I 
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6823 
To expand the housing choice voucher program of the Department of Housing 
and Urban Development to provide temporary housing during the 
COVID-19 health crisis, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 12, 2020 
Mr. HUFFMAN (for himself, Ms. JOHNSON of Texas, and Mr. HASTINGS) in-
troduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Fi-
nancial Services 
A BILL 
To expand the housing choice voucher program of the De-
partment of Housing and Urban Development to provide 
temporary housing during the COVID-19 health crisis, 
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 ‘‘COVID-19 Serving the 
Homeless by Expanding the List of Tenant Eligible Resi-
dences Act of 2020’’ or the ‘‘SHELTER Act of 2020’’. 
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SEC. 2. COVID-EMERGENCY HOUSING VOUCHER PROGRAM. 
(a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 
authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be nec-
essary for fiscal year 2020 to fund 500,000 incremental 
vouchers for tenant-based assistance under the housing 
choice voucher program under section 8(o) of the United 
States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)), to be 
made available in accordance with such section 8(o) except 
to the extent otherwise provided in this section. 
(b) ELIGIBLE FAMILIES.—Housing voucher assist-
ance under this section may be provided on behalf only 
of low-income families who, as of the creating a disaster 
recovery voucher recovery program for individuals who 
were unsheltered or living in shelters as of the declaration 
on March 13, 2020, by the President under the Robert 
T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 
(42 U.S.C. 4121 et seq.) of the emergency relating to the 
Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. 
(c) ELIGIBLE DWELLING UNITS.—In addition to 
dwelling units eligible to be rented using assistance under 
section 8(o) of the United States Housing Act of 1937, 
rental assistance under this section may be used to rent 
dwelling units that meet the following requirements: 
(1) TYPES OF HOUSING.—The dwelling unit is 
of one of the following types: 
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(A) SPECIAL HOUSING TYPES.—All special 
housing types identified in section 982.601 of 
the 
Secretary’s 
regulations 
(24 
C.F.R. 
982.601). 
(B) 
JUNIOR
ACCESSORY
DWELLING 
UNITS.—A dwelling unit that— 
(i) does not exceed 500 square feet in 
size; and 
(ii) is contained entirely within an ex-
isting single-family structure. 
Such a unit may include separate sanitation fa-
cilities and or may share sanitation facilities 
with the existing structure. 
(C) 
RECREATIONAL
VEHICLES.—Rec-
reational vehicles that are equipped with a 
bathroom and cooking facility. 
(D) HOTEL AND MOTEL ROOMS.—Vacant 
rooms in hotels and motels, except that in the 
case of a hotel or motel that has an existing 
contract with a public housing agency providing 
rental assistance with respect to any rooms oc-
cupied by eligible families under subsection 
(b)— 
(i) the hotel or motel may, at its dis-
cretion, extend its existing contract with 
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