Title: Homelessness Emergency Declaration Act
Policy area: Housing and Community Development

Summary:
Homelessness Emergency Declaration Act
This bill allows states to request a presidential declaration of a homelessness emergency. The bill also requires certain budgetary adjustments to discretionary accounts related to homelessness emergency assistance.
Upon a presidential declaration of a homelessness emergency, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) may provide homelessness emergency assistance, including housing vouchers, to states and local communities that are or will be affected by the homelessness emergency.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5609 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5609

To authorize the President to declare a homelessness emergency, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 15, 2020

   Mr. Harder of California introduced the following bill; which was 
    referred to the Committee on the Budget, and in addition to the 
       Committees on Financial Services, and Transportation and 
   Infrastructure, 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 authorize the President to declare a homelessness emergency, 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 ``Homelessness Emergency Declaration 
Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Homelessness in the Central Valley and across the 
        country is a threat to public health and safety.
            (2) One-third of people in the United States experiencing 
        homelessness are families with children.
            (3) 1.2 million children under age 6 experience 
        homelessness.
            (4) Sixty-nine percent of California's homeless population 
        is unsheltered.
            (5) There are 12,396 homeless children and 11,000 homeless 
        veterans in California.
            (6) One in 5 California Community College students is 
        homeless.
            (7) The rate of increase in homelessness is cause for 
        national concern and action.
            (8) Incidences of homelessness grew 14 percent in 
        California between 2014 and 2018.
            (9) On a given day, 40,000 U.S. military veterans 
        experience some form of homelessness.
            (10) The experience of homelessness is damaging to a 
        child's mental health and development, as evidenced by the fact 
        that 40 percent of homeless children experience mental health 
        challenges.
            (11) Homelessness is a deadly condition, decreasing life 
        expectancy by up to 36 years.

SEC. 3. ASSISTANCE FOR HOMELESSNESS EMERGENCY DECLARATION.

    (a) In General.--Upon the request of a Governor, or other 
appropriate agency, of a State under subsection (b), the President may 
declare a homelessness emergency.
    (b) Request From Governor.--The Governor, or other appropriate 
agency, of a State that is or will be affected by a significant number 
of or increase in the number of homeless individuals may request a 
declaration under subsection (a).
    (c) Assistance.--If the President declares a homelessness emergency 
under subsection (a), the President, acting through the Federal 
Emergency Management Agency and other appropriate Federal agencies, may 
provide homelessness emergency assistance, including housing vouchers 
and increases in fair market rents under section 8 of the United States 
Housing Assistance Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f), to States and local 
communities that are or will be affected by the homelessness emergency, 
including resources for establishing temporary or permanent homeless 
shelters, emergency food assistance, transportation, access to physical 
and behavioral healthcare, and access to Federal employment and job 
training programs.
    (d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out this Act.

SEC. 4. BUDGET ADJUSTMENT FOR HOMELESS EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE.

    Section 251(b)(2) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit 
Control Act of 1985 (2 U.S.C. 901(b)(2)) is amended by adding at the 
end the following:
                    ``(H) Homeless emergency assistance.--
                            ``(i) If, for any fiscal year, 
                        appropriations for discretionary accounts are 
                        enacted that Congress designates as being for 
                        homelessness emergency assistance in statute, 
                        the adjustment for a fiscal year shall be the 
                        total of such appropriations for the fiscal 
                        year in discretionary accounts designated as 
                        being for homelessness emergency assistance.
                            ``(ii) For purposes of this subparagraph, 
                        the term `homelessness emergency assistance' 
                        means assistance provided under a determination 
                        under section 2 of the Homelessness Emergency 
                        Declaration Act.
                            ``(iii) Appropriations considered 
                        homelessness emergency assistance under this 
                        subparagraph in a fiscal year shall not be 
                        eligible for adjustments under subparagraph (A) 
                        for the fiscal year.''.
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