[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1624 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1624

To improve the quality of housing for elderly individuals and families, 
                        and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 29, 1999

   Mr. LaFalce (for himself, Mr. Vento, Mr. Kanjorski, Mr. Frank of 
Massachusetts, Ms. Hooley of Oregon, Ms. Lee, Ms. Schakowsky, Mrs. Meek 
     of Florida, Mr. Waxman, Mr. Rahall, Mr. Filner, Mr. Brown of 
   California, Ms. Woolsey, Mr. Olver, Mr. Meehan, and Mr. Brady of 
Pennsylvania) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
              Committee on Banking and Financial Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To improve the quality of housing for elderly individuals and families, 
                        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 ``Elderly Housing Quality Improvement 
Act''.

SEC. 2. GRANTS FOR ELDERLY HOUSING CAPITAL REPAIR AND CONVERSION TO 
              ASSISTED LIVING FACILITIES.

    Title II of the Housing Act of 1959 is amended by inserting after 
section 202a (12 U.S.C. 1701q-1) the following new section:

``SEC. 202B. GRANTS FOR ELDERLY HOUSING CAPITAL REPAIR AND CONVERSION 
              TO ASSISTED LIVING FACILITIES.

    ``(a) General Authority.--The Secretary may make grants to eligible 
grantees described in subsection (b) for one or both of the following 
activities:
            ``(1) Repairs.--Substantial capital repairs to a project 
        that are needed to rehabilitate, modernize, or retrofit aging 
        structures, common areas, or individual dwelling units.
            ``(2) Conversion.--Activities designed to convert dwelling 
        units in the project to assisted living facilities for elderly 
        persons.
    ``(b) Eligible Grantees.--The Secretary may make grants to owners 
of housing projects that are--
            ``(1) described in subparagraphs (B), (C), (D), (E), (F), 
        or (G) of section 683(2) of the Housing and Community 
        Development Act of 1992 (42 U.S.C. 13641(2)); and
            ``(2) designated primarily for occupancy by elderly 
        persons.
    ``(c) Applications.--Applications for grants under this section 
shall be submitted to the Secretary in accordance with such procedures 
as the Secretary shall establish. Such applications shall contain--
            ``(1) a description of the substantial capital repairs or 
        the proposed conversion activities for which a grant under this 
        section is requested;
            ``(2) the amount of the grant requested to complete the 
        substantial capital repairs or conversion activities;
            ``(3) a description of the resources that are expected to 
        be made available, if any, in conjunction with the grant under 
        this section; and
            ``(4) such other information or certifications that the 
        Secretary determines to be necessary or appropriate.
    ``(d) Selection Criteria.--The Secretary shall establish selection 
criteria for grants under this section, which shall include--
            ``(1) in the case of a grant for substantial capital 
        repairs, the extent to which the project to be repaired is in 
        need of such repair, including such factors as the age of 
        improvements to be repaired, and the impact on the health and 
        safety of residents of failure to make such repairs;
            ``(2) in the case of a grant for conversion activities, the 
        extent to which the conversion is likely to provide assisted 
        living facilities that are needed or are expected to be needed 
        by the categories of elderly persons that the assisted living 
        facility is intended to serve, with a special emphasis on very 
        low-income elderly persons who need assistance with activities 
        of daily living;
            ``(3) the inability of the applicant to fund the repairs or 
        conversion activities from existing financial resources, as 
        evidenced by the applicant's financial records, including 
        assets in the applicant's residual receipts account and 
        reserves for replacement account;
            ``(4) the extent to which the applicant has evidenced 
        community support for the repairs or conversion, by such 
        indicators as letters of support from the local community for 
        the repairs or conversion and financial contributions from 
        public and private sources;
            ``(5) in the case of a grant for conversion activities, the 
        extent to which the applicant demonstrates a strong commitment 
        to promoting the autonomy and independence of the elderly 
        persons that the assisted living facility is intended to serve;
            ``(6) in the case of a grant for conversion activities, the 
        quality, completeness, and managerial capability of providing 
        the services which the assisted living facility intends to 
        provide to elderly residents, especially in such areas as 
        meals, 24-hour staffing, and on-site health care; and
            ``(7) such other criteria as the Secretary determines to be 
        appropriate to ensure that funds made available under this 
        section are used effectively.
    ``(e) Definitions.--For the purposes of this section--
            ``(1) the term `assisted living facility' has the meaning 
        given that term in section 232(b) of the National Housing Act 
        (12 U.S.C. 1715w(b)); and
            ``(2) the definitions in section 202(k) shall apply.
    ``(f) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated for providing grants under this section $100,000,000 for 
fiscal year 2000 and such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal 
years 2001 and 2002.''.

SEC. 3. REHABILITATION AND MAINTENANCE OF FEDERALLY ASSISTED HOUSING 
              UNITS.

    (a) Section 202 Prepayment and Refinancing.--
            (1) Approval of prepayment of debt.--Upon request of the 
        project sponsor, the Secretary shall approve the prepayment of 
        any indebtedness to the Secretary relating to any remaining 
        principal and interest under any loan for a project made under 
        section 202 of the Housing Act of 1959 as part of a refinancing 
        plan in which--
                    (A) the project sponsor agrees to operate the 
                project until the maturity date of the original loan 
                under terms at least as advantageous to existing and 
                future tenants as the terms required by the original 
                loan agreement or any section 8 rental assistance 
                payments contract relating to the project; and
                    (B) results in a lower interest rate on the 
                principal of the loan for the project and in reductions 
                in debt service related to such loan.
            (2) Sources of refinancing.--The project sponsor may 
        refinance a project under this section through refinancing by 
        any third party source, including financing by State and local 
        housing finance agencies, use of tax-exempt bonds, multi-family 
        mortgage insurance under the National Housing Act, reinsurance, 
        or other credit enhancements, including risk sharing as 
        provided under section 542 of the Housing and Community 
        Development Act of 1992. For purposes of underwriting a loan 
        insured under the National Housing Act, the Secretary may 
        assume that any section 8 assistance contract relating to a 
        project will be renewed for the term of such loan.
            (3) Use of unexpended amounts.--Upon execution of the 
        refinancing, the Secretary shall make available at least 50 
        percent of the annual savings resulting from reduced section 8 
        assistance contracts in a manner that is advantageous to the 
        tenants, including--
                    (A) not more than 15 percent of the cost of 
                increasing the availability or provision of supportive 
                services;
                    (B) rehabilitation, modernization, or retrofit of 
                structures, common areas, or individual dwelling units;
                    (C) construction of an addition or other facility 
                in the project, including assisted living facilities 
                (or, upon the approval of the Secretary, facilities 
                located in the community where the project sponsor 
                refinances a project under this section or pools shared 
                resources from more than one such project); or
                    (D) rent reduction of unassisted tenants residing 
                in the project according to a pro rata allocation of 
                shared savings resulting from the refinancing.
            (4) Use of certain project funds.--The Secretary shall 
        allow a project sponsor that is prepaying and refinancing a 
        project under this section--
                    (A) to use any residual receipts held for that 
                project in excess of $500 per individual dwelling unit 
                for not more than 15 percent of the cost of activities 
                designed to increase the availability or provision of 
                supportive services; and
                    (B) to use any reserves for replacement in excess 
                of $1,000 per individual dwelling unit for activities 
                described in subparagraphs (B) and (C) of paragraph 
                (3).
    (b) Rehabilitation Loans From Recaptured IRP Amounts.--Section 
236(s) of the National Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 1715z-1) is amended--
            (1) by striking the subsection designation and heading and 
        inserting the following:
    ``(s) Grants and Loans for Rehabilitation of Multifamily 
Projects.--'';
            (2) in paragraph (1), by inserting ``and loans'' after 
        ``grants'';
            (3) in paragraph (2)--
                    (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by 
                striking ``capital grant assistance under this 
                subsection'' and inserting ``capital assistance under 
                this subsection under a grant or loan only''; and
                    (B) in subparagraph (D)(i), by striking ``capital 
                grant assistance'' and inserting ``capital assistance 
                under this subsection from a grant or loan (as 
                appropriate)'';
            (4) in paragraph (3), by striking all of the matter that 
        precedes subparagraph (A) and inserting the following:
            ``(3) Eligible uses.--Amounts from a grant or loan under 
        this subsection may be used only for projects eligible under 
        paragraph (2) for the purposes of--'';
            (5) in paragraph (4)--
                    (A) by striking the paragraph heading and inserting 
                ``Grant and loan agreements''; and
                    (B) by inserting ``or loan'' after ``grant'', each 
