I 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4156 
To provide for certain improvements in the laws relating to housing for 
veterans, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
NOVEMBER 19, 2009 
Mr. SIRES introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Financial Services 
A BILL 
To provide for certain improvements in the laws relating 
to housing for veterans, 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 ‘‘Increasing Housing 
Opportunities for Veterans Act of 2009’’. 
SEC. 2. LOANS FOR DEVELOPMENT OF SUPPORTIVE HOUS-
ING FOR VETERAN FAMILIES. 
(a) PURPOSE.—The purposes of this section are— 
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
02:41 Nov 21, 2009
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4156.IH
H4156
tjames on DSKG8SOYB1PROD with BILLS
(1) to expand the supply of permanent housing 
for veteran families, including low-, very low-, and 
extremely low-income veteran families; and 
(2) to provide supportive services through such 
housing to support the needs of such veteran fami-
lies. 
(b) AUTHORITY.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Housing 
and Urban Development shall, to the extent amounts 
are made available for assistance under this section 
and the Secretary receives approvable applications 
for such assistance, provide assistance to for-profit 
developers to expand the supply of supportive hous-
ing for veteran families. 
(2) NATURE OF ASSISTANCE.—The assistance 
provided under paragraph (1)— 
(A) shall be available for use to plan for 
and finance the acquisition, construction, recon-
struction, or moderate or substantial rehabilita-
tion of a structure or a portion of a structure 
to be used as supportive housing for veteran 
families in accordance with this section; and 
(B) may also cover the cost of real prop-
erty acquisition, site improvement, conversion, 
demolition, relocation, and other expenses that 
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
02:41 Nov 21, 2009
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4156.IH
H4156
tjames on DSKG8SOYB1PROD with BILLS
the Secretary determines are necessary to ex-
pand the supply of supportive housing for vet-
eran families. 
(3) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out this sec-
tion, the Secretary shall consult with the Secretary 
of Veterans Affairs. 
(c) FORMS OF ASSISTANCE.—Assistance under this 
section shall be made available in the following forms: 
(1) ZERO-INTEREST
LOANS.—Assistance may 
be provided as a loan under this paragraph for the 
project, subject to the following terms: 
(A) ZERO INTEREST.—The loan shall not 
bear interest. 
(B) REPAYMENT.—The loan shall not re-
quire the borrower to make payments of prin-
cipal during the period that the housing re-
mains available for occupancy by veteran fami-
lies in accordance with this section. If the hous-
ing ceases to be available for occupancy in ac-
cordance with this section, repayment of the 
loan principal amount shall be made in accord-
ance with subsection (k)(9). 
(C) AMOUNT.—The loan shall be in an 
amount calculated in accordance with the devel-
opment cost limitation under subsection (i). 
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
02:41 Nov 21, 2009
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4156.IH
H4156
tjames on DSKG8SOYB1PROD with BILLS
(2) PROJECT RENTAL ASSISTANCE.—Assistance 
may be provided as project rental assistance, under 
an annual contract that— 
(A) obligates the Secretary to make 
monthly payments to cover any part of the 
costs attributed to dwelling units occupied (or, 
as approved by the Secretary, held for occu-
pancy) by low-income veteran families that is 
not met from rent contributions of tenants of 
such units; 
(B) provides for the project not more than 
the sum of the initial annual project rentals for 
all units so occupied and any initial utility al-
lowances for such units, as approved by the 
Secretary; 
(C) has an initial term of 240 months and 
provides that the Secretary shall, subject only 
to the availability of amounts provided in ap-
propriation Acts, extend the contract for a term 
of not less than 60 months; 
(D) provides that any contract amounts 
not used by a project in any year shall remain 
available to the project until the expiration of 
the contract; 
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
02:41 Nov 21, 2009
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4156.IH
H4156
tjames on DSKG8SOYB1PROD with BILLS
(E) provides that the Secretary shall ad-
just the annual contract amount to provide for 
reasonable project costs, and any increases, in-
cluding adequate reserves, supportive services, 
and service coordinators, except that any con-
tract amounts not used by a project during a 
contract term shall not be available for such ad-
justments upon renewal; and 
(F) provides that in the event of emer-
gency situations that are outside the control of 
the owner, the Secretary shall increase the an-
nual contract amount, subject to reasonable re-
view and limitations as the Secretary shall pro-
vide. 
In order to facilitate the orderly extension of expir-
ing contracts, the Secretary may make commitments 
to extend expiring contracts during the year prior to 
the date of expiration. 
(d) USE LIMITATIONS.— 
(1) USE FOR VETERANS.—For not less than 40 
years, not less than 75 percent of the dwelling units 
in housing assisted under this section shall be made 
available for occupancy only by veteran families. 
