[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2475 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2475
To establish a pilot program to provide financial and non-financial
housing assistance to certain homeless individuals, to provide for a
study of the effects of the pilot program, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 27, 2025
Ms. Tlaib (for herself, Ms. Ansari, Ms. Schakowsky, Mr. Garcia of
California, Mr. McGovern, Ms. Norton, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Mrs.
Ramirez, and Mrs. Watson Coleman) introduced the following bill; which
was referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to
the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently
determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such
provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish a pilot program to provide financial and non-financial
housing assistance to certain homeless individuals, to provide for a
study of the effects of the pilot program, 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 ``Youth Homelessness Guaranteed Income
Pilot Program Act of 2025''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) Each year, an estimated 4,200,000 youth and young
adults experience homelessness in the United States.
(2) Youth and young adults face many barriers to safe and
stable housing, such as systemic and structural racism, age
discrimination, and a scarce supply of affordable housing
suitable for occupancy.
(3) Black, Indigenous, and other youth and young adults of
color have been systematically excluded from employment
opportunities and access to stable income.
(4) Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, 1 in 5 young people of
color were living in poverty, as opposed to 1 in 9 young White
people, and the impact of the pandemic has resulted in an
exponential widening of the inequity faced by Black,
Indigenous, and other youth and young adults of color when
seeking safe housing and careers of their choice with stable
income.
(5) Full-time minimum-wage earners cannot afford the
average cost of a 2-bedroom apartment anywhere in the United
States.
(6) The changing nature of the economy--including the
growth of the ``gig economy'' in which workers earn income
providing on-demand work, services, or goods; unemployment
risks posed by automation; and the fluctuating nature of waged
labor--will result in increased income volatility and prevent
upward economic mobility, especially among young adults.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(A) the Committee on Financial Services of the
House of Representatives;
(B) the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of
Representatives;
(C) the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban
Affairs of the Senate; and
(D) the Committee on Finance of the Senate.
(2) Certified community development financial
institution.--The term ``certified community development
financial institution'' means a community development financial
institution, as defined in section 103 of the Community
Development Banking and Financial Institutions Act of 1994 (12
U.S.C. 4702), certified by the Community Development Financial
Institutions Fund under section 1805.201 of title 12, Code of
Federal Regulations.
(3) Council.--The term ``Council'' means the National Youth
Economic Advisory Council.
(4) Database.--The term ``database'' means the database
created under section 4(b)(1).
(5) Fair market rent.--The term ``fair market rent'' means
the applicable fair market rental established pursuant to
section 8(c) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42
U.S.C. 1437f(c)).
(6) Historically marginalized communities.--The term
``historically marginalized communities'' includes low-income
communities and minority religious, racial, and ethnic groups.
(7) Homeless.--The term ``homeless'' has the meaning given
that term in section 103 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless
Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11302) and includes homeless children
and youths as defined in section 725 of such Act (42 U.S.C.
11434a).
(8) Low-income geographic area.--The term ``low-income
geographic area'' has the meaning given that term in section
351 of the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 (15 U.S.C.
689).
(9) Payment-receiving group.--The term ``payment-receiving
group'' means the group designated to receive cash payments
pursuant to section 4(c)(3).
(10) Pilot program.--The term ``pilot program'' means the
Youth Homelessness Guaranteed Income Pilot Program.
(11) Program payment.--The term ``program payment'' means a
payment made under section 4(c)(3).
(12) Racial and ethnic minority group.--The term ``racial
and ethnic minority group'' has the meaning given the term in
section 1707(g) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C.
300u-6(g)).
(13) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Health and Human Services.
(14) Socially disadvantaged group.--The term ``socially
disadvantaged group'' means a group whose members have been
subjected to racial, ethnic, or gender prejudice because of
their identity as members of a group without regard to their
individual qualities.
SEC. 4. THE YOUTH HOMELESSNESS GUARANTEED INCOME PILOT PROGRAM.
(a) In General.--The Secretary shall establish a program, entitled
the ``Youth Homelessness Guaranteed Income Pilot Program'', to provide
housing assistance to certain eligible individuals in accordance with
this section.
(b) Preparation.--Within 2 years after the date of the enactment of
this Act:
(1) Database of homeless individuals.--
(A) Creation of database.--The Secretary shall
create a database of individuals who are homeless while
living in the United States containing the information
described in section 6(b)(1).
(B) Eligible participants.--Based on the
recommendations issued by the Council under section
6(b)(1), the Secretary--
(i) shall make reasonable efforts using
reliable sources to identify homeless
individuals for inclusion in the database; and
(ii) may communicate recommendations to the
Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of
Education, or the Secretary of Housing and
Urban Development with respect to the
prescription of regulations described in
subparagraph (C).
(C) Authority to prescribe regulations.--The
Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Education,
and the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development may
each prescribe regulations requiring a recipient of
funds or other assistance under the McKinney-Vento
Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11301-11435)--
(i) to make reasonable efforts to identify
homeless individuals who receive benefits or
assistance provided through the funds; and
(ii) to submit sufficient information to
the Secretary for the homeless individuals to
be listed in the database.
(D) Requirements for database information.--The
Secretary--
(i) shall verify the accuracy of the
information in the database;
(ii) shall include in the database, with
respect to each individual listed in the
database, only the information necessary to--
(I) determine the eligibility of
the individual to participate in the
pilot program; or
(II) administer the pilot program
with the individual as a participant;
and
(iii) may not include in the database any
information about the citizenship status,
immigration status, or Social Security number
of any individual listed in the database.
(E) Report to congress on the database.--The
Secretary shall submit a written report to the
appropriate congressional committees describing the
process used to create the database.
