[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 15]
[House]
[Pages 23256-23261]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




        FRANK MELVILLE SUPPORTIVE HOUSING INVESTMENT ACT OF 2010

  Mr. MURPHY of Connecticut. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules 
and pass the bill (S. 1481) to amend section 811 of the Cranston-
Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act to improve the program under 
such section for supportive housing for persons with disabilities.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                S. 1481

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; REFERENCES.

       (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Frank 
     Melville Supportive Housing Investment Act of 2010''.
       (b) References.--Except as otherwise expressly provided, 
     wherever in this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in 
     terms of an amendment to, or repeal of, section 811 or any 
     other provision of section 811, the reference shall be 
     considered to be made to section 811 of the Cranston-Gonzalez 
     National Affordable Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 8013).

     SEC. 2. TENANT-BASED RENTAL ASSISTANCE.

       (a) Renewal Through Section 8.--Section 811(d)(4) is 
     amended to read as follows:
       ``(4) Tenant-based rental assistance.--
       ``(A) In general.--Tenant-based rental assistance provided 
     under subsection (b)(1) shall be provided under section 8(o) 
     of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 
     1437f(o)).
       ``(B) Conversion of existing assistance.--There is 
     authorized to be appropriated for tenant-based rental 
     assistance under section 8(o) of the United States Housing 
     Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)) for persons with 
     disabilities an amount not less than the amount necessary to 
     convert the number of authorized vouchers and funding under 
     an annual contributions contract in effect on the date of 
     enactment of the Frank Melville Supportive Housing Investment 
     Act of 2010. Such converted vouchers may be administered by 
     the entity administering the vouchers prior to conversion. 
     For purposes of administering such converted vouchers, such 
     entities shall be considered a `public housing agency' 
     authorized to engage in the operation of tenant-based 
     assistance under section 8 of the United States Housing Act 
     of 1937.
       ``(C) Requirements upon turnover.--The Secretary shall 
     develop and issue, to public housing agencies that receive 
     voucher assistance made available under this subsection and 
     to public housing agencies that received voucher assistance 
     under section 8(o) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 
     (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)) for non-elderly disabled families 
     pursuant to appropriation Acts for fiscal years 1997 through 
     2002 or any other subsequent appropriations for incremental 
     vouchers for non-elderly disabled families, guidance to 
     ensure that, to the maximum extent possible, such vouchers 
     continue to be provided upon turnover to qualified persons 
     with disabilities or to qualified non-elderly disabled 
     families, respectively.''.
       (b) Provision of Technical Assistance.--The Secretary is 
     authorized to the extent amounts are made available in future 
     appropriations Acts, to provide technical assistance to 
     public housing agencies and other administering entities to 
     facilitate using vouchers to provide permanent supportive 
     housing for persons with disabilities, help States reduce 
     reliance on segregated restrictive settings for people with 
     disabilities to meet community care requirements, end chronic 
     homelessness, as ``chronically homeless'' is defined in 
     section 401 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 
     U.S.C. 11361), and for other related purposes.

     SEC. 3. MODERNIZED CAPITAL ADVANCE PROGRAM.

       (a) Project Rental Assistance Contracts.--Section 811 is 
     amended--
       (1) in subsection (d)(2)--
       (A) by inserting ``(A) Initial project rental assistance 
     contract.--'' after ``Project rental assistance.--'';
       (B) in the first sentence, by inserting after ``shall'' the 
     following: ``comply with subsection (e)(2) and shall'';
       (C) by striking ``annual contract amount'' each place such 
     term appears and inserting ``amount provided under the 
     contract for each year covered by the contract''; and
       (D) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
       ``(B) Renewal of and increases in contract amounts.--
       ``(i) Expiration of contract term.--Upon the expiration of 
     each contract term, subject to the availability of amounts 
     made available in appropriation Acts, the Secretary shall 
     adjust the annual contract amount to provide for reasonable 
     project costs, including adequate reserves and service 
     coordinators as appropriate, except that any contract amounts 
     not used by a project during a contract term shall not be 
     available for such adjustments upon renewal.
       ``(ii) Emergency situations.--In the event of emergency 
     situations that are outside the control of the owner, the 
     Secretary shall increase the annual contract amount, subject 
     to reasonable review and limitations as the Secretary shall 
     provide.''.
       (2) in subsection (e)(2)--
       (A) in the first sentence, by inserting before the period 
     at the end the following: ``, except that, in the case of the 
     sponsor of a project assisted with any low-income housing tax 
     credit pursuant to section 42 of the Internal Revenue Code of 
     1986 or with any tax-exempt housing bonds, the contract shall 
     have an initial term of not less than 360 months and shall 
     provide funding for a term of 60 months''; and

[[Page 23257]]

