[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1707 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

113th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1707

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 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           November 14, 2013

  Mr. Heller (for himself and Ms. Heitkamp) introduced the following 
 bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, 
                       Housing, and Urban Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 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''.

SEC. 2. EXCLUSION FROM INCOME.

    Section 3(b)(4) 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 certain families.--
                        Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), upon request 
                        by a family that includes a person with 
                        disabilities, an elderly family, or a family 
                        that includes any person who is less than 18 
                        years of age, the public housing agency shall 
                        approve a utility allowance that is higher than 
                        the applicable amount on the utility allowance 
                        schedule, except that in the case of a family 
                        that includes a person with disabilities, the 
                        agency shall approve such higher amount only 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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