(2) USE FOR LOW-INCOME VETERANS.—Of the 
dwelling units in housing assisted under this section 
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
02:41 Nov 21, 2009
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4156.IH
H4156
tjames on DSKG8SOYB1PROD with BILLS
that are subject to the use limitation under para-
graph (1), a number may be made available, for 
such periods as may be appropriate, for occupancy 
only by low-, very low-, or extremely low-income vet-
eran families, in accordance with the need for hous-
ing for veteran families having such incomes as lat-
est information in the comprehensive housing afford-
ability strategy for the jurisdiction in which the 
housing is located, as required under section 
105(b)(1) of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Afford-
able Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 12705(b)(1)). 
(e) TENANT RENT CONTRIBUTION.—A low-income 
veteran family shall pay as rent for a dwelling unit in 
housing assisted under this section the highest of the fol-
lowing amounts, rounded to the nearest dollar: 
(1) Thirty percent of the veteran family’s ad-
justed monthly income. 
(2) Ten percent of the veteran family’’ monthly 
income. 
(3) If the veteran family is receiving payments 
for welfare assistance from a public agency and a 
part of such payments, adjusted in accordance with 
the veteran family’s actual housing costs, is specifi-
cally designated by such agency to meet the veteran 
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
02:41 Nov 21, 2009
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4156.IH
H4156
tjames on DSKG8SOYB1PROD with BILLS
family’s housing costs, the portion of such payments 
which is so designated. 
(f) APPLICATIONS.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Amounts made available 
under this section shall be allocated by the Secretary 
among approvable applications submitted by for- 
profit developers. 
(2) CONTENT OF APPLICATION.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—Applications for assist-
ance under this section shall be submitted by an 
applicant in such form and in accordance with 
such procedures as the Secretary shall estab-
lish. 
(B) REQUIRED
CONTENT.—Applications 
for assistance under this section shall contain— 
(i) a description of the proposed hous-
ing; 
(ii) a description of the assistance the 
applicant seeks under this section; 
(iii) a description of— 
(I) the supportive services to be 
provided to the persons occupying 
such housing in accordance with sub-
section (h); 
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
02:41 Nov 21, 2009
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00007
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4156.IH
H4156
tjames on DSKG8SOYB1PROD with BILLS
(II) the manner in which such 
services will be provided to such per-
sons, including identification of the 
providers and the location of such 
services, and of any transportation 
necessary for residents of the housing 
to obtain such services, and, in the 
case of frail elderly persons (as such 
term is defined in section 202 of the 
Housing Act of 1959 (12 U.S.C. 
1701q)), evidence of such residential 
supervision as the Secretary deter-
mines is necessary to facilitate the 
adequate provision of such services; 
and 
(III) the public or private sources 
of assistance that can reasonably be 
expected to fund or provide such serv-
ices; 
(iv) if the proposed housing reserves 
units for low-, very low-, or extremely low- 
income veterans pursuant to subsection 
(d)(2), a description of the proposed in-
come mix of units to be reserved for occu-
pancy in accordance with such subsection; 
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
02:41 Nov 21, 2009
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00008
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4156.IH
H4156
tjames on DSKG8SOYB1PROD with BILLS
(v) a certification from the public offi-
cial responsible for submitting a housing 
strategy for the jurisdiction to be served in 
accordance with section 105 of the Cran-
ston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing 
Act (42 U.S.C. 12705) that the proposed 
project is consistent with the approved 
housing strategy; and 
(vi) such other information or certifi-
cations that the Secretary determines to be 
necessary or appropriate to achieve the 
purposes of this section. 
(3) REJECTION.—The Secretary shall not reject 
any application for assistance under this section on 
technical grounds without giving notice of that rejec-
tion and the basis therefore to the applicant. 
(g) SELECTION CRITERIA.—The Secretary shall es-
tablish selection criteria for assistance under this section, 
which shall include— 
(1) criteria based upon— 
(A) the ability of the applicant to develop 
and operate the proposed housing; 
(B) the extent to which the proposed hous-
ing meets a need for supportive housing for vet-
eran families in the area to be served and, if 
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
02:41 Nov 21, 2009
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00009
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4156.IH
H4156
tjames on DSKG8SOYB1PROD with BILLS
the proposed housing reserves units for low-, 
very low-, or extremely low-income veterans 
pursuant to subsection (d)(2), for veteran fami-
lies in the area of the income levels proposed to 
be served pursuant to the income mix proposed 
under subsection (f)(2)(B)(iv); 
(C) the extent to which the proposed size 
and unit mix of the housing will enable the ap-
plicant to manage and operate the housing effi-
ciently and ensure that the provision of sup-
portive services in accordance with subsection 
(h) will be accomplished in an economical fash-
ion; 
(D) the extent to which the proposed de-
sign of the housing will meet the service-con-
nected disability needs of veteran families; 
(E) the extent to which the applicant has 
demonstrated that the supportive services iden-
tified pursuant to subsection (f)(2)(B)(iii) will 
be provided on a consistent, long-term basis; 
(F) the extent to which the proposed de-
sign of the housing will accommodate the provi-
sion of supportive services that are expected to 
be needed, either initially or over the useful life 
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
02:41 Nov 21, 2009
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00010
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4156.IH
H4156
tjames on DSKG8SOYB1PROD with BILLS