[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 251 Referred in Senate (RFS)]
114th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 251
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 15, 2015
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing,
and Urban Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To transfer the position of Special Assistant for Veterans Affairs in
the Department of Housing and Urban Development to the Office of the
Secretary, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Homes for Heroes Act of 2015''.
SEC. 2. SPECIAL ASSISTANT FOR VETERANS AFFAIRS IN THE DEPARTMENT OF
HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT.
(a) Transfer of Position to Office of the Secretary.--Section 4 of
the Department of Housing and Urban Development Act (42 U.S.C. 3533) is
amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
``(h) Special Assistant for Veterans Affairs.--
``(1) Position.--There shall be in the Office of the
Secretary a Special Assistant for Veterans Affairs, who shall
report directly to the Secretary.
``(2) Appointment.--The Special Assistant for Veterans
Affairs shall be appointed based solely on merit and shall be
covered under the provisions of title 5, United States Code,
governing appointments in the competitive service.
``(3) Responsibilities.--The Special Assistant for Veterans
Affairs shall be responsible for--
``(A) ensuring veterans have fair access to housing
and homeless assistance under each program of the
Department providing either such assistance;
``(B) coordinating all programs and activities of
the Department relating to veterans;
``(C) serving as a liaison for the Department with
the Department of Veterans Affairs, including
establishing and maintaining relationships with the
Secretary of Veterans Affairs;
``(D) serving as a liaison for the Department, and
establishing and maintaining relationships with the
United States Interagency Council on Homelessness and
officials of State, local, regional, and
nongovernmental organizations concerned with veterans;
``(E) providing information and advice regarding--
``(i) sponsoring housing projects for
veterans assisted under programs administered
by the Department; or
``(ii) assisting veterans in obtaining
housing or homeless assistance under programs
administered by the Department;
``(F) coordinating with the Secretary of Housing
and Urban Development and the Secretary of Veterans
Affairs in carrying out section 3 of the Homes for
Heroes Act of 2015; and
``(G) carrying out such other duties as may be
assigned to the Special Assistant by the Secretary or
by law.''.
(b) Transfer of Position in Office of Deputy Assistant Secretary
for Special Needs.--On the date that the initial Special Assistant for
Veterans Affairs is appointed pursuant to section 4(h)(2) of the
Department of Housing and Urban Development Act, as added by subsection
(a) of this section, the position of Special Assistant for Veterans
Programs in the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Special
Needs of the Department of Housing and Urban Development shall be
terminated.
SEC. 3. ANNUAL SUPPLEMENTAL REPORT ON VETERANS HOMELESSNESS.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and
the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, in coordination with the United
States Interagency Council on Homelessness, shall submit annually to
the Committees of the Congress specified in subsection (b), together
with the annual reports required by such Secretaries under section
203(c)(1) of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C.
11313(c)(1)), a supplemental report that includes the following
information with respect to the preceding year:
(1) The same information, for such preceding year, that was
included with respect to 2010 in the report by the Secretary of
Housing and Urban Development and the Secretary of Veterans
Affairs entitled ``Veterans Homelessness: A Supplemental Report
to the 2010 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress''.
(2) Information regarding the activities of the Department
of Housing and Urban Development relating to veterans during
such preceding year, as follows:
(A) The number of veterans provided assistance
under the housing choice voucher program for Veterans
Affairs supported housing (VASH) under section 8(o)(19)
of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C.
1437f(o)(19)), the socioeconomic characteristics of
such homeless veterans, and the number, types, and
locations of entities contracted under such section to
administer the vouchers.
(B) A summary description of the special
considerations made for veterans under public housing
agency plans submitted pursuant to section 5A of the
United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437c-1)
and under comprehensive housing affordability
strategies submitted pursuant to section 105 of the
Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act (42
U.S.C. 12705).
(C) A description of the activities of the Special
Assistant for Veterans Affairs of the Department of
Housing and Urban Development.
(D) A description of the efforts of the Department
of Housing and Urban Development and the other members
of the United States Interagency Council on
Homelessness to coordinate the delivery of housing and
services to veterans.
(E) The cost to the Department of Housing and Urban
Development of administering the programs and
activities relating to veterans.
(F) Any other information that the Secretary of
Housing and Urban Development and the Secretary of
Veterans Affairs consider relevant in assessing the
programs and activities of the Department of Housing
and Urban Development relating to veterans.
(b) Committees.--The Committees of the Congress specified in this
subsection are as follows:
(1) The Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of
the Senate.
(2) The Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate.
(3) The Committee on Appropriations of the Senate.
(4) The Committee on Financial Services of the House of
Representatives.
(5) The Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the House of
Representatives.
(6) The Committee on Appropriations of the House of
Representatives.
Passed the House of Representatives July 14, 2015.
Attest:
KAREN L. HAAS,
Clerk.