[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4449 Introduced in House (IH)]

103d CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4449

To amend part A of title IV of the Social Security Act to enable States 
  to construct, rehabilitate, purchase or rent permanent housing for 
  homeless AFDC families, using funds that would otherwise be used to 
            provide emergency assistance for such families.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 18, 1994

    Mr. Peterson of Minnesota (for himself, Mr. Flake, Mr. Frank of 
  Massachusetts, Mr. Vento, and Mr. Rangel) introduced the following 
 bill; which was referred jointly to the Committees on Ways and Means 
                 and Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend part A of title IV of the Social Security Act to enable States 
  to construct, rehabilitate, purchase or rent permanent housing for 
  homeless AFDC families, using funds that would otherwise be used to 
            provide emergency assistance for such families.

    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 ``Permanent Housing for Homeless 
Families Act''.

SEC. 2. EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE DEEMED TO INCLUDE CONSTRUCTION, 
              REHABILITATION, PURCHASE, AND RENTAL OF PERMANENT HOUSING 
              FOR HOMELESS AFDC FAMILIES.

    (a) In General.--Section 406 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
606) is amended by inserting after subsection (c) the following:
    ``(d)(1) The term `emergency assistance to needy families with 
children' includes the qualified expenditures of an eligible State.
    ``(2) As used in paragraph (1):
            ``(A) The term `eligible State' means, with respect to a 
        fiscal year, a State that meets the following requirements:
                    ``(i) The State plan approved under this part for 
                the fiscal year includes provision for emergency 
                assistance as described in subsection (e) or this 
                subsection.
                    ``(ii) The State has provided assurances to the 
                Secretary that the average amount that the State 
                intends to expend per family for such emergency 
                assistance for the fiscal year would not exceed such 
                average amount for the immediately preceding fiscal 
                year. The Secretary shall prescribe in regulations 
                standards for determining the period over which capital 
                expenditures incurred in the provision of such 
                emergency assistance are to be amortized.
                    ``(iii) There has been a 30-day period for which 
                the average amount expended by the State for the 
                provision of housing in shelters for the homeless or in 
                hotels, motels, or other temporary accommodations was 
                at least $1,200 per family.
            ``(B) The term `qualified expenditure' means an expenditure 
        used exclusively for the construction, rehabilitation, 
        purchase, or rental of permanent housing--
                    ``(i) by the State, a political subdivision of the 
                State, an agency or instrumentality of the State or of 
                a political subdivision of the State, or a nonprofit 
                organization;
                    ``(ii) all units of which will be used exclusively 
                for rental to families that--
                            ``(I) are eligible (at the time of the 
                        rental) for aid under the State plan under this 
                        part;
                            ``(II) have been unable to obtain decent 
                        housing at rents not exceeding 30 percent of 
                        their income; and
                            ``(III) if such housing were not available, 
                        would be homeless or compelled to live in a 
                        shelter for the homeless or in a hotel, motel, 
                        or other temporary accommodations; and
                    ``(iii) in a local jurisdiction that is 
                experiencing a critical shortage of housing units that 
                are affordable to families eligible for aid under the 
                State plan.''.
    (b) Sunset.--Effective 10 years after the date of the enactment of 
this Act, the amendment made by subsection (a) is hereby repealed.

SEC. 3. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.

    In providing emergency shelter to homeless AFDC families, the 
Congress encourages the States to combine funds available for such 
purpose under the program of aid to families with dependent children 
with funds available under other Federal, State, or local programs, 
including the Community Development Block Grant program, the Home 
Investment Partnership program, and the programs under the Stewart B. 
McKinney Homeless Assistance Act.

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