[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 204 (Thursday, December 14, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Page S8047]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. CORNYN (for himself and Ms. Heitkamp):
  S. 2230. A bill to require the Secretary of Housing and Urban 
Development to improve services for survivors of domestic violence, 
dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking; to the Committee on 
Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
  Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of 
the bill be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

                                S. 2230

       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 ``Help End Abusive Living 
     Situations Act'' or the ``HEALS Act''.

     SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

       In this Act--
       (1) the term ``domestic violence project'' means a project 
     administered by a victim service provider designed to meet 
     the needs of survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, 
     sexual assault, or stalking;
       (2) the term ``homeless'' has the meaning given the term in 
     section 103 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 
     U.S.C. 11302);
       (3) the terms ``homeless individual with a disability'', 
     ``permanent housing'', ``tenant-based'', ``transitional 
     housing'', and ``victim service provider'' have the meanings 
     given those terms in section 401 of the McKinney-Vento 
     Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11360);
       (4) the term ``rapid re-housing project'' means supportive 
     services and short- or medium-term tenant-based rental 
     assistance, as necessary, to help a homeless individual or 
     family, with or without a disability, move as soon as 
     possible into permanent housing and achieve stability in that 
     housing; and
       (5) the term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of Housing 
     and Urban Development.

     SEC. 3. STRENGTHENING HOUSING RESOURCES PROTECTIONS FOR 
                   VICTIMS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, DATING VIOLENCE, 
                   SEXUAL ASSAULT, AND STALKING.

       Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this 
     Act, the Secretary shall take the following measures to 
     improve services provided to survivors of domestic violence, 
     dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking:
       (1) Equal consideration.--For purposes of scoring 
     applicants in the notice of funding availability for the 
     Continuum of Care program authorized under subtitle C of 
     title IV of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 
     U.S.C. 11381 et seq.) in any fiscal year, the Secretary shall 
     give equal consideration to--
       (A) rapid re-housing projects;
       (B) projects that provide permanent supportive housing; and
       (C) domestic violence projects that maximize client choice, 
     including transitional housing that provide services and help 
     participants to secure permanent housing.
       (2) Transitional housing projects.--
       (A) In general.--The Secretary shall authorize any defunded 
     transitional housing project to reapply for funding.
       (B) Treatment as rapid re-housing project.--The Secretary 
     shall consider a program receiving funds under section 40299 
     of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (34 U.S.C. 12351) 
     to be a rapid re-housing project if the program--
       (i) provides not less than 6 months of housing assistance 
     to survivors; and
       (ii) meets other criteria established by the Secretary.
       (3) Evaluation.--The Secretary shall develop--
       (A) measurable criteria upon which applicants are evaluated 
     to demonstrate their collaboration with victim service 
     providers to develop local policy priorities focused on 
     survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual 
     assault, or stalking, including survivor-centered coordinated 
     entry processes that appropriately assess and prioritize 
     those survivors and take into account the safety and 
     confidentiality needs of those survivors; and
       (B) mechanisms that promote the provision of technical 
     assistance and support for programs to improve outcomes 
     instead of reallocating or not awarding funds.
       (4) Research agenda.--The Secretary shall develop a 
     research agenda that focuses on survivors of domestic 
     violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking and 
     the housing modalities that best support them, especially the 
     critical safety concerns and the link between trauma and 
     residential stability.

     SEC. 4. INCREASING ACCESS TO SAFE HOUSING FOR SURVIVORS OF 
                   DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, DATING VIOLENCE, SEXUAL 
                   ASSAULT, AND STALKING.

       Section 427(b)(1) of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance 
     Act (42 U.S.C. 11386a(b)(1)) is amended--
       (1) in subparagraph (A)--
       (A) by redesignating clauses (vii) and (viii) as clauses 
     (viii) and (ix), respectively; and
       (B) by inserting after clause (vi) the following:
       ``(vii) success in addressing the safety needs of homeless 
     survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual 
     assault, and stalking;'';
       (2) in subparagraph (B)--
       (A) in clause (iv)(VI), by striking ``and'' at the end;
       (B) by redesignating clause (v) as clause (vi); and
       (C) by inserting after clause (iv)(VI) the following:
       ``(v) how the recipient will measure the success of the 
     victim service providers in meeting the housing, safety, and 
     trauma needs of victims of domestic violence, dating 
     violence, sexual assault, or stalking, with an explanation of 
     how the recipient will allow flexibility on other metrics 
     that may be impacted by the needs of survivors; and'';
       (3) in subparagraph (F)(ii), by striking ``, and'' at the 
     end;
       (4) by redesignating subparagraph (G) as subparagraph (H); 
     and
       (5) by inserting after subparagraph (F) the following:
       ``(G) success of the recipient in meeting the housing, 
     safety, and trauma needs of survivors of domestic violence, 
     dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking, including 
     access to safe housing; and''.

     SEC. 5. REPORT TO CONGRESS.

       Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this 
     Act, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report on--
       (1) the trends in allocating resources to address the 
     housing needs of survivors of domestic violence, dating 
     violence, sexual assault, and stalking; and
       (2) the increase in the allocation of resources for 
     domestic violence projects beginning after the date of 
     enactment of this Act.

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