Homeless Veterans Coronavirus Response Act of 2020
Latest action. Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
Homeless Veterans Coronavirus Response Act of 2020
This bill addresses the administration of Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) programs and benefits for homeless veterans during the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) public health emergency.
During the COVID-19 public health emergency, the bill authorizes the VA to
reallocate specified grant funds to provide homeless veterans and veterans participating in the Department of Housing and Urban Development-VA Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) program with transportation, assistance required for safety and survival, and communications equipment and services;
collaborate with organizations to manage use of VA land for homeless veterans for living and sleeping;
provide a maximum rate, in certain situations, for per diem payments that is three times the rate authorized for state homes for domiciliary care;
provide amounts for additional transitional housing beds to facilitate access to housing and services provided to homeless veterans; and
waive certain inspection and safety code requirements to allow grant recipients and therapeutic housing facilities to make adjustments (e.g., facilitating social distancing or isolation needs).
Per diem payments may be used to provide assistance required for safety and survival (e.g., food) for homeless veterans and formerly homeless veterans residing in a facility operated by a grant recipient or entity that receives per diem payments for furnishing services to homeless veterans.
Finally, the bill requires the VA to ensure that veterans participating in or receiving services under a program for homeless veterans have access to telehealth services. The VA must ensure telehealth capabilities are available to such veterans, VA case managers, and community-based service providers.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on June 4, 2020. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on June 4, 2020: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the Senate
- Passage by the House
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 116th Congress (2019-20), 344 of the 14,345 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 2.4 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Dan Sullivan (R-AK) introduced it on June 4, 2020, and 25 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 10 Democrats, 15 Republicans.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on June 4, 2020, 2289 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 2289 days ago, on June 4, 2020.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 116th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2021 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- SenateIn committee, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers