[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3752 Introduced in House (IH)]







107th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 3752

      To provide housing assistance to domestic violence victims.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 13, 2002

 Ms. Schakowsky (for herself, Ms. Millender-McDonald, Mr. Conyers, Mr. 
  Frank, Ms. Jackson-Lee of Texas, Mrs. Mink of Hawaii, Mr. McGovern, 
   Mrs. Maloney of New York, Mr. Houghton, Mr. Honda, Mr. Jackson of 
   Illinois, Mr. Smith of New Jersey, Mr. Waxman, Ms. Slaughter, Mr. 
Lantos, Mr. Rangel, Mr. Kucinich, Mr. George Miller of California, Ms. 
Pelosi, Mrs. Lowey, Ms. Solis, Mr. Thompson of Mississippi, Mr. Frost, 
     Mr. Brown of Ohio, Mr. Baldacci, Mr. Sandlin, Mr. McHugh, Mr. 
Abercrombie, Mr. Gillmor, Mr. Skelton, Ms. Carson of Indiana, Mr. Davis 
of Illinois, Mr. Owens, Mrs. Jones of Ohio, Ms. Norton, Mr. Filner, Mr. 
Sanders, Mrs. Thurman, Mr. Cummings, Mr. Nadler, Mr. Evans, Mr. Allen, 
 Mr. Rothman, Ms. McCollum, Mr. Green of Texas, Ms. Hooley of Oregon, 
  Ms. Baldwin, Mr. Clement, Ms. Lee, Mr. Jefferson, Mrs. Christensen, 
 Mrs. Clayton, Mr. Boswell, Ms. Waters, Ms. Berkley, Mr. Blagojevich, 
 Mrs. Capps, Mr. Reyes, Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas, Mr. Holt, 
   Mr. Hinchey, Mr. Olver, Ms. McKinney, Ms. Sanchez, Ms. Hart, Mr. 
    Pascrell, Ms. Brown of Florida, Ms. DeLauro, Mr. Underwood, Mr. 
 Lipinski, Mr. Bonior, Mr. Engel, Mr. Stark, Mr. Capuano, Mr. Borski, 
Mr. Hastings of Florida, Ms. Kilpatrick, Mr. McNulty, Mr. Pallone, Mr. 
 Israel, Mr. Matsui, Mr. Larsen of Washington, Mr. Moran of Virginia, 
Ms. McCarthy of Missouri, Mr. McDermott, Mr. Fattah, Mr. Baird, Mr. Wu, 
Mr. Oberstar, Mr. Rush, Ms. Roybal-Allard, Mr. Kildee, Mr. Spratt, Mr. 
  Udall of New Mexico, Mr. Hoyer, Ms. Woolsey, Mr. Faleomavaega, Mr. 
 Wexler, Mrs. Meek of Florida, Ms. Kaptur, Ms. Lofgren, Ms. Velazquez, 
 Mr. Langevin, Mr. Ford, and Mr. Clay) introduced the following bill; 
       which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
      To provide housing assistance to domestic violence victims.

