[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 125 (Wednesday, July 25, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5378-S5379]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 3549. Mr. YOUNG (for himself, Mr. Van Hollen, and Mr. Blunt)
submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to amendment SA 3399
proposed by Mr. Shelby to the bill H.R. 6147, making appropriations for
the Department of the Interior, environment, and related agencies for
the fiscal year ending September 30, 2019, and for other purposes;
which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:
At the appropriate place in division D, insert the
following:
Sec. __. (a) In this section--
(1) the terms ``families'' and ``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) 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) the term ``Plan'' means a Regional Housing Mobility
Plan submitted under subsection (d); and
(4) the term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of Housing
and Urban Development.
(b) 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)(1) 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) 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) 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) 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)(1) 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) 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)(1) To allow for public housing agencies to implement
and administer the Plan of the
[[Page S5379]]
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) 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) 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) The Secretary may implement the demonstration program
under this section, including the terms, procedures,
requirements, and conditions of the demonstration, by notice.
(h)(1) 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) 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.
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