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This bill focuses on ending homelessness by investing in housing and services and by stopping policies that punish people for being homeless. It funds local programs that divert people from arrest and jail, build mobile crisis teams instead of police-only responses, and help cities change laws so people aren’t punished for sleeping outside when they have nowhere else to go. It provides $100 million per year for 10 years for these efforts and requires strong anti-discrimination rules, including protections for gender identity. It also creates pilot grants so libraries can expand services for people who are homeless, and speeds up the transfer of unused public buildings to groups that will turn them into housing or shelters, with ownership by deed rather than short-term leases .
The bill creates a major “CDBG Plus” program to help cities and states build and preserve affordable homes, including tiny homes; convert hotels or unused buildings into housing or shelter; make ADA upgrades; and add basics like public bathrooms and water fountains. It can invest up to $6 billion a year, prioritizes Housing First and sustainability, and does not fund projects that penalize homelessness or force people into shelters . It also boosts other safety‑net programs: up to $10 billion a year for emergency shelter grants and $10 billion a year for community housing grants, plus $1 billion a year for emergency food and shelter. To receive funds, governments must stop enforcing laws that criminalize sleeping outside and follow fair rules for handling people’s belongings; nonprofits need community input and training for staff on trauma, bias, and disability rights. The bill orders a national study on voting barriers and gives out $5 million per year in grants to help people who are homeless or housing‑unstable register and vote. It also strengthens the federal council that coordinates homelessness policy, makes it permanent, directs it to promote evidence‑based approaches like Housing First, and sets up an advisory board with people who have lived experience to guide decisions .
Key points
Adds a new subtitle at the end of Title IV of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11360 et seq.).
Modifies section 501 of the McKinney-Vento Act (42 U.S.C. 11411) by replacing text in subsection (d) (paragraphs (1) and (2)), replacing text in subsection (e)(2)(A), and adding a new paragraph (5) to subsection (f) that provides expedited conveyance and related procedures for representatives of the homeless who have received a grant under a CDBG Plus Program.
Adds a new chapter at the end of Subtitle D of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
Amends subsection (b) of section 301 (National Board membership) to change membership counts and adds a new subsection (f) requiring an appropriate non-discrimination policy for the National Board and local boards.
Amends subsection (a) (eligible activities) to modify and replace existing paragraph (3) and to add new eligible activities (new paragraphs (3)–(6)); also inserts additional text after paragraph (1) (text not provided in section).
Makes multiple amendments to section 316(a) (program guidelines): inserts additional text into paragraph (2), adjusts the punctuation/structure of paragraphs (5) and (6), and adds a new paragraph (7) requiring guidelines that service providers and local governments carrying out local emergency food and shelter programs have in effect the nondiscrimination policy described in section 301(f)(1).
In section 208 (42 U.S.C. 11318), strike the first sentence and insert new text (first sentence replaced).
Strike section 209 (42 U.S.C. 11319).
Redesignate sections 207 and 208 (previously at 42 U.S.C. 11317 and 11318) as sections 208 and 209, respectively.
Amend section 203 by (a) modifying punctuation in existing paragraphs (12) and (13) and adding new paragraphs (14)–(16) to subsection (a) (including reliance on evidence-based practices, promotion of Housing First and permanent supportive housing, and prioritizing disparities faced by populations at higher risk of homelessness), and (b) adding a new paragraph (3) to subsection (b) requiring formal reports and recommendations to Federal agencies that include comments on proposed regulatory changes' impacts.
And 4 more affected sections...
Referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committees on House Administration, the Judiciary, Education and Workforce, and 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.
Introduced July 16, 2025 by Pramila Jayapal · Last progress July 16, 2025
Referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committees on House Administration, the Judiciary, Education and Workforce, and 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.
Introduced in House