    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 ``Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault 
Victims' Housing Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds as follows:
            (1) Victims of rape, incest, and other forms of sexual 
        assault are frequently forced suddenly from their own homes for 
        safety reasons. Such victims have included women desperately 
        trying to protect their children from continued sexual abuse by 
        other family members, women attending college who are pressured 
        to leave school following a rape, young women being sold into 
        prostitution by their fathers or husbands, women who are 
        undocumented aliens feeling trapped and living in fear of being 
        deported if they seek help, women being afraid to return to 
        apartment buildings where they have been raped, and teenagers 
        running away from home to escape incest.
            (2) All of these women and children, and many more in 
        similar situations, would greatly benefit from making available 
        transitional housing that offers immediate safety and 
        connections to other appropriate services. Without such 
        housing, they are often left in dangerous circumstances or left 
        homeless and subject to additional victimization.
            (3) Housing can prevent domestic violence and mitigate its 
        effects. The connection between domestic violence and housing 
        is overwhelming. Of all homeless women and children, 50 percent 
        are fleeing domestic violence.
            (4) Among cities surveyed, 44 percent identified domestic 
        violence as a primary cause of homelessness.
            (5) Women's poverty levels aggravate the problems of 
        homelessness and domestic violence. Two out of three poor 
        adults are women. Female-headed households are six times poorer 
        than male-headed households. In 1996, of the 7,700,000 poor 
        families in the country, 4,100,000 of them were single female-
        headed households. In addition, 5,100,000 poor women who are 
        not in families are poor.
            (6) Almost 50 percent of the women who receive Temporary 
        Assistance to Needy Families funds cite domestic violence as a 
        factor in the need for assistance.
            (7) Many women who flee violence are forced to return to 
        their abusers because of inadequate shelter or lack of money. 
        Even if they leave their abusers to go to a shelter, they often 
        return home because the isolation from familiar surroundings, 
        friends, and neighborhood resources makes them feel even more 
        vulnerable. Shelters and transitional housing facilities are 
        often located far from a domestic violence victim's 
        neighborhood. While this placement may be deliberate to protect 
        domestic violence victims from their abusers, it can also be 
        intimidating and alienating for a woman to leave her home, 
        community, cultural support system, and all that she knows for 
        shelter way across town. Thus, women of color and immigrant 
        women are less likely to become shelter residents.
            (8) Women who do leave their abusers lack adequate 
        emergency shelter options. The overall number of emergency 
        shelter beds for homeless people is estimated to have decreased 
        by an average of 3 percent in 1997 while requests for shelter 
        increased on the average by 3 percent. Emergency shelters 
        struggle to meet the increased need for services with about 32 
        percent of the requests for shelter by homeless families going 
        unmet. In fact 88 percent of cities reported having to turn 
        away homeless families from emergency shelters due to 
        inadequate resources for services.
            (9) Battered women and their children comprise an 
        increasing proportion of the emergency shelter population.
            (10) A stable, sustainable home base is crucial for women 
        who have left situations of domestic violence and are learning 
        new job skills, participating in educational programs, working 
        full-time jobs, or searching for adequate child care in order 
        to gain self-sufficiency. Transitional housing resources and 
        services provide a continuum between emergency shelter 
        provision and independent living.

SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    The amount authorized to be appropriated under section 429(a) of 
the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11389(a)) shall 
be increased by $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2003 and by such sums as 
may be necessary for each of fiscal years 2004 through 2007.

SEC. 4. USE OF AMOUNTS FOR HOUSING ASSISTANCE FOR VICTIMS OF DOMESTIC 
              VIOLENCE, STALKING, OR ADULT OR CHILD SEXUAL ASSAULT.

    (a) Housing Assistance.--Any additional amounts made available, 
pursuant to section 3 of this Act, under section 429 of the McKinney-
Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11389) shall be available to 
the Secretary only to provide assistance to qualified organizations for 
the purpose of providing, on behalf only of eligible individuals or 
families (as provided under subsection (b))--
            (1) supportive housing (as such term is defined in section 
        422 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 
        11382));
            (2) tenant-based rental assistance;
            (3) financial assistance for a security deposit, first 
        month's rent, or ongoing rental assistance; or
            (4) project-based transitional housing, except that such 
        assistance may be used only to cover expenses of renovation, 
        repair, conversion and operation of such housing.
    (b) Eligible Individuals and Families.--An eligible individual or 
family under this subsection is an individual or family that meets both 
of the following requirements:
            (1) Domestic violence, stalking, or sexual assault.--The 
        individual or family has been victimized by domestic violence, 
        stalking, or adult or child sexual assault (as such terms are 
        defined in section 9 of this Act).
            (2) Leaving residence.--The qualified organization 
        providing the housing assistance pursuant to subsection (a) for 
        which the individual or family is applying has determined that 
        the individual or member of the family who was a victim of the 
        domestic violence, stalking, or adult or child sexual assault 
        reasonably believes that relocation from such residence will 
        assist in avoiding future domestic violence, stalking, or adult 
        or child sexual assault against such individual or another 
        member of the family.

SEC. 5. MATCHING REQUIREMENT.

    Each qualified organization receiving assistance under this Act 
shall supplement such assistance with a 25 percent match of funds for 
supportive services (as such term is defined in section 422 of the 
McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11382)) from sources 
other than this Act. Each such organization shall certify to the 
Secretary its compliance with this section and shall include with the 
certification a description of the sources and amounts of such 
supplemental funds.

SEC. 6. ALLOCATION.