                place it appears;
            (6) in paragraph (5), by inserting ``or loan'' after 
        ``grant'', each place it appears;
            (7) in paragraph (6), by adding at the end the following 
        new subparagraph:
                    ``(D) Loans.--In making loans under this subsection 
                using the amounts that the Secretary has recaptured 
                from contracts for interest reduction payments pursuant 
                to clause (i) or (ii) of paragraph (7)(A)--
                            ``(i) the Secretary may use such recaptured 
                        amounts for costs (as such term is defined in 
                        section 502 of the Congressional Budget Act of 
                        1974) of such loans;
                            ``(ii) the Secretary may make loans in any 
                        fiscal year only to the extent or in such 
                        amounts that amounts are used under clause (i) 
                        to cover costs of such loans.
                            ``(iii) the authority of the Secretary to 
                        enter into commitments to make such loans shall 
                        be effective for any fiscal year only to the 
                        extent that (I) there is enacted in advance, in 
                        an appropriations Act, a maximum limitation on 
                        the aggregate principal amount of such 
                        commitments for such fiscal year, and (II) the 
                        aggregate principal amount of such commitments 
                        entered into by the Secretary does not exceed 
                        such maximum amount.'';
            (8) by redesignating paragraphs (5) and (6) (as amended by 
        the preceding provisions of this subsection) as paragraphs (6) 
        and (7); and
            (9) by inserting after paragraph (4) the following new 
        paragraph:
            ``(5) Loan terms.--A loan under this subsection--
                    ``(A) shall provide amounts for the eligible uses 
                under paragraph (3) in a single loan disbursement of 
                loan principal;
                    ``(B) shall be repaid, as to principal and 
                interest, on behalf of the borrower using amounts 
                recaptured from contracts for interest reduction 
                payments pursuant to clause (i) or (ii) of paragraph 
                (7)(A);
                    ``(C) shall have a term to maturity of the same 
                duration as the remaining period for which the interest 
                reduction payments for the insured mortgage that funds 
                repayment of the loan would have continued after 
                extinguishment or writedown of the mortgage (in 
                accordance with the terms of such mortgage in effect 
                immediately before such extinguishment or writedown);
                    ``(D) shall bear interest at a rate, as determined 
                by the Secretary of the Treasury, that is based upon 
                the current market yields on outstanding marketable 
                obligations of the United States having comparable 
                maturities; and
                    ``(E) shall involve a principal obligation of an 
                amount not exceeding the amount that can be repaid 
                using amounts described in subparagraph (B) over the 
                term determined in accordance with subparagraph (C), 
                with interest at the rate determined under subparagraph 
                (D).''.
    (c) Eligibility of Noninsured Projects for IRP Capital Grants.--
Section 236(s)(2) of the National Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 1715z-
1(s)(2)(A)) is amended by striking subparagraph (A) and inserting the 
following new subparagraph:
                    ``(A) if the project is federally assisted housing 
                described in subparagraph (B), (C), (D), (E), (F) or 
                (G) of section 683(2) of the Housing and Community 
                Development Act of 1992 (42 U.S.C. 13641(2));''.
    (d) Excess Income of Noninsured Section 236 Projects.--Section 236 
of the National Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 1715z-1) is amended by striking 
the matter that follows the period at the end of paragraph (7) of 
subsection (f) and precedes subsection (h) and inserting the following 
new subsection:
    ``(g) Excess Rental Charges.--The project owner shall, as required 
by the Secretary, accumulate, safeguard, and periodically pay the 
Secretary or such other entity as determined by the Secretary and upon 
such terms and conditions as the Secretary deems appropriate, all 
rental charges collected on a unit-by-unit basis in excess of the basic 
rental charges. Unless otherwise directed by the Secretary, such excess 
charges shall be credited to a reserve used by the Secretary to make 
additional assistance payments as provided in paragraph (3) of 
subsection (f). Notwithstanding any other requirements of this 
subsection, the project owner may retain some or all of such excess 
charges for project use if authorized by the Secretary and upon such 
terms and conditions as established by the Secretary.''.

