I 
109TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 4746 
To amend title 38, United States Code, to establish a financial assistance 
program to facilitate the provision of supportive services for very low- 
income veteran families in permanent housing, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 14, 2006 
Mr. BRADLEY of New Hampshire (for himself, Mr. MCCOTTER, Mr. STRICK-
LAND, Ms. CORRINE BROWN of Florida, Mr. SIMMONS, Ms. HERSETH, 
Mr. FILNER, Mr. KUHL of New York, Mr. WEXLER, Mr. MCDERMOTT, 
and Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas) introduced the following bill; which was 
referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 
A BILL 
To amend title 38, United States Code, to establish a finan-
cial assistance program to facilitate the provision of sup-
portive services for very low-income veteran families in 
permanent housing, 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. FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE FOR SUPPORTIVE 
SERVICES FOR VERY LOW-INCOME VETERAN 
FAMILIES IN PERMANENT HOUSING. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Services to Prevent Veterans Homelessness Act’’.
(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to facili-
tate the provision of supportive services for very low-in-
come veteran families in permanent housing. 
(c) AUTHORIZATION OF FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter V of chapter 20 
of title 38, United States Code, is amended by add-
ing at the end the following new section: 
‘‘§ 2044. Financial assistance for supportive services 
for very low-income veteran families re-
siding in permanent housing 
‘‘(a) DISTRIBUTION OF FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.— 
(1) The Secretary shall provide financial assistance to eli-
gible entities approved under this section to provide and 
coordinate the provision of the supportive services for very 
low-income veteran families residing in permanent hous-
ing. 
‘‘(2)(A) Financial assistance under this section shall 
consist of payments for each such family for which an ap-
proved eligible entity provides or coordinates the provision 
of supportive services. 
‘‘(B) The Secretary shall establish a formula for de-
termining the rate of payments provided to a very low- 
income veteran family receiving supportive services under 
this section. The rate shall be adjusted not less than once 
annually to reflect changes in the cost of living. In calcu-
lating the payment formula under this subparagraph, the 
Secretary may consider geographic cost of living variances, 
family size, and the cost of services provided. 
‘‘(3) In providing financial assistance under para-
graph (1), the Secretary shall give preference to an entity 
that provides or coordinates the provision of supportive 
services for very low-income veteran families who are 
transitioning from homelessness to permanent housing. 
‘‘(4) The Secretary shall ensure that, to the extent 
practicable, financial assistance under this subsection is 
equitably distributed across geographic regions, including 
rural communities and tribal lands. 
‘‘(5) Each entity receiving financial assistance under 
this section to provide supportive services to a very low- 
income veteran family shall notify the family that such 
services are being paid for, in whole or in part, by the 
Department. 
‘‘(6) The Secretary may require an entity receiving 
financial assistance under this section to submit a report 
to the Secretary describing the supportive services pro-
vided with such financial assistance. 
‘‘(b) APPLICATION FOR FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.— 
(1) An eligible entity seeking financial assistance under 
subsection (a) shall submit to the Secretary an application 
in such form, in such manner, and containing such com-
mitments and information as the Secretary determines to 
be necessary. 
‘‘(2) An application submitted under paragraph (1) 
shall contain— 
‘‘(A) a description of the supportive services 
proposed to be provided by the eligible entity; 
‘‘(B) a description of the types of very low-in-
come veteran families proposed to be provided such 
services; 
‘‘(C) an estimate of the number of very low-in-
come veteran families proposed to be provided such 
services; 
‘‘(D) evidence of the experience of the eligible 
entity in providing supportive services to very low-in-
come veteran families; and 
‘‘(E) a description of the managerial capacity of 
the eligible entity to— 
‘‘(i) coordinate the provision of supportive 
services with the provision of permanent hous-
ing, by the eligible entity or by other organiza-
tions; 
‘‘(ii) continuously assess the needs of very 
low-income veteran families for supportive serv-
ices;
‘‘(iii) coordinate the provision of supportive 
services with the services of the Department; 
‘‘(iv) tailor supportive services to the needs 
of very low-income veteran families; and 
‘‘(v) continuously seek new sources of as-
sistance to ensure the long-term provision of 
supportive services to very low-income veteran 
families. 
‘‘(3) The Secretary shall establish criteria for the se-
lection of eligible entities to receive financial assistance 
under this section. 
‘‘(c) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—(1) The Secretary 
shall provide training and technical assistance eligible en-
tities that receive financial assistance under this section 
with respect to the planning, development, and provision 
of supportive services to very low-income veteran families 
occupying permanent housing. 
‘‘(2) The Secretary may provide the training de-
scribed in paragraph (1) directly or through grants or con-
tracts with appropriate public or nonprofit private entities. 
‘‘(d) FUNDING.—Of the amounts available each fiscal 
year to the Department for Medical Care for veterans, 
$25,000,000 shall be available in each such fiscal year to 
carry out the provisions of this section, of which not more
than $750,000 may be used to provide technical assistance 
under subsection (c). 
‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) The term ‘very low-income veteran family’ 
means a veteran family whose income does not ex-
ceed 50 percent of the median income for the area, 
as determined by the Secretary in accordance with 
this paragraph, except that— 
‘‘(A) the Secretary shall make appropriate 
adjustments to the income requirement under 
subparagraph (A) based on family size; and 
‘‘(B) the Secretary may establish an in-
come ceiling higher or lower than 50 percent of 
the median income for an area if the Secretary 
determines that such variations are necessary 
because the area has unusually high or low con-
struction costs, fair market rents (as deter-
mined under section 8 of the United States 
Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f)), or 
family incomes. 
‘‘(2) The term ‘veteran family’ includes a vet-
eran who is a single person and a family in which 
the head of household or the spouse of the head of 
household is a veteran.
‘‘(3) The term ‘consumer cooperative’ has the 
meaning given such term in section 202 of the 
Housing Act of 1959 (12 U.S.C. 1701q). 
‘‘(4) The term ‘eligible entity’ means— 
‘‘(A) a private nonprofit organization; or 
‘‘(B) a consumer cooperative. 
‘‘(5) The term ‘homeless’ has the meaning 
given the term in section 103 of the McKinney- 
Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11302)). 
‘‘(6) The term ‘permanent housing’ means com-
munity-based housing without a designated length of 
stay. 
‘‘(7) The term ‘private nonprofit organization’ 
means— 
‘‘(A) any incorporated private institution 
or foundation— 
‘‘(i) no part of the net earnings of 
which inures to the benefit of any member, 
founder, contributor, or individual; 
‘‘(ii) which has a governing board that 
is responsible for the operation of the sup-
portive services provided under this sec-
tion; and 
‘‘(iii) which is approved by the Sec-
retary as to financial responsibility;
‘‘(B) a for-profit limited partnership, the 
sole general partner of which is an organization 
meeting the requirements of clauses (i), (ii), 
and (iii) of subparagraph (A); 
‘‘(C) a corporation wholly owned and con-
trolled by an organization meeting the require-
ments of clauses (i), (ii), and (iii) of subpara-
graph (A); and 
‘‘(D) a tribally designated housing entity 
(as defined in section 4 of the Native American 
Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act 
of 1996 (25 U.S.C. 4103)). 
‘‘(8) The term ‘supportive services’ means the 
following: 
‘‘(A) Services provided by an eligible entity 
or subcontractors that address the needs of very 
low-income veteran families occupying perma-
nent housing, including— 
‘‘(i) outreach services; 
‘‘(ii) health care services, including di-
agnosis, treatment, and counseling for 
mental health and substance abuse dis-
orders and for post-traumatic stress dis-
order, if such services are not readily avail-
able through the Department of Veterans
Affairs medical center serving the geo-
graphic area in which the veteran family is 
housed; 
‘‘(iii) habilitation and rehabilitation 
services; 
‘‘(iv) case management services; 
‘‘(v) daily living services; 
‘‘(vi) personal financial planning; 
‘‘(vii) transportation services; 
‘‘(viii) vocational counseling; 
‘‘(ix) employment and training; 
‘‘(x) educational services; 
‘‘(xi) assistance in obtaining veterans 
benefits and other public benefits, includ-
ing health care provided by the Depart-
ment; 
‘‘(xii) assistance in obtaining income 
support; 
‘‘(xiii) assistance in obtaining health 
insurance; 
‘‘(xiv) fiduciary and representative 
payee services; 
‘‘(xv) legal services to assist the vet-
eran family with reconsiderations or ap-
peals of veterans and public benefit claim
denials and to resolve outstanding war-
rants that interfere with the family’s abil-
ity to obtain or retain housing or sup-
portive services; 
‘‘(xvi) child care; 
‘‘(xvii) housing counseling; 
‘‘(xviii) other services necessary for 
maintaining independent living; and 
‘‘(xix) coordination of services de-
scribed in this paragraph. 
‘‘(B) Services provided by an eligible entity 
or subcontractors, including services described 
in clauses (i) through (xix) of subparagraph 
(A), that are delivered to very low-income vet-
eran families who are homeless and who are 
scheduled to become residents of permanent 
housing within 90 days of the date on which the 
service is provided pending the location or de-
velopment of housing suitable for permanent 
housing. 
‘‘(C) Services provided by an eligible entity 
or subcontractors, including services described 
in clauses (i) through (xix) of subparagraph 
(A), for very low-income veteran families who 
have voluntarily chosen to seek other housing
after a period of tenancy in permanent housing, 
that are provided, for a period of 90 days be-
ginning on the date on which such a family 
exits permanent housing or until such a family 
commences receipt of other housing services 
adequate to meet the needs of the family, but 
only to the extent that services under this para-
graph are designed to support such a family in 
the choice to transition into housing that is re-
sponsive to the individual needs and preferences 
of the family.’’. 
(2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec-
tions at the beginning of such chapter is amended 
by inserting after the item relating to section 2043 
the following new item: 
‘‘2044. Financial assistance for supportive services for very low-income veteran 
families in permanent housing’’. 
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