[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3133 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3133
To amend certain Acts related to housing to adjust rental payments with
respect to certain Federal rental assistance programs, to ban source of
income discrimination in housing, to reform and expand the housing
choice voucher program, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 1, 2025
Ms. Ansari (for herself, Mr. Casar, Mr. Fields, Mr. Jackson of
Illinois, Mr. Lieu, Mrs. McIver, Ms. Omar, and Ms. Tlaib) introduced
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial
Services, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a
period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the
committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend certain Acts related to housing to adjust rental payments with
respect to certain Federal rental assistance programs, to ban source of
income discrimination in housing, to reform and expand the housing
choice voucher program, 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 ``Housing Accessibility and Voucher
Expansion Now Act'' or the ``HAVEN Act''.
SEC. 2. ADJUSTMENTS TO RENTAL PAYMENTS WITH RESPECT TO CERTAIN FEDERAL
RENTAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS.
(a) In General.--
(1) United states housing act of 1937.--The United States
Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437 et. seq.) is amended--
(A) in section 3(a)(1)(A), by striking ``30'' and
inserting ``20'';
(B) in section 8(o)(2)(A)(i), by striking ``30''
and inserting ``20''; and
(C) in section 9(e)(2)(A)--
(i) in clause (vi), by striking ``and'' at
the end;
(ii) by redesignating clause (vii) as
clause (viii) and by moving such clause 1 em to
the right; and
(iii) by inserting after clause (vi) the
following:
``(vii) the amount of public housing rental
income forgone by the public housing agency as
a result of lowering the percentage of monthly
adjusted income for the calculation of rental
payments; and''.
(2) Housing act of 1949.--Section 521(a)(3) of the Housing
Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1490a(a)(3)) is amended by striking
``30'' in each place it occurs and inserting ``20''.
(3) Housing act of 1959.--Section 202(c)(3) of the Housing
Act of 1959 (12 U.S.C. 1701q(c)(3)) is amended by striking
``30'' and inserting ``20''.
(4) Cranston-gonzalez national affordable housing act.--
Section 811(d)(3) of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable
Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 8013(d)(3)) is amended by striking
``30'' and inserting ``20''.
(b) Effect on Recipients of Assistance.--To the extent practicable,
the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development shall ensure that the
adjustments made by subsection (a) do not reduce the number of
recipients of the Federal rental assistance programs described in
subsection (a).
SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS WITH RESPECT TO CERTAIN FEDERAL
RENTAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS.
(a) United States Housing Act of 1937.--The United States Housing
Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437 et. seq.) is amended--
(1) in section 9(c)(2)(A), by striking ``, and 2003'' and
inserting ``2003, 2026, and each fiscal year thereafter''; and
(2) in section 9(c)(2)(B), by striking ``, and 2003'' and
inserting ``2003, 2026, and each fiscal year thereafter''.
(b) Housing Act of 1959.--Section 202(m) of the Housing Act of 1959
(12 U.S.C. 1701q(m)) is amended to read as follows:
``(m) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out this
section.''.
(c) Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act.--Subsection
(m) of section 811 of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing
Act (42 U.S.C. 8013(m)) is amended by striking the period at the end
and inserting ``, and such sums as necessary for fiscal year 2026 and
each fiscal year thereafter''.
SEC. 4. UNLAWFUL DISCRIMINATION BASED ON SOURCE OF INCOME.
The Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 3601 et seq.) is amended--
(1) in section 804, by striking ``or national origin'' each
place it appears and inserting ``national origin, or lawful
source of income'';
(2) in section 805--
(A) in subsection (a), by striking ``or national
origin'' and inserting ``national origin, or lawful
source of income''; and
(B) in subsection (e), by striking ``or familial
status'' and inserting ``familial status, or lawful
source of income'';
(3) in section 806, by striking ``or national origin'' and
inserting ``national origin, or lawful source of income'';
(4) in section 807(a), by striking ``or national origin''
and inserting ``national origin, or lawful source of income'';
and
(5) in section 808(e)(6), by striking ``and family
characteristics'' and inserting ``family characteristics, and
lawful sources of income,''.
