[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 28 (Tuesday, March 6, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E291-E292]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        PERMANENT HOUSING HOMELESS PREVENTION GRANT RENEWAL ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JOHN J. LaFALCE

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, March 6, 2001

  Mr. LaFALCE. Mr. Speaker, today, along with Representatives Weller, 
Frank, Quinn, Sabo, Biggert, and Lee, I will be introducing the 
``Permanent Housing Homeless Prevention Grant Renewal Act.''
  This bi-partisan legislation authorizes renewal of expiring Shelter 
Plus Care and SHP permanent housing rental assistance grants through 
the HUD Section 8 Housing Certificate Fund. Currently, some 75,000 
vulnerable families, including veterans, disabled, mentally ill, and 
other families at risk of homelessness, receive monthly rental 
assistance under these two important McKinney-Vento Act homeless 
programs.
  The legislation is supported by a broad group of national and 
regional organizations which fight homelessness, including Catholic 
Charities, the National Alliance to End Homelessness, the Corporation 
for Supportive Housing, and the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill. 
These groups have jointly written ``to offer our support and assistance 
in moving this important legislation forward,'' and noted that ``This 
bill will have the effect of providing new housing to more homeless 
people with disabilities, as well as preventing catastrophic losses of 
housing for some of the most vulnerable Americans.''
  Renewing Shelter Plus Care and SHP permanent housing through Section 
8 is a solution to the annual uncertainty over renewals. Currently, 
when the initial term of a Shelter Plus Care or SHP permanent grant 
expires, a grantee must re-apply each year for continued assistance. If 
a grant is not renewed, the families which are receiving rental 
assistance under the grant face the risk of eviction and homelessness.
  This is not an idle risk. Just fourteen months ago, HUD failed to 
renew rental assistance grants for thousands of families nationwide. It 
took an emergency supplemental appropriations bill in July of last year 
to reinstate funding for these grants. In the interim, many communities 
were forced to scramble for funds to cover the gap; many families 
confronted the very real risk that they would lose their monthly rental 
assistance.
  Last year, the House devised a permanent solution to this problem, as 
part of the House VA-HUD appropriations bill. That bill funded all 
renewals of expiring Shelter Plus Care grants through the HUD Section 8 
Housing Certificate Fund. This approach would provide a reliable source 
of renewal funding. Unfortunately, the Senate did not go along with 
this approach, and the final conference report, while providing a 
separate account for renewals, does not provide a reliable, long-term 
funding source. The best approach was and still is renewal of all 
expiring Shelter Plus Care and SHP permanent housing grants through the 
HUD Section 8 Certificate Fund. That approach is embodied in the 
``Permanent Housing Homeless Prevention Grant Renewal Act,'' which we 
are introducing today.
  Moreover, this approach is justified on broad policy grounds. 
Congress routinely renews portable and project-based Section 8 rental 
assistance; only the most vulnerable families most at risk of 
homelessness face the annual risk of non-renewal.
  Funding these renewals through Section 8 also means that critically 
needed new permanent and supportive housing proposals will not have to 
compete with renewals for scarce resources. And, providing a reliable 
source of renewals after the initial grant term will make it easier for 
project sponsors to build permanent housing.

[[Page E292]]

  I urge members to co-sponsor this important legislation, and urge 
Congress to renew all Shelter Plus Care and SHP permanent housing 
grants expiring in fiscal year 2002 through the Section 8 Certificate 
fund.
  The text of the bill follows:

                                 H.R.--

       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 Prevention 
     Permanent Housing Renewal Act of 2001''.

     SEC. 2. RENEWAL OF PERMANENT HOUSING GRANTS AND SHELTER PLUS 
                   CARE GRANTS UNDER HOUSING CERTIFICATE FUND.

       (a) Supportive Housing Program Permanent Housing Grant 
     Renewals.--Section 429 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless 
     Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11389) is amended by adding at the 
     end the following new subsection:
       ``(d) Permanent Housing Grant Renewals.--For fiscal year 
     2002 and each fiscal year thereafter, there are authorized to 
     be appropriated, from any amounts appropriated under the 
     Housing Certificate Fund account of the Department of Housing 
     and Urban Development for assistance under section 8 of the 
     United States Housing Act of 1937, such sums as may be 
     necessary for renewing expiring grants under this subtitle 
     for permanent housing for homeless persons with 
     disabilities.''.
       (b) Shelter Plus Care Grant Renewals.--Section 463 of the 
     McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11403h) is 
     amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
       ``(c) Grant Renewals.--For fiscal year 2002 and each fiscal 
     year thereafter, there are authorized to be appropriated, 
     from any amounts appropriated under the Housing Certificate 
     Fund account of the Department of Housing and Urban 
     Development for assistance under section 8 of the United 
     States Housing Act of 1937, such sums as may be necessary for 
     renewing expiring grants under this subtitle.''.

     

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