Protecting Rural Renters Act of 2022
Bill: H.R.7327 | Sponsor: Rep. Hill, J. French (R-AR)
Policy area: Housing and Community Development

Summary:
Protecting Rural Renters Act of 2022
This bill prevents the reallocation of unspent funding that states and territories received through the Emergency Rental Assistance program.
This program provides funding to assist low-income households affected by the COVID-19 pandemic with covering unmet rent and utility expenses. Cities and counties with populations over 200,000 may elect to receive funding directly, while states and territories receive the funding to administer assistance in all other areas. Under current law, if a jurisdiction fails to spend a minimum portion of its funds by a statutory deadline, the Department of the Treasury must reallocate those funds among jurisdictions that spent more than a specified portion of their initial allocation.
The bill prohibits Treasury from reallocating unspent funds received by states and territories and requires Treasury to return to a state or territory any funds previously reallocated.

To encourage the timely use of funds provided under the emergency 
    rental assistance programs administered by the Secretary of the 
                   Treasury, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Protecting Rural Renters Act of 
2022''.

SEC. 2. REALLOCATION OF CERTAIN UNUSED FUNDS.

    (a) Consolidated Appropriations Act Funds.--Section 501(d) of 
subtitle A of title V of division N of the Consolidated Appropriations 
Act, 2021 (15 U.S.C. 9058a(d)) is amended--
            (1) by inserting ``other than a grantee described in 
        subsection (b)(1)(B)(i)'' after ``by a grantee''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new sentence: ``The 
        Secretary shall require that any amount of funds reallocated 
        pursuant to this subsection from a grantee described in 
        subsection (b)(1)(B)(i) to another eligible grantee after 
        September 30, 2021, but that remain unobligated by such other 
        eligible grantee as of the date of enactment of this sentence, 
        shall be returned to the original grantee described in 
        subsection (b)(1)(B)(i) promptly upon such date of 
        enactment.''.
    (b) ARPA Funds.--Section 3201(e) of the American Rescue Plan Act of 
2021 (15 U.S.C. 9058c(e)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ``other than grantees 
        described in subsection (f)(1)(A)'' after ``eligible 
        grantees''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(5) Return of certain reallocated funds.--The Secretary 
        shall require that any amount of funds reallocated pursuant to 
        this subsection from a grantee described in subsection 
        (f)(1)(A) to another eligible grantee after March 31, 2022, but 
        that remain unobligated by such other eligible grantee as of 
        the date of enactment of this paragraph, shall be returned to 
        the original grantee described in subsection (f)(1)(A) promptly 
        upon such date of enactment.''.
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