       (B) by striking ``extend any expiring contract'' and insert 
     ``upon expiration of a contract (or any renewed contract), 
     renew such contract''.
       (b) Program Requirements.--Section 811 is amended--
       (1) in subsection (e)--
       (A) by striking the subsection heading and inserting the 
     following: ``Program Requirements'';
       (B) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the following 
     new paragraph:
       ``(1) Use restrictions.--
       ``(A) Term.--Any project for which a capital advance is 
     provided under subsection (d)(1) shall be operated for not 
     less than 40 years as supportive housing for persons with 
     disabilities, in accordance with the application for the 
     project approved by the Secretary and shall, during such 
     period, be made available for occupancy only by very low-
     income persons with disabilities.
       ``(B) Conversion.--If the owner of a project requests the 
     use of the project for the direct benefit of very low-income 
     persons with disabilities and, pursuant to such request the 
     Secretary determines that a project is no longer needed for 
     use as supportive housing for persons with disabilities, the 
     Secretary may approve the request and authorize the owner to 
     convert the project to such use.''; and
       (C) by adding at the end the following new paragraphs:
       ``(3) Limitation on use of funds.--No assistance received 
     under this section (or any State or local government funds 
     used to supplement such assistance) may be used to replace 
     other State or local funds previously used, or designated for 
     use, to assist persons with disabilities.
       ``(4) Multifamily projects.--
       ``(A) Limitation.--Except as provided in subparagraph (B), 
     of the total number of dwelling units in any multifamily 
     housing project (including any condominium or cooperative 
     housing project) containing any unit for which assistance is 
     provided from a capital grant under subsection (d)(1) made 
     after the date of the enactment of the Frank Melville 
     Supportive Housing Investment Act of 2010, the aggregate 
     number that are used for persons with disabilities, including 
     supportive housing for persons with disabilities, or to which 
     any occupancy preference for persons with disabilities 
     applies, may not exceed 25 percent of such total.
       ``(B) Exception.--Subparagraph (A) shall not apply in the 
     case of any project that is a group home or independent 
     living facility.''; and
       (2) in subsection (l), by striking paragraph (4).
       (c) Delegated Processing.--Subsection (g) of section 811 
     (42 U.S.C. 8013(g)) is amended--
       (1) by striking ``Selection Criteria.--'' and inserting 
     ``Selection Criteria and Processing.--(1) Selection 
     criteria.--'';
       (2) by redesignating paragraphs (1), (2), (3), (4), (5), 
     (6), and (7) as subparagraphs (A), (B), (C), (D), (E), (G), 
     and (H), respectively; and
       (3) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
       ``(2) Delegated Processing.--
       ``(A) In issuing a capital advance under subsection (d)(1) 
     for any multifamily project (but not including any project 
     that is a group home or independent living facility) for 
     which financing for the purposes described in the last 
     sentence of subsection (b) is provided by a combination of 
     the capital advance and sources other than this section, 
     within 30 days of award of the capital advance, the Secretary 
     shall delegate review and processing of such projects to a 
     State or local housing agency that--
       ``(i) is in geographic proximity to the property;
       ``(ii) has demonstrated experience in and capacity for 
     underwriting multifamily housing loans that provide housing 
     and supportive services;
       ``(iii) may or may not be providing low-income housing tax 
     credits in combination with the capital advance under this 
     section; and
       ``(iv) agrees to issue a firm commitment within 12 months 
     of delegation.
       ``(B) The Secretary shall retain the authority to process 
     capital advances in cases in which no State or local housing 
     agency is sufficiently qualified to provide delegated 
     processing pursuant to this paragraph or no such agency has 
     entered into an agreement with the Secretary to serve as a 
     delegated processing agency.
       ``(C) The Secretary shall--
       ``(i) develop criteria and a timeline to periodically 
     assess the performance of State and local housing agencies in 
     carrying out the duties delegated to such agencies pursuant 
     to subparagraph (A); and
       ``(ii) retain the authority to review and process projects 
     financed by a capital advance in the event that, after a 
     review and assessment, a State or local housing agency is 
     determined to have failed to satisfy the criteria established 
     pursuant to clause (i).
       ``(D) An agency to which review and processing is delegated 
     pursuant to subparagraph (A) may assess a reasonable fee 
     which shall be included in the capital advance amounts and 
     may recommend project rental assistance amounts in excess of 
     those initially awarded by the Secretary. The Secretary shall 
     develop a schedule for reasonable fees under this 
