[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2517 Referred in Senate (RFS)]
103d CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2517
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 29 (legislative day, June 22), 1993
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing,
and Urban Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To establish certain programs and demonstrations to assist States and
communities in efforts to relieve homelessness, assist local community
development organizations, and provide affordable rental housing for
low-income families, 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 ``Homeless and Community Development
Amendments Act of 1993''.
SEC. 2. INNOVATIVE HOMELESS INITIATIVES DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM.
(a) In General.--Subtitle E of title IV of the Stewart B. McKinney
Homeless Assistance Act is amended by adding after section 443 (42
U.S.C. 11402) the following new section:
``SEC. 444. INNOVATIVE HOMELESS INITIATIVES DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM.
``(a) Establishment of Demonstration.--The Secretary shall carry
out a demonstration under this section under which the Secretary may
provide financial and technical assistance--
``(1) to metropolitan cities, urban counties, units of
general local government, Indian tribes, and private nonprofit
organizations to demonstrate the desirability and feasibility
of carrying out projects and activities that implement a work
plan that provides for a continuum of care for homeless persons
under subsection (c); and
``(2) to States, units of general local government, Indian
tribes, and private nonprofit organizations to demonstrate the
feasibility and desirability of carrying out innovative
programs to assist homeless individuals under subsection (d).
``(b) General Provisions.--
``(1) Definitions.--For purposes of this section:
``(A) The terms `State', `metropolitan city',
`urban county', `unit of general local government',
`Secretary', and `Indian tribe' have the meanings given
such terms in section 102(a) of the Housing and
Community Development Act of 1974.
``(B) The term `private nonprofit organization' has
the meaning given such term in section 422 of the
Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act.
``(C) The term `homeless individual' has the
meaning given such term in section 103 of the Stewart
B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act.
``(2) Funding.--To such extent or in such amounts as have
been provided in appropriation Acts for fiscal year 1994,
$150,000,000 shall be available to the Secretary to carry out
the demonstration under this section in such fiscal year, of
which--
``(A) $50,000,000 shall be from any amounts made
available to carry out the shelter plus care program
under subtitle F of this title in such fiscal year;
``(B) $40,000,000 shall be from any amounts made
available to carry out the supportive housing program
under subtitle C of this title in such fiscal year;
``(C) $25,000,000 shall be from any amounts made
available to carry out the HOME Investment Partnerships
Act in such fiscal year;
``(D) $25,000,000 shall be from any amounts made
available to carry out the community development block
grants program under title I of the Housing and
Community Development Act of 1974 in such fiscal year;
and
``(E) $10,000,000 shall be from any amounts made
available under section 402 of the Cranston-Gonzalez
National Affordable Housing Act to carry out the HOPE
home-ownership programs in such fiscal year.
Of any amounts made available to carry out the demonstration
under this section, 50 percent shall be available for
assistance under subsection (c) and 50 percent shall be
available for assistance under subsection (d).
``(c) Homeless Crisis Funding.--
``(1) Designation.--The Secretary shall designate such
metropolitan cities, urban counties, units of general local
government (including units in rural areas), and Indian tribes
as areas eligible for assistance under this subsection, as the
Secretary may determine. The Secretary shall establish criteria
for making such designations, which shall at a minimum
include--
``(A) the extent of unmet need of homeless
individuals in the jurisdiction, including those who
are wholly without adequate shelter of any kind;
``(B) the gap between the jurisdiction's existing
system of assisting homeless persons and the continuum
of care model described in paragraph (2);
``(C) the degree of cooperation between the
jurisdiction and nonprofit homeless service providers;
``(D) the degree to which private nonprofit and
for-profit entities express willingness to make
financial and other commitments to the jurisdiction's
homeless assistance efforts; and
``(E) national geographic diversity in the
designation of jurisdictions.
After selecting areas for designation under this paragraph but
before designating such areas, the Secretary shall consult with
the Committee on Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs of the
House of Representatives and the Committee on Banking, Housing,
and Urban Affairs of the Senate regarding such designations.
``(2) Work plan.--To receive assistance under this
subsection within a designated jurisdiction, the jurisdiction
or a private nonprofit organization shall submit to the
Secretary a work plan that shall, at a minimum--
``(A) describe existing conditions for homeless
persons and families throughout the jurisdiction;
``(B) set forth a realistic and feasible strategy
that contains specific projects and activities
resulting in a continuum of care for the jurisdiction's
homeless persons and targets, goals, and strategies for
implementation and completion of such projects and
activities;
``(C) be prepared with appropriate cooperation from
affected governments and government agencies, private
nonprofit organizations, and contributing for-profit
entities;
``(D) specify those projects and activities for
which the jurisdiction requests funding from the
Secretary under this subsection and the amounts thereby
requested; and
``(E) specify courses, amounts, and timetables for
the financing of other projects and activities.
``(3) Designation.--The designation referred to in
paragraph (1) and assistance provided under this subsection
shall be made on a noncompetitive basis.
