Title: Emergency Housing Voucher Act of 2020
Policy area: Housing and Community Development

Summary:
Emergency Housing Voucher Act of 2020
This bill authorizes the Department of Housing and Urban Development to provide emergency rental assistance vouchers to public housing agencies (PHAs) to administer to eligible low-income families. In administering such vouchers, PHAs must give preference to families that are (1) homeless; (2) at risk of homelessness; or (3) fleeing, or attempting to flee, domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4164 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 4164

   To authorize emergency housing voucher assistance, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              July 2, 2020

 Mr. Brown (for himself and Ms. Smith) introduced the following bill; 
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, 
                           and Urban Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To authorize emergency housing voucher assistance, 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 ``Emergency Housing Voucher Act of 
2020''.

SEC. 2. EMERGENCY HOUSING VOUCHER PROGRAM.

    (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 ``Secretary''), $10,000,000,000 for fiscal 
year 2020, to remain available until expended, for--
            (1) 200,000 incremental emergency housing vouchers under 
        subsection (b);
            (2) renewals of emergency housing vouchers under subsection 
        (b); and
            (3) fees for the costs of administering emergency housing 
        vouchers under subsection (b).
    (b) Emergency Housing Vouchers.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary shall provide emergency 
        housing vouchers under this subsection, which shall be tenant-
        based rental assistance under section 8(o) the United States 
        Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)).
            (2) Selection of families.--
                    (A) Preferences for emergency housing vouchers.--
                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 McKinney-Vento 
                        Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11360); or
                            (iii) fleeing, or attempting to flee, 
                        domestic violence, dating violence, sexual 
                        assault, 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 
                                housing agencies to promptly use 
                                emergency housing vouchers provided 
                                under this section; and
                                    (II) the need for emergency housing 
                                vouchers provided under this section in 
                                the geographical area, based on factors 
                                determined by the Secretary, including 
                                risk of transmission of Coronavirus 
                                (COVID-19), high numbers or rates of 
                                sheltered and unsheltered homelessness, 
                                and economic and housing market 
                                conditions;
                            (ii) allocate remaining amounts in 
                        accordance with a formula that considers--
                                    (I) the criteria under clause (i) 
                                and the success of a public housing 
                                agency in promptly utilizing emergency 
                                housing 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 
                                appropriate community-based services; 
                                and
                            (iii) designate the number of emergency 
                        housing 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 subparagraph (B).
                    (D) Failure to use vouchers promptly.--If a public 
                housing agency fails to issue all of its authorized 
                emergency housing 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 emergency housing vouchers and 
                associated funds to others public housing agencies 
                according to the criteria under subparagraph (B)(ii).
            (3) Waivers and alternative requirements.--Any waiver or 
        alternative requirement that the Secretary makes available to 
        all public housing agencies in connection with assistance made 
        available under the heading ``Tenant-Based Rental Assistance'' 
        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 expiration of such waiver or alternative 
        requirement.
            (4) Termination of vouchers upon turnover.--
                    (A) In general.--A public housing agency may not 
                reissue any emergency housing vouchers made available 
                under this section when assistance for the family 
                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 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 
                emergency housing vouchers previously authorized under 
                this section.
    (c) Definition.--In this section, the term ``public housing 
agency'' has the meaning given the term in section 3(b)(6) of the 
United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437a(b)(6)).
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