[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2116 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







107th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2116

     To reform the program of block grants to States for temporary 
assistance for needy families to help States address the importance of 
 adequate, affordable housing in promoting family progress toward self-
                  sufficiency, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 11, 2002

   Mr. Kerry introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
                  referred to the Committee on Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To reform the program of block grants to States for temporary 
assistance for needy families to help States address the importance of 
 adequate, affordable housing in promoting family progress toward self-
                  sufficiency, 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 ``Welfare Reform and Housing Act''.

SEC. 2. SIMPLIFICATION OF THE USE OF FUNDS FOR HOUSING ASSISTANCE AND 
              OTHER PURPOSES.

    (a) Supplemental Housing Benefits.--Section 404 of the Social 
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 604) is amended by adding at the end the 
following:
    ``(l) Use of Funds for Supplemental Housing Benefits.--
            ``(1) In general.--A State to which a grant is made under 
        section 403 may use the grant to provide supplemental housing 
        benefits (as defined in paragraph (4)) to, or on behalf of, an 
        individual eligible for assistance under the State program 
        funded under this part, in order to carry out the purposes 
        specified in section 401(a).
            ``(2) Not considered assistance.--Supplemental housing 
        benefits (as so defined) shall not for any purpose, be 
        considered assistance under the State program funded under this 
        part.
            ``(3) Limitation on use of funds.--A State may not use any 
        part of the funds made available under a grant made under 
        section 403 to supplant existing State expenditures on housing-
        related programs. Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, a 
        State may use such funds to supplement such State expenditures.
            ``(4) Definition of supplemental housing benefits.--In this 
        subsection, the term `supplemental housing benefits' means 
        payments made to, or on behalf of, an individual to reduce or 
        reimburse the costs incurred by the individual for housing 
        accommodations.
    ``(m) State Authority To Define Minor Housing Rehabilitation 
Costs.--A State to which a grant is made under section 403 may use the 
grant to provide grants, loans, or to otherwise pay the costs of minor 
rehabilitation of housing owned or rented by individuals eligible for 
assistance under the State program funded under this part, consistent 
with a definition of minor housing rehabilitation adopted by the State 
and incorporated into the State plan required under section 402(a).''.
    (b) Authority To Reserve Grant for Future Use.--Section 404(e) (42 
U.S.C. 604(e)) is amended to read as follows:
    ``(e) Authority to Reserve Certain Amounts for Future Use.--A State 
or Indian tribe may reserve amounts paid to the State or Indian tribe 
under this part for a fiscal year for any allowable expenditures under 
this part without fiscal year limitation.''.

SEC. 3. CONSIDERATION OF HOUSING-RELATED BARRIERS TO WORK AND SELF-
              SUFFICIENCY.

    (a) State Plan Requirement on Description of Housing Needs and 
Solutions.--Section 402(a)(1)(B) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
602(a)(1)(B)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
                            ``(v) The document shall describe--
                                    ``(I) the primary problems that 
                                families receiving assistance and 
                                families who have recently ceased to 
                                receive assistance under the State 
                                program funded under this part 
                                experience in securing and retaining 
                                adequate, affordable housing and the 
                                estimated extent of each such problem, 
                                including the price of such housing in 
                                various areas of the State that include 
                                a large proportion of recipients of 
                                assistance under the State program, and 
                                the steps that have been and will be 
                                taken by the State and other public or 
                                private entities, including community 
                                action partnership agencies, that 
                                administer housing or homelessness 
                                programs to address these needs; and
                                    ``(II) the methods the State has 
                                adopted to identify barriers to work 
                                posed by the living arrangement, 
                                housing cost, and housing location of 
                                individuals eligible for the State 
                                program funded under this part and the 
                                services and benefits that have been or 
                                will be provided by the State and other 
                                public or private entities to help 
                                families overcome such barriers.''.
    (b) Assessment of Housing Barriers to Work.--Section 
408(b)(2)(A)(iv) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
608(b)(2)(A)(iv)) is amended by inserting ``, including the housing-
related benefits or services that the State or other public or private 
entities, including community action partnership agencies, will provide 
to overcome barriers to work posed by the individual's living 
arrangement, housing cost, or housing location'' before the semicolon.
    (c) Improvement of Housing-Related Data Collection.--
            (1) Inclusion in quarterly reports.--Section 411(a)(1)(A) 
        of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 611(a)(1)(A)) is 
        amended--
                    (A) in clause (i), by inserting ``and city or other 
                political jurisdiction'' after ``county'';
                    (B) in clause (ix), by inserting ``and the type of 
                subsidized housing received'' after ``subsidized 
                housing''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following:
                            ``(xviii) From a sample of closed cases in 
                        which the family left due to employment, the 
                        city or other political jurisdiction of the 
                        employment and the employed individual's 
                        estimated travel time from the family's 
                        residence to the place of employment.''.
            (2) Development of data collection protocol.--The Secretary 
        of Health and Human Services and the Secretary of Housing and 
        Urban Development jointly shall develop a procedure for 
        interagency data matching or other uniform data collection 
        protocol to determine the type of subsidized housing received 
        by families receiving assistance under the State programs 
        funded under part A of title IV of the Social Security Act (42 
        U.S.C. 601 et seq.) and federally funded (including through the 
        use of tax credits pursuant to section 42 of the Internal 
        Revenue Code of 1986) or State-funded housing benefits.

