[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 94 (Thursday, June 7, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3336-S3337]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 2435. Mr. YOUNG (for himself and Mr. Van Hollen) submitted an
amendment intended to be proposed to amendment SA 2282 submitted by Mr.
Inhofe (for himself and Mr. McCain) and intended to be proposed to the
bill H.R. 5515, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2019 for
military activities of the Department of Defense, for military
construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy,
to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for
other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:
At the end of subtitle F of title X, add the following:
SEC. 1066. HOUSING CHOICE VOUCHER MOBILITY DEMONSTRATION.
(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Families; public housing agency.--The term ``public
housing agency'' have the meanings given those terms in
section 3(b) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42
U.S.C. 1437a(b)).
(2) Housing choice voucher assistance.--The term ``housing
choice voucher assistance'' means voucher assistance provided
under section 8(o) of the United States Housing Act of 1937
(42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)).
(3) Plan.--The term ``Plan'' means a Regional Housing
Mobility Plan submitted under subsection (d).
(4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Housing and Urban Development.
(b) Authority.--The Secretary may carry out a mobility
demonstration program to enable public housing agencies to
administer housing choice voucher assistance in a manner
designed to encourage families receiving that assistance to
move to lower-poverty areas and expand access to opportunity
areas.
(c) Selection of PHAs.--
(1) Requirements.--The Secretary shall establish
requirements for public housing agencies to participate in
the demonstration program under this section, which shall
provide that the following public housing agencies may
participate:
(A) Public housing agencies that together--
(i) serve areas with high concentrations of families
receiving housing choice voucher assistance in poor, low-
opportunity neighborhoods; and
(ii) have an adequate number of moderately priced rental
units in higher-opportunity areas.
(B) Planned consortia or partial consortia of public
housing agencies that--
(i) include not less than 1 public housing agency with a
high-performing Family Self-Sufficiency program carried out
under section 23 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42
U.S.C. 1437u); and
(ii) will enable participating families to continue in the
Family Self-Sufficiency program if the family relocates to
the jurisdiction served by any other public housing agency of
the consortium.
(C) Planned consortia or partial consortia of public
housing agencies that--
(i) serve jurisdictions within a single region;
(ii) include not less than 1 small public housing agency;
and
(iii) will consolidate mobility-focused operations.
(D) Such other public housing agencies as the Secretary
considers appropriate.
(2) Selection criteria.--The Secretary shall establish
competitive selection criteria for public housing agencies
eligible under paragraph (1) to participate in the
demonstration program under this section.
(3) Random selection of families.--The Secretary may
require public housing agencies participating in the
demonstration program under this section to use a randomized
selection process to select among the families eligible to
receive assistance under the demonstration program.
(d) Regional Housing Mobility Plan.--The Secretary shall
require each public housing agency applying to participate in
the demonstration program under this section to submit a
Regional Housing Mobility Plan, which shall--
(1) identify the public housing agencies that will
participate under the Plan and the number of vouchers each
participating public housing agency will make available out
of their existing programs in connection with the
demonstration;
(2) identify any community-based organizations, nonprofit
organizations, businesses, and other entities that will
participate under the Plan and describe the commitments for
the participation made by each such entity;
(3) identify any waivers or alternative requirements
requested for the execution of the Plan;
(4) identify any specific actions that the public housing
agencies and other entities will undertake to accomplish the
goals of the demonstration program, which shall include a
comprehensive approach to enable a successful transition to
opportunity areas and may include counseling and continued
support for families;
(5) specify the criteria that the public housing agencies
would use to identify opportunity areas under the Plan;
(6) provide for the establishment of priority and
preferences for families receiving assistance under the
demonstration program, including a preference for families
with young children, as such term is defined by the
Secretary, based on regional housing needs and priorities;
and
(7) comply with any other requirements established by the
Secretary.
(e) Funding for Mobility-Related Services.--
[[Page S3337]]
(1) Use of administrative fees.--Each public housing agency
participating in the demonstration program under this section
may use administrative fees under section 8(q) of the United
States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(q)), any
administrative fee reserves of the public housing agency, and
funding from private entities to provide mobility-related
services in connection with the demonstration program,
including services such as counseling, portability
coordination, landlord outreach, security deposits, and
administrative activities associated with establishing and
operating regional mobility programs.
(2) Use of housing assistance funds.--Each public housing
agency participating in the demonstration program under this
section may use housing assistance payment contract funds
under section 8(o) of the United States Housing Act of 1937
(42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)) for security deposits if necessary to
enable families to lease units with housing choice voucher
assistance in designated opportunity areas.
(f) Waivers; Alternative Requirements.--
(1) Waivers.--To allow for public housing agencies to
implement and administer the Plan of the public housing
agency under the demonstration program under this section,
the Secretary may waive or specify alternative requirements
for the following provisions of the United States Housing Act
of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437 et seq.):
(A) Paragraphs (7)(A) and (13)(E)(i) of section 8(o) (42
U.S.C. 1437f(o)) (relating to the term of a lease and
mobility requirements).
(B) Section 8(o)(13)(C)(i) (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)(13)(C)(i))
(relating to the public housing agency plan).
(C) Section 8(r)(2) (42 U.S.C. 1437f(r)(2)) (relating to
the responsibility of a public housing agency to administer
portable assistance).
(2) Alternative requirements.--The Secretary shall provide
additional authority for public housing agencies in a
selected region to form a consortium that has a single
housing assistance payment contract, or to enter into a
partial consortium to operate all or portions of the Plan,
including public housing agencies participating in the Moving
To Work demonstration program established under section 204
of the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban
Development, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act,
1996 (Public Law 104-134; 110 Stat. 1321-281).
(3) Effective date.--Any waiver or alternative requirements
pursuant to this subsection shall not take effect before the
date that is 10 days after the date on which the date on
which the Secretary publishes a notice of the waiver or
alternative requirement in the Federal Register.
(g) Implementation.--The Secretary may implement the
demonstration program under this section, including the
terms, procedures, requirements, and conditions of the
demonstration, by notice.
(h) Evaluation.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 5 years after the
implementation of the regional housing mobility programs by
public housing agencies participating in the demonstration
program under this section, the Secretary shall submit to
Congress and publish in the Federal Register a report
evaluating the effectiveness of the strategies pursued under
the demonstration program, subject to the availability of
funding to conduct the evaluation.
(2) Dissemination of findings.--The Secretary shall--
(A) through internet websites and other means, disseminate
interim findings relating to the demonstration program under
this section as they become available; and
(B) if promising strategies are identified through the
findings described in subparagraph (A), notify Congress of
the amount of funds that would be required to expand the
testing of these strategies in additional types of public
housing agencies and housing markets.
______