SEC. 4. SERVICE COORDINATORS AND CONGREGATE SERVICES FOR ELDERLY AND 
              DISABLED HOUSING.

    (a) Authorization of Appropriations for Federally Assisted 
Housing.--There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of 
Housing and Urban Development $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2000, and 
such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 2001 and 2002, 
for the following purposes:
            (1) Grants for service coordinators for certain federally 
        assisted multifamily housing.--For grants under section 676 of 
        the Housing and Community Development Act of 1992 (42 U.S.C. 
        13632) for providing service coordinators.
            (2) Congregate services for federally assisted housing.--
        For contracts under section 802 of the Cranston-Gonzalez 
        National Affordable Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 8011) to provide 
        congregate services programs for eligible residents of eligible 
        housing projects under subparagraphs (B) through (D) of 
        subsection (k)(6) of such section.
    (b) Funding for Renewals and Additional Grants for Public 
Housing.--
            (1) Renewal of all contracts not renewed in fiscal year 
        1998.--There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary 
        of Housing and Urban Development for fiscal year 1999, in 
        addition to any amounts appropriated by the Departments of 
        Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and 
        Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999 (Public Law 105-
        276), such sums as may be necessary to renew each grant for 
        providing service coordinators and congregate services for the 
        elderly and disabled in public housing that was made from 
        amounts that were appropriated for fiscal year 1995, 1996, or 
        1997 that was not renewed using amounts appropriated for fiscal 
        year 1998.
            (2) Full renewals in fiscal year 1999.--Of the amounts 
        appropriated for fiscal year 1999 under the heading ``Community 
        Planning and Development--community development block grants'' 
        in the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban 
        Development, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999 
        (Public Law 105-276; 112 Stat. 2477) and made available for 
        grants for service coordinators and congregate services for the 
        elderly and disabled in public housing, the Secretary shall use 
        such sums as may be necessary to renew all grants made for 
        fiscal year 1998 for such activities (including grants renewed 
        with amounts made available pursuant to paragraph (1) of this 
        subsection).
            (3) Authorization of appropriations for fiscal year 2000.--
        There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of 
        Housing and Urban Development for fiscal year 2000 for grants 
        for use only for activities described in paragraph (2) of 
        section 34(b) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 
        U.S.C. 1437z-6(b)(2))--
                    (A) such sums as may be necessary for renewal of 
                all grants described in paragraphs (1) and (2) of this 
                subsection; and
                    (B) $11,000,000 for grants in addition to such 
                renewal grants.
    (c) Increased Flexibility for Use of Service Coordinators in 
Certain Federally Assisted Housing.--Section 676 of the Housing and 
Community Development Act of 1992 (42 U.S.C. 13632) is amended--
            (1) in the section heading, by striking ``MULTIFAMILY 
        HOUSING ASSISTED UNDER THE NATIONAL HOUSING ACT'' and inserting 
        ``CERTAIN FEDERALLY ASSISTED HOUSING'';
            (2) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) in the first sentence, by striking ``(E) and 
                (F)'' and inserting ``(B), (C), (D), (E), (F), and 
                (G)''; and
                    (B) in the last sentence--
                            (i) by striking ``section 661'' and 
                        inserting ``section 671''; and
                            (ii) by adding after the period at the end 
                        the following new sentence: ``A service 
                        coordinator funded with a grant under this 
                        section for a project may provide services to 
                        low-income elderly or disabled families living 
                        in the vicinity of such project.'';
            (3) in subsection (d)--
                    (A) by striking ``(E) or (F)'' and inserting ``(B), 
                (C), (D), (E), (F), or (G)''; and
                    (B) by striking ``section 661'' and inserting 
                ``section 671''; and
            (4) by striking subsection (c) and redesignating subsection 
        (d) (as amended by paragraph (3) of this subsection) as 
        subsection (c).
    (d) Requirement To Provide Service Coordinators.--Section 671 of 
the Housing and Community Development Act of 1992 (42 U.S.C. 13631) is 
amended--
            (1) in the first sentence of subsection (a), by striking 
        ``to carry out this subtitle pursuant to the amendments made by 
        this subtitle'' and inserting the following: ``for providing 
        service coordinators under this section'';
            (2) in subsection (d), by inserting ``)'' after ``section 
        683(2)''; and
            (3) by adding at the end following new subsection:
    ``(e) Services for Low-Income Elderly or Disabled Families Residing 
in Vicinity of Certain Projects.--To the extent only that this section 
applies to service coordinators for covered federally assisted housing 
described in subparagraphs (B), (C), (D), (E), (F), and (G) of section 
683(2), any reference in this section to elderly or disabled residents 
of a project shall be construed to include low-income elderly or 
disabled families living in the vicinity of such project.''.

