[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6362 Introduced in House (IH)]
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116th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 6362
To authorize emergency homeless assistance grants under the Emergency
Solutions Grants program of the Department of Housing and Urban
Development for response to the public health emergency relating to
coronavirus, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 23, 2020
Ms. Pressley introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Financial Services
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A BILL
To authorize emergency homeless assistance grants under the Emergency
Solutions Grants program of the Department of Housing and Urban
Development for response to the public health emergency relating to
coronavirus, 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 ``Public Health Emergency Shelter Act
of 2020''.
SEC. 2. EMERGENCY HOMELESS ASSISTANCE.
(a) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated under the Emergency Solutions Grants program under
subtitle B of title IV of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act
(42 U.S.C. 11371 et seq.) $15,500,000,000 for grants under such
subtitle in accordance with this section to respond to needs arising
from the public health emergency relating to Coronavirus Disease 2019
(COVID-19).
(b) Formula.--Notwithstanding sections 413 and 414 of the McKinney-
Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11372, 11373), the Secretary
of Housing and Urban Development (in this Act referred to as the
``Secretary'') shall allocate amounts made available pursuant to
subsection (a) in accordance with a formula to be established by the
Secretary that takes into consideration the following factors:
(1) Risk of transmission of coronavirus in a jurisdiction.
(2) Whether a jurisdiction has a high number or rate of
sheltered and unsheltered homeless individuals and families.
(3) Economic and housing market conditions in a
jurisdiction.
(c) Eligible Activities.--In addition to eligible activities under
section 415(a) of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C.
11374(a), amounts made available pursuant to subsection (a) may also be
used for costs of the following activities:
(1) Providing training on infectious disease prevention and
mitigation.
(2) Providing hazard pay, including for time worked before
the effectiveness of this clause, for staff working directly to
prevent and mitigate the spread of coronavirus or COVID-19
among people experiencing or at risk of homelessness.
(3) Reimbursement of costs for eligible activities
(including activities described in this paragraph) relating to
preventing, preparing for, or responding to the coronavirus or
COVID-19 that were accrued before the date of the enactment of
this Act.
Use of such amounts for activities described in this paragraph shall
not be considered use for administrative purposes for purposes of
section 418 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C.
11377).
(d) Inapplicability of Procurement Standards.--To the extent
amounts made available pursuant to subsection (a) are used to procure
goods and services relating to activities to prevent, prepare for, or
respond to the coronavirus or COVID-19, the standards and requirements
regarding procurement that are otherwise applicable shall not apply.
(e) Inapplicability of Habitability and Environmental Review
Standards.--Any Federal standards and requirements regarding
habitability and environmental review shall not apply with respect to
any emergency shelter that is assisted with amounts made available
pursuant to subsection (a) and has been determined by a State or local
health official, in accordance with such requirements as the Secretary
shall establish, to be necessary to prevent and mitigate the spread of
coronavirus or COVID-19, such shelters.
(f) Inapplicability of Cap on Emergency Shelter Activities.--
Subsection (b) of section 415 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance
Act shall not apply to any amounts made available pursuant to
subsection (a)(1) of this section.
(g) Initial Allocation of Assistance.--Section 417(b) of the
McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11376(b)) shall be
applied with respect to amounts made available pursuant to subsection
(a) by substituting ``30-day'' for ``60-day''.
(h) Waivers and Alternative Requirements.--
(1) Authority.--In administering amounts made available
pursuant to subsection (a), the Secretary may waive, or specify
alternative requirements for, any provision of any statute or
regulation (except for any requirements related to fair
housing, nondiscrimination, labor standards, and the
environment) that the Secretary administers in connection with
the obligation or use by the recipient of such amounts, if the
Secretary finds that good cause exists for the waiver or
alternative requirement and such waiver or alternative
requirement is consistent with the purposes described in this
subsection.
(2) Effectiveness; applicability.--Any such waivers shall
be deemed to be effective as of the date a State or unit of
local government began preparing for coronavirus and shall
apply to the use of amounts made available pursuant to
subsection (a) and amounts provided in prior appropriation Acts
for fiscal year 2020 under the heading ``Department of Housing
and Urban Development--Community Planning and Development--
Community Development Fund'' and used by recipients for the
purposes described in this subsection.
(3) Notification.--The Secretary shall notify the public
through the Federal Register or other appropriate means 5 days
before the effective date of any such waiver or alternative
requirement, and any such public notice may be provided on the
internet at the appropriate government website or through other
electronic media, as determined by the Secretary.
(4) Exemption.--The use of amounts made available pursuant
to subsection (a) shall not be subject to the consultation,
citizen participation, or match requirements that otherwise
apply to the Emergency Solutions Grants program, except that a
recipient shall publish how it has and will utilize its
allocation at a minimum on the internet at the appropriate
government website or through other electronic media.
(i) Inapplicability of Matching Requirement.--Subsection (a) of
section 416 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C.
11375(a)) shall not apply to any amounts made available pursuant to
subsection (a) of this section.
(j) Prohibition on Prerequisites.--None of the funds authorized
under this section may be used to require people experiencing
homelessness to receive treatment or perform any other prerequisite
activities as a condition for receiving shelter, housing, or other
services.
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