     subparagraph to be paid to delegated processing agencies, 
     which shall take into consideration any other fees to be paid 
     to the agency for other funding provided to the project by 
     the agency, including bonds, tax credits, and other gap 
     funding.
       ``(E) Under such delegated system, the Secretary shall 
     retain the authority to approve rents and development costs 
     and to execute a capital advance within 60 days of receipt of 
     the commitment from the State or local agency. The Secretary 
     shall provide to such agency and the project sponsor, in 
     writing, the reasons for any reduction in capital advance 
     amounts or project rental assistance and such reductions 
     shall be subject to appeal.''.
       (d) Leveraging Other Resources.--Paragraph (1) of section 
     811(g) (as so designated by subsection (c)(1) of this 
     section) is amended by inserting after subparagraph (E) (as 
     so redesignated by subsection (c)(2) of this section) the 
     following new subparagraph:
       ``(F) the extent to which the per-unit cost of units to be 
     assisted under this section will be supplemented with 
     resources from other public and private sources;''.
       (e) Tenant Protections and Eligibility for Occupancy.--
     Section 811 is amended by striking subsection (i) and 
     inserting the following new subsection:
       ``(i) Admission and Occupancy.--
       ``(1) Tenant selection.--
       ``(A) Procedures.--An owner shall adopt written tenant 
     selection procedures that are satisfactory to the Secretary 
     as (i) consistent with the purpose of improving housing 
     opportunities for very low-income persons with disabilities; 
     and (ii) reasonably related to program eligibility and an 
     applicant's ability to perform the obligations of the lease. 
     Owners shall promptly notify in writing any rejected 
     applicant of the grounds for any rejection.
       ``(B) Requirement for occupancy.--Occupancy in dwelling 
     units provided assistance under this section shall be 
     available only to persons with disabilities and households 
     that include at least one person with a disability.
       ``(C) Availability.--Except only as provided in 
     subparagraph (D), occupancy in dwelling units in housing 
     provided with assistance under this section shall be 
     available to all persons with disabilities eligible for such 
     occupancy without regard to the particular disability 
     involved.
       ``(D) Limitation on occupancy.--Notwithstanding any other 
     provision of law, the owner of housing developed under this 
     section may, with the approval of the Secretary, limit 
     occupancy within the housing to persons with disabilities who 
     can benefit from the supportive services offered in 
     connection with the housing.
       ``(2) Tenant protections.--
       ``(A) Lease.--The lease between a tenant and an owner of 
     housing assisted under this section shall be for not less 
     than one year, and shall contain such terms and conditions as 
     the Secretary shall determine to be appropriate.
       ``(B) Termination of tenancy.--An owner may not terminate 
     the tenancy or refuse to renew the lease of a tenant of a 
     rental dwelling unit assisted under this section except--
       ``(i) for serious or repeated violation of the terms and 
     conditions of the lease, for violation of applicable Federal, 
     State, or local law, or for other good cause; and
       ``(ii) by providing the tenant, not less than 30 days 
     before such termination or refusal to renew, with written 
     notice specifying the grounds for such action.
       ``(C) Voluntary participation in services.--A supportive 
     service plan for housing assisted under this section shall 
     permit each resident to take responsibility for choosing and 
     acquiring their own services, to receive any supportive 
     services made available directly or indirectly by the owner 
     of such housing, or to not receive any supportive 
     services.''.
       (f) Development Cost Limitations.--Subsection (h) of 
     section 811 is amended--
       (1) in paragraph (1)--
       (A) by striking the paragraph heading and inserting ``Group 
     homes'';
       (B) in the first sentence, by striking ``various types and 
     sizes'' and inserting ``group homes'';
       (C) by striking subparagraph (E); and
       (D) by redesignating subparagraphs (F) and (G) as 
     subparagraphs (E) and (F), respectively;
       (2) in paragraph (3), by inserting ``established pursuant 
     to paragraph (1)'' after ``cost limitation''; and
       (3) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
       ``(6) Applicability of home program cost limitations.--
       ``(A) In general.--The provisions of section 212(e) of the 
     Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 
     12742(e)) and the cost limits established by the Secretary 
     pursuant to such section with respect to the amount of funds 
     under subtitle A of title II of such Act that may be invested 
     on a per unit basis, shall apply to supportive housing 
     assisted with a capital advance under subsection (d)(1) and 
     the amount of funds under such subsection that may be 
     invested on a per unit basis.
       ``(B) Waivers.--The Secretary may provide for waiver of the 
     cost limits applicable pursuant to subparagraph (A)--

