[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1725 Introduced in House (IH)]
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117th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1725
To provide emergency assistance for renters to respond to the COVID-19
pandemic, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 9, 2021
Ms. Waters introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Financial Services
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide emergency assistance for renters to respond to the COVID-19
pandemic, 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 ``Emergency Assistance for Renters Act
of 2021''.
SEC. 2. EMERGENCY RENTAL ASSISTANCE.
(a) Funding.--
(1) Appropriation.--In addition to amounts otherwise
available, there is appropriated to the Secretary of the
Treasury for fiscal year 2021, out of any money in the Treasury
not otherwise appropriated, $21,550,000,000, to remain
available until September 30, 2027, for making payments to
eligible grantees under this section.
(2) Reservation of funds.--Of the amount appropriated under
paragraph (1), the Secretary shall reserve--
(A) $305,000,000 for making payments under this
section to the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United
States Virgin Islands, Guam, the Commonwealth of the
Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa;
(B) $30,000,000 for costs of the Secretary for the
administration of emergency rental assistance programs
and technical assistance to recipients of any grants
made by the Secretary to provide financial and other
assistance to renters;
(C) $3,000,000 for administrative expenses of the
Inspector General relating to oversight of funds
provided in this section; and
(D) $2,500,000,000 for payments to high need
grantees as provided in this section.
(b) Allocation of Funds to Eligible Grantees.--
(1) Allocation for states and units of local government.--
(A) In general.--The amount appropriated under
paragraph (1) of subsection (a) that remains after the
application of paragraph (2) of such subsection shall
be allocated to eligible grantees described in
subparagraphs (A) and (B) of subsection (f)(1) in the
same manner as the amount appropriated under section
501 of subtitle A of title V of division N of the
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (Public Law 116-
260) is allocated to States and units of local
government under subsection (b)(1) of such section,
except that section 501(b) of such subtitle A shall be
applied--
(i) without regard to clause (i) of
paragraph (1)(A);
(ii) by deeming the amount appropriated
under paragraph (1) of subsection (a) of this
Act that remains after the application of
paragraph (2) of such subsection to be the
amount deemed to apply for purposes of applying
clause (ii) of section 501(b)(1)(A) of such
subtitle A;
(iii) by substituting ``$152,000,000'' for
``$200,000,000'' each place such term appears;
(iv) in subclause (I) of such section
501(b)(1)(A)(v), by substituting ``under
section 2 of the Emergency Assistance for
Renters Act of 2021'' for ``under section 501
of subtitle A of title V of division N of the
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021''; and
(v) in subclause (II) of such section
501(b)(1)(A)(v), by substituting ``local
government elects to receive funds from the
Secretary under section 2 of the Emergency
Assistance for Renters Act of 2021 and will use
the funds in a manner consistent with such
section'' for ``local government elects to
receive funds from the Secretary under section
501 of subtitle A of title V of division N of
the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 and
will use the funds in a manner consistent with
such section''.
(B) Pro rata adjustment.--The Secretary shall make
pro rata adjustments in the amounts of the allocations
determined under subparagraph (A) of this paragraph for
entities described in such subparagraph as necessary to
ensure that the total amount of allocations made
pursuant to such subparagraph does not exceed the
remainder appropriated amount described in such
subparagraph.
(2) Allocations for territories.--The amount reserved under
subsection (a)(2)(A) shall be allocated to eligible grantees
described in subsection (f)(1)(C) in the same manner as the
amount appropriated under section 501(a)(2)(A) of subtitle A of
title V of division N of the Consolidated Appropriations Act,
2021 (Public Law 116-260) is allocated under section 501(b)(3)
of such subtitle A to eligible grantees described under
subparagraph (C) of such section 501(b)(3), except that section
501(b)(3) of such subtitle A shall be applied--
(A) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ``of section
2 of the Emergency Assistance for Renters Act of 2021''
after ``the amount reserved under subsection
(a)(2)(A)''; and
(B) in clause (i) of subparagraph (B), by
substituting ``the amount equal to 0.3 percent of the
amount appropriated under subsection (a)(1)'' with
``the amount equal to 0.3 percent of the amount
appropriated under subsection (a)(1) of section 2 of
the Emergency Assistance for Renters Act of 2021''.
(3) High-need grantees.--The Secretary shall allocate funds
reserved under subsection (a)(2)(D) to eligible grantees with a
high need for assistance under this section, with the number of
very low-income renter households paying more than 50 percent
of income on rent or living in substandard or overcrowded
conditions, rental market costs, and change in employment since
February 2020 used as the factors for allocating funds.
(c) Payment Schedule.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary shall pay all eligible
grantees not less than 40 percent of each such eligible
grantee's total allocation provided under subsection (b) within
60 days of enactment of this Act.
(2) Subsequent payments.--The Secretary shall pay to
eligible grantees additional amounts in tranches up to the full
amount of each such eligible grantee's total allocation in
accordance with a procedure established by the Secretary,
provided that any such procedure established by the Secretary
shall require that an eligible grantee must have obligated not
less than 75 percent of the funds already disbursed by the
Secretary pursuant to this section prior to disbursement of
additional amounts.
(d) Use of Funds.--
(1) In general.--An eligible grantee shall only use the
funds provided from payments made under this section as
follows:
(A) Financial assistance.--
(i) In general.--Subject to clause (ii) of
this subparagraph, funds received by an
eligible grantee from payments made under this
section shall be used to provide financial
assistance to eligible households, not to
exceed 18 months, including the payment of--
(I) rent;
(II) rental arrears;
(III) utilities and home energy
costs;
(IV) utilities and home energy
costs arrears; and
(V) other expenses related to
housing, as defined by the Secretary.
(ii) Limitation.--The aggregate amount of
financial assistance an eligible household may
receive under this section, when combined with
financial assistance provided under section 501
of subtitle A of title V of division N of the
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (Public
Law 116-260), shall not exceed 18 months.
(B) Housing stability services.--Not more than 10
percent of funds received by an eligible grantee from
payments made under this section may be used to provide
case management and other services intended to help
keep households stably housed.
(C) Administrative costs.--Not more than 15 percent
of the total amount paid to an eligible grantee under
this section may be used for administrative costs
attributable to providing financial assistance, housing
stability services, and other affordable rental housing
and eviction prevention activities, including for data
collection and reporting requirements related to such
funds.
(D) Other affordable rental housing and eviction
prevention activities.--An eligible grantee may use any
funds from payments made under this section that are
unobligated on October 1, 2022, for purposes in
addition to those specified in this paragraph, provided
that--
(i) such other purposes are affordable
rental housing and eviction prevention
purposes, as defined by the Secretary, serving
very low-income families (as such term is
defined in section 3(b) of the United States
Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437a(b))); and
(ii) prior to obligating any funds for such
purposes, the eligible grantee has obligated
not less than 75 percent of the total funds
allocated to such eligible grantee in
accordance with this section.
(2) Distribution of assistance.--Amounts appropriated under
subsection (a)(1) of this section shall be subject to the same
terms and conditions that apply under paragraph (4) of section
501(c) of subtitle A of title V of division N of the
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (Public Law 116-260) to
amounts appropriated under subsection (a)(1) of such section
501.
(e) Reallocation of Funds.--
(1) In general.--Beginning March 31, 2022, the Secretary
shall reallocate funds allocated to eligible grantees in
accordance with subsection (b) but not yet paid in accordance
with subsection (c)(2) according to a procedure established by
the Secretary.
(2) Eligibility for reallocated funds.--The Secretary shall
require an eligible grantee to have obligated 50 percent of the
total amount of funds allocated to such eligible grantee under
subsection (b) to be eligible to receive funds reallocated
under paragraph (1) of this subsection.
(3) Payment of reallocated funds by the secretary.--The
Secretary shall pay to each eligible grantee eligible for a
payment of reallocated funds described in paragraph (2) of this
subsection the amount allocated to such eligible grantee in
accordance with the procedure established by the Secretary in
accordance with paragraph (1) of this subsection.
(4) Use of reallocated funds.--Eligible grantees may use
any funds received in accordance with this subsection only for
purposes specified in paragraph (1) of subsection (d).
(f) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Eligible grantee.--The term ``eligible grantee'' means
any of the following:
(A) The 50 States of the United States and the
District of Columbia.
(B) A unit of local government (as defined in
paragraph (5)).
(C) The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United
States Virgin Islands, Guam, the Commonwealth of the
Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa.
(2) Eligible household.--The term ``eligible household''
means a household of 1 or more individuals who are obligated to
pay rent on a residential dwelling and with respect to which
the eligible grantee involved determines that--
(A) 1 or more individuals within the household
has--
(i) qualified for unemployment benefits; or
(ii) experienced a reduction in household
income, incurred significant costs, or
experienced other financial hardship during or
due, directly or indirectly, to the coronavirus
pandemic;
(B) 1 or more individuals within the household can
demonstrate a risk of experiencing homelessness or
housing instability; and
(C) the household is a low-income family (as such
term is defined in section 3(b) of the United States
Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437a(b)).
(3) Inspector general.--The term ``Inspector General''
means the Inspector General of the Department of the Treasury.
(4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of the Treasury.
(5) Unit of local government.--The term ``unit of local
government'' has the meaning given such term in section 501 of
subtitle A of title V of division N of the Consolidated
Appropriations Act, 2021 (Public Law 116-260).
(g) Availability.--Funds provided to an eligible grantee under a
payment made under this section shall remain available through
September 30, 2025.
(h) Extension of Availability Under Program for Existing Funding.--
Paragraph (1) of section 501(e) of subtitle A of title V of division N
of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (Public Law 116-260) is
amended by striking ``December 31, 2021'' and inserting ``September 30,
2022''.
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