SEC. 5. USE OF SECTION 8 ASSISTANCE FOR ASSISTED LIVING FACILITIES.

    (a) Voucher Assistance.--Section 8(o) of the United States Housing 
Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)) is amended by adding at the end the 
following new paragraph:
            ``(18) Rental assistance for assisted living facilities.--
                    ``(A) In general.--A public housing agency may make 
                assistance payments on behalf of a family that uses an 
                assisted living facility as a principal place of 
                residence. Such payments may be made only for covering 
                costs of rental of the dwelling unit in the assisted 
                living facility and not for covering any portion of the 
                cost of residing in the assisted living facility that 
                is attributable to service relating to assisted living.
                    ``(B) Rent calculation.--
                            ``(i) Charges included.--For assistance 
                        pursuant to this paragraph, the rent of the 
                        dwelling unit that is an assisted living 
                        facility with respect to which assistance 
                        payments are made shall include maintenance and 
                        management charges related to the dwelling unit 
                        and tenant-paid utilities. Such rent shall not 
                        include any charges attributable to services 
                        relating to assisted living.
                            ``(ii) Payment standard.--The public 
                        housing agency shall establish a payment 
                        standard for the purpose of determining the 
                        monthly assistance that may be paid under this 
                        paragraph on behalf of any family. The payment 
                        standard may not exceed an amount approved or 
                        established by the Secretary and shall be based 
                        on upon the applicable payment standard 
                        established under paragraph (1) for the market 
                        area in which the assisted living facility is 
                        located.
                            ``(iii) Monthly assistance payment.--The 
                        monthly assistance payment for a family 
                        assisted under this paragraph shall be 
                        determined in accordance with paragraph (2) 
                        (using the rent and payment standard for the 
                        dwelling unit as determined in accordance with 
                        this subsection).
                    ``(C) Definition of assisted living facility.--For 
                the purposes of this paragraph, the term `assisted 
                living facility' has the meaning given that term in 
                section 232(b) of the National Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 
                1715w(b)).''.
    (b) Project-Based Assistance.--Section 202b of the Housing Act of 
1959, as added by section 2 of this Act, is amended by inserting after 
subsection (d) the following new subsection:
    ``(e) Section 8 Project-Based Assistance.--
            ``(1) Eligibility.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
        law, a multifamily project which includes one or more dwelling 
        units that have been converted to assisted living facilities 
        using grants made under this section shall be eligible for 
        project-based assistance under section 8 of the United States 
        Housing Act of 1937, in the same manner in which the project 
        would be eligible for such assistance but for the assisted 
        living facilities in the project.
            ``(2) Calculation of rent.--For assistance pursuant to this 
        subsection, the maximum monthly rent of a dwelling unit that is 
        an assisted living facility with respect to which assistance 
        payments are made shall not include charges attributable to 
        services relating to assisted living.''.

SEC. 6. INCREMENTAL VOUCHERS FOR ASSISTED LIVING FACILITIES.