[[Page 23258]]

       ``(i) in the cases in which the cost limits established 
     pursuant to section 212(e) of the Cranston-Gonzalez National 
     Affordable Housing Act may be waived; and
       ``(ii) to provide for--

       ``(I) the cost of special design features to make the 
     housing accessible to persons with disabilities;
       ``(II) the cost of special design features necessary to 
     make individual dwelling units meet the special needs of 
     persons with disabilities; and
       ``(III) the cost of providing the housing in a location 
     that is accessible to public transportation and community 
     organizations that provide supportive services to persons 
     with disabilities.''.

       (g) Congressional Notification of Waiver.--Section 811(k) 
     is amended--
       (1) in paragraph (1), by adding the following after the 
     second sentence: ``Not later than the date of the exercise of 
     any waiver permitted under the previous sentence, the 
     Secretary shall notify the Committee on Banking, Housing, and 
     Urban Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Financial 
     Services of the House of Representatives of the waiver or the 
     intention to exercise the waiver, together with a detailed 
     explanation of the reason for the waiver.''; and
       (2) in paragraph (4)--
       (A) by striking ``prescribe, subject to the limitation 
     under subsection (h)(6) of this section)'' and inserting 
     ``prescribe)''; and
       (B) by adding the following after the first sentence: ``Not 
     later than the date that the Secretary prescribes a limit 
     exceeding the 24 person limit in the previous sentence, the 
     Secretary shall notify the Committee on Banking, Housing, and 
     Urban Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Financial 
     Services of the House of Representatives of the limit or the 
     intention to prescribe a limit in excess of 24 persons, 
     together with a detailed explanation of the reason for the 
     new limit.''.
       (h) Minimum Allocation for Multifamily Projects.--Paragraph 
     (1) of section 811(l) is amended to read as follows:
       ``(1) Minimum allocation for multifamily projects.--The 
     Secretary shall establish a minimum percentage of the amount 
     made available for each fiscal year for capital advances 
     under subsection (d)(1) that shall be used for multifamily 
     projects subject to subsection (e)(4).''.

     SEC. 4. PROJECT RENTAL ASSISTANCE.

       Section 811(b) is amended--
       (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking ``is 
     authorized--'' and inserting ``is authorized to take the 
     following actions:'';
       (2) in paragraph (1)--
       (A) by striking ``(1) to provide tenant-based'' and 
     inserting ``(1) Tenant-based assistance.--To provide tenant-
     based''; and
       (B) by striking ``; and'' and inserting a period;
       (3) in paragraph (2), by striking ``(2) to provide 
     assistance'' and inserting ``(2) Capital advances.--To 
     provide assistance''; and
       (4) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(3) Project rental assistance.--
       ``(A) In general.--To offer additional methods of financing 
     supportive housing for non-elderly adults with disabilities, 
     the Secretary shall make funds available for project rental 
     assistance pursuant to subparagraph (B) for eligible projects 
     under subparagraph (C). The Secretary shall provide for State 
     housing finance agencies and other appropriate entities to 
     apply to the Secretary for such project rental assistance 
     funds, which shall be made available by such agencies and 
     entities for dwelling units in eligible projects based upon 
     criteria established by the Secretary. The Secretary may not 
     require any State housing finance agency or other entity 
     applying for such project rental assistance funds to identify 
     in such application the eligible projects for which such 
     funds will be used, and shall allow such agencies and 
     applicants to subsequently identify such eligible projects 
     pursuant to the making of commitments described in 
     subparagraph (C)(ii).
       ``(B) Contract terms.--
       ``(i) Contract terms.--Project rental assistance under this 
     paragraph shall be provided--

       ``(I) in accordance with subsection (d)(2); and
       ``(II) under a contract having an initial term of not less 
     than 180 months that provides funding for a term 60 months, 
     which funding shall be renewed upon expiration, subject to 
     the availability of sufficient amounts in appropriation Acts.

       ``(ii) Limitation on units assisted.--Of the total number 
     of dwelling units in any multifamily housing project 
     containing any unit for which project rental assistance under 
     this paragraph is provided, the aggregate number that are 
     provided such project rental assistance, that are used for 
     supportive housing for persons with disabilities, or to which 
     any occupancy preference for persons with disabilities 
     applies, may not exceed 25 percent of such total.
       ``(iii) Prohibition of capital advances.--The Secretary may 
     not provide a capital advance under subsection (d)(1) for any 
     project for which assistance is provided under this 
     paragraph.
       ``(iv) Eligible population.--Project rental assistance 
     under this paragraph may be provided only for dwelling units 
     for extremely low-income persons with disabilities and 
     extremely low-income households that include at least one 
     person with a disability.
       ``(C) Eligible projects.--An eligible project under this 
     subparagraph is a new or existing multifamily housing project 
     for which--
       ``(i) the development costs are paid with resources from 
     other public or private sources; and
       ``(ii) a commitment has been made--

       ``(I) by the applicable State agency responsible for 
     allocation of low-income housing tax credits under section 42 
     of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, for an allocation of 
     such credits;
       ``(II) by the applicable participating jurisdiction that 
     receives assistance under the HOME Investment Partnership 
     Act, for assistance from such jurisdiction; or
       ``(III) by any Federal agency or any State or local 
     government, for funding for the project from funds from any 
     other sources.