SEC. 5. HOUSING NAVIGATION GRANT FOR HOUSING CHOICE VOUCHER PROGRAM.
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:
``(23) Housing navigation grant.--
``(A) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the
date of the enactment of this paragraph, the Secretary
shall establish a grant program to award housing
navigation grants to public housing agencies.
``(B) Eligible uses.--A public housing agency that
is awarded a grant under this paragraph shall use such
grant to--
``(i) assist families receiving tenant-
based assistance with the search to find a
suitable dwelling unit; or
``(ii) engage with owners of dwelling units
for the purpose of assisting such families in
such search.
``(C) Subgrants.--A public housing agency that is
awarded a grant under this paragraph may use such grant
amounts to provide subgrants to nonprofit organizations
to carry out the eligible uses described in
subparagraph (B).
``(D) Authorization of appropriations.--There is
authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry
out this paragraph $20,000,000 for fiscal year 2026 and
each fiscal year thereafter.''.
SEC. 6. USE OF SMALL AREA FAIR MARKET RENTS FOR HOUSING CHOICE VOUCHER
PROGRAM.
Section 8(o)(1) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C.
1437f(o)(1)) is amended--
(1) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``subparagraph (D)''
and inserting ``subparagraphs (D) and (F)''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(F) Use of small area fair market rents.--
Effective for fiscal year 2026 and each fiscal year
thereafter, the area fair market rents used for
purposes of subparagraph (B) shall be established by
the Secretary by zip code areas.''.
SEC. 7. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR APPLICANTS FOR ADMISSION TO A PUBLIC
HOUSING PROJECT.
Section 9(h)(1) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C.
1437g(h)(1)) is amended by inserting ``applicants for admission to a
project,'' after ``organizations,''.
SEC. 8. EXPANSION OF HOUSING CHOICE VOUCHER PROGRAM.
(a) Expanded Vouchers.--
(1) Funding.--There is appropriated, out of any money in
the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, for providing
incremental vouchers for rental assistance under section 8(o)
of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o))
in accordance with this section for each of fiscal years 2026
through 2029, the amount necessary to fund--
(A) the number of incremental vouchers required to
be allocated under paragraph (2);
(B) annual renewals of the vouchers allocated under
paragraph (2); and
(C) administrative fees for vouchers allocated
under paragraph (2).
(2) Allocation.--
(A) Incremental vouchers.--The Secretary shall
allocate 500,000 incremental vouchers in fiscal year
2026 and 1,500,000 incremental vouchers in increments
of 500,000 in each calendar year from 2027 through 2029
under this section to public housing agencies pursuant
to section 213(d) of the Housing and Community
Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 1439(d)).
(B) Selection criteria.--The Secretary shall, by
notice in the Federal Register, establish selection
criteria under section 213(d) of the Housing and
Community Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 1439(d))
that prioritizes housing needs among eligible
households and severe housing hardship, such as
experiencing homelessness, overcrowding, or evictions.
(b) Entitlement to Vouchers.--
(1) In general.--On and after the date that is 5 years
after the date of enactment of this Act, any family that is
otherwise eligible for tenant-based rental assistance under
section 8(o) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42
U.S.C. 1437f(o)) shall be entitled to that rental assistance
during any period that the family is an eligible household.
(2) Funding.--There is appropriated, out of any money in
the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, such sums as may be
necessary--
(A) to provide assistance under section 8(o) of the
United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o))
in accordance with the entitlement under paragraph (1)
of this subsection for each eligible household in the
amount determined under such section 8(o); and
(B) to provide administrative fees under section
8(q) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42
U.S.C. 1437f(q)) in connection with each voucher for
assistance provided pursuant to subparagraph (A) of
this paragraph.
(c) Eligible Household Defined.--In this section, term ``eligible
household'' means a family who has an income that does not exceed 80
percent of the area median income, as determined by a public housing
agency.
SEC. 9. SECTION 8 MANAGEMENT ASSESSMENT PROGRAM.
Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act,
the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development shall issue a rule to
consider the timeliness of approval for both eligible families and
landlords with respect to the Section 8 Management Assessment Program
(SEMAP) or any successor assessment program, as described in part 985
of title 24, Code of Federal Regulations.
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