Housing Alliance of Pennsylvania

Learn about our mission, policy initiatives, staff, and funders.

Become a member of the Housing Alliance today!

Read about the latest efforts to advocate for decent and affordable homes.

Find out about events hosted by the Housing Alliance and our partners around Pennsylvania.

Learn more about critical housing issues and participate in our blog discussion.

Access our library of articles, links, and other resources about important housing issues.

Speak out to legislators and government officials and impact housing law and policy in our state.

Make a donation to the Housing Alliance today!

The Housing Alliance of Pennsylvania

Friend us on

News View

08-06-2008

House Committee Approves McKinney-Vento Reauthorization Bill

Last Thursday, July 31, the House Financial Services Committee unanimously voted in favor of HR 840, the HEARTH Act, which would reauthorize HUD's McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Grants program. The bill passed with a manager's amendment that makes the bill similar to the McKinney reauthorization bill in the Senate, the Community Partnership to End Homelessness Act (S. 1518).

The approved manager's amendment would slightly expand the HUD definition of homeless to include:

individuals temporarily in institutional care who will become homeless upon leaving;
those who will imminently lose their housing that lack the resources to find alternative housing;
those who will be evicted within 14 days;
those living in a motel or doubled up who either lack the resources to stay for more than 14 days or must leave within 14 days;
those fleeing domestic violence.

Rep. Judy Biggert (R-IL) and Rep. Geoff Davis (R-KY) offered an amendment to dramatically expand the definition of homelessness, but it was withdrawn after debate.

Several other amendments were approved unanimously, including:

an amendment to clarify that nothing in the bill seeks to alter the Department of Education's definition of homelessness;
an amendment to require the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to study the varying definitions of homelessness and how well agencies are responding to the most dire housing needs of communities and make recommendations;
an amendment to allow communities applying for funds through the new rural program to use funds for transitional and permanent housing for those at-risk of homelessness.

McKinney-Vento has not been reauthorized since 1994. No date has yet been set for consideration by the full House.

The Senate Banking Committee approved S. 1518 last fall and action on the Senate floor is expected before the end of the Congressional session.

For more background on all the McKinney-Vento Reauthorization bills, see the link below to the National Alliance to End Homelessness website.

Topic(s):

HUD McKinney-Vento

Link(s):

http://www.endhomelessness.org/section/policy/legislature/mckinney_vento

back to list