       ``(D) State agency involvement.--Assistance under this 
     paragraph may be provided only for projects for which the 
     applicable State agency responsible for health and human 
     services programs, and the applicable State agency designated 
     to administer or supervise the administration of the State 
     plan for medical assistance under title XIX of the Social 
     Security Act, have entered into such agreements as the 
     Secretary considers appropriate--
       ``(i) to identify the target populations to be served by 
     the project;
       ``(ii) to set forth methods for outreach and referral; and
       ``(iii) to make available appropriate services for tenants 
     of the project.
       ``(E) Use requirements.--In the case of any project for 
     which project rental assistance is provided under this 
     paragraph, the dwelling units assisted pursuant to 
     subparagraph (B) shall be operated for not less than 30 years 
     as supportive housing for persons with disabilities, in 
     accordance with the application for the project approved by 
     the Secretary, and such dwelling units shall, during such 
     period, be made available for occupancy only by persons and 
     households described in subparagraph (B)(iv).
       ``(F) Report.--Not later than 3 years after the date of the 
     enactment of this paragraph, and again 2 years thereafter, 
     the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report--
       ``(i) describing the assistance provided under this 
     paragraph;
       ``(ii) analyzing the effectiveness of such assistance, 
     including the effectiveness of such assistance compared to 
     the assistance program for capital advances set forth under 
     subsection (d)(1) (as in effect pursuant to the amendments 
     made by such Act); and
       ``(iii) making recommendations regarding future models for 
     assistance under this section.''.

     SEC. 5. TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS.

       Section 811 is amended--
       (1) in subsection (a)--
       (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``and'' at the end;
       (B) in paragraph (2)--
       (i) by striking ``provides'' and inserting ``makes 
     available''; and
       (ii) by striking the period at the end and inserting ``; 
     and''; and
       (C) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
       ``(3) promotes and facilitates community integration for 
     people with significant and long-term disabilities.'';
       (2) in subsection (c)--
       (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``special'' and inserting 
     ``housing and community-based services''; and
       (B) in paragraph (2)--
       (i) by striking subparagraph (A) and inserting the 
     following:
       ``(A) make available voluntary supportive services that 
     address the individual needs of persons with disabilities 
     occupying such housing;''; and
       (ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking the comma and 
     inserting a semicolon;
       (3) in subsection (d)(1), by striking ``provided under'' 
     and all that follows through ``shall bear'' and inserting 
     ``provided pursuant to subsection (b)(1) shall bear'';
       (4) in subsection (f)--
       (A) in paragraph (3)--
       (i) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``receive'' and 
     inserting ``be offered'';
       (ii) by striking subparagraph (C) and inserting the 
     following:
       ``(C) evidence of the applicant's experience in--
       ``(i) providing such supportive services; or
       ``(ii) creating and managing structured partnerships with 
     service providers for the delivery of appropriate community-
     based services;'';
       (iii) in subparagraph (D), by striking ``such persons'' and 
     all that follows through ``provision of such services'' and 
     inserting ``tenants''; and
       (iv) in subparagraph (E), by inserting ``other Federal, 
     and'' before ``State''; and
       (B) in paragraph (4), by striking ``special'' and inserting 
     ``housing and community-based services'';
       (5) in subsection (g), in paragraph (1) (as so redesignated 
     by section 3(c)(1) of this Act)--
       (A) in subparagraph (D) (as so redesignated by section 
     3(c)(2) of this Act), by striking ``the necessary supportive 
     services will be

[[Page 23259]]

     provided'' and inserting ``appropriate supportive services 
     will be made available''; and
       (B) by striking subparagraph (E) (as so redesignated by 
     section 3(c)(2) of this Act) and inserting the following:
       ``(E) the extent to which the location and design of the 
     proposed project will facilitate the provision of community-
     based supportive services and address other basic needs of 
     persons with disabilities, including access to appropriate 
     and accessible transportation, access to community services 
     agencies, public facilities, and shopping;'';
       (6) in subsection (j)--
       (A) by striking paragraph (4); and
       (B) by redesignating paragraphs (5), (6), and (7) as 
     paragraphs (4), (5), and (6), respectively;
       (7) in subsection (k)--
       (A) in paragraph (1), by inserting before the period at the 
     end of the first sentence the following: ``, which provides a 
     separate bedroom for each tenant of the residence'';
       (B) in paragraph (2), by striking the first sentence, and 
     inserting the following: ``The term `person with 
     disabilities' means a household composed of one or more 
     persons who is 18 years of age or older and less than 62 
     years of age, and who has a disability.'';
       (C) by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the following 
     new paragraph:
       ``(3) The term `supportive housing for persons with 
     disabilities' means dwelling units that--
       ``(A) are designed to meet the permanent housing needs of 
     very low-income persons with disabilities; and
       ``(B) are located in housing that make available supportive 
     services that address the individual health, mental health, 
     or other needs of such persons.'';
       (D) in paragraph (5), by striking ``a project for''; and
       (E) in paragraph (6)--
       (i) by inserting after and below subparagraph (D) the 
     matter to be inserted by the amendment made by section 841 of 
     the American Homeownership and Economic Opportunity Act of 
     2000 (Public Law 106-569; 114 Stat. 3022); and
       (ii) in the matter inserted by the amendment made by 
     subparagraph (A) of this paragraph, by striking ``wholly 
     owned and''; and
       (8) in subsection (l)--
       (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ``subsection (c)(1)'' and 
     inserting ``subsection (d)(1)''; and
       (B) in paragraph (3), by striking ``subsection (c)(2)'' and 
     inserting ``subsection (d)(2)''.

     SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       Subsection (m) of section 811 is amended to read as 
     follows:
       ``(m) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are 
     authorized to be appropriated for providing assistance 
     pursuant to this section $300,000,000 for each of fiscal 
     years 2011 through 2015.''.

     SEC. 7. GAO STUDY.

       The Comptroller General of the United States shall conduct 
     a study of the supportive housing for persons with 
     disabilities program under section 811 of the Cranston-
     Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 8013) to 
     determine the adequacy and effectiveness of such program in 
     assisting households of persons with disabilities. Such study 
     shall determine--
       (1) the total number of households assisted under such 
     program;
       (2) the extent to which households assisted under other 
     programs of the Department of Housing and Urban Development 
     that provide rental assistance or rental housing would be 
     eligible to receive assistance under such section 811 
     program; and
       (3) the extent to which households described in paragraph 
     (2) who are eligible for, but not receiving, assistance under 
     such section 811 program are receiving supportive services 
     from, or assisted by, the Department of Housing and Urban 
     Development other than through the section 811 program 
     (including under the Resident Opportunity and Self-
     Sufficiency program) or from other sources.

     Upon the completion of the study required under this section, 
     the Comptroller General shall submit a report to the Congress 
     setting forth the findings and conclusions of the study.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Connecticut (Mr. Murphy) and the gentlewoman from West Virginia (Mrs. 
Capito) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Connecticut.


                             General Leave

  Mr. MURPHY of Connecticut. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent 
that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and 
extend their remarks on this legislation and to insert extraneous 
material thereon.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Connecticut?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. MURPHY of Connecticut. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Madam Speaker, I am proud to stand here today with my colleagues in 
support of S. 1481, the Frank Melville Supportive Housing Investment 
Act of 2009. This is a reauthorization and improvement upon the 
existing section 811 supportive housing program. Passing this bill 
today would send the legislation to the President's desk. I think this 
is the third time we've had this bill before the House over the last 4 
years. It would pave the way to provide thousands more affordable 
housing units each year across this country to low-income persons with 
physical and mental disabilities. Importantly, the bill before us today 
costs the same amount as the existing 811 program. It just makes some 
very important improvements to efficiently expand the use of these 
important dollars.
  That is why I want to first just thank all the people who have 
brought this bill before us today, Senators Menendez and Johanns in the 
Senate as well as the ranking member of the full committee in the 
Senate, Senator Dodd; here in the House, the chairman of the full 
committee, Representative Frank and Representatives Capito and Biggert 
for their tireless advocacy on the issue of supportive housing, as well 
as really hundreds of staff both on the inside of this building and 
those advocates who have worked on this issue for a number of years.
  And lastly to the Melville family, this bill is titled the Frank 
Melville Supportive Housing Investment Act. Frank Melville, who 
unfortunately passed away a few years ago, and his surviving wife, 
Allen, created something called the Melville Charitable Trust; and that 
trust today is one of the primary funders of supportive housing 
advocacy around the Northeast and around the Nation. And I think this 
legislation, should it find its way into passage, will be a fitting 
testament to Frank Melville's legacy.
  Madam Speaker, the 811 program is the primary program for the 
development of supportive housing around the country. The Department of 
Housing and Urban Development estimates that around this Nation, there 
are about 1.3 million individuals, nonelderly disabled, people with 
physical disabilities or sometimes very severe mental illness, who are 
living in substandard housing. Supportive housing is a cost-effective 
means to provide those individuals with an ability to thrive 
independently. They are housing units, sometimes built together, 
sometimes done on a scattered-site basis, that are partnered with a 
modicum of support services, sometimes transportation help, sometimes 
medication adherence, that allows them to live independently.
  It's the right thing to do for them, and it's the right thing to do 
for the government. It saves us billions of dollars. Because often, 
especially with respect to the individuals who have severe mental 
illness, the alternative is for those people to live in institutional 
settings, whether it be in hospitals or in jails. For those with 
physical disabilities, it is often a very, very difficult life to live 
in nonsupportive housing units.

