[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3073 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3073

   To amend title 38, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of 
  Veterans Affairs establish a grant program to provide assistance to 
             veterans who are at risk of becoming homeless.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 26, 2009

  Mr. Nye (for himself and Mr. Hunter) introduced the following bill; 
        which was referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend title 38, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of 
  Veterans Affairs establish a grant program to provide assistance to 
             veterans who are at risk of becoming homeless.

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

SECTION 1. GRANT PROGRAM TO PROVIDE ASSISTANCE TO VETERANS AT RISK OF 
              BECOMING HOMELESS.

    (a) Establishment.--Subchapter VII of chapter 20 of title 38, 
United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new 
section:
``Sec. 2067. Grant program for homelessness prevention
    ``(a) Grant Program.--Subject to the availability of appropriations 
provided for such purpose, the Secretary shall carry out a program 
under which the Secretary shall make grants to public entities and 
private nonprofit organizations to provide assistance for covered 
veterans in accordance with this section.
    ``(b) Assistance Provided.--The recipient of a grant under this 
section shall use the grant to--
            ``(1) make payments to an eligible veteran's landlord, 
        mortgage company, or utility company for amounts of rent or 
        mortgage that are in arrears, security deposits for rental 
        properties, or utility bills or arrears; and
            ``(2) ensure that at the onset of providing assistance for 
        a veteran under paragraph (1), the veteran is in receipt of 
        supportive services to further prevent homelessness, which may 
        include job training, mental health and substance abuse 
        treatment, and other services identified by the Secretary to 
        address the barriers that compromise the veteran's self-
        sufficiency and well-being. This would help link the veterans 
        to appropriate services within the VA, as well as other federal 
        resources that are available through DOL and HUD.
    ``(c) Application Requirements.--To be eligible to receive a grant 
under this section, a public entity or private nonprofit organization 
shall submit to the Secretary an application containing such 
information and assurances as the Secretary may require. Such 
application shall demonstrate that the entity or organization is 
capable of providing the assistance described in subsection (b).
    ``(d) Duration of Assistance.--The recipient of a grant under this 
section may not provide assistance under subsection (b) to any veteran 
for a duration of longer than three months.
    ``(e) Covered Veterans.--For the purposes of this section, the term 
`covered veteran' means a veteran who is at risk of becoming homeless 
(as that term is defined in section 103(a) of the McKinney-Vento 
Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11302(a))), as determined by the 
Secretary, and who--
            ``(1) is in imminent danger of eviction or foreclosure;
            ``(2) demonstrates a compromised ability to make rental or 
        mortgage payments based on income; and
            ``(3) meets such eligibility criteria as is established by 
        the recipient of a grant under this section.
    ``(f) Recovery of Unused Grant Funds.--(1) If a grant recipient 
under this section does not provide assistance in accordance with this 
section or ceases to provide the assistance for which the grant was 
made, the United States shall be entitled to recover from such 
recipient the total of all unused grant amounts made under this section 
to such recipient.
    ``(2) Any amount recovered by the United States under paragraph (1) 
may be obligated by the Secretary without fiscal year limitation to 
carry out provisions of this subchapter.
    ``(3) An amount may not be recovered under paragraph (1) as an 
unused grant amount before the end of the three-year period beginning 
on the date on which the grant is made.
    ``(g) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated $100,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2011, 2012, and 2013 
to carry out this section.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning of 
such chapter is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 
2066 the following new item:

``2067. Grant program for homelessness prevention.''.
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