[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1030 Introduced in House (IH)]







108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1030

To reduce overpayments of subsidies in Department of Housing and Urban 
Development housing assistance programs by providing for more accurate 
verification of employment and income of participants in such programs.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 27, 2003

 Mr. Sessions introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
 Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committee on 
   Ways and Means, 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 reduce overpayments of subsidies in Department of Housing and Urban 
Development housing assistance programs by providing for more accurate 
verification of employment and income of participants in such programs.

    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 ``HUD Programs Information 
Verification Act''.

SEC. 2. HUD DATA MATCH WITH NATIONAL DIRECTORY OF NEW HIRES.

    (a) Information Comparisons for Public and Assisted Housing 
Programs.--Section 453(j) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 653(j)) 
is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(7) Information comparisons for housing assistance 
        programs.--
                    ``(A) Furnishing of information by hud.--Subject to 
                subparagraph (G), the Secretary of Housing and Urban 
                Development shall furnish to the Secretary, on such 
                periodic basis as determined by the Secretary of 
                Housing and Urban Development in consultation with the 
                Secretary, information in the custody of the Secretary 
                of Housing and Urban Development for comparison with 
                information in the National Directory of New Hires, in 
                order to obtain information in such Directory with 
                respect to individuals who are participating in any 
                program under--
                            ``(i) the United States Housing Act of 1937 
                        (42 U.S.C. 1437 et seq.);
                            ``(ii) section 202 of the Housing Act of 
                        1959 (12 U.S.C. 1701q);
                            ``(iii) section 221(d)(3), 221(d)(5), or 
                        236 of the National Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 
                        1715l(d) and 1715z-1);
                            ``(iv) section 811 of the Cranston-Gonzalez 
                        National Affordable Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 
                        8013); or
                            ``(v) section 101 of the Housing and Urban 
                        Development Act of 1965 (12 U.S.C. 1701s).
                    ``(B) Requirement to seek minimum information.--The 
                Secretary of Housing and Urban Development shall seek 
                information pursuant to this section only to the extent 
                necessary to verify the employment and income of 
                individuals described in subparagraph (A).
                    ``(C) Duties of the secretary.--
                            ``(i) Information disclosure.--The 
                        Secretary, in cooperation with the Secretary of 
                        Housing and Urban Development, shall compare 
                        information in the National Directory of New 
                        Hires with information provided by the 
                        Secretary of Housing and Urban Development with 
                        respect to individuals described in 
                        subparagraph (A), and shall disclose 
                        information in such Directory regarding such 
                        individuals to the Secretary of Housing and 
                        Urban Development, in accordance with this 
                        paragraph, for the purposes specified in this 
                        paragraph.
                            ``(ii) Condition on disclosure.--The 
                        Secretary shall make disclosures in accordance 
                        with clause (i) only to the extent that the 
                        Secretary determines that such disclosures do 
                        not interfere with the effective operation of 
                        the program under this part.
                    ``(D) Use of information by hud.--The Secretary of 
                Housing and Urban Development may use information 
                resulting from a data match pursuant to this paragraph 
                only--
                            ``(i) for the purpose of verifying the 
                        employment and income of individuals described 
                        in subparagraph (A); and
                            ``(ii) after removal of personal 
                        identifiers, to conduct analyses of the 
                        employment and income reporting of individuals 
                        described in subparagraph (A).
                    ``(E) Disclosure of information by hud.--
                            ``(i) Purpose of disclosure.--The Secretary 
                        of Housing and Urban Development may make a 
                        disclosure under this subparagraph only for the 
                        purpose of verifying the employment and income 
                        of individuals described in subparagraph (A).
                            ``(ii) Disclosures permitted.--Subject to 
                        clause (iii), the Secretary of Housing and 
                        Urban Development may disclose information 
                        resulting from a data match pursuant to this 
                        paragraph only to a public housing agency, the 
                        Inspector General of the Department of Housing 
                        and Urban Development, and the Attorney General 
                        in connection with the administration of a 
                        program described in subparagraph (A). 
                        Information obtained by the Secretary of 
                        Housing and Urban Development pursuant to this 
                        paragraph shall not be made available under 
                        section 552 of title 5, United States Code.
                            ``(iii) Conditions on disclosure.--
                        Disclosures under this paragraph shall be--
                                    ``(I) made in accordance with data 
                                security and control policies 
                                established by the Secretary of Housing 
                                and Urban Development and approved by 
                                the Secretary;
                                    ``(II) subject to audit in a manner 
                                satisfactory to the Secretary; and
                                    ``(III) subject to the sanctions 
                                under subsection (l)(2).
                            ``(iv) Additional disclosures.--
                                    ``(I) Determination by 
                                secretaries.--The Secretary of Housing 
                                and Urban Development and the Secretary 
                                shall determine whether to permit 
                                disclosure of information under this 
                                paragraph to persons or entities 
                                described in subclause (II), based on 
                                an evaluation made by the Secretary of 
                                Housing and Urban Development (in 
                                consultation with and approved by the 
                                Secretary), of the costs and benefits 
                                of disclosures made under clause (ii) 
                                and the adequacy of measures used to 
                                safeguard the security and 
                                confidentiality of information so 
                                disclosed.
                                    ``(II) Permitted persons or 
                                entities.--If the Secretary of Housing 
                                and Urban Development and the Secretary 
                                determine pursuant to subclause (I) 
                                that disclosures to additional persons 
                                or entities shall be permitted, 
                                information under this paragraph may be 
                                disclosed by the Secretary of Housing 
                                and Urban Development to a private 
                                owner, a management agent, and a 
                                contract administrator in connection 
                                with the administration of a program 
                                described in subparagraph (A), subject 
                                to the conditions in clause (iii) and 
                                such additional conditions as agreed to 
                                by the Secretaries.
                            ``(v) Restrictions on redisclosure.--A 
                        person or entity to which information is 
                        disclosed under this subparagraph may use or 
                        disclose such information only as needed for 
                        verifying the employment and income of 
                        individuals described in subparagraph (A), 
                        subject to the conditions in clause (iii) and 
                        such additional conditions as agreed to by the 
                        Secretaries.
                    ``(F) Reimbursement of hhs costs.--The Secretary of 
                Housing and Urban Development shall reimburse the 
                Secretary, in accordance with subsection (k)(3), for 
                the costs incurred by the Secretary in furnishing the 
                information requested under this paragraph.
                    ``(G) Consent.--The Secretary of Housing and Urban 
                Development shall not seek, use, or disclose 
                information under this paragraph relating to an 
                individual without the prior written consent of such 
                individual (or of a person legally authorized to 
                consent on behalf of such individual).''.
    (b) Consent to Information Comparison and Use as Condition of Hud 
Program Eligibility.--As a condition of participating in any program 
authorized under--
            (1) the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437 
        et seq.);
            (2) section 202 of the Housing Act of 1959 (12 U.S.C. 
        1701q);
            (3) section 221(d)(3), 221(d)(5), or 236 of the National 
        Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 1715l(d) and 1715z-1);
            (4) section 811 of the Cranston-Gonzalez National 
        Affordable Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 8013); or
            (5) section 101 of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 
        1965 (12 U.S.C. 1701s),
the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development may require consent by 
an individual (or by a person legally authorized to consent on behalf 
of such individual) for such Secretary to obtain, use, and disclose 
information with respect to such individual in accordance with section 
453(j)(7) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 653(j)(7)).
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