H.Res. 1249

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1249 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. RES. 1249

Expressing that the United States is obligated to permanently end the 
unhoused crisis by 2029 and uphold, protect, and enforce the civil and 
human rights of unhoused individuals, including the human rights to 
housing, universal health care, livable wages, education, employment 
opportunities, access to public facilities, free movement in public 
spaces, privacy, confidentiality, internet access, vote, freedom from 
harassment by law enforcement, private businesses, property owners, and 
housed residents, and equal rights to health care, legal 
representation, and social services without discrimination based on 
housing status.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

April 30, 2026

Ms. Tlaib (for herself, Ms. Norton, Ms. Simon, Mr. Torres of New York, 
Mr. McGovern, Mrs. Hayes, Ms. Tokuda, Mrs. McIver, Mr. Jackson of 
Illinois, and Mrs. Watson Coleman) submitted the following resolution; 
which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in 
addition to the Committees on Energy and Commerce, Education and 
Workforce, the Judiciary, Agriculture, 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

_______________________________________________________________________

RESOLUTION

Expressing that the United States is obligated to permanently end the 
unhoused crisis by 2029 and uphold, protect, and enforce the civil and 
human rights of unhoused individuals, including the human rights to 
housing, universal health care, livable wages, education, employment 
opportunities, access to public facilities, free movement in public 
spaces, privacy, confidentiality, internet access, vote, freedom from 
harassment by law enforcement, private businesses, property owners, and 
housed residents, and equal rights to health care, legal 
representation, and social services without discrimination based on 
housing status.

