[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 256 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 256

To amend the definition of ``homeless person'' under the McKinney-Vento 
Homeless Assistance Act to include certain homeless children and youth, 
                        and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            January 27, 2015

 Mrs. Feinstein (for herself and Mr. Portman) introduced the following 
 bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, 
                       Housing, and Urban Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the definition of ``homeless person'' under the McKinney-Vento 
Homeless Assistance Act to include certain homeless children and youth, 
                        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 ``Homeless Children and Youth Act of 
2015''.

SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO THE MCKINNEY-VENTO HOMELESS ASSISTANCE ACT.

    The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11301 et 
seq.) is amended--
            (1) in section 103--
                    (A) in subsection (a)--
                            (i) in paragraph (5)(A)--
                                    (I) by striking ``are sharing'' and 
                                all that follows through ``charitable 
                                organizations,'';
                                    (II) by striking ``14 days'' each 
                                place that term appears and inserting 
                                ``30 days'';
                                    (III) in clause (i), by inserting 
                                ``or'' after the semicolon;
                                    (IV) by striking clause (ii); and
                                    (V) by redesignating clause (iii) 
                                as clause (ii); and
                            (ii) by amending paragraph (6) to read as 
                        follows:
            ``(6) unaccompanied youth and homeless families with 
        children and youth defined as homeless under other Federal 
        statutes who--
                    ``(A) are certified as homeless by the director or 
                designee of a director of a program funded under any 
                other Federal statute; or
                    ``(B) have been certified by a director or designee 
                of a director of a program funded under this Act or a 
                director or designee of a director of a public housing 
                agency as lacking a fixed, regular, and adequate 
                nighttime residence, which shall include--
                            ``(i) temporarily sharing the housing of 
                        another person due to loss of housing, economic 
                        hardship, or other similar reason; or
                            ``(ii) living in a room in a motel or 
                        hotel.''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(f) Other Definitions.--In this section--
            ``(1) the term `other Federal statute' has the meaning 
        given that term in section 401; and
            ``(2) the term `public housing agency' means an agency 
        described in section 3(b)(6) of the United States Housing Act 
        of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437a(b)(6)).'';
            (2) in section 401--
                    (A) in paragraph (1)(C)--
                            (i) by striking clause (iv); and
                            (ii) by redesignating clauses (v), (vi), 
                        and (vii) as clauses (iv), (v), and (vi);
                    (B) in paragraph (7)--
                            (i) by striking ``Federal statute other 
                        than this subtitle'' and inserting ``other 
                        Federal statute''; and
                            (ii) by inserting ``of'' before ``this 
                        Act'';
                    (C) by redesignating paragraphs (14) through (33) 
                as paragraphs (15) through (34), respectively; and
                    (D) by inserting after paragraph (13) the 
                following:
            ``(14) Other federal statute.--The term `other Federal 
        statute' includes--
                    ``(A) the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (42 U.S.C. 
                5701 et seq.);
                    ``(B) the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9831 et seq.);
                    ``(C) subtitle N of the Violence Against Women Act 
                of 1994 (42 U.S.C. 14043e et seq.);
                    ``(D) section 330(h) of the Public Health Service 
                Act (42 U.S.C. 254b(h));
                    ``(E) section 17 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 
                (42 U.S.C. 1786);
                    ``(F) the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
                1001 et seq.); and
                    ``(G) subtitle B of title VII of this Act.'';
            (3) by inserting after section 408 the following:

``SEC. 409. AVAILABILITY OF HMIS REPORT.

    ``(a) In General.--The information provided to the Secretary under 
section 402(f)(3) shall be made publically available on the Internet 
website of the Department of Housing and Urban Development in 
aggregate, non-personally identifying reports.
    ``(b) Required Data.--Each report made publically available under 
subsection (a) shall be updated on at least an annual basis and shall 
include--
            ``(1) a cumulative count of the number of individuals and 
        families experiencing homelessness;
            ``(2) a cumulative assessment of the patterns of assistance 
        provided under subtitles B and C for the each geographic area 
        involved; and
            ``(3) a count of the number of individuals and families 
        experiencing homelessness that are documented through the HMIS 
        by each collaborative applicant.'';
            (4) in section 422--
                    (A) in subsection (a)--
                            (i) by striking ``The Secretary'' and 
                        inserting the following:
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary''; and
                            (ii) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(2) Restriction.--In awarding grants under paragraph (1), 
        the Secretary may not consider or prioritize the specific 
        homeless populations intended to be served by the applicant if 
        the applicant demonstrates that the project--
                    ``(A) would meet the priorities identified in the 
                plan submitted under section 427(b)(1)(B); and
                    ``(B) is cost-effective in meeting the overall 
                goals and objectives identified in that plan.''; and
                    (B) by striking subsection (j);
            (5) in section 424(d), by striking paragraph (5);
            (6) in section 427(b)--
                    (A) in paragraph (1)--
                            (i) in subparagraph (A)--
                                    (I) in clause (vi), by adding 
                                ``and'' at the end;
                                    (II) in clause (vii), by striking 
                                ``and'' at the end; and
                                    (III) by striking clause (viii);
                            (ii) in subparagraph (B)--
                                    (I) in clause (iii), by adding 
                                ``and'' at the end;
                                    (II) in clause (iv)(VI), by 
                                striking ``and'' at the end; and
                                    (III) by striking clause (v);
                            (iii) in subparagraph (E), by adding 
                        ``and'' at the end;
                            (iv) by striking subparagraph (F); and
                            (v) by redesignating subparagraph (G) as 
                        subparagraph (F); and
                    (B) by striking paragraph (3); and
            (7) by amending section 433 to read as follows:

``SEC. 433. REPORTS TO CONGRESS.

    ``(a) In General.--The Secretary shall submit to Congress an annual 
report, which shall--
            ``(1) summarize the activities carried out under this 
        subtitle and set forth the findings, conclusions, and 
        recommendations of the Secretary as a result of the activities; 
        and
            ``(2) include, for the year preceding the date on which the 
        report is submitted--
                    ``(A) data required to be made publically available 
                in the report under section 409; and
                    ``(B) data on programs funded under any other 
                Federal statute, as such term is defined in section 
                401.
    ``(b) Timing.--A report under subsection (a) shall be submitted not 
later than 4 months after the end of each fiscal year.''.
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