House Passes Bills Expanding Housing Assistance for Tribes and Youth Aging Out of Foster Care

The House passed both the “Tribal Access to Homeless Assistance Grants Act of 2019” (H.R. 4029) and the “Fostering Stable Housing Opportunities Act of 2019” (H.R. 4300) by voice vote on November 18. These bills, which will now move to the Senate, would expand housing assistance for communities vulnerable to housing insecurity or homelessness – Native Americans and youth aging out of foster care.

Representative Denny Heck (D-WA) and a group of 12 bipartisan members of congress sponsored the “Tribal Access to Homeless Assistance Grants Act,” which aims to address homelessness among Native Americans living on tribal lands (see Memo7/29). The bill would allow Tribes and tribally designated housing entities to participate fully in the Continuum of Care (CoC) system, which they are currently unable to do. Senators Tina Smith (D-MN) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) are the sponsors of a companion bill (S. 2282) of the same name.

Representatives Madeline Dean (D-PA), Michael Turner (R-OH), Karen Bass (D-CA), and Steve Stivers (R-OH) introduced the “Fostering Stable Housing Opportunities Act” on September 12 (see Memo9/16). The bill would expand HUD’s allocation of Family Unification Program (FUP) vouchers for youth aging out of foster care, improve FUP voucher accessibility, and allow vouchers to be administered when needed, subject to funding.

Learn more about the “Tribal Access to Homeless Assistance Grants Act” at: https://bit.ly/2kHjoq6

Learn more about the “Fostering Stable Housing Opportunities Act” at: https://bit.ly/2miRX69