I 
115TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6942 
To authorize the Attorney General to make grants to States to provide 
the right to counsel in civil actions related to eviction, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 27, 2018 
Ms. DELAURO introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To authorize the Attorney General to make grants to States 
to provide the right to counsel in civil actions related 
to eviction, 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 ‘‘Eviction Prevention 
Act of 2018’’. 
SEC. 2. GRANTS FOR STATES TO PROVIDE ACCESS TO 
COUNSEL IN CIVIL ACTIONS RELATED TO 
EVICTION. 
(a) AUTHORIZATION.—The Attorney General, acting 
through the Office for Access to Justice, is authorized to 
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make grants to States to provide eligible individuals with 
access to counsel in civil actions related to eviction. 
(b) USE OF FUNDS.—A State that receives a grant 
under this section shall use such funds to hire attorneys 
in positions that are dedicated solely to providing counsel 
described in subsection (a). 
(c) APPLICATION.—A State seeking an application 
under this section shall submit an application to the Attor-
ney General at such time, in such manner, and containing 
such information as the Attorney General may reasonably 
require, including— 
(1) the rate of eviction for that State; and 
(2) during the previous year, the number of in-
dividuals subject to eviction in that State who were 
not represented by an attorney in eviction pro-
ceedings. 
(d) AMOUNT OF GRANT.—Subject to the availability 
of appropriations, a grant under this section shall be in 
an amount that is not less than $1,000,000, and which 
amount is determined based on the rate of eviction in that 
State, compared to the national average rate of eviction, 
as determined by the rates of eviction included with each 
application under subsection (c). 
(e) ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUAL.—In this section, the term 
‘‘eligible individual’’ means an individual whose income is 
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less than the area median income, as calculated by the 
Department of Housing and Urban Development, for the 
area in which the individual resides. 
(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 
authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 
$125,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2019 through 2023. 
SEC. 3. GAO STUDY. 
Not later than one year after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United 
States shall conduct a study and submit a report to Con-
gress on evictions in the United States, including an anal-
ysis of ways in which the legal system fails to provide suf-
ficient protections from eviction for tenants, the rate of 
representation of tenants and landlords, the effect of full 
representation on default rates, case outcomes, and evic-
tion dockets as compared to cases where the tenant lacks 
representation or has pro se assistance, and the potential 
cost savings from providing representation. 
Æ 
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