Rental vouchers for the homeless

(a) In general Section 8(o) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)) is amended by adding at the end the following: (22) Rental vouchers for the homeless (A) Definitions In this paragraph: (i) At risk of homelessness The term at risk of homelessness has the meaning given the term in section 401(1) of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11360), except that 50 percent shall be substituted for 30 percent in subparagraph (A) of that section. (ii) Capacity-building period The term capacity-building period means the 2-year period beginning on the date on which the formula is established under subparagraph (E)(ii). (iii) Continuum of care The term continuum of care has the meaning given the term in section 578.3 of title 24, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor regulation. (iv) Eligible public housing agency The term eligible public housing agency means a public housing agency that— (I) administers assistance under this subsection through a contract for annual contributions entered into with the Secretary; (II) has a partnership with a public child welfare agency and a continuum of care that— (aa) has a system for identifying and referring eligible recipients for assistance under this paragraph from the public housing agency, including by providing a written certification that the eligible recipient is eligible to receive the assistance; and (bb) will, to the greatest extent practicable, provide or facilitate the provision of supportive services to those eligible recipients; and (III) submits to the Secretary a statement describing— (aa) how the public housing agency will connect eligible recipients with local community resources, to the extent available; and (bb) the plan for use of capacity-building funding under subparagraph (E), including— (AA) a timeline for the use of that funding within the capacity-building period; (BB) hiring and personnel needs; (CC) physical infrastructure needs; and (DD) technological infrastructure needs, including upgrades to the HMIS, and any other capacity-related investments that are necessary to administer assistance under this paragraph. (v) Eligible recipient The term eligible recipient means any individual or family experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness with an income that is less than 50 percent of the area median income. (vi) Experiencing homelessness; homeless The terms experiencing homelessness and homeless means an individual or family who is— (I) living in a place not meant for human habitation or in an emergency shelter; (II) living in transitional housing for homeless persons and was homeless before entering transitional housing or an emergency shelter; (III) fleeing domestic violence; or (IV) at risk of homelessness. (vii) HMIS The term HMIS means the community-wide homeless management information system described in section 402(f)(3)(D) of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11360a(f)(3)(D)). (viii) Public housing agency The term public housing agency includes a tribally designated housing entity. (ix) Referral The term referral means an affirmative connection between the voucher recipient and the organization providing services to the voucher recipient. (x) Service coordinator The term service coordinator means an individual employed directly by a public housing agency who provides general case management and referral services to each voucher recipient served by the public housing agency, which shall include— (I) an individual intake screening of each voucher recipient to evaluate the voucher recipient’s need for supportive services; and (II) referral to outside services, including cooperation and collaboration with a continuum of care. (xi) Source of income The term source of income means income from any lawful source, including— (I) income from any legal employment; and (II) any assistance, benefit, or subsidy through any Federal, State, or local program, whether the program is administered by a governmental or nongovernmental entity. (xii) Tribally designated housing entity The term tribally designated housing entity has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act of 1996 (25 U.S.C. 4103). (xiii) Voucher recipient The term voucher recipient means an individual or family receiving a voucher under this paragraph. (xiv) Youth The term youth means an individual under the age of 25. (B) Vouchers (i) Provision of vouchers (I) In general The Secretary shall provide vouchers for rental assistance on behalf of each eligible recipient in accordance with this paragraph. (II) Direct appropriation Subject to subclause (III), there is appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, for providing rental voucher assistance under this paragraph for fiscal year 2026 and each fiscal year thereafter— (aa) the amount necessary to fund the provision of a voucher for rental assistance under this paragraph on behalf of each eligible recipient; (bb) the amount necessary to provide administrative fees under clause (ii) in connection to each voucher for rental assistance provided under this paragraph; and (cc) the amount necessary to fund annual renewals of the vouchers provided under this paragraph. (III) Number of vouchers The Secretary shall provide— (aa) 250,000 vouchers under this paragraph in fiscal year 2026; and (bb) 400,000 vouchers under this paragraph in each fiscal year thereafter until the Secretary determines that a smaller number of