Title: Veteran HOUSE Act 
Policy area: Housing and Community Development

Summary:
This bill expands eligibility for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Veterans Affairs-Supported Housing (VASH) rental voucher assistance to homeless veterans honorably discharged or released from active military, naval, or air service regardless of length of service. According to federal regulations, HUD was granted authority in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2008 to waive or provide an alternative for the current requirement that HUD-VASH assistance be targeted to homeless veterans who have chronic mental illnesses or chronic substance-use disorders.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2398 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2398

  To amend the United States Housing Act of 1937 and title 38, United 
States Code, to expand eligibility for the HUD-VASH program, to direct 
   the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to submit annual reports to the 
      Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and House of 
  Representatives regarding homeless veterans, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 30, 2019

 Mr. Peters (for himself, Mr. Levin of California, Mr. Heck, Mr. Case, 
 Ms. Sewell of Alabama, Ms. Norton, Mr. Vargas, Mr. Correa, Mr. Rouda, 
Mr. Pappas, and Mr. Cisneros) introduced the following bill; which was 
referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the 
    Committee on Veterans' Affairs, 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 the United States Housing Act of 1937 and title 38, United 
States Code, to expand eligibility for the HUD-VASH program, to direct 
   the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to submit annual reports to the 
      Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and House of 
  Representatives regarding homeless veterans, 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. EXPANSION OF ELIGIBILITY FOR HUD-VASH.

    (a) HUD Provisions.--Section 8(o)(19) of the United States Housing 
Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)(19)) is amended by adding at the end 
the following new subparagraph:
                    ``(D) Veteran defined.--In this paragraph, the term 
                `veteran' has the meaning given that term in section 
                2002(b) of title 38, United States Code.''.
    (b) VHA Case Managers.--Subsection (b) of section 2003 of title 38, 
United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: ``In 
the case of vouchers provided under the HUD-VASH program under section 
8(o)(19) of such Act, for purposes of the preceding sentence, the term 
`veteran' shall have the meaning given such term in section 2002(b) of 
this title.''.

SEC. 2. ANNUAL REPORTS.

    (a) In General.--Not less frequently than once each year, the 
Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall submit to the Committee on 
Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Veterans' Affairs 
of the House of Representatives a report on the homelessness services 
provided under programs of the Department of Veterans Affairs, 
including services under HUD-VASH program under section 8(o)(1) of the 
United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)(19)).
    (b) Included Information.--Each such annual report shall include, 
with respect to the year preceding the submittal of the report, a 
statement of the number of eligible individuals who were furnished such 
homelessness services and the number of individuals furnished such 
services under each such program, disaggregated by the number of men 
who received such services and the number of women who received such 
services, and such other information as the Secretary considers 
appropriate
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