[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2218 Introduced in House (IH)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2218

To amend the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 to set-aside 
   community development block grant amounts in each fiscal year for 
    grants to local chapters of veterans service organizations for 
        rehabilitation of, and technology for, their facilities.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 1, 2015

Mr. Collins of New York (for himself, Mr. Rothfus, and Mr. King of New 
    York) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                    Committee on Financial Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 to set-aside 
   community development block grant amounts in each fiscal year for 
    grants to local chapters of veterans service organizations for 
        rehabilitation of, and technology for, their facilities.

    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 ``Renovate and Enhance Veterans' 
Meeting Halls and Posts Act of 2015'' or the ``REVAMP Act of 2015''.

SEC. 2. COMPETITIVE GRANTS TO VETERANS SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS FOR 
              FACILITY REHABILITATION AND TECHNOLOGY.

    (a) Grants.--Section 107 of the Housing and Community Development 
Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5307) is amended by adding at the end the 
following new subsection:
    ``(g) Competitive Grants to Veterans Service Organizations for 
Facility Rehabilitation and Upgrading Technology.--
            ``(1) Authority; eligible activities and uses.--Using the 
        amounts made available under section 106(a)(4) in each fiscal 
        year for grants under this subsection, the Secretary shall make 
        grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible veterans service 
        organizations, which grant amounts shall be available for use 
        only for--
                    ``(A) repairs or rehabilitation of existing 
                facilities of such organizations; and
                    ``(B) acquiring or upgrading computers and 
                technology for such facilities.
            ``(2) Eligible veterans service organizations.--For 
        purposes of this subsection, the term `eligible veterans 
        service organization' means--
                    ``(A) an entity that is exempt from taxation 
                pursuant to section 501(c)(19) of the Internal Revenue 
                Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 501(c)(19)) and is organized on 
                a local or area basis; and
                    ``(B) a local or area chapter, post, or other unit 
                of a national, regional, Statewide, or other larger 
                entity of which local or area chapters, posts, or units 
                are members, that is exempt from taxation pursuant to 
                section 501(c)(19) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 
                (26 U.S.C. 501(c)(19)).
        Such term does not include any such national, regional, 
        Statewide, or other larger entity.
            ``(3) Limitations.--
                    ``(A) Amount.--No eligible veterans service 
                organization may receive grant amounts under this 
                subsection, from the amounts made available for any 
                single fiscal year, in an amount exceeding the lesser 
                of--
                            ``(i) the aggregate cost of the proposed 
                        activities and uses under paragraph (1) for 
                        which the grant amounts will be used; or
                            ``(ii) $200,000.
                    ``(B) Timing.--Any eligible veterans service 
                organization that receives grant amounts under this 
                subsection from amounts made available for a fiscal 
                year shall be ineligible for any grant from any amounts 
                made available for such grants for any of the 
                succeeding 5 fiscal years.
            ``(4) Applications.--Applications for assistance under this 
        subsection may be submitted only by eligible veterans service 
        organizations, and shall be in such form and in accordance with 
        such procedures as the Secretary shall establish. Such 
        applications shall include a plan for the proposed repair or 
        rehabilitation activities to be conducted using grant amounts 
        under this subsection.
            ``(5) Selection; criteria.--The Secretary shall select 
        applications to receive grants under this subsection pursuant 
        to a competition and based on criteria for such selection, 
        which shall include--
                    ``(A) the extent of need for such assistance;
                    ``(B) the quality of the plan proposed for repair 
                or rehabilitation of the facility involved;
                    ``(C) the capacity or potential capacity of the 
                applicant to successfully carry out the plan; and
                    ``(D) such other factors as the Secretary 
                determines to be appropriate.
            ``(6) Prohibition of construction or acquisition.--No 
        amounts from a grant under this subsection may be used for the 
        construction or acquisition of a new facility.''.
    (b) Funding.--Subsection (a) of section 106 of the Housing and 
Community Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5306(a)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (4), by striking ``and (3)'' and inserting 
        ``(3), and (4)'';
            (2) by redesignating paragraph (4) as paragraph (5); and
            (3) by inserting after paragraph (3) the following new 
        paragraph:
            ``(4) For each fiscal year, after reserving amounts under 
        paragraphs (1) and (2) and allocating amounts under paragraph 
        (3), the Secretary shall allocate $50,000,000 (subject to 
        sufficient amounts remaining after such reservations and 
        allocation) for grants under section 107(g).''.
    (c) Regulations.--The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development 
shall issue any regulations necessary to carry out sections 106(a)(4) 
and 107(g) of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, as 
added by the amendments made by this section, not later than the 
expiration of the 90-day period beginning on the date of the enactment 
of this Act.
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