vouchers is sufficient to provide all eligible recipients with vouchers. (ii) Administrative fee for ancillary costs The Secretary shall provide a public housing agency that requests a voucher under this paragraph an administrative fee sufficient to provide assistance to the voucher recipient for security deposits, application fees, moving costs, first or last month's rent, or other significant barriers to establishing use of the voucher and a lease, in an amount that is not more than 3 months' rent for the voucher recipient. (iii) Payment standard The payment standard for a voucher provided under this paragraph may not exceed 125 percent of the fair market rental in the jurisdiction in which the voucher is administered. (iv) Supplemental voucher payment (I) In general An eligible public housing agency may supplement the amount of a voucher provided under this paragraph in any case in which— (aa) the amount of the voucher is insufficient to cover the cost of a dwelling unit within the jurisdiction of the eligible public housing agency and that insufficiency may result in a voucher recipient losing housing and becoming homeless or doubled up; or (bb) the eligible public housing agency submits to the Secretary a waiver request for recalculation of the small area fair market rent applicable to the dwelling unit, which the Secretary shall approve or deny within 45 days of submission of the request. (II) Payment upon denial An eligible public housing agency may supplement the amount of a voucher under subclause (I) even if the Secretary denies the request submitted under subclause (I)(aa), provided that the supplementation of the voucher amount is necessary to maintain housing for the voucher recipient. (v) Conditions on assistance Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary— (I) may not condition receipt of a voucher under this paragraph on— (aa) participation in any service or program; or (bb) the sobriety or lack thereof of an eligible recipient; (II) except as provided in subclause (III), may not prohibit receipt of a voucher under this paragraph by an otherwise eligible recipient due to any criminal conviction or history of interaction with the criminal justice system; and (III) shall prohibit receipt of a voucher under this paragraph by individuals subject to a lifetime registration requirement under any State sex offender registration program. (vi) Verification of statement made by eligible public housing agencies (I) In general Not later than 30 days after the date on which an eligible public housing agency submits the statement required under subparagraph (A)(iv)(III), the Secretary shall verify the statement. (II) Unsatisfactory statement If, upon verification of a statement under subclause (I), the Secretary determines that the statement is unsatisfactory, the Secretary shall inform the eligible public housing agency of that determination and the manner in which the eligible public housing agency may re-submit the statement. (vii) Identification of eligible recipients (I) In general A public housing agency shall partner with continuums of care, public child welfare agencies, street outreach providers, health care providers, and other similar organizations in the State in which the public housing agency operates to identify eligible recipients. (II) Considerations In identifying eligible recipients under subclause (I), the public housing agency and its partners shall— (aa) take into consideration demographic information of the eligible recipients, including the age, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, and disability status of each such recipient; and (bb) coordinate outreach in a respectful manner with regard to the information described in item (aa). (III) Continuums of care In partnering with public housing agencies to identify eligible recipients, continuums of care shall carry out assistance and services as planned under a congressionally authorized 2-year notice of funding opportunity. (viii) Requirements for eligible public housing agencies (I) In general Each eligible public housing agency providing assistance under this paragraph shall— (aa) on an annual basis and in conjunction with income reviews for purposes of determining income eligibility for assistance under this paragraph, verify the compliance of the eligible public housing agency with the eligibility requirements under this paragraph; and (bb) to the greatest extent possible— (AA) work with continuums of care to ensure continuity of data collection under this paragraph; and (BB) utilize the HMIS to collect and maintain the information required to be collected under this paragraph. (II) Priority In providing vouchers under this paragraph, an eligible public housing agency— (aa) shall prioritize the first vouchers made available under this section for eligible recipients who are— (AA) unaccompanied homeless youth; (BB) homeless youth with minor children; or (CC) families with minor children experiencing homelessness; (bb) to the extent possible considering when the Secretary disburses funds under this paragraph, shall provide vouchers to the eligible recipients described in item (aa) not later than 1 year after the end of the capacity-building period; and (cc) may not issue vouchers to eligible recipients not described in item (aa) until the eligible public housing agency has issued vouchers to all eligible recipients described in that item. (ix) Use of voucher upon exit An eligible public housing agency