On May 12, House Democrats, led by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, offered the next supplemental funding and authorizing legislation for economic relief due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic crisis. HR 6800, the “Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions Act” or the “HEROES Act” is a massive (1,815 pages) legislative package estimated at almost three trillion dollars to provide relief to states, cities, local jurisdictions, medical front-line workers, first responders, unemployed, consumers, students, housing providers, and more. The bill may be headed toa floor vote before the full House as early as tomorrow, Friday, May 15, or by early next week. Outlook for the bill is uncertain, at best, in the Republican-controlled Senate.
Thanks to advocacy by CLPHA members with their congressional representatives, House Democrats listened to CLPHA’s concerns by including several legislative proposals to further benefit public and assisted housing communities during this pandemic.
Tenant-Based Rental Assistance
The bill appropriates additional funds for Tenant-Based Rental Assistance (TBRA). It is worth noting that Sec. 110206, under Division K (COVID–19 HERO ACT) only authorizes $3 billion for TBRA, yet $4 billion is appropriated. TBRA would receive $4 billion under the same authority and conditions as the additional appropriations for fiscal year 2020 as in the CARES Act “except that any amounts provided for administrative expenses and other expenses of public housing agencies for their section 8 programs, including Mainstream vouchers, under this heading in the CARES Act (Public Law 116–136) and under this heading in this Act shall also be available for Housing Assistance Payments under section 8(o) of the United States Housing Act of 1937.”
Funding and legislative authority under TBRA further provides that, “amounts made available under this heading in this Act and under the same heading in title XII of division B of the CARES Act may be used to cover or reimburse allowable costs incurred to prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus regardless of the date on which such costs were incurred.” With this language the bill makes it clear that flexibility and fungibility from administrative fees to HAP is authorized, despite the previous HUD notice disallowing it, and that all costs incurred by housing authorities due to coronavirus are covered notwithstanding the date the costs were incurred.
From the $4 billion for TBRA, the bill would appropriate $2.5 billion for adjustments in the calendar year 2020 Section 8 renewal funding allocations for housing authorities experiencing a significant increase in voucher per-unit costs due to extraordinary circumstances, and $500 million for administrative fees.
Also under TBRA, the bill appropriates $1 billion for an Emergency Rental Assistance Voucher Program, with new single-issue incremental vouchers targeted to individuals and families who are homeless, at risk of homelessness, fleeing, or attempting to flee, domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking. HUD is required to allocate the funding to housing authorities within 60 days of enactment according to a formula that considers housing authorities’ ability to use vouchers promptly and the need of geographical areas based on factors such as risk of transmission of coronavirus, high numbers or rates of sheltered and unsheltered homelessness, and economic and housing market conditions.
Public Housing Operating Fund
CLPHA members and industry partners were also successful in convincing policymakers to appropriate $2 billion more to the Public Housing Operating Fund. The funds would be provided under the same authority and conditions as the additional appropriations for fiscal year 2020 as in the CARES Act, “Provided, That amounts made available under this heading in this Act and under the same heading in title XII of division B of the CARES Act may be used to cover or reimburse allowable costs incurred to prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus regardless of the date on which such costs were incurred.”
Choice Neighborhood Initiative
Additionally, at CLPHA urging, the bill would protect funding that was shortly due to expire under the Choice Neighborhood Initiative by extending funding through September 30, 2021.
Emergency Solutions Grants
The bill appropriates $100 billion for Emergency Rental Assistance “for grants under the Emergency Solutions Grants program to be used for providing short or medium-term assistance with rent and rent-related costs (including tenant-paid utility costs, utility- and rent arrears, fees charged for those arrears, and security and utility deposits,” and appropriates an additional $11.5 billion under current Homeless Assistance Grants for the Emergency Solutions Grants program.
Project-Based Rental Assistance
The bill appropriates $750 million additional for Project-Based Rental Assistance under the same authority and conditions as the additional appropriations for fiscal year 2020 as in the CARES Act.
General Provisions
Sec. 10906. Provides that funding under the heading for Project-Based Rental Assistance (along with Section 202 and 811 housing) in both the CARES Act and this act may be used to provide additional funds to maintain operations, for providing supportive services, and for taking other necessary actions to prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus, including actions to self-isolate, quarantine, or to provide other coronavirus infection control services as recommended by the CDC, including providing relocation services for residents to provide lodging at hotels, motels, or other locations.
Other housing and community development programs receiving appropriated funding include:
- $5 billion in Community Development Block Grants
- $500 million in additional funding for Section 202 elderly housing properties, with $300 million for one-time grants for service coordinators
- $200 million for Section 811 properties for housing persons with disabilities
- $100 million for housing counseling assistance
- $14 million for Fair Housing Activities
On Tuesday, May 12, HUD released PIH Notice 2020-09, which describes the process for allocating unobligated funding for the Mainstream voucher program under the CARES Act. The CARES Act granted HUD the authority to award unobligated Mainstream funding from previous appropriations through a non-competitive process to help PHAs in their respond to COVID-19.
PHAs who were previously awarded Mainstream vouchers in the 2017 and 2019 competitions will receive allocations, in addition to extraordinary admin fees. These eligible PHAs will receive a 30% increase of the total number of vouchers received from both of those competitions, rounding up to the nearest whole number. For example, if a PHA received 22 vouchers in 2017 and 30 vouchers in 2019 for a total of 52 vouchers, they would receive a CARES Act allocation of 16 additional Mainstream vouchers. PHA will receive notification informing them of this new allocation in later this month. Admin fees will be provided per HUD’s earlier notice on admin fees, PIH 2020-04.
HUD will be issuing guidance on extraordinary admin fees for the Mainstream program in a subsequent notice. In addition to receiving Mainstream vouchers from these unobligated funds, Mainstream vouchers are eligible to receive additional funding from the $400 million supplemental CARES funding for HAP. HUD will be issuing a future notice on the allocation of the supplemental HAP funding as well.
For questions about the Mainstream notice, please contact Research & Policy Manager Emily Warren at [email protected].
House Democrats introduced the HEROES Act yesterday, which is the next supplemental funding and authorizing legislation for economic relief due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic crisis. The Council of Large Public Housing Authorities thanks our members for providing their congressional delegations with on-the-ground, real-time examples of the rapidly growing need for increased rental assistance. It is clear that the House Democrats listened to CLPHA’s members’ concerns by including legislative proposals to protect the most vulnerable who are at the greatest risk for homelessness and housing insecurity.
The bill authorizes:
- $4 billion in additional funding for Tenant-Based Rental Assistance
- $1 billion out of the $4 billion is designated for new temporary assistance for households who are experiencing or at risk of homelessness, or who are fleeing domestic violence.
- $750 million additional funding for Project-Based Rental Assistance
- $2 billion in additional funds for the Public Housing Operating Fund
- $100 billion in Emergency Rental Assistance
House Democrats also listened to CLPHA with a proposal to protect funding that was shortly due to expire under the Choice Neighborhood Initiative by extending funding through September 30, 2021.
CLPHA expects the bill to move swiftly through the House with a vote on the bill to come as early as Friday. Throughout the legislative process, CLPHA will continue to forcefully advocate to policymakers that we as a nation must emerge from this unprecedented pandemic with an unequivocal commitment to address the growing need for rental assistance.