Title: Reducing Veteran Homelessness Act of 2020
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security

Summary:
Reducing Veteran Homelessness Act of 2020
This bill modifies certain Department of Veterans Affairs programs and services for homeless veterans, including by increasing the per diem rate for grant recipients that provide services to homeless veterans.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8275 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 8275

   To amend title 38, United States Code, and the Honoring America's 
  Veterans and Caring for Camp Lejeune Families Act of 2012, to make 
certain enhancements to grants and agreements between the Secretary of 
    Veterans Affairs and entities that provide services to homeless 
                               veterans.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 16, 2020

Mr. McCarthy (for himself, Mr. Levin of California, Mr. David P. Roe of 
Tennessee, Mr. Banks, Mr. Bergman, Mr. Steube, Mr. Bost, Mr. Dunn, Mr. 
  Bilirakis, Mr. Calvert, Mr. Meuser, Mr. LaMalfa, Mr. Cook, and Mrs. 
  Radewagen) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
  Committee on Veterans' Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on 
 Financial Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
  Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 
           within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend title 38, United States Code, and the Honoring America's 
  Veterans and Caring for Camp Lejeune Families Act of 2012, to make 
certain enhancements to grants and agreements between the Secretary of 
    Veterans Affairs and entities that provide services to homeless 
                               veterans.

    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 ``Reducing Veteran Homelessness Act of 
2020''.

SEC. 2. IMPROVEMENTS TO GRANTS AND AGREEMENTS BETWEEN THE SECRETARY OF 
              VETERANS AFFAIRS AND ENTITIES THAT PROVIDE SERVICES TO 
              HOMELESS VETERANS.

    Section 2012(a)(2)(B) of title 38, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by striking clause (i) and inserting the following:
    ``(i) Except as provided in clause (ii), the rate determined under 
this paragraph shall be the higher of--
            ``(I) 125 percent of the rate authorized for State homes 
        for domiciliary care under subsection (a)(1)(A) of section 1741 
        of this title, as the Secretary may increase from time to time 
        under subsection (c) of that section; or
            ``(II) regulations prescribed by the Secretary that 
        determine such rate based on locality.''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new clause (iii):
    ``(iii) The Secretary may reimburse the recipient of a grant under 
section 2011, 2012, 2013, or 2061 of this title for fees charged to 
that grant recipient for the use of the homeless management information 
system described in section 402 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless 
Assistance Act (Public Law 100-77; 42 U.S.C. 11630a)--
            ``(I) in amounts the Secretary determines to be reasonable; 
        and
            ``(II) if the Secretary determines that the grant recipient 
        is unable to obtain information contained in such system 
        through other means and at no cost to the grant recipient.''.

SEC. 3. CONTRACTING FOR HUD-VASH CASE MANAGERS.

    (a) In General.--Section 304 of the Honoring America's Veterans and 
Caring for Camp Lejeune Families Act of 2012 (Public Law 112-154; 38 
U.S.C. 2041 note) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) by inserting ``(1)'' before ``The Secretary''; 
                and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following new 
                paragraphs:
    ``(2)(A) Subject to subparagraphs (B) and (C), the director of a 
covered medical center shall seek to enter into a contract or agreement 
described in paragraph (1).
    ``(B) A contract or agreement under subparagraph (A) may require 
that a case manager employed by an eligible entity have credentials 
equivalent to those of a case manager of the Department.
    ``(C) The Secretary may waive the requirement under subparagraph 
(A) if the Secretary determines that fulfilling such requirement is 
infeasible. If the Secretary grants such a waiver, the Secretary shall 
submit, not later than 90 days after granting such waiver, to the 
Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and House of 
Representatives, a report containing--
            ``(i) an explanation of that determination;
            ``(ii) a plan to increase the number of case managers of 
        the Department; and
            ``(iii) a plan for the covered medical center to increase 
        use of such vouchers.
    ``(D) In this paragraph, the term `covered medical center' means a 
medical center of the Department that the Secretary determines--
            ``(i) had more than 15 percent of all vouchers allocated to 
        that medical center under the program described in paragraph 
        (1) through the fiscal year preceding such determination go 
        unused due to a lack of case management services provided by 
        the Secretary; and
            ``(ii) has a case manager position that has been vacant for 
        at least nine consecutive months immediately preceding the date 
        of such determination.''; and
            (2) in subsection (b)(2)--
                    (A) in the matter before subparagraph (A), by 
                striking ``, including because--'' and inserting a 
                period; and
                    (B) by striking subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C).
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall take 
effect on the first day of the first fiscal year to begin on or after 
the date of the enactment of this Act.
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