that issued a voucher to an eligible recipient that is no longer in use by the eligible recipient may provide the voucher to any other tenant eligible for tenant-based assistance under this subsection. (C) Data collection (i) In general The Secretary shall submit to Congress an annual report on assistance providing under this paragraph, which shall include— (I) an assessment of the progress of States toward housing— (aa) eligible recipients in the State; and (bb) the total population of people experiencing homelessness in the State; and (II) the information provided under clause (ii). (ii) Information from public housing agencies Each eligible public housing agency administering assistance under this paragraph shall submit to the Secretary and to the State in which the public housing agency is located an annual report for each fiscal year that includes— (I) the number of voucher recipients, including aggregated demographic information on the age, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, and disability status of each such recipient in a manner that does not reveal the personally identifiable information of each such recipient; (II) the number of eligible recipients who applied during the fiscal year for assistance under this paragraph, but were not provided assistance; (III) a brief identification in each instance described in subclause (II) of the reason why the eligible public housing agency was unable to provide the assistance; and (IV) a description of how the eligible public housing agency communicated or collaborated with public child welfare agencies and continuums of care to collect the data described in subclauses (I) and (II). (D) Supportive services (i) Administrative fee (I) In general The Secretary shall establish a fee under subsection (q) for the costs incurred by public housing agencies in administering vouchers under this paragraph. (II) Costs In establishing the fee described in subclause (I), the Secretary shall include the costs to public housing agencies of employing full-time or full-time-equivalent service coordinators. (III) Authorization of appropriations There is authorized to be appropriated $300,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2031 for the fee described in subclause (I). (ii) Hiring of service coordinators (I) In general An eligible public housing agency shall hire the appropriate number of service coordinators to administer supportive services under this paragraph in partnership with the public child welfare agency or continuum of care in a jurisdiction. (II) Insufficient funds If an eligible public housing agency is unable to hire an appropriate number of service coordinators under subclause (I) using the fee described in clause (i)(I)— (aa) the public housing agency may request an increased administrative fee from the Secretary; and (bb) the Secretary shall approve or deny a request received under item (aa) within 45 days. (III) Report to Congress Beginning in the first full fiscal year after the date of enactment of this paragraph, the Secretary shall submit an annual report to Congress on requests for increased administrative fees received from public housing agencies under subclause (II). (IV) Appropriate number defined For purposes of this clause, the term appropriate number, with respect to service coordinators, means enough service coordinators so that each household provided a voucher by a public housing agency under this paragraph is able to access a service coordinator for not less than 30 minutes each week. (iii) Provision of services Upon intake of an eligible recipient, a public housing agency or a public child welfare agency or continuum of care with which the public housing agency has partnered shall— (I) assign the voucher recipient a case manager or service coordinator; and (II) provide or secure the provision of supportive services to contribute to the housing stability of the voucher recipient, including— (aa) any supportive service, as defined in section 401 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11360); (bb) referrals to health care providers, including mental health care providers, dental health care providers, and vision health care providers; (cc) referrals to substance use disorder treatment, including recovery, treatment, 12-step programs, relapse prevention, or medication-assisted treatment; (dd) assistance relating to enrollment in the Medicare or Medicaid programs under titles XVIII and XIX of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395 et seq., 1396 et seq.), respectively, and referrals to other services, including— (AA) the supplemental nutrition assistance program under the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.) (commonly known as the SNAP Program); and (BB) the program of block grants for States for temporary assistance for needy families established under part A of title IV of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) (commonly known as the TANF Program); (ee) advising on eligibility for the family self-sufficiency program established, credit counseling, and housing counseling programs; (ff) referrals to education services, including general educational development (commonly known as GED) preparation and testing, enrollment in postsecondary education programs, credit recovery, and affordable childcare programs; and (gg) facilitation of transportation assistance to any of the supportive services described in this subparagraph. (iv) Eligibility of private nonprofit