[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1841 Introduced in House (IH)]







108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1841

  To better assist lower income families to obtain decent, safe, and 
  affordable housing through the conversion of the section 8 housing 
     choice voucher program into a State-administered block grant.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 29, 2003

Mr. Ney (by request) introduced the following bill; which was referred 
                 to the Committee on Financial Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To better assist lower income families to obtain decent, safe, and 
  affordable housing through the conversion of the section 8 housing 
     choice voucher program into a State-administered block grant.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE AND TABLE OF CONTENTS.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Housing Assistance 
for Needy Families Act of 2003''.
    (b) Table of Contents.--

Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents.
Sec. 2. Findings and purposes.
Sec. 3. Authority.
Sec. 4. Definitions.
Sec. 5. Planning and performance.
Sec. 6. Eligible families.
Sec. 7. Eligible activities.
Sec. 8. Amount of assistance.
Sec. 9. Authorization, allocation and distribution of funds.
Sec. 10. Environmental review.
Sec. 11. Inspection of units.
Sec. 12. Portability.
Sec. 13. Compliance.
Sec. 14. Effective date.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

    (a) Findings.--The Congress finds that--
            (1) the section 8 tenant-based assistance program now 
        provides rental and homeownership assistance to more than 1.8 
        million families;
            (2) despite this success, during the past several years, 
        billions of dollars of funds appropriated for tenant-based 
        assistance have remained unspent, and as a result, several 
        hundred thousand families have not been provided housing 
        assistance made available by Congress;
            (3) over 2,600 public housing agencies, half of which 
        administer 250 or fewer vouchers, administer the tenant-based 
        assistance program through direct contracts with the Secretary, 
        and thus the Secretary must administer the program through 
        rules and regulations that apply directly to more than 2,600 
        entities throughout the Nation;
            (4) this administrative structure has contributed to the 
        development of regulatory and statutory measures that have made 
        the tenant-based assistance program overly prescriptive and 
        difficult to administer, with hundreds of pages of regulations 
        and guidance;
            (5) the complexity of the tenant-based assistance program, 
        its inability to allow adequate timely adjustments to changing 
        local markets, and its multiplicity of Federal directives, all 
        have contributed to several hundred thousand families not being 
        provided the housing assistance made available by Congress;
            (6) the linkage between housing assistance and the 
        government's role in supporting self-sufficiency efforts for 
        low-income families is critical, and this role is now largely 
        carried out by the States under the Temporary Assistance for 
        Needy Families program and other programs; and
            (7) since assuming responsibility for the Temporary 
        Assistance for Needy Families program, and with respect to 
        other initiatives, such as the One-Stop Career Center system 
        under the Workforce Investment Act, States have shown that they 
        can bring creative, effective administration to programs for 
        assistance to needy families.
    (b) Purposes.--The purpose of this Act is to provide for housing 
assistance through a State-administered block grant, and thereby to--
            (1) provide for the necessary program flexibility and 
        oversight so that funds are used promptly and effectively to 
        assist needy families;
            (2) facilitate greater program responsiveness to local 
        markets and needs;
            (3) provide for administrative decision-making closer to 
        the communities and families affected, by their elected 
        officials;
            (4) provide for additional program flexibility to address 
        local needs;
            (5) give States the authority to reallocate funds or take 
        other actions necessary to ensure that program funds are 
        expended promptly and effectively;
            (6) improve government support of self-sufficiency efforts 
        by assisted families, by facilitating greater coordination with 
        the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, programs 
        under the Workforce Investment Act, and other Federal and State 
        programs that promote self-sufficiency;
            (7) provide greater flexibility for addressing special 
        needs of elderly and disabled families; and
            (8) facilitate State and local efforts to reduce 
        homelessness.

SEC. 3. AUTHORITY.