``(d) Innovative Project Funding.--
``(1) Authority.--The Secretary is authorized to provide
assistance under this subsection to States, units of general
local government (including units in rural areas), Indian
tribes, and private nonprofit organizations for assistance for
innovative programs to assist homeless individuals.
``(2) Applications.--Applications for assistance under this
subsection shall be in such form, and shall include such
information, as the Secretary shall determine. Each application
shall contain, at a minimum--
``(A) a description of the existing conditions for
homeless individuals in the jurisdiction;
``(B) an explanation of how the proposed project
will further the efforts of the jurisdiction to meet
the housing and supportive services needs of homeless
individuals through an integrated and coordinated
system;
``(C) evidence that the application has been
prepared in coordination with appropriate governmental
entities, private nonprofit organizations, and for-
profit entities; and
``(D) a description of the projects and activities
for which the applicant is requesting funding under
this subsection and the amounts requested.
``(3) Criteria.--The Secretary shall establish selection
criteria for awarding assistance under this subsection, which
shall include, at a minimum--
``(A) the extent of the commitment of the applicant
to alleviating poverty and homelessness;
``(B) the extent of the applicant's continuing
capacity to effectively provide assistance to homeless
individuals;
``(C) the extent to which the project or activity
is innovative and may be replicable or serve as a model
for implementation in other jurisdictions; and
``(D) diversity by geography and community type.
``(4) Approach.--Assistance under this subsection may be
used to provide innovative approaches for, or alternative means
of, meeting the immediate long-term needs of homeless
individuals by assisting--
``(A) the purchase, lease, renovation, operation,
or conversion of facilities to assist the homeless,
which facilities shall be safe and sanitary and, when
appropriate, meet all applicable State and local
housing and building codes and licensing requirements;
``(B) the provision of supportive services for the
homeless; and
``(C) such other activities as the Secretary may
prescribe.
``(5) Requirements.--The Secretary shall establish
requirements for assistance under this subsection, which may
include limitations on administrative expenses, terms of
renewal funding for short-term lease projects, and requirements
for repayment of assistance under this subsection when the
project ceases to be used to assist the homeless in accordance
with the provision of this subsection.
``(e) Reports.--The Secretary shall submit an annual report to the
Congress for each fiscal year in which the Secretary provides
assistance under the demonstration under this section. The reports
shall describe the activities carried out with assistance under the
demonstration and set forth any findings and recommendations of the
Secretary as a result of the demonstration. Each such report shall be
submitted not later than the expiration of the 3-month period beginning
upon the conclusion of the fiscal year for which the report is made.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents in section 101(b) of
the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act is amended by inserting
after the item relating to section 443 the following new item:
``Sec. 444. Innovative Homeless Initiatives Demonstration Program.''.
SEC. 3. MOVING TO OPPORTUNITY FOR FAIR HOUSING.
Section 152(e) of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1992
(42 U.S.C. 1437f note) is amended--
(1) in the first sentence, by striking ``$52,100,000'' and
inserting ``$165,000,000''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following new sentence: ``No
amounts appropriated for fiscal year 1994 to carry out the
demonstration under this section may be obligated to any public
housing agency or expended before the Secretary submits to the
Congress a report describing how amounts made available for the
demonstration in fiscal year 1993 were allocated and expended
and containing the information required in interim reports
under subsection (d)(1), to the extent such information is
available to the Secretary.''.
SEC. 4. ASSISTANCE FOR LOCAL COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATIONS.
(a) Authority.--The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development may
provide assistance under this section to the National Community
Development Initiative for making grants under this section to
community development support organizations for such organizations to
assist local community development organizations in increasing their
technical and administrative capacities and carrying out community
development projects and activities and developing affordable housing,
and to provide technical and predevelopment assistance relating to such
community development and housing projects.
(b) Assistance to Local Community Development Organizations.--A
community development support organization that receives a grant under
this section shall use any such amounts to carry out the following
activities and provide the following assistance:
(1) Capacity building.--Providing training, education,
support, and advice to local community development
organizations to enhance the technical and administrative
capabilities of such organizations to conduct activities under
paragraphs (2) and (3) and providing amounts for such
organizations to obtain such capacity building assistance,
which may include assistance to the staff, management,
directors, and members of such organizations regarding legal,
financial, construction, engineering, property management, and
other matters.
(2) Community development and housing activities.--
Providing amounts (through loans and grants) and other
assistance for local community development organizations to
carry out community development activities that benefit low-
income families and activities to develop and support
affordable housing, which may include providing financing for
rehabilitating, constructing, acquiring, and maintaining
affordable housing.
(3) Project-related predevelopment assistance.--Providing
technical assistance and amounts to local community development
organizations for predevelopment activities relating to
specific projects under paragraph (2), which may include
conducting project feasibility analyses, obtaining project
consultants, preparing preliminary financing applications,
obtaining legal, architectural, and engineering assistance,
site acquisition, and title clearance.
(4) Other activities.--Other activities, as determined by
the National Community Development Initiative in consultation
with the Secretary.