organizations and faith-based organizations (I) Definitions In this clause, the terms eligible entity and private nonprofit organization have the meanings given those terms in section 401 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11360). (II) Eligibility Notwithstanding any other provision of law— (aa) the Secretary shall provide that private nonprofit organizations that are eligible entities, including faith-based private nonprofit organizations that are eligible entities, shall be eligible to— (AA) provide services described in clause (iii); and (BB) receive amounts made available to carry out clause (iii); and (bb) in determining eligibility for amounts made available to carry out clause (iii), the status of an entity as faith-based or the possibility that an entity may be faith-based may not be a basis for any discrimination against such entity in any manner or for any purpose. (v) Access Services provided under this subparagraph shall be available to voucher recipients with low-to-no barrier access. (vi) Evaluation An eligible public housing agency, public child welfare agency, or continuum of care described in clause (iii) shall evaluate each voucher recipient for individual case management needs under this subparagraph. (E) Capacity building (i) Authorization of appropriations There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary $500,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2026 and 2027 to provide funding for capacity building to eligible public housing agencies. (ii) Funding formula Not later than 45 days after the date of enactment of this paragraph, the Secretary shall establish a formula for allocating the funding authorized under clause (i) that takes into account— (I) the ratio of individuals in the State in which the eligible public housing agency operates who are homeless to the overall population of the State; (II) the proportion of families in each State with children experiencing unsheltered homelessness, as reported in the State's most recent point-in-time count, to the total number of unsheltered homeless families in the State as reported in the same point-in-time count; and (III) the rate of unsheltered homelessness in each State compared to each other State, as reported in each State's most recent point-in-time count. (iii) Disbursement Not later than 30 days after an eligible public housing agency submits an acceptable statement under subparagraph (A)(iv)(III), the Secretary shall disburse amounts authorized under clause (i) of this subparagraph in accordance with the formula established under clause (ii) of this subparagraph. (iv) Minimum and maximum allocation The Secretary shall ensure that— (I) each eligible public housing agency does not receive more than 10 percent of the amount authorized under clause (i); and (II) each State in which an eligible public housing agency receives funds under clause (i) does not receive more than 25 percent of the total amount authorized under that clause. (v) Eligible activities A recipient of funds authorized under clause (i) may only use the funds for— (I) hiring and personnel needs, such as case managers and housing placement advisory, including increased educational resources for staff to meet the needs of voucher recipients; (II) physical infrastructure— (aa) including increased office space or facilities for the provision of supportive services; and (bb) not including residential housing; (III) technological infrastructure needs, including upgrades to the HMIS; and (IV) any other capacity-related investments that are necessary for the public housing agency to— (aa) develop, acquire, or rehabilitate housing that is affordable to extremely low-income families, to be made available to people experiencing homelessness, including increased resources for eligible public housing agencies to conduct unit inspections; or (bb) support the successful administration of the vouchers under this paragraph. (vi) Requirement for expenditure of funds Each eligible public housing agency that receives funds under clause (i) shall expend not less than 60 percent of the funding during the 2-year period following receipt of the funding. (F) State accountability (i) In general Each eligible public housing agency providing assistance under this paragraph shall— (I) on a monthly basis, report caseload and voucher administration statistics to the State in which the agency operates; and (II) twice annually, submit to the State in which the agency operates a report on the progress toward issuing a voucher under this paragraph to all eligible recipients, based on— (aa) the percentage reduction in the number of families with children and youth that are experiencing homelessness in the area in which the agency care operates, as determined by comparing the most recent point-in-time count with the point-in-time count conducted 1 year prior; and (bb) the percentage reduction in the number of children experiencing homelessness in the State, as documented under the requirements of the program authorized under subtitle B of title VII of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11431 et seq.). (ii) Benchmarks Each year, each State shall meet the benchmarks described in this clause, based equally on the percentage reduction in reported population of children and families experiencing homelessness in the following year’s point-in-time count and the percentage reduction in population of students experiencing homelessness: (I) Annual report