[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3856 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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116th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 3856
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
COVID-19, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 1, 2020
Ms. Warren (for herself, Ms. Hirono, Mrs. Gillibrand, Mr. Wyden, Mr.
Sanders, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Merkley, Mr. Brown, Mr.
Blumenthal, Mr. Markey, Mr. Schatz, Mr. Cardin, Ms. Klobuchar, Ms.
Smith, and Mrs. Feinstein) introduced the following bill; which was
read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban
Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
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
COVID-19, 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.) $11,500,000,000 for grants under such
subtitle in accordance with this section to respond to needs arising
from the public health emergency relating to the Coronavirus Disease
2019 (COVID-19).
(b) Formula.--Notwithstanding sections 413 and 414 of the McKinney-
Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11372a, 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 COVID-19 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.--
(1) In general.--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) of this section may also be used for the costs
of the following activities:
(A) Providing training on infectious disease
prevention and mitigation.
(B) Providing hazard pay, including for time worked
before the date of enactment of this Act, for staff
working directly to prevent and mitigate the spread of
COVID-19 among people experiencing or at risk of
homelessness.
(C) Reimbursement of costs for eligible activities
(including activities described in this paragraph)
relating to preventing, preparing for, or responding to
COVID-19 that were accrued before the date of enactment
of this Act.
(2) Use of amounts.--The use of amounts made available
pursuant to subsection (a) for activities described in
paragraph (1) shall not be considered use for administrative
purposes for purposes of section 418 of the McKinney-Vento
Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11378).
(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 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--
(1) is assisted with amounts made available pursuant to
subsection (a); and
(2) 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 COVID-19.
(f) Inapplicability of Cap on Emergency Shelter Activities.--
Section 415(b) of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C.
11374(b)) shall not apply to any amounts made available pursuant to
subsection (a) of this section.
(g) Initial Allocation of Assistance.--With respect to amounts made
available pursuant to subsection (a), section 417(b) of the McKinney-
Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11376(b)) shall be applied 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 waiver or
alternative requirement described in paragraph (1) shall--
(A) be deemed to be effective as of the date on
which a State or unit of local government began
preparing for COVID-19; and
(B) 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 not
later than 5 days before the effective date of any waiver or
alternative requirement under paragraph (1), 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 under subtitle
B of title IV of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42
U.S.C. 11371 et seq.), except that a recipient shall, at a
minimum, publish how the recipient has and will utilize its
allocation on the internet at the appropriate government
website or through other electronic media.
(i) Inapplicability of Matching Requirement.--Section 416(a) 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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