[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 1 (Tuesday, January 7, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E50-E52]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




THE HOMELESS HOUSING PROGRAMS CONSOLIDATION AND FLEXIBILITY ACT OF 1997

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. RICK LAZIO

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, January 7, 1997

  Mr. LAZIO of New York. Mr. Speaker, today I am introducing the 
Homeless Housing Programs Consolidation and Flexibity Act of 1997, a 
bill designed to help one of this Nation's most vulnerable populations, 
the homeless.

[[Page E51]]

  Homelessness is one of the Nation's most pressing social dilemmas. As 
much as half of the adult homeless population has a current or past 
substance abuse problem, and up to one-third has severe mental illness.
  The Federal Government's most potent tool for responding to 
homelessness has been the 1987 McKinney Act with emergency food and 
shelter programs. This reflected the belief that homelessness was 
temporary in nature. When homelessness continued to intensify, more 
programs were created and Federal policy became muted through a 
multitude of Federal programs, creating the current collage of programs 
so in need of consolidation.
  The General Accounting Office reports that the application and 
recordkeeping requirements of the various McKinney programs are overly 
burdensome and sometimes conflicting or duplicative; this places a 
great strain on nonprofits.
  When provided with stable, permanent housing and flexible support 
services, formerly homeless persons with severe mental illness are able 
to greatly decrease their use of costly acute psychiatric hospital care 
and emergency room treatment. In Boston, a study of homeless people 
with severe mental illness showed that after a year and a half, 78 
percent remained in housing, and only 11 percent returned to streets or 
shelters.
  When provided with permanent supportive housing, graduates of 
chemical dependency treatment programs are able to greatly increase 
their rates of sobriety. A study by Eden programs, a Minneapolis social 
service provider, tracked 201 graduates of a chemical dependency 
treatment program--90 percent who had supportive living a year later 
remained sober.
  Despite a significant proportion of homeless individuals suffering 
from mental or physical disabilities, we must also recognize a portion 
of the homeless community, particularly families, that because of 
economic tragedies, are without permanent homes. It is this population 
that we too must concentrate our efforts to ensure that they don't 
evolve into mental or physical disabilities.
  Mr. Speaker, as with the other bills I am introducing today, I intend 
to work in a bipartisan manner with my colleagues to make sure that 
low-income families and American taxpayers get the relief they deserve 
as quickly as possible.

      Homeless Housing Programs consolidation and Flexibility Act


                      section-by-section analysis

       Section 1: Title cited as the ``Homeless Housing Programs 
     Consolidation and Flexibility Act.''
       Section 2: Findings and Purpose conclude that a 
     consolidation of the 7 existing McKinney Homeless Housing 
     programs would provide flexibility and allow states, 
     localities, and non-profits the ability to provide housing to 
     homeless individuals with coordination of needed supportive 
     services through other agencies.
       Section 3: General Provisions provide technical changes to 
     the McKinney Act.
       Section 4: Permanent Housing Development and Flexible Block 
     Grant Homeless Assistance Program is created and replaces 
     existing Title IV of the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Act as 
     follows:

                     Subtitle A--General Provisions

       Sec. 401: Purpose is established to provide assistance for 
     permanent housing development and flexible homeless housing 
     assistance.
       Sec. 402: Grant Authority allows the HUD Secretary to 
     provide grants to states, metropolitan cities, urban 
     counties, and insular areas under subtitles B (Permanent 
     Housing Development) and C (Flexible Block Grant Homeless 
     Assistance).
       Sec. 403: Eligible Grantees are insular areas (or 
     designees) and recipients (state, metropolitan city or urban 
     county) of Permanent Housing Development and the Flexible 
     Homeless Block Grant Assistance Programs.
       Sec. 404: Use of Project Sponsors provides criteria from 
     which the eligible grantee may select entities to carry out 
     its eligible activities.
       Sec. 405: Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy 
     Compliance requires each jurisdiction (eligible grantee) to 
     submit and comply with the requirements of the comprehensive 
     housing affordability strategy under Sec. 105 of the 
     Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act.
       Sec. 406: Allocation and Availability of Amounts requires, 
     at enactment, 20% of total funds made for the Permanent 
     Housing Development Grants, with a transitional sliding scale 
     upward to 30% in the fourth year of the bill; the Flexible 
     Block Grant Homeless Assistance, at enactment, receives 80% 
     of total funds with a transitional sliding scale down to 70% 
     in the fourth year and a sliding scale cap on the amounts 
     used for supportive services from 30%, at enactment, to 15% 
     in the fourth year. The permanent housing development grants 
     are totally competitive at the national level; the Flexible 
     Block Grant is allocated with 70% for metropolitan cities and 
     urban counties and 30% for states, based on a formula in the 
     Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 (or the 
     Emergency Shelter Grant formula). A minimum appropriated 
     threshold amount of $750 million is required for block grant 
     and permanent development housing. Otherwise, all the 
     homeless funds are nationally competitive.
       Sec. 407: Matching Funds Requirements provide for each 
     eligible grantee to match at least 50% of the federal funds 
     received, unless the grant is less than $100,000. The 
     eligible grantee is restricted from transferring matching 
     requirements to a project sponsor or other non-profit 
     carrying out the jurisdiction's homeless activities to no 
     more than a 25% match of federal funds. Matches include (i) 
     value of donated material, (ii) value of building lease, 
     (iii) proceeds from bond financing with limitations, (iv) 
     amount of salary paid to staff, and (v) the cost or value 
     of donated goods, without including the value of any time 
     or services contributed by volunteers.
       Sec. 408: Program Requirements provide the Secretary with 
     the authority to establish the application, form and 
     procedure for acquiring homeless grants. Under the Permanent 
     Housing Development Grants or Flexible Block Grant Homeless 
     Assistance, eligible grantees must provide detailed 
     descriptions of the activities planned. The eligible grantee 
     or project sponsor is authorized to charge an occupancy 
     charge from assisted individuals, capped at a maximum 30% of 
     income. Eligible grantees and project sponsors are required 
     to have at least one homeless individual as a member of the 
     board of directors unless the Secretary provides a waiver. 
     Administrative expenses are capped at 5% of federal funds 
     received or 7.5% in cases where the recipient utilizes a 
     standardized homeless database management system to record 
     and assess the use of housing, services and homeless 
     individual. Housing Quality Standards are keyed to local 
     housing standards; and in the absence of local codes, a 
     federal housing quality standard is enforced.
       This section requires coordination and consultation between 
     HUD and other federal agencies who have grant programs where 
     eligible activities include homeless assistance, e.g. HHS, 
     Labor, Education, VA, and Agriculture. Such coordination 
     would provide for other agency funding for companion services 
     to HUD housing grants. In the event of failure to coordinate 
     or provide sufficient services, HUD and the Interagency 
     Council on the Homeless would create a companion service 
     block grant, capped at the authorized amounts for Title IV 
     McKinney Appropriations, which this bill authorizes at $1 
     billion.
       Use restrictions are applicable to permanent and supportive 
     service housing, requiring at least a 20 year use with 
     requirements for repayment or conversion monitored by the 
     Secretary.
       Local advisory boards are required to assist and provide 
     professional and community assistance in creating, monitoring 
     and evaluating local homeless initiatives using federal 
     funds.
       Sec. 409: Supportive Services are required for each 
     homeless housing facility to meet specifically the needs of 
     the residents, and include activities such as child care, 
     employment assistance, outpatient health services, housing 
     location, security arrangements, and case-management 
     coordination of benefits.