Each State shall submit an annual report to the Secretary that contains— (aa) data collected from schools pursuant to the program authorized under subtitle B of title VII of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11431 et seq.), including the number of students— (AA) experiencing unsheltered homelessness; (BB) living in shelters; (CC) living in motels, hotels, or campgrounds; (DD) living in a car or other motor vehicle; or (EE) sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or similar reasoning; and (bb) the information received from each public housing agency in the State under clause (i)(II). (II) Issuance of vouchers for smaller States Each State with a rate of homelessness that is not higher than 10 people per 10,000 shall— (aa) not later than 2 years after the end of the capacity-building period— (AA) issue vouchers under this paragraph to not less than 50 percent of the population of people experiencing homelessness in the State, using data from the most recent point-in-time count; and (BB) to the greatest extent possible, prioritize the issuance of those vouchers to eligible youth and families; (bb) not later than 3 years after the end of the capacity-building period— (AA) issue vouchers under this paragraph to not less than 70 percent of the population of people experiencing homelessness in the State, using data from the most recent point-in-time count; and (BB) to the greatest extent possible, prioritize the issuance of those vouchers to eligible youth and families; and (cc) not later than 4 years after the end of the capacity-building period, issue vouchers under this paragraph to all people experiencing homelessness in the State. (III) Issuance of vouchers for larger States Each State with a rate of homelessness that is higher than 10 people per 10,000 shall— (aa) not later than 2 years after the end of the capacity-building period— (AA) issue vouchers under this paragraph to not less than 40 percent of the population of people experiencing homelessness in the State, using data from the most recent point-in-time count; and (BB) to the greatest extent possible, prioritize the issuance of those vouchers to eligible youth and families; (bb) not later than 3 years after the end of the capacity-building period— (AA) issue vouchers under this paragraph to not less than 60 percent of the population of people experiencing homelessness in the State, using data from the most recent point-in-time count; and (BB) to the greatest extent possible, prioritize the issuance of those vouchers to eligible youth and families; and (cc) not later than 4 years after the end of the capacity-building period, issue vouchers under this paragraph to all people experiencing homelessness in the State. (iii) Penalties (I) Warning Except as provided in clause (v), if a State does not meet the applicable benchmarks described in clause (ii), the Secretary shall publicly warn the State of the failure of the State to meet the benchmark and remind the State of the applicable penalties. (II) Reduction in Federal highway funds If a State does not meet the applicable benchmarks described in clause (ii)— (aa) by the date that is 180 days after the warning by the Secretary under subclause (I) of this clause, the Federal share payable for Federal-aid highway projects under section 120 of title 23, United States Code, shall be reduced by 5 percent; or (bb) by the date that is 180 days after a reduction made under item (aa) of this subclause, the Federal share payable for Federal-aid highway projects under section 120 of title 23, United States Code, shall be further reduced by 5 percent. (iv) Condition on compliance Beginning in the first Notice of Funding Availability cycle beginning after the date of enactment of this paragraph, and every Notice of Funding Availability cycle thereafter, the Secretary shall condition the awarding of all funding for vouchers under this paragraph by the Secretary to a public housing authority in a State on that State’s compliance with the benchmarks described in clause (ii). (v) Unemployment rate If the quarterly unemployment rate of the population of a State is not less than 6 percent— (I) the State shall not be penalized under clause (iii) for failure to meet the benchmarks described in clause (ii); and (II) the State shall be required to meet the benchmarks described in clause (ii) not later than 180 days after the date on which the quarterly unemployment rate descends beneath 6 percent. (G) Administrative needs of HUD (i) Authorization of appropriations There is authorized to be appropriated $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2030 to the Secretary for the administrative needs of the Department of Housing and Urban Development and regional offices of the Department in carrying out the voucher program under this paragraph. (ii) Prohibition None of the funds made available under this subparagraph may be used to provide raises or bonuses to any employee of the Department of Housing and Urban Development in an amount that is more than 10 percent of the annual gross salary of the employee.. (b) Technical and conforming amendment Effective on December 29, 2027, paragraph (22) of section 8(o) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)), as added by subsection (a), is redesignated as paragraph (23) and shall appear after paragraph (22), as added by section 601(a)(2)(B) of division AA of Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 (Public Law 117–328).