    (a) The Secretary is authorized to make grants to States to provide 
tenant-based rental and homeownership housing assistance and to carry 
out activities related thereto in accordance with the provisions of 
this Act.
    (b) Subject to the availability of appropriations, each State 
receiving a grant under this Act shall, for fiscal years 2005 through 
2009, provide tenant-based rental and homeownership housing assistance 
to no fewer than the average number of families served in such State 
during the 120 day period ending on September 30, 2004 by the Housing 
Choice Voucher program authorized under section 8 of the United States 
Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f), including those families 
receiving enhanced voucher assistance authorized under such section 8.
    (c) The chief executive officer of any State may, in any fiscal 
year, after receiving a grant under this Act for such fiscal year, 
designate any agency or instrumentality of the State to act on behalf 
of the State with regard to the provisions of this Act.

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

    (a) The term ``State'' shall include the several States, the 
District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the territories 
and possessions of the United States, and the Commonwealth of the 
Northern Mariana Islands.
    (b) The term ``gross monthly income'' shall include income from all 
sources of each member of the household, as determined in accordance 
with criteria prescribed by the State.
    (c) The terms ``elderly families'', ``disabled families'', and 
``Secretary'' used in this Act shall have the definitions accorded such 
terms by the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437 et 
seq.).
    (d) The term ``tenant-based rental housing assistance'' means 
assistance that provides for the eligible family to select suitable 
housing and to move to other suitable housing.

SEC. 5. PLANNING AND PERFORMANCE.

    (a) State Plan.--Prior to the receipt in any fiscal year of a grant 
under this Act, the State shall, as part of its comprehensive housing 
affordability strategy (or any consolidated plan incorporating such 
strategy) under section 105 of the Cranston-Gonzalez National 
Affordable Housing Act, set forth quantifiable objectives related to 
performance measures established by the Secretary under subsection (b).
    (b) Performance Standards.--The Secretary shall establish 
performance standards for States receiving grants under this section as 
the Secretary determines to be appropriate, including budget 
utilization, financial management, number of families served, quality 
of housing, reduction of homelessness (including homelessness among 
veterans), improved living conditions for elderly and disabled 
families, the effectiveness of voucher assistance in helping families 
move toward homeownership and self-sufficiency, and the extent to which 
State or local governments remove barriers to affordable housing.
    (c) Performance Report.--
            (1) The Secretary shall require each State to submit to the 
        Secretary, at a time and in a form determined by the Secretary, 
        a performance evaluation and report to be made available to the 
        public concerning the progress it has made in carrying out its 
        plan under subsection (a) and in meeting annual numerical 
        performance targets consistent with the performance standards 
        established under subsection (b). Included in the report shall 
        be:
                    (A) the number of families and individuals 
                receiving tenant-based rental and homeownership housing 
                assistance under the State program including the number 
                of families with children, elderly families, and 
                disabled families. For each family, information on 
                income, sources of income, and changes in income and 
                employment status;
                    (B) the total dollar value of housing assistance 
                received by all families;
                    (C) amounts spent on administrative fees;
                    (D) information about the neighborhood poverty 
                rates in which families reside; and
                    (E) other information on the use of Federal 
                assistance as the Secretary may prescribe.
            (2) Sufficiency of Report.--If a State fails to submit a 
        report satisfactory to the Secretary in a timely manner, the 
        Secretary may take any necessary compliance actions authorized 
        under section 13(b) of this Act.
    (d) Alternative Administration.--
            (1) In fiscal year 2005 and any fiscal years thereafter, if 
        any State has not demonstrated to the satisfaction of the 
        Secretary that it has the capacity to adequately administer 
        grant amounts under this Act, the Secretary shall determine how 
        to carry out such program in any such State, which may include 
        administration of such program by one or more public housing 
        agencies or other entities.
            (2) If, pursuant to paragraph (1), grant amounts under this 
        Act are administered by one or more public housing agencies or 
        other entities, all provisions under this Act which would 
        otherwise be applicable to States administering funds under 
        this Act shall be applicable instead to such public housing 
        agencies or other entities.

SEC. 6. ELIGIBLE FAMILIES.

