Title: Housing Waiver Flexibility Act of 2020
Policy area: Housing and Community Development

Summary:
Housing Waiver Flexibility Act of 2020
This bill addresses the administration and funding of certain housing assistance programs in relation to the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) public health emergency.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) may waive requirements or specify alternative requirements related to the use of funds from the Housing Trust Fund and the self-help housing assistance program, except for requirements related to fair housing, nondiscrimination, labor standards, and the environment, if doing so is necessary to respond to the COVID-19 emergency. (The Housing Trust Fund provides grants to states for housing for low-income families, while the self-help housing assistance program provides grants to organizations that facilitate home ownership.)
Furthermore, funds previously made available for the Choice Neighborhoods Initiative, a program that supports local efforts to revitalize public and HUD-assisted housing, shall remain available through FY2021.
Additionally, the bill invalidates the FY2020 request for applications for funding under the Continuum of Care program, which funds efforts to address homelessness. Instead, HUD shall distribute amounts for FY2020 based on the results of the competition for FY2019.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6867 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6867

To provide necessary flexibility under programs for federally assisted 
  housing to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 14, 2020

Mr. Gonzalez of Texas introduced the following bill; which was referred 
                 to the Committee on Financial Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To provide necessary flexibility under programs for federally assisted 
  housing to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, 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 ``Housing Waiver Flexibility Act of 
2020''.

SEC. 2. HOUSING TRUST FUND.

    (a) Waiver Authority.--The Secretary of Housing and Urban 
Development may waive, or specify alternative requirements for, any 
provision of any statute or regulation that the Secretary administers 
in connection with the use of amounts made available from the Housing 
Trust Fund established pursuant to section 1338 of the Federal Housing 
Enterprises Financial Safety and Soundness Act of 1992 (12 U.S.C. 4568) 
(except for requirements related to fair housing, nondiscrimination, 
labor standards, and the environment), upon a finding by the Secretary 
that any such waivers or alternative requirements are necessary for the 
safe and effective administration of such amounts to prevent, prepare 
for, and respond to coronavirus (COVID-19).
    (b) Retroactive Applicability.--Any such waivers shall be deemed to 
be effective as of the date a State or eligible recipient of amounts 
from a State allocation of such amounts began preparing for coronavirus 
and shall apply to the amounts made available from the Housing Trust 
Fund before, on, and after the date of the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 3. ASSISTANCE FOR SELF-HELP HOUSING PROVIDERS.

    (a) Waiver Authority.--The Secretary of Housing and Urban 
Development may waive, or specify alternative requirements for, any 
provision of any statute or regulation that the Secretary administers 
in connection with the program for self-help housing assistance under 
section 11 of the Housing Opportunity Program Extension Act of 1996 (42 
U.S.C. 12805 note) (except for requirements related to fair housing, 
nondiscrimination, labor standards, and the environment), upon a 
finding by the Secretary that any such waivers or alternative 
requirements are necessary for the safe and effective administration of 
such amounts to prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus 
(COVID-19).
    (b) Retroactive Applicability.--Any such waivers and alternative 
requirements shall be deemed to be effective as of the date an 
organization or consortia who is a recipient of amounts under the 
program referred to in subsection (a) began preparing for coronavirus 
and shall apply to the amounts made available under such program 
before, on, and after the date of the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 4. CHOICE NEIGHBORHOODS INITIATIVE.

    Any amounts made available in the Consolidated and Further 
Continuing Appropriations Act, 2013 (Public Law 113-6) for the heading 
``Department of Housing and Urban Development--Public and Indian 
Housing--Choice Neighborhoods Initiative'' shall remain available for 
the purpose of paying obligations incurred prior to the expiration of 
such amounts through September 30, 2021.

SEC. 5. CONTINUUM OF CARE PROGRAM.

    Due to the emergency relating to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 
(COVID-19) pandemic, the Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for 
fiscal year 2020 for the Continuum of Care program under subtitle C of 
title IV of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11381 
et seq.) shall have no force or effect and the Secretary of Housing and 
Urban Development shall distribute amounts made available for such 
fiscal year for such program based on the results of the competition 
for amounts made available for such program for fiscal year 2019 (FR-
6300-25), except that grant amounts may be adjusted to account for 
changes in fair market rents.
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