[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6361 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6361

To exclude from consideration as income under the United States Housing 
 Act of 1937 payments of pension made under section 1521 of title 38, 
  United States Code, to veterans who are in need of regular aid and 
                  attendance, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 10, 2012

 Mr. Heck (for himself, Mr. Gary G. Miller of California, Mr. Renacci, 
 Mrs. Biggert, and Mr. Johnson of Ohio) introduced the following bill; 
       which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To exclude from consideration as income under the United States Housing 
 Act of 1937 payments of pension made under section 1521 of title 38, 
  United States Code, to veterans who are in need of regular aid and 
                  attendance, 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 ``Vulnerable Veterans Housing Reform 
Act of 2012''.

SEC. 2. EXCLUSION FROM INCOME.

    Paragraph (4) of section 3(b) of the United States Housing Act of 
1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437a(b)(4)) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``and any amounts'' and inserting ``, any 
        amounts'';
            (2) by striking ``or any deferred'' and inserting ``, any 
        deferred''; and
            (3) by inserting after ``prospective monthly amounts'' the 
        following: ``, and any expenses related to aid and attendance 
        as detailed under section 1521 of title 38, United States 
        Code''.

SEC. 3. UTILITY ALLOWANCES AND DATA.

    Section 8(o) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 
1437f(o)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (2), by adding at the end the following 
        new subparagraph:
                    ``(D) Utility allowance.--
                            ``(i) In general.--In determining the 
                        monthly assistance payment for a family under 
                        subparagraphs (A) and (B), the amount allowed 
                        for tenant-paid utilities shall not exceed the 
                        appropriate utility allowance for the family 
                        unit size as determined by the public housing 
                        agency regardless of the size of the dwelling 
                        unit leased by the family.
                            ``(ii) Exception for families including 
                        persons with disabilities.--Notwithstanding 
                        subparagraph (A), upon request by a family that 
                        includes a person with disabilities, the public 
                        housing agency shall approve a utility 
                        allowance that is higher than the applicable 
                        amount on the utility allowance schedule if a 
                        higher utility allowance is needed as a 
                        reasonable accommodation to make the program 
                        accessible to and usable by the family member 
                        with a disability.''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(21) Utility data.--
                    ``(A) Publication.--The Secretary shall, to the 
                extent that data can be collected cost effectively, 
                regularly publish such data regarding utility 
                consumption and costs in local areas as the Secretary 
                determines will be useful for the establishment of 
                allowances for tenant-paid utilities for families 
                assisted under this subsection.
                    ``(B) Use of data.--The Secretary shall provide 
                such data in a manner that--
                            ``(i) avoids unnecessary administrative 
                        burdens for public housing agencies and owners; 
                        and
                            ``(ii) protects families in various unit 
                        sizes and building types, and using various 
                        utilities, from high rent and utility cost 
                        burdens relative to income.''.
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