    (a) Initial Eligibility.--
            (1) To be eligible to receive tenant-based rental and 
        homeownership housing assistance under this Act, a family that 
        is not assisted under section 8 of the United States Housing 
        Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f) shall have an income that does 
        not exceed 80 percent of the median income for the area, as 
        determined by the Secretary with adjustments for smaller or 
        larger families, except that the Secretary may establish income 
        ceilings higher than 80 percent of the median for the area for 
        elderly and disabled families.
            (2) New admissions.--Of the families eligible to receive 
        assistance pursuant to subsection (a) and initially receiving 
        such assistance under this Act, not less than 75 percent of 
        such new admissions in each State in any fiscal year shall have 
        incomes that do not exceed 30 percent of the area median 
        income, as determined by the Secretary with adjustments for 
        smaller or larger families. If States are prevented from 
        achieving this requirement and proof is provided that this 
        target cannot be met, then States may submit waiver requests to 
        the Secretary for additional income targeting flexibility for 
        new admissions, however, the Secretary may grant such waivers 
        only to the extent that not less than 55 percent of new 
        admissions in each State in any fiscal year shall have incomes 
        that do not exceed 30 percent of the area median income.
    (b) Continued Eligibility.--Subject to subsection (d), continued 
eligibility for housing assistance pursuant to this Act shall be 
determined in accordance with standards established by or for the State 
in which the family resides.
    (c) Preferences.--Each State receiving a grant pursuant to this Act 
may establish a system for making housing assistance pursuant to this 
Act available on behalf of eligible families that provides preference 
for such assistance to eligible families having certain 
characteristics, including working families; families already receiving 
assistance under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program; 
individuals at risk of chronic homelessness; families affected by the 
conversion, sale, or demolition of public housing projects; families 
leaving structures receiving project-based assistance under section 
8(o)(13) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 
1437f(o)(13)); and to veterans of the Armed Forces of the United 
States, especially to homeless veterans.
    (d) Grandfathering Provision.--
            (1) Any family that is receiving tenant-based assistance 
        under section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 
        U.S.C. 1437f) shall, for fiscal years 2005 through 2009, 
        continue to receive such assistance subject to the terms and 
        conditions of such Act, from amounts made available pursuant to 
        section 9(c) of this Act. Any family that is receiving 
        homeownership, project-based certificate, or project-based 
        voucher assistance under such section 8 shall continue to 
        receive such assistance subject to the terms and conditions of 
        such Act, from amounts made available pursuant to section 9(c) 
        of this Act.
            (2) If the grant received by the State pursuant to this Act 
        is insufficient to fund all currently assisted families 
        pursuant to paragraph (1) in the amounts specified under 
        current program requirements, the State shall make every effort 
        to continue to provide assistance to the greatest extent 
        possible to the same number of assisted families in the State.
    (e) Annual Review of Family Income.--Each State administering a 
housing assistance grant pursuant to this Act shall, not less 
frequently than annually, conduct a review of the family income of each 
family receiving such assistance, except that the State shall review 
the income of elderly families not less frequently than every three 
years.

SEC. 7. ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES.

    Activities assisted under this Act may include only--
            (1) tenant-based rental housing assistance;
            (2) homeownership assistance for first-time homebuyers, 
        including monthly homeownership assistance and downpayment 
        assistance as defined in section 8 of the United States Housing 
        Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f);
            (3) costs of administering grant amounts under this Act, 
        except that such costs shall not exceed 10 percent of grant 
        amounts provided to the State; and
            (4) other activities, as specified by the Secretary, in 
        support of tenant-based rental housing and homeownership 
        assistance activities authorized under this section.

SEC. 8. AMOUNT OF ASSISTANCE.

    (a) In General.--Subject to subsections (b), (c), and (d), any 
monthly assistance payment for a family receiving housing assistance 
pursuant to this Act shall be determined by the State administering 
such assistance. Except as provided in subsection (b), no family 
residing in a dwelling unit that is assisted with grant amounts under 
this Act will be required at the time of initial leasing to pay more 
than 30 percent of such family's gross monthly income as rent for such 
dwelling unit (including the amount allowed for tenant-paid utilities), 
or as homeownership expenses, where applicable. Families may choose to 
pay more to secure better quality housing.
    (b) Minimum Rental Amount.--Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this 
section, States shall establish a minimum monthly rental amount of $50 
per month. Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, a hardship exemption 
may be granted on a case-by-case basis as determined by the State.
    (c) Rent Reasonableness.--The rent for dwelling units assisted 
under this Act shall be reasonable and appropriate in comparison with 
rents charged for non-luxury dwelling units in the private, unassisted 
local market.
    (d) Maximum Subsidy.--States shall establish maximum subsidy levels 
for housing assistance under this Act that are reasonable and 
appropriate for the market area.

SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION, ALLOCATION AND DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS.

    (a) The Secretary shall allocate amounts made available in an 
appropriations Act as follows:
            (1) Allocations for fiscal years 2004 and 2005.--
                    (A) For fiscal year 2004, to public housing 
                agencies under section 8 of the United States Housing 
                Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f), except that the 
                Secretary may reallocate to a State, from public 
                housing agencies in the same State, any amounts made 
                available under such section 8 that are not being 
                utilized by the end of the fiscal year.
                    (B) In fiscal year 2005, the Secretary shall 
                allocate to each State an amount that bears the same 
                ratio to the total amount available for assistance 
                under this Act for such fiscal year that the amount 
                allocated in fiscal year 2004 to public housing 
                agencies within the State bears to the total amount 
                made available under this Act for fiscal year 2004.
            (2) Base allocations for fiscal year 2006 and subsequent 
        fiscal years.--
                    (A) The Secretary shall, by regulation issued not 
                later than 12 months after the date of enactment of 
this Act, establish a formula to provide for allocating amounts 
available for fiscal year 2006 and subsequent fiscal years for block 
grants to States under this Act.
                    (B) In establishing the formula, the Secretary 
                shall consider factors reflecting the need of low-
                income families in each State, including the following 
                factors:
                            (i) The number of families receiving 
                        housing assistance under this Act in each 
                        State;
                            (ii) the extent of poverty within the 
                        State;
                            (iii) the cost of housing in the State or 
                        areas of the State;
                            (iv) the performance of the State in 
                        administering grant amounts under this Act;
                            (v) the extent to which the State has 
                        available any funds previously appropriated 
                        under this Act; and
                            (vi) other objectively measurable 
                        conditions as the Secretary may specify.
                    (C) Subject to subparagraph (D), for fiscal years 
                2006 through 2009, the formula shall provide that--
                            (i) for a fiscal year in which the amount 
                        appropriated for block grants under this Act is 
                        equal to or greater than the amount 
                        appropriated in fiscal year 2005, the Secretary 
                        shall provide each State with an allocation 
                        that is no less than the allocation that the 
                        State received in fiscal year 2005 adjusted for 
                        changes in housing costs in the preceding year 
                        and for the State's performance in using funds 
                        and executing the program; or
                            (ii) for a fiscal year in which the total 
                        amount made available to States for assistance 
                        under this Act is less than the total amount 
                        made available to States for fiscal year 2005, 
                        the amount provided to each State for such 
                        fiscal year shall not be less than the amount 
                        that bears the same ratio to the total amount 
                        available for assistance under this Act for 
                        such fiscal year that the amount provided to 
                        the State for fiscal year 2005 bears to the 
                        total amount made available to States for 
                        fiscal year 2005 adjusted for changes in 
                        housing costs in the preceding year and for the 
                        State's performance in using funds and 
                        executing the program.
                    (D) Beginning in fiscal year 2005, any amounts made 
                available by a time determined by the Secretary for 
                housing assistance to any State that exceed the amounts 
                being utilized for housing assistance by the end of the 
                fiscal year shall be identified and shall be retained 
                by the State. In calculating the amount of assistance 
                to allocate to such State in the following fiscal year, 
                the Secretary shall reduce the amount that would 
                otherwise be allocated to such State pursuant to this 
                paragraph by the identified amounts. In such following 
                fiscal year, subject to the availability of 
                appropriated amounts, in addition to amounts provided 
                under the formula, the Secretary shall allocate an 
                amount at least equal to the total amount of the 
                reductions in assistance made in such fiscal year 
                pursuant to this subparagraph to those States that have 
                exceeded, as determined by the Secretary, the 
                performance standards established by the Secretary 
                under section 5(b).
    (b) Subject to the availability of appropriations, the Secretary 
shall allocate additional amounts to each State for tenant-protection 
assistance as authorized by section 8(t) of the United States Housing 
Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(t)) in fiscal year 2005 and each fiscal 
year thereafter based on the number of eligible tenants previously 
receiving such assistance in that State.
    (c) There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 
necessary for each of fiscal years 2004 through 2009.

