[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3848 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3848

To make certain improvements in the laws administered by the Secretary 
 of Veterans Affairs relating to homelessness, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              June 6, 2023

Mrs. Chavez-DeRemer (for herself and Mr. Bost) introduced the following 
     bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To make certain improvements in the laws administered by the Secretary 
 of Veterans Affairs relating to homelessness, 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 ``Housing our Military Veterans 
Effectively Act of 2023'' or the ``HOME Act of 2023''.

SEC. 2. PER DIEM PAYMENTS PROVIDED BY THE SECRETARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS 
              FOR SERVICES FURNISHED TO HOMELESS VETERANS.

    Section 2012 of title 38, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) in paragraph (2)(B)--
                            (i) in clause (i)(II)(aa)(BB)--
                                    (I) by striking ``115 percent'' and 
                                inserting ``133 percent''; and
                                    (II) by inserting ``, plus a 
                                percentage increase to such rate equal 
                                to the percentage determined under 
                                section 3564(a) of this title'' after 
                                ``of that section'';
                            (ii) in clause (ii), by striking ``150'' 
                        and inserting ``140''; and
                            (iii) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(iii) Subject to clause (iv), the Secretary may waive the maximum 
rate for per diem payments under clause (i)(II)(aa)(BB) or (ii) and 
provide such payments at a rate that does not exceed 200 percent of the 
rate authorized for State homes for domiciliary care under subsection 
(a)(1)(A) of section 1741 of this title, as the Secretary may increase 
from time to time under subsection (c) of that section, if the 
Secretary--
            ``(I) determines that the grant recipient or eligible 
        entity furnishes services to homeless veterans in--
                    ``(aa) a rural or highly rural area;
                    ``(bb) an area with a high rate of suicide among 
                veterans; or
                    ``(cc) an area with a high rate of homelessness 
                among veterans; and
            ``(II) notifies Congress of the need for such waiver.
    ``(iv) The Secretary may not, pursuant to clause (iii), waive the 
maximum rate described in such clause for more than 10 percent of all 
grant recipients and eligible entities in a fiscal year.''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following new 
                paragraph:
    ``(4) The Secretary may not provide more than 10,500 payments under 
this section in a fiscal year.''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(f) Reports Required.--Not later than 90 days after the date of 
the enactment of the HOME Act of 2023, and not less frequently than 
twice each year thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee 
on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Veterans' 
Affairs of the House of Representatives a report on the rate for per 
diem payments under this section that includes, for each Veterans 
Integrated Service Network of the Department, the following data:
            ``(1) The average rate for such a payment.
            ``(2) A list of locations where the rate for such a payment 
        is within 10 percent of the maximum rate for such a payment 
        authorized under this section.
            ``(3) The average length of stay by a veteran participating 
        in a program described in section 2011(a) of this title.''.

SEC. 3. MODIFICATION OF AUTHORITY TO ENTER INTO CERTAIN LEASES AT THE 
              DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS WEST LOS ANGELES CAMPUS.

    Section 2 of West Los Angeles Leasing Act of 2016 (Public Law 114-
226) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (h)(1)--
                    (A) by striking ``that is not in compliance with 
                such laws'' both places it appears;
                    (B) by striking ``certifies'' and inserting 
                ``submits''; and
                    (C) by striking ``that all recommendations included 
                in the audit report or evaluation have been 
                implemented'' and inserting ``notice in writing of 
                whether the Secretary concurred or did not concur with 
                each recommendation included in the audit report or 
                evaluation and, in the case of any nonconcurrence, the 
                reasons for such nonconcurrence''; and
            (2) by adding the following new subsection:
    ``(n) Consideration.--Notwithstanding section 1302 of title 40, 
United States Code, section 8122 of title 38, United States Code, or 
any other provision of law, consideration for a lease made pursuant to 
this Act may include consideration other than money.''.

SEC. 4. TEMPORARY AUTHORIZATION FOR SECRETARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS TO 
              USE OF CERTAIN FUNDS FOR IMPROVED FLEXIBILITY IN 
              ASSISTANCE TO HOMELESS VETERANS.

    (a) Use of Funds.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs may use 
amounts appropriated or otherwise made available to the Department of 
Veterans Affairs to carry out section 2011, 2012, 2031, or 2061 of 
title 38, United States Code, to provide to a covered veteran, as the 
Secretary determines necessary--
            (1) assistance required for the safety and survival of the 
        veteran (such as food, shelter, clothing, blankets, and hygiene 
        items);
            (2) transportation required to support the stability and 
        health of the veteran (such as transportation for appointments 
        with service providers, the conduct of housing searches, and 
        the obtainment of food and supplies);
            (3) communications equipment and services (such as tablets, 
        smartphones, disposable phones, and related service plans) 
        required to support the stability and health of the veteran 
        (such as through the maintenance of contact with service 
        providers, prospective landlords, and family members); and
            (4) such other assistance as the Secretary determines 
        necessary.
    (b) Homeless Veterans on Department of Veterans Affairs Land.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary may collaborate, to the 
        extent practicable, with one or more organizations to manage 
        the use of land of the Department of Veterans Affairs for 
        homeless veterans for living and sleeping.
            (2) Forms of collaboration.--Collaboration under paragraph 
        (1) may include the provision by either the Secretary or the 
        head of the organization concerned of food services and 
        security for property, buildings, and other facilities owned or 
        controlled by the Department of Veterans Affairs.
    (c) Report Required.--Not later than one year after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report 
that includes, with respect to the period covered by such report--
            (1) a statement, disaggregated by each medical center of 
        the Department of Veterans Affairs, of the amount of funds 
        under this section--
                    (A) each such medical center requested from the 
                Secretary; and
                    (B) to which the Secretary provided each such 
                medical center;
            (2) data, disaggregated by each such medical center, 
        relating to how each such medical center used amounts provided 
        by the Secretary under this section;
            (3) the number of covered veterans to which the Secretary 
        provided assistance under this section;
            (4) the total amount of assistance the Secretary provided 
        to covered veterans pursuant to subsection (a)(3) for 
        communications equipment, broken down by the type of equipment 
        provided;
            (5) the total amount of assistance the Secretary provided 
        covered veterans pursuant to subsection (a)(2) for ridesharing;
            (6) the number of covered veterans who received such 
        assistance; and
            (7) a description, for each rideshare used by a covered 
        veteran with such assistance, of the reasons such covered 
        veteran used such rideshare.
    (d) Sunset.--The authority under this section shall terminate on 
September 30, 2024.
    (e) Definitions.--In this section, the term ``covered veteran'' 
means--
            (1) a homeless veteran; and
            (2) a veteran participating in the program carried out 
        under section 8(o)(19) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 
        (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)(19)).
                                 <all>