(2) Selection of pilot program participants.--
(A) Criteria.--The Secretary, in coordination with
the External Partner and the Council, shall develop
criteria for the selection of pilot program
participants that are--
(i) consistent with the objectives of the
study described in section 5;
(ii) inclusive of low-income geographic
areas; and
(iii) representative of the demographics of
the population of homeless individuals in the
United States who have not attained 30 years of
age.
(B) Selection.--The Secretary shall select,
consistent with the criteria developed under
subparagraph (A), not more than 105,000 individuals
listed in the database to participate in the pilot
program, each of whom shall be--
(i) an emancipated minor; or
(ii) an individual who has attained 18
years of age but not 30 years of age.
(C) Impermissible factors.--The Secretary may not
use citizenship or immigration status as factors in the
selection of pilot program participants.
(3) Conditions for participation in the pilot program.--An
individual may not participate in the pilot program until the
individual, in a form and manner determined by the Secretary--
(A) consents to the disclosure of Federal and State
income tax return information of the individual to the
Secretary and the External Partner; and
(B) discloses other personal information determined
by the Secretary to be necessary for the administration
of the pilot program and the study described in section
5, including the ZIP Code of the primary place of
residence maintained by the individual.
(c) Provision of Assistance.--
(1) Duration.--The Secretary shall provide the assistance
described in this subsection to the pilot program participants
for 36 consecutive months.
(2) Assistance available to all participants.--Based on the
recommendations issued by the Council under section 6(b)(2),
and in consultation with the External Partner, the Secretary
shall, directly or by contract or cooperative agreement,
provide to each participant, appropriate to the circumstances
of the participant, the following:
(A) Housing navigation services.
(B) Financial coaching courses.
(C) Workforce development services.
(D) Educational attainment services.
(E) Education on the landlord-tenant laws of the
jurisdiction of residence of the participant and the
rights that the participant would have as a tenant.
(F) Additional services recommended by the Council
and the External Partner, at the discretion of the
Secretary.
(G) Assistance in identifying, applying for, and
using any service or assistance available to the
participant that is funded under the McKinney-Vento
Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11301-11435).
(3) Cash payments to the payment-receiving group.--
(A) Division into 2 groups.--The Secretary shall--
(i) divide the participants randomly into 2
groups, approximately equal in size and equally
representative with respect to the criteria for
the selection of participants; and
(ii) designate 1 group to receive cash
payments pursuant to this paragraph.
(B) Frequency; amount.--
(i) In general.--The Secretary shall make a
payment to each member of the payment-receiving
group every month for the duration described in
paragraph (1), with each monthly payment in the
amount equal to or the greater of $1,400 or the
adjusted fair market rent cost for the member
involved.
(ii) Adjusted fair market rent cost.--The
Secretary shall determine the adjusted fair
market rent cost for such a member based on the
fair market rent cost for a 2-bedroom home in
the ZIP Code designated by the member and any
modifications recommended by the Council under
section 6(b)(4).
(iii) Lump sum payment permitted for the
1st year.--Notwithstanding clause (i), not more
than half of the members of the payment-
receiving group may elect to receive not more
than the first 12 monthly payments under clause
(i) in a single lump sum payment.
(C) Forms of payment.--The Secretary shall make
each program payment by whichever of the following
methods is elected by the participant involved:
(i) Cash.
(ii) Electronic funds transfer.
(iii) Prepaid debit card.
(iv) Any other method offered by the
Secretary.
(D) Day of payment.--Each member of the payment-
receiving group may elect to receive the monthly
payment on the first or last weekday of the month that
is not a legal public holiday.
(d) Privacy Protections.--
(1) Disclosures prohibited.--A person shall not disclose
any information related to the pilot program, except to the
extent permitted by regulations prescribed under paragraph (2).
(2) Regulations for sharing information.--The Secretary, in
consultation with the Council and External Partner, may
prescribe regulations to provide for the sharing of information
in the database, without personal identifiers, with nonprofit
organizations and academic institutions for noncommercial
research purposes.
(3) Destruction of database.--The Secretary shall destroy
the database within 30 days after the Council terminates.
(4) Violations.--
(A) Any person who, by virtue of an official
position or affiliation with the Secretary, the
Council, or the External Partner--
(i) has possession of, or access to, any
record containing individually identifiable
information the disclosure of which is
prohibited by or under this Act; and
(ii) knowingly discloses such a record to
any person or agency not entitled to receive
the record,
shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and fined not more
than $25,000.
(B) Any person who knowingly requests or obtains
any record related to the pilot program from the
Secretary, the Council, or the External Partner under
false pretenses shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and
fined not more than $25,000.
(e) Relationship to Other Programs, Benefits, and Laws.--
Notwithstanding any other provision of law:
(1) Participation in the pilot program, including the
receipt of program payments, may not be considered for the
purposes of determining--
(A) the eligibility of a participant for, or the
amount or timing of, any benefit or assistance under
any Federal program or under any State or local program
financed, in whole or in part, with Federal funds; or
(B) whether a participant is a public charge under
section 212(a)(4) of the Immigration and Nationality
Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(4)) or section 237(a)(5) of such
Act (8 U.S.C. 1227(a)(5)).
(2) For purposes of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986,
gross income shall not include any program payment to a
participant.
(3) Section 401 of the Personal Responsibility and Work
Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1611) shall
not apply to this Act.
SEC. 5. STUDY.
(a) In General.--The Secretary shall conduct, in coordination with
the External Partner selected pursuant to this section, a study on the
effects of the pilot program.
(b) Objectives.--The primary objectives of the study shall be--
(1) to analyze the effect of the program payments on--
(A) the housing outcomes of the pilot program
participants;
(B) the microeconomic outcomes of the participants;
(C)