SEC. 10. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW.

    For purposes of environmental review, a grant under this Act shall 
be treated as assistance for a special project that is subject to 
section 305(c) of the Multifamily Housing Property Disposition Reform 
Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C. 3547), and shall be subject to the regulations 
issued by the Secretary to implement such section.

SEC. 11. INSPECTION OF UNITS.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary shall require with respect to any 
dwelling unit assisted pursuant to this Act that the State 
administering housing assistance pursuant to this Act inspect the unit 
before any assistance payment may be made to determine whether the 
dwelling unit meets the housing quality standards under subsection (b). 
Such dwelling unit must meet such standards before any assistance 
payment is made.
    (b) Housing Quality Standards.-- All dwelling units in a State 
assisted under this Act shall meet all applicable State and local 
housing quality standards and code requirements, and if there are no 
such standards or code requirements, the housing shall meet the housing 
quality standards established by the Secretary.
    (c) Inspections.--Each State administering housing assistance under 
this Act shall ensure that all occupied dwelling units in such State 
assisted pursuant to this Act are maintained in accordance with the 
standards described under subsection (b). Every dwelling unit in the 
State assisted pursuant to this Act shall be inspected not less than 
once every three years.
    (d) Corrective Actions.--No assistance payment may be made pursuant 
to this Act for a dwelling unit, which fails to meet the standards 
under subsection (b).

SEC. 12. PORTABILITY.

    (a) Any family receiving housing assistance pursuant to this Act 
shall receive such assistance to rent an eligible dwelling unit within 
any State in which a program is being administered under this Act.
    (b) Assistance for any family moving pursuant to subsection (a) 
shall be administered in accordance with the provisions established 
pursuant to this Act in the State to which the family moves.

SEC. 13. COMPLIANCE.

    (a) Compliance Monitoring.--The Secretary may make such reviews and 
audits as may be necessary or appropriate to determine whether the 
State has carried out the housing assistance activities and objectives 
set forth in its plan under section 5(a) in a timely or effective 
manner, whether it has carried out those activities and objectives, 
including certifications, in accordance with the requirements of this 
Act and other applicable laws, whether it has the capacity to continue 
to undertake these activities in a timely and effective manner, and 
whether it has met the performance standards established by the 
Secretary pursuant to section 5(b).
    (b) Compliance Actions.--In addition to any other actions 
authorized under this or any other Act, if the Secretary finds after 
reasonable notice and opportunity for a hearing that a State receiving 
a grant under this Act has failed to comply substantially with any 
provision of this Act, including any performance standard established 
by the Secretary pursuant to this Act, and until the Secretary is 
satisfied that there is no longer any such failure to comply, the 
Secretary may--
            (1) terminate grant payments under this Act to the State 
        and provide for alternative administration of such grant 
        amounts;
            (2) withhold from the State amounts from the total 
        allocation that would otherwise be available to the State under 
        this Act;
            (3) reduce the amount of future grants to the State by an 
        amount equal to the amount of such grants that were not 
        expended in accordance with this Act;
            (4) limit the availability of grant amounts provided to the 
        State to programs and activities under this Act not affected by 
        such failure to comply;
            (5) withhold from the State other amounts allocated for the 
        State under other programs administered by the Secretary;
            (6) refer the matter to the Attorney General of the United 
        States with a recommendation that an appropriate civil action 
        be instituted; or
            (7) order other corrective action with respect to the 
        State.

SEC. 14. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    The provisions of this Act shall take effect on the date of the 
enactment of this Act.
                                 <all>