    (a) Purpose.--The purpose of this section is to establish a 
demonstration program to test the effectiveness of providing vouchers 
for use in connection with assisted living facilities--
            (1) to assist elderly families who need assistance with 
        activities of daily living;
            (2) to provide incentives for the conversion, substantial 
        rehabilitation, or new construction of assisted living 
        facilities for the elderly; and
            (3) to reduce medicaid expenditures by providing enhanced 
        assisted living alternatives to nursing home care for low-
        income elderly families.
    (b) Housing Assistance.--In connection with this demonstration, the 
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development may, to the extent amounts 
are provided by appropriations Acts, enter into contracts with 10 
public housing agencies or State housing finance agencies to provide 
not more than 15,000 incremental vouchers with respect to fiscal year 
1999 for assistance under section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 
1937.
    (c) Uses.--
            (1) Low-income elderly families.--Vouchers provided under 
        this section may only be used by low-income elderly families 
        who need assistance with activities of daily living.
            (2) Assisted living facilities.--
                    (A) Existing facilities.--Vouchers provided under 
                this section for use in connection with an assisted 
                living facility that is not a new assisted living 
                facility may be used only by a family eligible under 
                paragraph (1) who, at the time such family is initially 
                approved for such voucher assistance, is residing in a 
                dwelling unit assisted with project-based assistance 
                (as defined in section 16(c) of the United States 
                Housing Act of 1937 or section 683 of the Housing and 
                Community Development Act of 1992).
                    (B) New facilities.--
                            (i) In general.--Vouchers provided under 
                        this section for use in connection with a new 
                        assisted living facility may be used by any 
                        family eligible under paragraph (1).
                            (ii) Very low income elderly families.--To 
                        the maximum extent financially practicable, 
                        vouchers shall be made available to very low-
                        income elderly families who are eligible for 
                        medicaid.
                            (iii) Reservation of vouchers--In making 
                        assistance available under this subparagraph, 
                        for each fiscal year for which funds are 
                        available for vouchers under this section, a 
                        public housing agency or State housing finance 
                        agency shall reserve a specific number of 
                        vouchers for use in certain assisted living 
                        facilities which shall in turn agree to reserve 
                        an equal number of dwelling units for use in 
                        conjunction with such vouchers.
    (d) Applications.--
            (1) In general.--In order to request assistance under this 
        section, a public housing agency or a State housing finance 
        agency shall submit an application to the Secretary in such 
        form and in accordance with such procedures as the Secretary 
        shall establish.
            (2) Contents.--The Secretary shall require that an 
        application for assistance under this section contain, at a 
        minimum--
                    (A) an application for housing assistance under 
                section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937, if 
                necessary;
                    (B) the number of vouchers requested for use under 
                each of subparagraphs (A) and (B) of subsection (c)(2);
                    (C) in an application requesting vouchers for use 
                under subsection (c)(2)(A), the number of elderly 
                families residing in dwelling units assisted with 
                project-based assistance and an estimate of the number 
                of elderly families likely to become eligible in fiscal 
                years 2000 and 2001 for voucher assistance under this 
                subsection in the jurisdiction which the public housing 
                agency or State housing finance agency serves; and
                    (D) in an application requesting vouchers for use 
                under subsection (c)(2)(B)--
                            (i) an analysis of the need for new 
                        assisted living facilities for use by low-
                        income elderly families in the jurisdiction 
                        which the public housing agency or State 
                        housing finance agency serves;
                            (ii) information sufficient to demonstrate 
                        that voucher assistance under subsection 
                        (c)(2)(B) is necessary to make new assisted 
                        living facilities for which such assistance 
                        will be used financially viable and affordable 
                        for low-income elderly families;
                            (iii) an explanation of the criteria that 
                        the public housing agency or State housing 
                        finance agency plans to use to determine for 
                        which new assisted living facilities the 
                        voucher assistance will be used; and
                            (iv) the extent to which the assisted 
                        living facilities for which such assistance 
                        will be used are likely to use medicaid waivers 
                        to provide on-site health care services; and
