,i #aafth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,r4 #hfgd ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,october #bc1 #bjbj,mr4 ,ted ,lieu of ,california introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,financial ,services ,a ,,bill ,to establish a ,housing ,stabilization ,fund to provide emergency housing assistance to extremely low-income renters and homeowners1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,prevent ,homelessness ,act of #bjbj4 #b4 ,housing ,stabilization ,fund 7a7 ,establishment ,the ,secretary of ,housing and ,urban ,development1 acting through the ,office of ,special ,needs ,assistance ,programs of the ,office of ,community ,planning and ,development1 shall establish and administer a fund to be known as the ,housing ,stabilization ,fund4 7b7 ,grants ,amounts in the ,fund shall be available1 to the extent provided in advance in appropriations ,acts1 only for making annual grants under this section1 in the amount determined pursuant to subsection 7f71 to continua of care to provide short-term assistance under emergency housing assistance programs that the ,secretary determines1 pursuant to applications under subsection 7e71 meet the requirements of subsection 7c74 7c7 ,emergency housing assistance program requirements ,an emergency housing assistance program shall be considered to meet the requirements of this subsection only if the program-- 7#a7 is carried out by a continuum of care or other agency1 organization1 or entity selected by a continuum of care2 7#b7 operates within the geographical area served by the continuum of care2 7#c7 provides financial assistance only on behalf of extremely low-income families who-- 7,a7 are unable to meet housing-related obligations 7as described in subsection 7d7 of this section7 due to a financial hardship1 which shall include the situations described in clause 7i7 of section #c7;a77#c77;,b7 of the ,united ,states ,housing ,act of #aicg 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #adcg;a7a77#c77;,b77i771 a family or health crisis1 unexpected expenses1 unsafe or unhealthy living conditions1 and such other situations as the ,secretary may provide2 and 7,b7 provide evidence of such inability to meet housing related obligations1 which may include past-due utilities or rent notices1 eviction notices1 and such other evidence as the ,secretary may provide1 except that a continuum of care may1 in consultation with the ,secretary1 provide for additional manners of identifying inability to meet housing related obligations in situations in which such notices are not available2 7#d7 provides for coordination with any local homeless prioritization criteria1 including the ,coordinated ,entry ,system or any other evidence-based analytic targeting tool1 applicable within the area in which the program will be carried out1 in accordance with such requirements as the ,secretary shall provide2 and 7#e7 meets such other requirements as the ,secretary may establish4 7d7 ,eligible financial assistance ,amounts from grants under this section for an emergency housing assistance program shall be used to provide financial assistance only to meet housing-related obligations1 including-- 7#a7 rent due1 including amounts past due1 except that such assistance may not-- 7,a7 be provided for a family for more than #h months 7whether consecutive or not7 within the preceding #ab months2 and 7,b7 may not exceed on a monthly basis the amount that the ,secretary determines is reasonable in comparison with rents charged for comparable dwelling units located in the same area in the private1 unassisted local market2 7#b7 mortgage payments due1 including amounts past due1 except that such assistance may not be provided for a household for more than #h months 7whether consecutive or not7 within the preceding #ab months and may not exceed on a monthly basis such amount as the ,secretary shall determine2 7#c7 utility payments due1 including amounts past due2 7#d7 housing repairs necessary to make the premises habitable1 including installing insulation1 window repair1 door repair1 roof repair1 and other repairs2 7#e7 costs of obtaining services for behavioral1 emotional1 and mental health issues1 domestic violence issues1 child welfare issues1 employment counseling1 substance abuse treatment1 or other services2 7#f7 costs of obtaining housing counseling or advice1 including outreach1 mediation1 and case management2 7#g7 costs of obtaining legal assistance relating to eviction1 foreclosure1 and other issues relating to a family retaining its housing2 and 7#h7 other short-term costs the payment of which increase housing stability for an extremely low-income family1 including costs for gas1 groceries1 automotive repair1 public transportation1 furniture1 application fees1 reunification services1 and such other costs as the ,secretary may provide4 7e7 ,applications ,the ,secretary shall require1 for a continuum of care to receive a grant under this section for a fiscal year1 that the continuum of care submit to the ,secretary1 and the ,secretary approve1 an application containing such information as the ,secretary considers necessary to ensure that grant amounts are used in accordance with this section4 7f7 ,amount of grants 7#a7 ,allocation 7,a7 ,fiscal year #bjba ,for fiscal year #bjba1 any amounts made available from the ,fund for grants under this section shall be allocated for grants to continua of care according to the formula established pursuant to paragraph 7#b74 7,b7 ,succeeding fiscal years ,for each fiscal year thereafter1 of any amounts made available from the ,fund for grants under this section-- 7i7 #hj percent shall be allocated for grants to continua of care according to the formula established pursuant to paragraph 7#b72 and 7ii7 #bj percent shall be allocated for grants to continua of care according to a competition pursuant to paragraph 7#c74 7#b7 ,formula 7,a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary shall1 by regulation1 establish a formula for use to allocate amounts in the ,fund for grants for a fiscal year1 in accordance with paragraph 7#a71 for continua of care whose applications for such year for such assistance have been approved pursuant to subsection 7e74 7,b7 ,factors ,the formula required by subparagraph 7,a7 shall be designed to take into consideration1 for the area served by a continuum of care-- 7i7 the extent of the population that are extremely low-income families1 including the homeless population that is unsheltered1 who are severely cost-burdened by housing-related costs1 including obligations described in subsection 7d72 and 7ii7 such other factors as the ,secretary may provide4 ,the ,secretary shall determine data to be used for the factors considered under the formula based on the most recently conducted ,point-,in-,time ,homeless ,count administered by the ,secretary4 7#c7 ,competition ,the ,secretary shall1 by regulation1 establish a competition for use to allocate amounts in the ,fund for grants for a fiscal year for continua of care pursuant to paragraph 7#a77;,b77ii71 which shall be based on measurable criteria that-- 7,a7 to the greatest extent possible1 are required to be collected and reported to the ,department of ,housing and ,urban ,development or any other ,federal agency under other provisions of law already in effect or otherwise do not impose new burdens on continua of care2 7,b7 provide for targeting of assistance made available under an emergency housing assistance program to households having the lowest incomes2 7,c7 encourage the leveraging of other non-,federal funds for providing assistance under an emergency housing assistance program2 7,d7 encourage emergency housing assistance programs assisted with grants under this section to provide preventive assistance to avoid homelessness2 and 7,e7 encourage problem-solving and diversion methods1 including the applicant's capacity and interest in providing innovative delivery of housing stability interventions and connecting households to other public benefits that promote housing stability4 7g7 ,definitions ,for purposes of this ,act1 the following definitions shall apply3 7#a7 ,continuum of care ,the term continuum of care means a collaborative applicant established and operating for a geographic area for purposes of the ,continuum of ,care ,program under subtitle ,c of title ,,iv of the ,mc,kinney-,vento ,homeless ,assistance ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #aacha et seq474 7#b7 ,fund ,the term ,fund means the ,housing ,stabilization ,fund established under subsection 7a74 7#c7 ,extremely low-income family ,the term extremely low-income family has the meaning given such term in section #c7;b7 of the ,united ,states ,housing ,act of #aicg 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #adcg;a7b774 7#d7 ,secretary ,the term ,secretary means the ,secretary of ,housing and ,urban ,development4 7h7 ,authorization of appropriations ,there is authorized to be appropriated for the ,fund #ajj1jjj1jjj for each of fiscal years #bjba through #bjbe4