I 
108TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 4436
To reform and improve certain housing programs of the Department of 
Housing and Urban Development. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 20, 2004
Mr. DEUTSCH (for himself and Mr. HASTINGS of Florida) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services 
A BILL 
To reform and improve certain housing programs of the 
Department of Housing and Urban Development.
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 ‘‘Fair Housing Protec-
tion Act’’. 
SEC. 2. CLARIFICATION OF PER-UNIT COSTS UNDER SEC-
TION 8 RENTAL HOUSING ASSISTANCE PRO-
GRAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (1) of the item relat-
ing to the Housing Certificate Fund in title II of the De-
partments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban 
Development, and Independent Agencies Appropriations 
Act, 2004 (division G of Public Law 108–199; 118 Stat. 
372) is amended—
(1) by inserting ‘‘in each calendar quarter’’ 
after ‘‘and by applying’’; and 
(2) by inserting ‘‘in the most recent quarter for 
which the public housing agency has submitted such 
actual per unit cost information to the Secretary’’ 
after ‘‘actual per unit cost’’. 
(b) APPLICABILITY.—The amendment made by sub-
section (a) shall apply to all expiring section 8 tenant-
based annual contributions contracts renewed pursuant to 
the paragraph referred to in subsection (a), whether such 
renewal occurs before, on, or after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act. 
SEC. 3. PLAN TO END WAITING LISTS FOR SECTION 8 RENT-
AL HOUSING ASSISTANCE. 
(a) DEVELOPMENT
OF PLAN.—The Secretary of 
Housing and Urban Development shall develop a plan to 
reduce and eventually eliminate the delay between the sub-
mission by an eligible family to a public housing agency 
of an application for rental housing assistance under sec-
tion 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 
U.S.C. 1437f) and the time when such assistance is even-
tually made available on behalf of such a family. The plan 
shall—
(1) identify actual affordable housing needs, 
taking into consideration needs of eligible families 
who have not applied to a public housing agency for 
housing assistance due to extensive or closed waiting 
lists; 
(2) provide for elimination of waiting lists over 
both the 10- and 20-year periods that begin upon 
the date of the enactment of this Act; 
(3) determine the amount of additional funding 
and other resources necessary to eliminate the delay 
in providing housing assistance to eligible families 
and the appropriate programs and activities to which 
to devote such resources; 
(4) include a strategy for expenditure of addi-
tional funds that sets forth the projected results of 
such expenditures; and 
(5) set forth options for an incentive program 
to encourage landlords to participate in the rental 
housing assistance program under such section 8. 
(b) REPORT.—Not later than 6 months after the date 
of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Housing 
and Urban Development shall submit a report to the Con-
gress setting forth the plan required under subsection (a).
SEC. 4. PROTECTION OF SECTION 8 RESERVES. 
(a) NOTIFICATION
AND REPLENISHMENT.—If the 
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development withdraws 
amounts from the reserve account for any public housing 
agency, or takes any other action that has the result of 
reducing amounts in a reserve account without approval 
of the agency, the Secretary shall— 
(1) immediately notify the agency of such with-
drawal or action; and 
(2) before the commencement of the quarter of 
the fiscal year first commencing after such with-
drawal or action, replenish such reserve account with 
the full amount of such withdrawal or reduction. 
(b) ZERO BALANCE APPROVAL.—The Secretary of 
Housing and Urban Development may not withdraw 
amounts from the reserve account for any public housing 
agency, or take any other action that has the result of 
reducing amounts in a reserve account, if such withdrawal 
or action causes the balance of amounts in the reserve ac-
count for a public housing agency to fall to zero, unless, 
in advance of such withdrawal or action, the Secretary of 
Housing and Urban Development notifies the public hous-
ing agency of withdrawal or action and obtains written 
approval of such withdrawal or action from such public 
housing agency.
(c) QUARTERLY NOTIFICATION.—The Secretary of 
Housing and Urban Development shall, on a quarterly 
basis, notify each public housing agency of the balance of 
amounts in the reserve account for the agency. 
(d) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section: 
(1) PUBLIC
HOUSING
AGENCY.—The term 
‘‘public housing agency’’ has the meaning given the 
term in section 3(b) of the United States Housing 
Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437a(b)). 
(2) RESERVE ACCOUNT.—The term ‘‘reserve ac-
count’’ means, with respect to a public housing 
agency, the annual contributions contract reserve ac-
count for the agency for the tenant-based rental as-
sistance program under section 8 of the United 
States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f) . 
SEC. 5. ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR FAIR HOUSING INITIA-
TIVES PROGRAM. 
Subsection (g) of section 561 of the Housing and 
Community Development Act of 1987 (42 U.S.C. 3616a) 
is amended by adding after and below paragraph (4) the 
following: 
‘‘In addition to any other amounts made available to carry 
out this section, there is authorized to be appropriated for 
investigative and enforcement activities under this section
$20,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2005, 2006, and 
2007. ’’.
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