(c) Prohibition of Use of Grant Amounts for Support Organization
Administrative Costs.--No amounts from a grant under this section may
be used for administrative costs of a community development support
organization.
(d) Requirements.--The National Community Development Initiative
may make grants under this section only to community development
support organizations that--
(1) submit to the Secretary an application that contains--
(A) a request for a grant under this section that
specifies the amount of the assistance requested;
(B) a description of the method by which the
community development support organization will select
local community development organizations to assist;
(C) specification of the intended beneficiaries of
assistance provided by the community development
support organization;
(D) measurable goals by which to determine the
effectiveness of the use of the grant amounts; and
(E) such other information as the Secretary may
require;
(2) are selected by the Secretary under subsection (f); and
(3) agree to comply with the provisions of this section and
provide assistance in the manner described in the application
of the organization approved by the Secretary.
(e) Matching Requirement.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary may not provide any
assistance to the National Community Development Initiative
from amounts made available for this section unless the
Secretary determines that an amount equal to 3 times the amount
to be provided by the Secretary has been made available to the
National Community Development Initiative from private
foundations and corporations for use with grant amounts for the
purposes under subsection (b).
(2) Unused amounts.--Any amounts appropriated to carry out
this section for a fiscal year which may not be used because
matching amounts pursuant to paragraph (1) have not been made
available in the year, shall be available or committed on
October 1 of the next fiscal year for the purposes under
paragraph (1) or (2) of section 205 of the Cranston-Gonzalez
National Affordable Housing Act, in the discretion of the
Secretary.
(f) Selection.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary shall select community
development support organizations for grants under this section
from among organizations submitting applications under
subsection (d)(1).
(2) Criteria.--The Secretary shall make selections under
paragraph (1) based on the information contained in the
applications, the capacity and experience of such organizations
to provide training, support, advice, and assistance to local
community development organizations, and such other criteria as
the Secretary shall establish.
(3) Consultation.--In establishing the content of the
criteria under paragraph (2), the relative weight to be given
to the various criteria, and the process under this subsection
for selection of the applications for grants under this
section, the Secretary shall consult with the National
Community Development Initiative and the members of such
Initiative.
(g) Reports.--
(1) GAO.--Not later than 3 years after the date of the
enactment of this section, the Comptroller General of the
United States shall submit a report to the Congress describing
the effectiveness of the use, by community development support
organizations and local community development organizations, of
amounts from grants under this section.
(2) Secretary.--Not later than 15 months after the date
that amounts made available pursuant to subsection (i)(1) are
first disbursed to the National Community Development
Initiative, and annually thereafter for 3 years, the Secretary
shall submit a report to the Congress describing the activities
carried out by community development support organizations and
local community development organizations with amounts provided
under this section and matching amounts, the effectiveness of
such activities, and any other findings of the Secretary as a
result of assistance provided under this section.
(h) Definitions.--For purposes of this section:
(1) Distressed area.--The term ``distressed area'' means an
area in which the percentage of the families residing in the
area that are low-income families is substantially higher than
such percentage for the region in which the area is located, or
that possesses other characteristics indicating a need for
housing or community development assistance, as determined by
the community development support organizations.
(2) Grant.--The term ``grant under this section'' means a
grant with assistance provided under subsection (a) by the
Secretary from amounts appropriated pursuant to subsection
(i)(1). Such term does not include assistance provided with any
amounts made available by private foundations and corporations
pursuant to the requirement under subsection (e).
(3) Local community development organizations.--The term
``local community development organization'' means a nonprofit
organization--
(A) that has among its principal purposes the
provision of affordable housing in a distressed area or
conducting community development activities that
primarily benefit low-income families in a distressed
area; and
(B) whose governing board is comprised of business,
civic, and community leaders and residents of the
distressed area in which the organization carries out
its activities.
The term includes community development corporations and
community housing development organizations (as such term is
defined in section 104 of the Cranston-Gonzalez National
Affordable Housing Act).
(4) Community development support organization.--The term
``community development support organization'' means a
nonprofit organization funded by the National Community
Development Initiative that--
(A) has among its principal purposes providing
assistance throughout the United States to local
community development organizations to facilitate such
local organizations' activities to develop or maintain
affordable housing or revitalize distressed
communities;
(B) has demonstrated experience and ability in
providing a range of assistance to local community
development organizations, which may include financing,
technical assistance, construction activities, property
management, and training; and
(C) meets standards of fiscal responsibility
established by the Secretary.
(i) Funding.--
(1) In general.--Amounts made available for carrying out
the HOME Investment Partnerships Act for fiscal year 1994 shall
be made available for use under this section to such extent or
in such amounts as are provided in appropriation Acts, except
that the amount so made available for use under this section
may not exceed $25,000,000.
(2) Community housing partnership activities.--Section
205(1) of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act
(42 U.S.C. 12724(1)) is amended by striking ``$14,000,000'' the
second place it appears and inserting ``$25,000,000''.
Passed the House of Representatives June 29, (legislative
day, June 28), 1993.
Attest:
DONNALD K. ANDERSON,
Clerk.
HR 2517 RFS----2