    (a) Competition.--Amounts made available pursuant to this Act shall 
be allocated by the Secretary, among qualified organizations that 
submit applications to the Secretary, under a national competition 
based on demonstrated need for such assistance, including the extent of 
service provided to underserved populations (as such term is defined in 
section 2003 of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 
(42 U.S.C. 3796gg-2)) and the ability to undertake and carry out a 
program under this Act, as the Secretary shall determine.
    (b) Set Aside for Indian Tribes.--Of the total funds appropriated 
pursuant to section 3 for any of the enumerated fiscal years, at least 
10 percent shall be used for grants to Indian tribes or Indian tribal 
organizations that provide emergency shelter, transitional housing, or 
permanent housing or supportive services to individuals or families 
victimized by domestic violence, stalking, or adult or child sexual 
assault. Indian tribes or Indian tribal organizations that receive such 
grants may apply for and receive other grants from the total funds 
appropriated under this Act. All other grants awarded shall go to 
qualified organizations.
    (c) Reallotment.--If, at the end of the 6th month of any fiscal 
year for which sums are appropriated pursuant to section 3, the total 
amount appropriated has not been obligated under subsection (a) to 
qualified organizations for purposes under such subsection, the 
Secretary shall reallot the remaining amount to qualified organizations 
that are eligible for funding under subtitle C of title IV of the 
McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11381-11389) for use 
for the purposes under such subtitle. Funds made available by the 
Secretary through reallotment under the preceding sentence shall remain 
available for expenditure until the end of the fiscal year following 
the fiscal year in which such funds become available for reallotment.

SEC. 7. APPLICANT REQUIREMENTS.

    The Secretary shall provide for qualified organizations to apply 
for assistance under this Act and shall require that such an 
application shall--
            (1) contain such certifications as the Secretary shall 
        require to ensure that--
                    (A) the applicant organization, to the extent 
                practicable, has entered into cooperative agreements or 
                memoranda of understanding with homeless coalitions, 
                public housing authorities, and community-based 
                agencies that represent underserved populations to 
                establish procedures for facilitating referrals to 
                transitional housing and for implementing tenant-based 
                housing assistance programs; and
                    (B) any construction or physical improvements 
                carried out with assistance amounts under this Act will 
                comply with any applicable housing, safety, and 
                licensing codes, laws, or regulations of the State or 
                local government in which the structure is located; and
            (2) describe how the services to be provided with 
        assistance under this Act will assist victims of domestic 
        violence in obtaining permanent housing.

SEC. 8. CONFIDENTIALITY.

    A qualified organization may not be provided assistance under this 
Act unless the organization agrees to ensure the confidentiality of--
            (1) the names of individuals and their dependents assisted 
        with services or in facilities funded, in whole or in part, 
        with such amounts; and
            (2) any other information regarding such individuals and 
        dependents,
except to the extent such information is otherwise required by law to 
be disclosed.

SEC. 9. DEFINITIONS.