                    (E) plans, if any, to allow other qualified 
                administrative agencies to use some or all of the 
                vouchers requested.
    (e) Selection Criteria.--The Secretary shall establish selection 
criteria for a national competition for assistance under this section, 
which shall include--
            (1) the ability of the public housing agency or State 
        housing finance agency to implement the program;
            (2) the need for assisted living facilities for elderly 
        families eligible for assistance requested under this section 
        in the area to be served;
            (3) the level of public or private financial assistance, if 
        any, toward the cost of developing or operating the assisted 
        living facility;
            (4) the extent to which the assistance requested would meet 
        the needs of the elderly families proposed to be served by the 
        program; and
            (5) such other factors as the Secretary considers to be 
        appropriate for purposes of carrying out the demonstration 
        program established by this section.
    (f) Rent Calculation.--
            (1) In general.--Except as provided in this subsection, 
        monthly assistance payments for voucher assistance under this 
        section shall be provided in the same manner as such payments 
        are provided under section 8(o)(18) of the United States 
        Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)(18)).
            (2) Payment standard.--The public housing agency or State 
        housing finance agency shall establish a payment standard for 
        the purpose of determining the monthly assistance that may be 
        paid under this section on behalf of a family. The payment 
        standard for a market area shall be the same as any payment 
        standard established under section 8(o)(18)(B)(ii) of the 
        United States Housing Act of 1937 for the market area, unless 
        the Secretary determines that an amount greater than such 
        standard is necessary to make a new assisted living facility 
        financially viable and affordable for low-income elderly 
        families.
    (g) Definitions.--For purposes of this section:
            (1) The term ``assisted living facility'' has the meaning 
        given that term in section 232(b) of the National Housing Act 
        (12 U.S.C. 1715w(b)).
            (2) The term ``elderly family'' has the meaning given that 
        term in section 3(b) of the United States Housing Act of 1937.
            (3) The term ``low-income'' means having an income that 
        meets the requirement for a low-income family under section 
        3(b) of the United States Housing Act of 1937.
            (4) The term ``very low-income'' means having an income 
        that meets the requirement for a very low-income family under 
        section 3(b) of the United States Housing Act of 1937.
            (5) The term ``new assisted living facility'' means an 
        assisted living facility--
                    (A) construction of which has been completed for 
                not more than 1 year prior to the date of approval of 
                an application for assistance under this section; or
                    (B) which required conversion or substantial 
                rehabilitation activities to convert the facility to an 
                assisted living facility and such activities have been 
                completed not more than 1 year prior to the date of 
                approval of an application for assistance under this 
                section.
            (6) The term ``public housing agency'' has the meaning 
        given that term in section 3(b) of the United States Housing 
        Act of 1937. The term includes an Indian Housing Authority, as 
        defined in section 3(b) of such Act.
            (7) The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of Housing 
        and Urban Development.
            (8) The term ``State housing finance agency'' has the 
        meaning given the term under section 802(b)(2)(A) of the 
        Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 
        1440(b)(2)(A)).
    (h) Report.--Not later than 3 years after the Secretary provides 
the 15,000 vouchers under this section, the Secretary, in coordination 
with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, shall submit to 
Congress an annual report evaluating--
            (1) the degree of success in making assisted living 
        facilities available to low-income elderly families who would 
        otherwise not be able to afford to live in assisted living 
        facilities; and
            (2) the extent to which the provision of vouchers under 
        this section reduced medicaid expenditures through a reduction 
        in the need for nursing home care.
    (i) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated for providing 15,000 incremental vouchers for housing 
assistance under section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937, 
for fiscal years 2000 and such sums as are necessary to renew such 
vouchers for each fiscal year thereafter.

SEC. 7. NEW CONSTRUCTION OF ELDERLY AFFORDABLE HOUSING UNITS.

    Section 202 of the Housing Act of 1959 (12 U.S.C. 1701q) is amended 
by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(m) Authorization of Appropriations.--
            ``(1) In general.--There is authorized to be appropriated 
        for providing assistance under this section $710,000,000 for 
        fiscal year 2000 and such sums as may be necessary for each of 
        fiscal years 2001 and 2002.
            ``(2) Additional funds.--In addition to amounts 
        appropriated under paragraph (1), there is authorized to be 
        appropriated additional funds for fiscal year 2000 for use 
        under this section under additional criteria which encourage or 
        give preference to the leveraging of funds from other sources 
        or the development of additional individual dwelling units 
        affordable for moderate-income elderly families.''.
                                 <all>