[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 806 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 806

To amend title 38, United States Code, to make certain improvements in 
the services provided for homeless veterans under the laws administered 
                 by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 18, 2011

  Mr. Filner introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                     Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend title 38, United States Code, to make certain improvements in 
the services provided for homeless veterans under the laws administered 
                 by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs.

    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 ``End Veteran Homelessness Act of 
2011''.

SEC. 2. INCREASE IN AMOUNT AUTHORIZED TO BE APPROPRIATED FOR 
              COMPREHENSIVE SERVICE PROGRAMS FOR HOMELESS VETERANS.

    Section 2013 of title 38, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by striking ``fiscal year 2007'' and inserting ``fiscal 
        year 2011''; and
            (2) by striking ``$150,000,000'' and inserting 
        ``$200,000,000''.

SEC. 3. IMPROVEMENT OF PAYMENTS FOR PROVIDING SERVICES TO HOMELESS 
              VETERANS.

    (a) Improvement of Payments.--Section 2012 of title 38, United 
States Code, is amended--
            (1) by striking ``per diem'' wherever it appears;
            (2) in subsection (a)(2)--
                    (A) in subparagraph (A)--
                            (i) by striking ``daily cost of care'' and 
                        inserting ``annual cost of furnishing 
                        services''; and
                            (ii) by striking the second sentence;
                    (B) by striking subparagraph (B) and inserting the 
                following new subparagraph (B):
    ``(B) The Secretary shall annually adjust the rate of payment under 
subparagraph (A) to reflect anticipated changes in the cost of 
furnishing services and to take into account the cost of providing 
services in a particular geographic area. The Secretary may set a 
maximum amount payable to a grant recipient under this section.'';
                    (C) in subparagraph (C), by striking ``other 
                sources of income'' and all that follows through the 
                period at the end and inserting ``the cost of services 
                provided by the grant recipient as the Secretary may 
                require to assist the Secretary in making the 
                determination under subparagraph (A)'';
                    (D) by striking subparagraph (D) and inserting the 
                following new subparagraph (D):
    ``(D) In making the determination under subparagraph (A), the 
Secretary may consider the availability of other sources of income, 
including payments to the grant recipient or eligible entity for 
furnishing services to homeless veterans under programs other than 
under this subchapter, payments or grants from other departments or 
agencies of the United States, from departments or agencies of State or 
local governments, or from private entities or organizations.''; and
                    (E) by adding at the end the following new 
                subparagraph:
    ``(E) The Secretary shall authorize payments under this subsection 
to each grant recipient on an annual basis but shall make a payment to 
each grant recipient for each calendar quarter in an amount equal to a 
portion of the annual amount authorized for such recipient. Upon the 
expiration of a calendar quarter, each grant recipient shall provide to 
the Secretary a statement of the amount spent by the recipient during 
that calendar quarter, and if the amount spent is less than the amount 
provided for that calendar quarter, repay to the Secretary the balance. 
If the amount spent by a grant recipient for such purpose for a 
calendar quarter exceeds the amount provided to the recipient for that 
quarter, the Secretary shall make an additional payment to the 
recipient in an amount equal to the amount by which the amount so spent 
exceeded the amount so provided, as long as the total amount provided 
to such recipient in a calendar year does not exceed the amount of the 
annual payment for that recipient.'';
            (3) in subsection (a), by striking paragraph (3) and 
        inserting the following new paragraph (3):
    ``(3) Payments under this subsection to a grant recipient or 
eligible entity may be used to match, or in combination with, other 
payments or grants for which the recipient or entity is eligible.''; 
and
            (4) in subsection (c)--
                    (A) by striking paragraph (2); and
                    (B) by redesignating paragraph (3) as paragraph 
                (2).
    (b) Clerical Amendments.--
            (1) Section heading.--The section heading for such section 
        is amended to read as follows:
``Sec. 2012. Payments for furnishing services to homeless veterans''.
            (2) Subsection heading.--The heading for subsection (a) of 
        such section is amended by striking ``Per Diem''.
            (3) Table of sections.--The table of sections at the 
        beginning of chapter 20 of such title is amended by striking 
        the item relating to section 2012 and inserting the following 
        new item:

``2012. Payments for furnishing services to homeless veterans.''.

SEC. 4. SUPPORTED HOUSING PROGRAM OUTREACH.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 20 of title 38, United States Code, is 
further amended by adding at the end of subchapter III the following 
new section:
``Sec. 2024. Supported housing program outreach
    ``(a) Landlord Outreach.--(1) The Secretary shall ensure that each 
medical center of the Department that provides treatment and services 
under the supported housing program under section 8(o)(19) of the 
United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)(19)) employs or 
provides (through coordination with a public housing agency, homeless 
service provider, or other appropriate organization) one or more 
specialists, which may include peer specialists who were formerly 
homeless veterans, for handling housing issues in conjunction with the 
program under this subsection.
    ``(2) Such specialists shall conduct outreach to landlords to 
encourage and facilitate participation in the supportive housing 
program, mediate disputes between veterans receiving assistance under 
such program and landlords, establish and maintain a list of dwelling 
units available for rental with assistance under such program, and 
carry out other appropriate activities.
    ``(b) Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Assistance.--The 
Secretary shall coordinate with the Secretary of Housing and Urban 
Development to provide assistance to homeless veterans in accessing the 
Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program administered by 
the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development for assistance for basic 
essentials, security deposits for rental dwelling units, and advance 
payments of the first month's rent for such units.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning of 
such chapter is amended by adding at the end of the items relating to 
subchapter III the following new item:

``2024. Supported housing program outreach.''.

SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 
              AFFAIRS PROGRAM TO PROVIDE FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE FOR 
              SUPPORTIVE SERVICES FOR VERY LOW-INCOME VETERAN FAMILIES 
              IN PERMANENT HOUSING.

    Section 2044(e) of title 38, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1)--
                    (A) by striking ``subsection'' and inserting 
                ``subsections''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following new 
                subparagraphs:
            ``(D) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2012.
            ``(E) $75,000,000 for fiscal year 2013.
            ``(F) $100,000,000 for each subsequent fiscal year.''; and
            (2) in paragraph (3), by striking ``each of the fiscal 
        years 2009 through 2011'' and inserting ``each fiscal year''.

SEC. 6. PROMOTION OF AWARENESS OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS 
              PROGRAMS TO ASSIST HOMELESS VETERANS AMONG HOMELESS WOMEN 
              VETERANS AND HOMELESS VETERANS WITH CHILDREN.

    Section 532 of title 38, United States Code, is amended by 
inserting after ``homeless veterans'' the following: ``(with a special 
emphasis on promoting awareness of such assistance among homeless women 
veterans and homeless veterans with children)''.
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