I 
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 7084 
To authorize emergency rental voucher assistance, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 1, 2020 
Ms. WATERS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Financial Services 
A BILL 
To authorize emergency rental voucher assistance, 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 ‘‘Emergency Housing 
Voucher Act of 2020’’. 
SEC. 2. EMERGENCY RENTAL ASSISTANCE VOUCHER PRO-
GRAM. 
(a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 
authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Housing 
and Urban Development (in this section referred to as the 
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‘‘Secretary’’), $10,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2020, to re-
main available until expended, for— 
(1) 200,000 incremental emergency vouchers 
under subsection (b); 
(2) renewals of the vouchers under subsection 
(b); and 
(3) fees for the costs of administering vouchers 
under subsection (b). 
(b) EMERGENCY VOUCHERS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall provide 
emergency rental assistance vouchers under this sub-
section, which shall be tenant-based rental assistance 
under section 8(o) of the United States Housing Act 
of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)). 
(2) SELECTION OF FAMILIES.— 
(A) MANDATORY
PREFERENCES.—Each 
public housing agency administering assistance 
under this section shall provide preference for 
such assistance to eligible families that are— 
(i) homeless (as such term is defined 
in section 103(a) of the McKinney-Vento 
Homeless 
Assistance 
Act 
(42 
U.S.C. 
11302(a)); 
(ii) at risk of homelessness (as such 
term is defined in section 401 of the 
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McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act 
(42 U.S.C. 11360)); or 
(iii) fleeing, or attempting to flee, do-
mestic violence, dating violence, sexual as-
sault, or stalking. 
(B) ALLOCATION.—In allocating amounts 
made available under this section, the Secretary 
shall— 
(i) not later than 60 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, allocate 
at least 50 percent of such amounts to 
public housing agencies in accordance with 
a formula that considers— 
(I) the capability of public hous-
ing agencies to promptly use emer-
gency vouchers provided under this 
section; and 
(II) the need for emergency 
vouchers provided under this section 
in the geographical area, based on 
factors determined by the Secretary, 
including risk of transmission of 
coronavirus, high numbers or rates of 
sheltered and unsheltered homeless-
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ness, and economic and housing mar-
ket conditions; 
(ii) allocate remaining amounts in ac-
cordance with a formula that considers— 
(I) the criteria under clause (i) 
and the success of a public housing 
agency in promptly utilizing vouchers 
awarded under clause (i); and 
(II) the capability of the public 
housing agency to create and manage 
structured partnerships with service 
providers for the delivery of appro-
priate community-based services; and 
(iii) designate the number of vouchers 
under this section that each public housing 
agency that is awarded funds under this 
section is authorized to administer. 
(C) ELECTION NOT TO ADMINISTER.—If a 
public housing agency elects not to administer 
amounts under this section, the Secretary shall 
award such amounts to other public housing 
agencies according to the criteria in subpara-
graph (B). 
(D) FAILURE TO USE VOUCHERS PROMPT-
LY.—If a public housing agency fails to issue 
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all of its authorized vouchers under this section 
on behalf of eligible families within a reasonable 
period of time as determined by the Secretary, 
the Secretary shall reallocate any unissued 
vouchers and associated funds to others public 
housing agencies according to the criteria under 
subparagraph (B)(ii). 
(3) WAIVERS
AND
ALTERNATIVE
REQUIRE-
MENTS.—Any waiver or alternative requirement that 
the Secretary makes available to all public housing 
agencies in connection with assistance made avail-
able under the heading ‘‘Tenant-Based Rental As-
sistance’’ in title XII of division B of the CARES 
Act (Public Law 116–136; 134 Stat. 601) shall 
apply to assistance under this section until the expi-
ration of such waiver or alternative requirement. 
(4) TERMINATION OF VOUCHERS UPON TURN-
OVER.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—A public housing agen-
cy may not reissue any vouchers made available 
under this section when assistance for the fam-
ily initially assisted is terminated. 
(B) REALLOCATION.—Upon termination of 
assistance for one or more families assisted by 
a public housing agency under this section, the 
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Secretary shall reallocate amounts that are no 
longer needed by such public housing agency 
for assistance under this section to another 
public housing agency for the renewal of vouch-
ers previously authorized under this section. 
Æ 
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