B) at risk of homelessness (as such term 
is defined in section 401(1) of the McKinney- 
Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 
11360(1))); 
(C) fleeing, or attempting to flee, domestic 
violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalk-
ing, or human trafficking; or 
(D) recently homeless, as determined by 
the Secretary, and for whom providing rental 
assistance will prevent the family’s homeless-
ness or having high risk of housing instability. 
(3) ALLOCATION.—Public housing agencies 
shall be notified of the number of emergency vouch-
ers allocated to the agency not later than 60 days 
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after the date of the enactment of this Act, in ac-
cordance with a formula that includes public housing 
agency capacity and ensures geographic diversity, in-
cluding with respect to rural areas, among public 
housing agencies administering the Housing Choice 
Voucher program. 
(4) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.— 
(A) ELECTION TO ADMINISTER.—The Sec-
retary shall establish a procedure for public 
housing agencies to accept or decline the emer-
gency vouchers allocated to the agency in ac-
cordance with the formula under subparagraph 
(3). 
(B) FAILURE TO USE VOUCHERS PROMPT-
LY.—If a public housing agency fails to lease 
its authorized vouchers under subsection (b) on 
behalf of eligible families within a reasonable 
period of time, the Secretary may revoke and 
redistribute any unleased vouchers and associ-
ated funds, including administrative fees and 
costs referred to in subsection (a)(3), to other 
public housing agencies according to the for-
mula under paragraph (3). 
(5) WAIVERS
AND
ALTERNATIVE
REQUIRE-
MENTS.—Any provision of any statute or regulation 
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used to administer the amounts made available 
under this section (except for requirements related 
to fair housing, nondiscrimination, labor standards, 
and the environment), shall be waived upon a find-
ing that any such waivers or alternative require-
ments are necessary to expedite or facilitate the use 
of amounts made available in this section. 
(6) TERMINATION OF VOUCHERS UPON TURN-
OVER.—After September 30, 2023, a public housing 
agency may not reissue any vouchers made available 
under this section when assistance for the family as-
sisted ends. 
(c) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND OTHER COSTS.— 
The Secretary may use not more $20,000,000 of the 
amounts made available under this section for the costs 
to the Secretary of administering and overseeing the im-
plementation of this section and the Housing Choice 
Voucher program generally, including information tech-
nology, financial reporting, and other costs. Of the 
amounts set aside under this subsection, the Secretary 
may use not more than $10,000,000, without competition, 
to make new awards or increase prior awards to existing 
technical assistance providers to provide an immediate in-
crease in capacity building and technical assistance to 
public housing agencies. 
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(d) IMPLEMENTATION.—The provisions of this sec-
tion may be implemented by notice. 
Æ 
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