I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 5135 
To give priority in allocation of rental assistance vouchers under the Veterans 
Affairs Supported Housing program of the Department of Housing and 
Urban Development to areas having the largest populations of homeless 
veterans, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
NOVEMBER 18, 2019 
Ms. BARRAGA´N introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Financial Services 
A BILL 
To give priority in allocation of rental assistance vouchers 
under the Veterans Affairs Supported Housing program 
of the Department of Housing and Urban Development 
to areas having the largest populations of homeless vet-
erans, 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 ‘‘Housing Homeless 
Veterans Act of 2019’’. 
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SEC. 2. ALLOCATION OF HUD–VASH VOUCHERS. 
(a) AMENDMENT TO VASH PROGRAM.—Paragraph 
(19) of section 8(o) of the United States Housing Act of 
1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)(19)) is amended by adding at 
the end the following new subparagraphs: 
‘‘(D) ALLOCATION
CRITERIA.—Notwith-
standing any other provision of law (including 
paragraph (6) under the heading ‘Public and 
Indian Housing—Tenant-Based Rental Assist-
ance’ in title II of division K of Public Law 
115–31), in making amounts for assistance 
under this paragraph available among public 
housing agencies in each fiscal year, the Sec-
retary shall give priority to public housing 
agencies that— 
‘‘(i) serve areas having the highest 
numbers of homeless veterans; and 
‘‘(ii) have fully utilized their available 
funds under this paragraph for the pre-
ceding fiscal year and have a demonstrated 
need for incremental assistance under this 
paragraph. 
‘‘(E) REALLOCATION OF UNUSED VOUCH-
ERS FOR VASH ASSISTANCE.— 
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‘‘(i) RECAPTURE
AND
REALLOCA-
TION.—Notwithstanding any other provi-
sion of law, the Secretary shall— 
‘‘(I) recapture from any public 
housing agency described in clause (ii) 
any amounts of assistance provided 
under this paragraph to the agency 
that are not— 
‘‘(aa) under lease after 24 
months; 
‘‘(bb) committed under an 
agreement to enter into a hous-
ing assistance payments contract; 
or 
‘‘(cc) committed, under a 
commitment of award letter that 
has been approved by the board 
of governors or other similar gov-
erning body of the public housing 
agency, for project-based voucher 
assistance for a project; and 
‘‘(II) reallocate any recaptured 
amounts to public housing authorities 
that have leased their entire allocation 
of assistance under this paragraph. 
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‘‘(ii) AGENCIES SUBJECT TO RECAP-
TURE.—An agency described in this clause 
is an agency whose jurisdiction is located 
within an area within which the homeless 
population has decreased, according to the 
point-in-time information of the Secretary 
for the two most recent reporting periods 
for such information.’’. 
(b) APPLICABILITY.—The amendment made by sub-
section (a) shall apply to amounts made available— 
(1) by paragraph (6) under the heading ‘‘Public 
and Indian Housing—Tenant-Based Rental Assist-
ance’’ in title II of division K of Public Law 115– 
31, to the extent such amounts remain unobligated 
as of the date of the enactment of this Act; and 
(2) by any other provision of law enacted after 
the date of the enactment of this Act. 
Æ 
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