    For purposes of this Act:
            (1) Domestic violence.--The term ``domestic violence'' 
        includes acts or threats of violence or extreme cruelty (as 
        such term is referred to in section 216 of the Immigration and 
        Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1186a)), not including acts of self-
        defense, committed by a current or former spouse of the victim, 
        by a person with whom the victim has a child in common, by a 
        person who is cohabiting with or has cohabited with the victim, 
        by a person who is or has been in a continuing social 
relationship of a romantic or intimate nature with the victim, by a 
person similarly situated to a spouse of the victim under the domestic 
or family violence laws of the jurisdiction, or by any other person 
against a victim who is protected from that person's acts under the 
domestic or family violence laws of the jurisdiction.
            (2) Family victimized by domestic violence, stalking, or 
        adult or child sexual assault.--
                    (A) In general.--The term ``family victimized by 
                domestic violence, stalking, or adult or child sexual 
                assault'' means a family or household that includes an 
                individual who has been determined under subparagraph 
                (B) to have been a victim of domestic violence, 
                stalking, or adult or child sexual assault, but does 
                not include any individual described in paragraph (1), 
                (2), or (3) who committed the domestic violence, sexual 
                assault, or adult or child sexual assault. The term 
                includes any such family or household in which only a 
                minor or minors are the individual or individuals who 
                was or were a victim of domestic violence, stalking, or 
                sexual assault only if such family or household also 
                includes a parent, stepparent, legal guardian, or other 
                responsible caretaker for the child.
                    (B) Determination that family or individual was a 
                victim of domestic violence, stalking, or adult or 
                child sexual assault.--For purposes of subparagraph 
                (A), a determination under this subparagraph is a 
                determination that domestic violence, stalking, or 
                adult or child sexual assault has been committed, which 
                is made by any agency or official of a State, Indian 
                tribe, tribal organization, or unit of general local 
                government based upon--
                            (i) information provided by any medical, 
                        legal, counseling, or other clinic, shelter, 
                        sexual assault program or other program or 
                        entity licensed, recognized, or authorized by 
                        the State, Indian tribe, tribal organization, 
                        or unit of general local government to provide 
                        services to victims of domestic violence, 
                        stalking, or adult or child sexual assault;
                            (ii) information provided by any agency of 
                        the State, Indian tribe, tribal organization, 
                        unit of general local government, or qualified 
                        organization that provides or administers the 
                        provision of social, medical, legal, or health 
                        services;
                            (iii) information provided by any clergy;
                            (iv) information provided by any hospital, 
                        clinic, medical facility, or doctor licensed or 
                        authorized by the State, Indian tribe, tribal 
                        organization, or unit of general local 
                        government to provide medical services;
                            (v) a petition, application, or complaint 
                        filed in any State, Federal, or tribal court or 
                        administrative agency, documents or records of 
                        action or decision of any court, law 
                        enforcement agency, or administrative agency, 
                        including any record of any protective order, 
                        injunction, or temporary or final order issued 
                        by civil or criminal courts, any self-petition 
                        or any police report; or
                            (vi) any other reliable evidence that 
                        domestic violence, stalking, or adult or child 
                        sexual assault has occurred.
                A victim's statement that domestic violence, stalking, 
                or adult or child sexual assault has occurred shall be 
                sufficient unless the agency has an independent, 
                reasonable basis to find the individual not credible.
            (3) Indian tribe.--The term ``Indian Tribe'' shall have the 
        same meaning given the term in section 2003 of the Omnibus 
        Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796gg-
        2).
            (4) Qualified organization.--The term ``qualified 
        organization'' means a private, nongovernmental organization 
        that--
                    (A) is organized, or has as its primary purposes, 
                to provide emergency shelter, transitional housing, or 
                permanent housing for victims of domestic violence, 
                stalking, or adult or child sexual assault or is a 
                medical, legal, counseling, social, psychological, 
                health, job training, educational, life skills 
                development, or other social services program for 
                victims of domestic violence, stalking, or adult or 
                child sexual assault that undertakes a collaborative 
                project with a qualified, nonprofit, nongovernmental 
                organization that primarily provides emergency shelter, 
                transitional housing, or permanent housing for low-
                income people;
                    (B) is organized under State, tribal, or local 
                laws;
                    (C) has no part of its net earnings inuring to the 
                benefit of any member, shareholder, founder, 
                contributor, or individual;
                    (D) is approved by the Secretary as to financial 
                responsibility; and
                    (E) demonstrates experience in providing services 
                to victims of domestic violence, stalking, or adult or 
                child sexual assault.
            (5) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Housing and Urban Development.
            (6) Sexual assault.--The term ``sexual assault'' means any 
        conduct proscribed by chapter 109A of title 18, United States 
        Code, whether or not the conduct occurs in the special maritime 
        and territorial jurisdiction of the United States, on an Indian 
        reservation, or in a Federal prison and includes both assaults 
        committed by offenders who are strangers to the victims and 
        assaults committed by offenders who are known to the victims or 
        related by blood or marriage to the victim.
            (7) Stalking.--The term ``stalking'' means engaging in a 
        course of conduct directed at a specific person that would 
        cause a reasonable person to fear death, sexual assault, or 
        bodily injury to himself or herself or a member of his or her 
        immediate family, when the person engaging in such conduct has 
        knowledge or should have knowledge that the specific person 
        will be placed in reasonable fear of death, sexual assault, or 
        bodily injury to himself or herself or a member of his or her 
        immediate family and when the conduct induces fear in the 
        specific person of death, sexual assault, or bodily injury to 
        himself or herself or a member of his or her immediate family.
            (8) State.--The term ``State'' means the States of the 
        United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of 
        Puerto Rico, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, 
        Guam, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and any other 
        territory or possession of the United States.
            (9) Transitional housing.--The term ``transitional 
        housing'' includes short-term housing and has the meaning given 
        such term in section 424(b) of the McKinney-Vento Homeless 
        Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11384(b)).
            (10) Tribal organization.--The term ``tribal organization'' 
        means a private, nonprofit, nongovernmental, or tribally 
        chartered organization--
                    (A) whose primary purpose is to provide emergency 
                shelter, transitional housing, or permanent housing or 
                supportive services to individuals or families 
                victimized by domestic violence, stalking, or adult or 
                child sexual assault;
                    (B) that operates within the exterior boundaries of 
                an Indian reservation; and
                    (C) whose board of directors reflects the 
                population served.
            (11) Unit of general local government.--The term ``unit of 
        general local government'' has the meaning given the term in 
        section 102(a) of the Housing and Community Development Act of 
        1974 (42 U.S.C. 5302(a)).
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