                              {time}  1130

  The problem is we are not building enough of these units. Over the 
last few years we've built less than 1,000 across the country with 811 
dollars. And it's sometimes taking up to 6 years from the point of 
application to the point of completion when you're dealing with an 811 
project.
  This bill, by reordering the way in which we run the program, would 
triple the number of housing units that we can build through the 811 
program across country. It does this by providing better accountability 
and cost efficiency to the program, by transferring 811 vouchers to the 
larger section 8 program. And this frees up funds to support efforts to 
leverage 811 capital dollars with low-income tax credits, private 
dollars, and State partnerships. That's what this is really all about, 
trying to take our Federal dollars and leverage them with other sources 
of funding, whether it be through State and municipal funds or whether 
it be through private dollars, which I think is really the future of 
supportive housing development.
  It also makes a number of other important efficiencies by allowing 
States

[[Page 23260]]

and State housing agencies to do much of the bureaucratic paperwork 
that sometimes bogs down these applications.
  Years ago, Madam Speaker, when this country and States across the 
Nation made the decision to close down our institutions that housed 
individuals with mental and physical disabilities, we made a promise to 
them. We told them that we'd find them new housing out in the 
communities, better opportunities for those individuals to live on 
their own. We haven't lived up to that promise over the years.
  And in Connecticut, those of us who have worked on this issue for 
years, we often wear a badge when we're working on this issue in the 
State Capitol that says, Keep the Promise. This legislation, I believe, 
thanks to the great work of my Republican colleagues and Senators who 
worked so hard on it, is a step towards doing just that.
  Again, I'd like to thank all of the people who have made this 
prospective final passage possible.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mrs. CAPITO. Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague from 
Connecticut for his dedication to this very important piece of 
legislation. And I would particularly like to thank Ms. Biggert from 
Illinois for her passion and her advocacy on behalf of the disabled 
Americans and their housing needs.
  I rise in support of S. 1481, the Frank Melville Supportive Housing 
Investment Act of 2010.
  There are nearly 4 million non-elderly disabled adults in the United 
States that are in need of housing assistance. The section 811 program 
is the only Federal program that allows persons with disabilities to 
live independently in the community by increasing the supply of 
affordable rental housing with the availability of supportive services.
  S. 1481 closely resembles H.R. 1675, which passed the House by over 
375 votes last year. The bill before us today restructures the section 
811 program in a way that provides for a continued creation of 
supportive housing and provides rental assistance that would make 
housing affordable for very low-income people with disabilities.
  This bill will improve the section 811 disabled housing program by 
streamlining and simplifying development of HUD section 811 properties, 
and makes changes to the program to encourage integration and mixed-use 
developments such as low-income housing tax credits and HOME program 
funds.
  I would additionally like to thank the very dedicated and hearty 
group of advocates from my State of West Virginia who traveled here 
last year to talk about this extremely important issue and the 
difficulties that they find every day, not only securing housing, but 
finding more housing for their associates who may suffer disabilities 
and are unable to find safe, affordable housing. And so I want to thank 
them for their passion and also for their strength that they exhibit 
every day in dealing with their disabilities.
  I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. MURPHY of Connecticut. Madam Speaker, I yield as much time as he 
may consume to the chairman of the full committee and a primary 
proponent of this legislation and the legislation that previously 
passed respective to the 202 program, Representative Barney Frank.
  Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts. Madam Speaker, I support this legislation 
substantively. I'm also glad we're bringing it up because it helps 
dispel a couple of unduly negative views about us. We've just seen a 
great example of bipartisan cooperation. Yes, things have gotten very 
partisan. Some things should be partisan. More have become that way 
than should be.
  But the public has an excessive view of the extent to which 
partisanship dominates, because when we have cooperation between the 
parties and agreement it's not news. And while we have some 
differences, the gentlewoman from West Virginia as the ranking member 
of the Housing Subcommittee and the gentlewoman from California (Ms. 
Waters) as the chair did a lot of constructive work together, brought 
forward a number of pieces of legislation. Not all of them survived the 
last minute rush. I am hopeful under the leadership of the gentlewoman 
from Illinois those areas where we had some agreement, there were some 
that remain, that we will be able to move them. So it does show that 
people believe that there is more partisanship than there is, or that 
there are no examples of cooperation between the parties, as there are 
in this case.
  There is a view that politics is a hard and nasty business and that 
people are vindictive, and this is proof that that's not true.
  Now, the gentleman from Connecticut abandoned our committee, left for 
greener committee pastures. But that did not prevent us from 
enthusiastically helping him to pass this bill, and he deserves a great 
deal of credit for it. It is an idea, I believe, that came to him from 
constituents, and that's another good thing to know; that there were 
people in his district who were interested in this. And he brought it 
forward and worked very hard and made the necessary adjustments, as you 
always do in the process.
  So this speaks very well of the gentleman from Connecticut and of the 
process, that people in the country who have some good ideas can bring 
them to us and they can be shaped, and this is done.
  Finally, I am very pleased that this will lead to, I hope, more 
construction of rental units. A common problem that we've had for many 
years in our housing area was to overstress home ownership for people 
who needed government assistance, and under-performed with regard to 
building rental units. No one thing solved it all, but this is a step 
forward towards the construction of rental units in a way that will 
increase the stock of housing.
  And we ought to remember when we talk about providing homes for 
people who need assistance, ownership and having a home are not the 
same word. Home ownership is a part of home, in general. Rental housing 
is also an important part.
  I thank the gentleman from Connecticut and the gentlewoman from West 
Virginia and others for letting us take that step forward together.
  Mrs. CAPITO. Madam Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to a 
wonderful advocate for supportive housing and housing in general, the 
gentlewoman from Illinois, Judy Biggert.
  Ms. BIGGERT. Madam Speaker, today I rise as a Republican cosponsor of 
the House version of this legislation, and I urge my colleagues to 
support the bill.
  I would like to thank my colleague, Congressman Murphy of 
Connecticut, for all his hard work, and Ranking Member Capito of West 
Virginia for all that she has done on this bill.
  Also our Senate counterparts, Senator Menendez of New Jersey and 
Senator Mike Johanns of Nebraska, for their hard work on this 
legislation.
  Section 811 is the only Federal housing program that serves non-
elderly, low-income people with disabilities. It is the only Federal 
program that funds housing and vouchers for people with disabilities 
who seek to live as independent members of the community.
  Unfortunately, the program hasn't been reformed for over 15 years 
and, due to inefficiencies, has not served as many people who are 
disabled as it could. That's why, for the past 4 years, Congressman 
Murphy and I have worked to reform the section 811 program. The House 
passed our bill, H.R. 5772, by voice vote in September 2008, and in 
July 2009, the House passed H.R. 1675 with overwhelming bipartisan 
support by a recorded vote of 376-51.
  The bill under consideration today closely mirrors both House-passed 
bills. S. 1481 is critical to the goal of increasing the number of 
affordable units for people with disabilities. By better aligning this 
section 811 program with other Federal, State, and local funding 
resources, it allows nonprofit sponsors to more easily leverage 
additional financing, thereby maximizing Federal dollars.

