Housing Assistance Efficiency Act
Floor Speech
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Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I want to thank my colleague from California (Mr. Peters) for working on this important issue and introducing this bill.
This bill, entitled the Housing Assistance Efficiency Act, makes two key changes to the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act that are long overdo.
Specifically, this bill is designed to fix two technical problems that have arisen in HUD's homeless assistance programs due to technical errors in the language in the HEARTH Act, which was a bipartisan bill that significantly reformed the homeless assistance programs in 2009.
Among other things, HUD's homeless assistance programs help homeless people pay rent when they move out of shelters or off the streets and into housing.
Since the inception of these programs, local nonprofit organizations have received funding from HUD to administer efficient and cost-effective rental assistance programs, working with local landlords to get places for homeless people to live.
Unfortunately, in 2009, when certain programs were merged under the HEARTH Act, these nonprofits became ineligible to directly administer permanent rental assistance.
This unintentional result of the HEARTH Act has created huge uncertainty on the ground for many nonprofits who work hard to house our homeless populations across the country. The permanent fix in H.R. 1047 would be extremely helpful for communities that are workinThis unintentional result of the HEARTH Act has created huge uncertainty on the ground for many nonprofits who work hard to house our homeless populations across the country. The permanent fix in H.R. 1047 would be extremely helpful for communities that are working to end homelessness for chronic individuals, veterans, children, and other populations.
The second provision in H.R. 1047 addresses the Emergency Solutions Grants Program, a program aimed at homelessness prevention and rapid rehousing activities. The bill would amend the current HUD requirement to reallocate unused, returned, or otherwise newly available funds twice per year to just once per year. This change provides HUD and local agencies with administrative relief, while having no negative impact on beneficiaries of these programs.
In addition, this program is supported by the National Alliance to End Homelessness, a national advocacy organization committed to preventing and ending homelessness in the United States. An identical bill passed the House last December on the suspension calendar by voice vote. I urge my colleagues to again vote in favor of this bill.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.g to end homelessness for chronic individuals, veterans, children, and other populations.
The second provision in H.R. 1047 addresses the Emergency Solutions Grants Program, a program aimed at homelessness prevention and rapid rehousing activities. The bill would amend the current HUD requirement to reallocate unused, returned, or otherwise newly available funds twice per year to just once per year. This change provides HUD and local agencies with administrative relief, while having no negative impact on beneficiaries of these programs.
In addition, this program is supported by the National Alliance to End Homelessness, a national advocacy organization committed to preventing and ending homelessness in the United States. An identical bill passed the House last December on the suspension calendar by voice vote. I urge my colleagues to again vote in favor of this bill.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
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