          Subtitle B--Permanent Housing Development Activities

       Sec. 411: Use of Amounts and General Requirements provide 
     authority to states, metropolitan cities and urban counties 
     to implement permanent housing development for homeless 
     individuals through construction, substantial rehabilitation, 
     or acquisition. Substantial reliance on non-profit 
     organizations is required, with a minimum amount of 50% of 
     funds required to pass-through to such organizations. Special 
     populations, to the maximum extent possible, are provided 
     permanent housing opportunities.
       Sec. 412: Permanent Housing Development consists of long-
     term housing, single room occupancy housing (with or without 
     kitchen or bathroom facilities for each unit) rental, 
     cooperative, shared-living arrangements, single family 
     housing or other housing arrangements.

          Subtitle C--Flexible Block Grant Homeless Assistance

       Sec. 421: Eligible Activities provide authority to the 
     eligible grantee to use funds for acquisition and 
     rehabilitation of supportive housing; new construction of 
     supportive housing, leasing of supportive housing, operating 
     costs for supportive housing with limits, homelessness 
     prevention, permanent housing development under subtitle B, 
     emergency shelter, supportive services with caps, and 
     technical assistance. Matching amounts only require an amount 
     equal to the federal funds to be used for housing; therefore, 
     grantees are much more flexible in providing different 
     sources of funds. Federal funds are capped for emergency 
     shelters at 10% of the recipients' McKinney housing funds.
       Sec. 422: Use of Amounts Through Private Non-Profit 
     Providers requires a pass-through of no less than 50% of 
     funds.
       Sec. 423: Supportive Housing is defined as housing 
     providing supportive services that is either transition or 
     permanent supportive housing.
       Sec. 424: Emergency Shelter is defined as housing for 
     overnight sleeping accommodations. Grants for emergency 
     shelter are restricted for emergency needs and, in the case 
     of rehabilitation and conversion, a 10 year use requirement 
     for emergency or other homeless housing.

            Subtitle D--Reporting, Definitions, and Funding

       Sec. 431: Performance Reports by Grantees requires the 
     eligible grantee to review and

[[Page E52]]

     report on the progress of the homeless activities under the 
     grants from Title IV as well as meeting the needs of the 
     comprehensive housing affordability strategy.
       Sec. 432: Annual Report by Secretary requires a summary of 
     activities, conclusions and recommendations.
       Sec. 433: Definitions.
       Sec. 434: Regulations are required within 30 days of 
     enactment for interim rules and final rules to follow, within 
     90 days of enactment.
       Sec. 435: Authorization of Appropriations is $1 billion for 
     FY98 through FY02.
       Section 5: Interagency Council on the Homeless statutory 
     language is amended to provide authority to coordinate under 
     Title IV with HUD and other agencies and provide an 
     independent determination on companion supportive service 
     funding. Authorization of appropriations is for such sums as 
     may be necessary in FY98 through FY02.
       Section 6: Repeals and Conforming Amendments provide for 
     the termination of (i) Innovative Homeless Initiative 
     Demonstration; (ii) FHA Single Family Property Disposition 
     for Homeless Use; (iii) Housing for Rural Homeless and 
     Migrant Farmworkers; and, (iv) Termination of SRO Assistance 
     Program.
       Section 7: Savings Provision provides a guarantee of 
     federal funds obligated for homeless activities prior to 
     enactment under earlier laws.
       Section 8: Treatment of Previously Obligated Amounts are 
     guaranteed under the applicable provisions of law prior to 
     enactment.

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