Burchett / 5 Senator Apana

S.R. _____

A BILL
To provide permanent housing and optional supportive resources such as rehabilitation for the homeless in America.
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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 Housing Act of 2015.
SECTION 2. FINDINGS
Congress hereby finds and declares that,
1) By providing permanent housing to the homeless, the Rhode Island Housing First program saved the government
$1.45 million per year.
2) In 2010, the Homeless Outreach and Stabilization Team (HOST) in Alameda County reported a 94% decrease in
the number of days spent on the streets after providing homeless with access to shelter.
3) According to the National Outcome Measures of 2010, people facing chronic homelessness who were given
permanent housing saw a 14.3% rate of change for education and a 20.0% rate of change for employment.
4) The National Health Care for the Homeless Council discovered two-thirds of participants in drug and alcohol
rehabilitation programs dropped out due to homelessness and unstable living conditions.
5) Researchers from the National Institute on Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse (NIAAA) observed that homeless
discharged from alcohol rehabilitation programs to their own self care were prone to resume drinking.
6) By giving homeless people affordable housing, Utah has decreased the prevalence of homelessness by 91%,
leaving only 178 chronically homeless statewide.
7) Housing First, which provides homeless people with housing as quickly as possible, without requiring them to
meet preconditions such as employment, income, absence of criminal record, or sobriety, has reduced homelessness
by 9% since 2007.
8) For an individual to afford a two-bedroom apartment and only have to work 40 hours a week, his or her hourly
wage must be at least $18.92 which is two-and-a-half times the federal minimum wage.
9) According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, families who pay more than 30 percent
of their income for housing are considered cost burdened and may have difficulty affording necessities such as food,
clothing, transportation and medical care.
10) The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development serves only half of all people experiencing
homelessness through emergency, transitional, and permanent housing programs each year.
11) Shelters are overcrowded and contain contagious diseases such as Hepatitis and Tuberculosis.
SECTION 3. STATUTORY LANGUAGE
A) The Homeless Housing Act of 2015 shall hereby mandate temporary housing for every homeless person in
America Mandatory job training and drugs and alcohol rehab for those in need. The housing will cost no more than
of the income of the occupant nor will it exceed $50/day for any individual. Federally funded apartments will used
for housing purposes. These individuals will be permitted to stay in these federally funded housing complexes unit
until they acquire enough money to afford housing of their own. Every individual, 18 years and older, will be
required to hold at least a part-time job after their first year in housing. He or she who is unable to find a job within 6
months of their first year will also be required to attend job training as well as acquire a job. Upon the loss of a job
while under the Homeless Housing Act an individual will remain in job training and receive further assistance in
finding a job by social workers provided in job training.
B) This law shall be enforced and upheld by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S.
Department of Housing and Urban Development. A sum of 2 billion dollars per year shall be withdrawn from the
budget for the U.S. Department of Defense in order to fund housing development and rehabilitation programs for the
homeless.
C) The Homeless Housing Act of 2015 shall be enacted on January 1, 2016. Congress shall revisit and re-approve
this law every 10 years. Any state will forego all federal funding if it does not enforce this law by March 1, 2016.