I 
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6724 
To authorize emergency homeless assistance grants under the Emergency 
Solutions Grants program of the Department of Housing and Urban 
Development for response to the public health emergency relating to 
coronavirus, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 5, 2020 
Ms. PRESSLEY (for herself, Ms. TLAIB, Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ, Mr. NEGUSE, 
Mr. BLUMENAUER, Ms. WATERS, Ms. OMAR, and Ms. NORTON) intro-
duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Finan-
cial Services 
A BILL 
To authorize emergency homeless assistance grants under 
the Emergency Solutions Grants program of the Depart-
ment of Housing and Urban Development for response 
to the public health emergency relating to coronavirus, 
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 ‘‘Public Health Emer-
gency Shelter Act of 2020’’. 
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SEC. 2. EMERGENCY HOMELESS ASSISTANCE. 
(a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 
authorized to be appropriated under the Emergency Solu-
tions Grants program under subtitle B of title IV of the 
McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 
11371 et seq.) $11,500,000,000 for grants under such 
subtitle in accordance with this section to respond to needs 
arising from the public health emergency relating to 
Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). 
(b) FORMULA.—Notwithstanding sections 413 and 
414 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 
U.S.C. 11372, 11373), the Secretary of Housing and 
Urban Development (in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Sec-
retary’’) shall allocate amounts made available pursuant 
to subsection (a) in accordance with a formula to be estab-
lished by the Secretary that takes into consideration the 
following factors: 
(1) Risk of transmission of coronavirus in a ju-
risdiction. 
(2) Whether a jurisdiction has a high number 
or rate of sheltered and unsheltered homeless indi-
viduals and families. 
(3) Economic and housing market conditions in 
a jurisdiction. 
(c) ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES.—In addition to eligible ac-
tivities under section 415(a) of the McKinney-Vento 
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Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11374(a)), amounts 
made available pursuant to subsection (a) may also be 
used for costs of the following activities: 
(1) Providing training on infectious disease pre-
vention and mitigation. 
(2) Providing hazard pay, including for time 
worked before the effectiveness of this clause, for 
staff working directly to prevent and mitigate the 
spread of coronavirus or COVID-19 among people 
experiencing or at risk of homelessness. 
(3) Reimbursement of costs for eligible activi-
ties (including activities described in this paragraph) 
relating to preventing, preparing for, or responding 
to the coronavirus or COVID-19 that were accrued 
before the date of the enactment of this Act. 
Use of such amounts for activities described in this para-
graph shall not be considered use for administrative pur-
poses for purposes of section 418 of the McKinney-Vento 
Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11377). 
(d) INAPPLICABILITY
OF PROCUREMENT STAND-
ARDS.—To the extent amounts made available pursuant 
to subsection (a) are used to procure goods and services 
relating to activities to prevent, prepare for, or respond 
to the coronavirus or COVID-19, the standards and re-
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quirements regarding procurement that are otherwise ap-
plicable shall not apply. 
(e) INAPPLICABILITY OF HABITABILITY AND ENVI-
RONMENTAL REVIEW STANDARDS.—Any Federal stand-
ards and requirements regarding habitability and environ-
mental review shall not apply with respect to any emer-
gency shelter that is assisted with amounts made available 
pursuant to subsection (a) and has been determined by 
a State or local health official, in accordance with such 
requirements as the Secretary shall establish, to be nec-
essary to prevent and mitigate the spread of coronavirus 
or COVID-19, such shelters. 
(f) INAPPLICABILITY OF CAP ON EMERGENCY SHEL-
TER ACTIVITIES.—Subsection (b) of section 415 of the 
McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act shall not apply 
to any amounts made available pursuant to subsection 
(a)(1) of this section. 
(g) INITIAL ALLOCATION OF ASSISTANCE.—Section 
417(b) of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act 
(42 U.S.C. 11376(b)) shall be applied with respect to 
amounts made available pursuant to subsection (a) by 
substituting ‘‘30-day’’ for ‘‘60-day’’. 
(h) WAIVERS AND ALTERNATIVE REQUIREMENTS.— 
(1) AUTHORITY.—In administering amounts 
made available pursuant to subsection (a), the Sec-
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retary may waive, or specify alternative require-
ments for, any provision of any statute or regulation 
(except for any requirements related to fair housing, 
nondiscrimination, labor standards, and the environ-
ment) that the Secretary administers in connection 
with the obligation or use by the recipient of such 
amounts, if the Secretary finds that good cause ex-
ists for the waiver or alternative requirement and 
such waiver or alternative requirement is consistent 
with the purposes described in this subsection. 
(2) 
EFFECTIVENESS; 
APPLICABILITY.—Any 
such waivers shall be deemed to be effective as of 
the date a State or unit of local government began 
preparing for coronavirus and shall apply to the use 
of amounts made available pursuant to subsection 
(a) and amounts provided in prior appropriation 
Acts for fiscal year 2020 under the heading ‘‘De-
partment of Housing and Urban Development— 
Community Planning and Development—Commu-
nity Development Fund’’ and used by recipients for 
the purposes described in this subsection. 
(3) NOTIFICATION.—The Secretary shall notify 
the public through the Federal Register or other ap-
propriate means 5 days before the effective date of 
any such waiver or alternative requirement, and any 
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such public notice may be provided on the internet 
at the appropriate Government website or through 
other electronic media, as determined by the Sec-
retary. 
(4) EXEMPTION.—The use of amounts made 
available pursuant to subsection (a) shall not be sub-
ject to the consultation, citizen participation, or 
match requirements that otherwise apply to the 
Emergency Solutions Grants program, except that a 
recipient shall publish how it has and will utilize its 
allocation at a minimum on the internet at the ap-
propriate Government website or through other elec-
tronic media. 
(i) INAPPLICABILITY
OF
MATCHING
REQUIRE-
MENT.—Subsection (a) of section 416 of the McKinney- 
Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11375(a)) 
shall not apply to any amounts made available pursuant 
to subsection (a) of this section. 
(j) PROHIBITION ON PREREQUISITES.—None of the 
funds authorized under this section may be used to require 
people experiencing homelessness to receive treatment or 
perform any other prerequisite activities as a condition for 
receiving shelter, housing, or other services. 
Æ 
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