                              {time}  1140

  It streamlines the application process and permits nonprofit and for-
profit

[[Page 23261]]

entities to partner on Section 811 projects. The bill also limits 
appropriations to the Federal fiscal year 2010 level and does not 
create any new Federal programs.
  I would like to once again thank my colleague from Connecticut, 
Congressman Murphy, and thank Chairman Frank and Ranking Member Bachus, 
Chairwoman Waters and Ranking Member Capito, as well as their staffs, 
for helping us with this legislation.
  Of course, I cannot forget to thank one of my constituents from 
Tinley Park, Illinois, Tony Paulauski, the executive director of Arc of 
Illinois, who testified in 2008 before our committee about the needs 
for these reforms. On a similar note, I would also like to thank the 
wonderful people in Illinois that work for Trinity Services and 
Cornerstone Services, as well as all those volunteers, parents, and 
other members of the community who have reached out to express their 
support of this legislation.
  Madam Speaker, this is a commonsense bill that modernizes an 
important Federal housing program that hasn't been updated, and I would 
urge my colleagues to support it.
  Mrs. CAPITO. Madam Speaker, I would urge my colleagues to vote in 
support of this very important bill.
  I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of 
my time.
  Mr. MURPHY of Connecticut. Madam Speaker, I would like to thank, 
again, Representative Frank for his generosities, despite my leaving 
the committee. And again, to Representative Biggert in particular, for 
her advocacy on this issue over the years.
  For people that are born with physical and mental disabilities, what 
I think we strive to do as a society is give them a chance at 
independent life, give them a chance to succeed just like everyone 
else. And there is nothing more fundamental to that success than a roof 
over your head, than a place to live and a place that has some 
appropriate supports, recognizing the challenges that you face. This 
bill, where we can potentially triple the number of supportive housing 
units that we build across the country without spending an additional 
dime, is both, I think, a compassionate response to those people and a 
responsible way to run this program.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Murphy) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, S. 1481.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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