[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4903 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 4903
To improve the point-in-time count conducted by the Department of
Housing and Urban Development, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 24, 2026
Mr. Barrasso (for himself, Ms. Lummis, Mr. Peters, and Mr. Sullivan)
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To improve the point-in-time count conducted by the Department of
Housing and Urban Development, 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. IMPROVEMENTS TO POINT-IN-TIME COUNT.
(a) In General.--Section 427(b)(3) of the McKinney-Vento Homeless
Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11386a(b)(3)) is amended--
(1) by striking ``The Secretary'' and inserting the
following:
``(A) Limitation on scope.--The Secretary''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(B) Annual point-in-time count.--
``(i) Definition.--In this subparagraph,
the term `annual point-in-time count' means the
annual point-in-time count of homeless
individuals required under clause (ii).
``(ii) Requirement.--
``(I) In general.--The Secretary
shall require each recipient to
participate in an annual point-in-time
count of homeless individuals during
the last 10 days of April of each year
beginning after the date of enactment
of this subparagraph.
``(II) Supplemental counts.--
Authorization from the Secretary shall
not be required in order for a
recipient to conduct a supplemental
point-in-time count of homeless
individuals during a different time of
year than the annual count described in
subclause (I).
``(iii) Use of standardized tools.--In
conducting the annual point-in-time count, a
recipient shall use a community-wide homeless
management information system (commonly known
as an `HMIS') for client-level data collection.
``(iv) Technical assistance and support for
rural and resource-limited continuums of
care.--The Secretary shall provide training in
HMIS integration to rural or resource-limited
recipients for purposes of conducting the
annual point-in-time count.
``(v) Reporting and compliance.--
``(I) Continuum of care
standardized hmis reporting
requirements.--The Secretary shall
establish standardized HMIS reporting
requirements for recipients conducting
the annual point-in-time count with
respect to the geographic scope and
spatial analysis of unsheltered and
sheltered populations.
``(II) HUD report.--The Secretary
shall submit an annual report to
Congress on--
``(aa) compliance by
recipients with the data
collection, HMIS reporting, and
annual point-in-time count
requirements under this
subparagraph;
``(bb) technical assistance
and guidance provided by the
Secretary to recipients to
support implementation of the
requirements described in item
(aa); and
``(cc) improvements in the
consistency, accuracy, and
quality of data collected
through the annual point-in-
time count.
``(vi) Rolling hmis updates and midpoint
hmis data.--
``(I) HMIS updates.--A recipient
shall maintain up-to-date HMIS data
year-round regarding participation in
homelessness assistance projects funded
by the Secretary, including entries
into and exits from emergency shelters,
homeless street outreach programs,
transitional housing, and other
eligible activities under this
subtitle.
``(II) Midpoint hmis data.--A
recipient shall collect and maintain
HMIS data on unsheltered and sheltered
homeless populations as of the midway
point between each annual point-in-time
count (in this subparagraph referred to
as `midpoint HMIS data').
``(III) Purposes.--The purposes of
the midpoint HMIS data collected under
subclause (II) are to--
``(aa) track seasonal or
emerging trends;
``(bb) inform planning for
programs carried out under this
subtitle; and
``(cc) supplement, but not
replace, the annual point-in-
time count.
``(vii) Guidance for rural and resource-
limited continuums of care.--The Secretary
shall provide guidance for rural or resource-
limited recipients regarding--
``(I) standardized data collection
methodologies for the annual point-in-
time count;
``(II) implementation and
integration of HMIS tools for mapping
sheltered and unsheltered populations;
``(III) midpoint HMIS data
collection and spatial mapping
requirements under this subparagraph;
and
``(IV) staffing, training, and
technology best practices necessary to
comply with the requirements of this
subparagraph.
``(viii) Funding flexibility.--The
Secretary may--
``(I) allow a recipient to use
assistance received under subtitle B to
support the training of employees or
volunteers in HMIS integration; and
``(II) provide guidance on ensuring
that the use of assistance under
subclause (I) does not disrupt service
delivery to homeless shelters.''.
(b) GAO Study.--
(1) Definition.--In this subsection, the term ``Continuum
of Care'' means a recipient, as that term is defined in section
401 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C.
11360).
(2) Study.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United
States shall--
(A) conduct a study of the annual point-in-time
count conducted by the Department of Housing and Urban
Development (in this subsection referred to as the
``Department''), including the methodology used by the
Department; and
(B) submit to Congress a report that contains--
(i) the results of the study conducted
under subparagraph (A); and
(ii) as appropriate, recommendations on how
to modernize the annual point-in-time count in
a way that leads to greater accuracy in
counting the homeless, including how the
Department can--
(I) standardize collection
methodology across Continuums of Care;
and
(II) increase consistency,
modernization, and efficiency of data
collection and reporting processes with
respect to the annual point-in-time
count within each Continuum of Care.
<all>