SEC. 4. COOPERATION AGREEMENTS WITH PUBLIC HOUSING AGENCIES FOR 
              ECONOMIC SELF-SUFFICIENCY ACTIVITIES.

    Section 408(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 608(a)) is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
            ``(12) Cooperation agreements with public housing 
        agencies.--
                    ``(A) In general.--A State to which a grant is made 
                under section 403 shall, directly or through 
                appropriate agencies, enter into cooperation agreements 
                with public housing agencies for economic self-
                sufficiency activities as required by section 12(d)(7) 
                of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 
                1437j(d)(7)). Such cooperation agreements may include 
                provisions on how--
                            ``(i) agencies administering funds provided 
                        under a grant made under section 403 will 
                        cooperate with public housing agencies to 
                        implement work incentive rent policies and 
                        Federal housing policies and programs to 
                        promote savings;
                            ``(ii) public housing agencies will 
                        cooperate with agencies administering such 
                        funds to make residents of public housing and 
                        recipients of housing vouchers under section 
                        8(o) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 
                        (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)) that have ceased to 
                        receive assistance under the State program 
                        funded under this part aware of transitional 
                        services and benefits for which the residents 
                        or recipients may be eligible; and
                            ``(iii) agencies will cooperate to assist 
                        recipients of housing vouchers under section 
                        8(o) of such Act in locating housing that will 
                        help the recipients succeed at obtaining or 
                        retaining employment.
                    ``(B) Private participation.--A State may invite 
                private owners of federally assisted housing to 
                participate in cooperation agreements under this 
                paragraph.''.

SEC. 5. INTERAGENCY DEMONSTRATION ON HOUSING WITH SERVICES FOR FAMILIES 
              WITH MULTIPLE BARRIERS TO WORK.

    Section 403(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 603(a)) is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
            ``(6) Grants for interagency demonstration on housing with 
        services.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The Secretary and the Secretary 
                of Housing and Urban Development (in this paragraph 
                referred to as the `Secretaries') jointly shall award 
                grants for the conduct and evaluation of demonstrations 
                of different models to provide housing with services to 
                promote the employment of parents and caretaker 
                relatives who are eligible for a benefit or service 
                under the State program funded under this part and who 
                have multiple barriers to work, including lack of 
                adequate housing.
                    ``(B) Requirements.--
                            ``(i) Eligible recipients.--Grants shall be 
                        awarded under this paragraph on a competitive 
                        basis to States and organizations which have 
                        exempt status under section 501(c)(3) of the 
                        Internal Revenue Code of 1986, including 
                        community and faith-based organizations.
                            ``(ii) Location.--In awarding such grants, 
                        the Secretaries shall ensure that 
                        demonstrations are conducted in metropolitan 
                        and nonmetropolitan areas.
                            ``(iii) Use of funds.--
                                    ``(I) In general.--Funds provided 
                                under a grant awarded under this 
                                paragraph shall be used for the cost of 
                                implementation and evaluation of the 
                                demonstrations conducted with such 
                                funds.
                                    ``(II) Limitation on benefits or 
                                services to non-custodial parents.--Not 
                                more than 10 percent of the total 
                                amount of grant funds awarded to a 
                                State or organization under this 
                                paragraph may be used to provide 
                                benefits or services to noncustodial 
                                parents.
                            ``(iv) Not considered assistance.--A 
                        benefit or service provided with funds made 
                        available under a grant awarded under this 
                        paragraph shall not for any purpose, be 
                        considered assistance under the State program 
                        funded under this part.
                            ``(v) Duration; availability of funds.--
                        Funds provided under a grant awarded under this 
                        paragraph shall remain available for a period 
                        of 3 years after the date on which the grant is 
                        made.
                    ``(C) Evaluation.--Not later than December 31, 
                2006, the Secretaries shall publish an evaluation of 
                the demonstrations conducted under grants made under 
                this paragraph.
                    ``(D) Appropriation.--Out of any money in the 
                Treasury of the United States not otherwise 
                appropriated, there are appropriated $50,000,000 for 
                fiscal year 2003 for grants under this paragraph.''.

SEC. 6. CONFORMING IMMIGRANT ELIGIBILITY FOR HOUSING ASSISTANCE WITH 
              RULES APPLICABLE TO OTHER FEDERAL NEEDS-BASED ASSISTANCE.

    Section 214(a) of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1980 
(42 U.S.C. 1436a(a)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (6), by striking ``or'' at the end;
            (2) in paragraph (7), by striking the period at the end and 
        inserting ``; or''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following--
            ``(8) an alien who is a qualified alien, as defined in 
        subsection (b) of section 431 of the Personal Responsibility 
        and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 
        1641), including a battered alien or alien child who is 
        described in subsection (c) of such section.''.
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