Whereas on a single night there were 771,400 unhoused individuals residing in 
the United States;
Whereas the population of unhoused individuals in the United States is 
disproportionately comprised of Black, Brown, and Indigenous people, 
women, children, veterans, undocumented immigrants, people with mental, 
developmental, and physical disabilities and substance use disorders, 
and members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, gender 
nonconforming, and queer community;
Whereas older adults are the largest growing segment of the homeless population, 
and nearly 67 percent of older Americans rely on Social Security for the 
majority of their income, leaving housing stability out of reach for 
most older Americans;
Whereas Black Americans make up more than 30 percent of the unhoused population, 
but represent 12 percent of the general population, and Indigenous 
people are similarly disproportionately overrepresented within the 
unhoused population;
Whereas the number of children experiencing homelessness increased 33 percent 
between 2023 and 2024, the highest annual increase across all age 
groups;
Whereas 1,370,000 K-12 students were identified as experiencing homelessness in 
2023;
Whereas lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, gender nonconforming, and queer 
individuals, including children, are forced to accept inappropriate or 
unsafe accommodations to access publicly funded emergency shelters;
Whereas survivors of domestic violence, partner violence, sexual assault, and 
stalking are faced with the impossible choice of living with an abusive 
person or becoming unhoused due to a lack of an adequate housing safety 
net;
Whereas the root causes contributing to the unhoused crisis are poverty, a lack 
of affordable housing options, systemic racism, chronically low wages, 
underemployment and unemployment, gentrification, housing 
discrimination, mass incarceration, immigration status, criminalization 
of poverty, domestic violence, discrimination against lesbian, gay, 
bisexual, transgender, gender nonconforming, and queer individuals, 
trauma, disabilities, personal and medical debt, a lack of affordable 
childcare, climate disasters, institutionalization, and unexpected loss 
of household income;
Whereas the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in massive job loss, significant price 
inflation, and increased economic precarity in general, exacerbating the 
ongoing housing affordability crisis and resulting in skyrocketing rates 
of housing insecurity;
Whereas the Emergency Rental Assistance Program provided $46,000,000,000 to 
3,200,000 households during the COVID-19 pandemic, along with stimulus 
checks, expanded unemployment benefits, child tax credits, and increased 
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program allocations;
Whereas low-income renters face increasingly high rents and rising housing 
instability, and without the supports provided by pandemic-era benefit 
programs, safe, stable, and affordable housing remains out of reach;
Whereas, since July 2009, the Federal minimum wage has remained stagnant at an 
abysmal $7.25, forcing low-wage workers to work two to three jobs to 
afford housing and basic needs;
Whereas, from July 2009 to September 2025, the average rent across United States 
cities increased 76 percent;
Whereas the United States has a shortage of 7,100,000 rental homes affordable 
and available to renters with extremely low incomes, those with incomes 
at or below either the Federal poverty guideline or 30 percent of their 
area median income, whichever is greater;
Whereas there are only 35 affordable and available homes for every 100 renter 
households with extremely low incomes;
Whereas, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, in 2025, the 
housing wage, defined as an annual estimate of the hourly wage full-time 
workers must earn to afford a rental home at fair market rent without 
spending more than 30 percent of their incomes, was $33.63 per hour for 
a modest two-bedroom rental home and $28.17 per hour for a modest one-
bedroom rental home;
Whereas in no State, metropolitan area, or county can a full-time, minimum-wage 
worker afford a modest two-bedroom rental home, and a full-time, 
minimum-wage worker cannot afford a modest one-bedroom rental home in 
more than 92 percent of United States counties;
Whereas the gap between wages and housing costs is largest for people of color, 
and particularly women of color, as a result of decades of racist 
housing policies that have led to people of color facing 
disproportionate challenges accessing decent and affordable homes;
Whereas lack of access to public restrooms, handwashing facilities, laundry 
facilities, showers, and garbage removal services severely deteriorates 
overall quality of life and greatly increases the chance of unhoused 
individuals contracting communicable diseases, impacting both housed and 
unhoused communities and undermining public health;
Whereas health disparities significantly contribute to a broken social system 
that creates and maintains poverty, and the unhoused crisis is a public 
health crisis, resulting in unhoused persons suffering from 
significantly higher rates of chronic health conditions and premature 
death than housed persons;
Whereas unhoused persons exhibit higher rates of depression, anxiety, 
psychological distress, physical health problems, substance use 
disorders, and mental trauma than housed persons, combined with 
increased difficulties in accessing health services due to a lack of 
stable living environment, functioning communication devices, physical 
distance, and knowledge of programs and procedures, among other 
structural barriers, thereby exacerbating the public health crisis;
Whereas inadequate access to healthy, affordable, and fresh food options, and 
severe restrictions on the usage of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance 
Program (SNAP), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and 
Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children 
(WIC) benefits foster conditions of chronic malnutrition and food 
insecurity for unhoused persons, particularly youth, significantly 
weakening their ability to stave off infections and diseases and 
contributing to compounding public health crises;
Whereas unhoused people lack the necessary stable, safe, and supportive 
environment to comply with treatment plans and heal from illnesses and 
are often prematurely discharged from medical facilities, thereby 
exacerbating existing medical conditions and hindering the recovery and 
treatment processes;
Whereas, according to the National Coalition for the Homeless, human 
immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome and the 
unhoused crisis are intricately related, as many as 50 percent of people 
living with human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency 
syndrome in the United States are at risk of becoming unhoused due to 
high medical costs and health-related job loss, and since human 
immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome targets the 
immune system, unhoused people living with human immunodeficiency virus/
acquired immunodeficiency syndrome do not have the ability to fight off 
disease due to factors related to malnutrition, access to hygiene 
facilities, and exposure to extreme weather conditions;
Whereas the compounding physical and psychological trauma stemming from lack of 
access to housing, health care, safety, food, water, restrooms, showers, 
laundry facilities, electricity, internet, technology, property storage, 
and leisure, combined with exposure to extreme weather conditions, and 
higher rates of personal violence, including physical and sexual 
assaults endured by unhoused individuals, inevitably worsens the mental 
health of individuals and makes it more difficult to access permanent 
housing and employment, as well as social, medical, and mental health 
services;
Whereas the criminalization of unhoused individuals and communities through the 
creation of State and local ordinances that ban panhandling, loitering, 
sleeping in tents or vehicles, eating in public, and third parties 
distributing food to unhoused people violates the basic human and civil 
rights of unhoused individuals to exist in public without fear of law 
enforcement surveillance, harassment, violence, destruction of property, 
fines, vehicle impoundment, or arrest;
Whereas the vicious cycle of mass incarceration forces people to lose 
employment, homes, student loans, and financial assistance, and makes 
access to housing, gainful employment, education, and public assistance 
extraordinarily difficult for individuals reentering the community from 
the criminal and juvenile justice systems or with criminal records, 
thereby contributing to higher recidivism rates and exacerbating the 
unhoused crisis;
Whereas unhoused individuals lack the resources necessary to obtain adequate 
legal representation and are often denied relief or damages through 
courts when they have been unfairly targeted by law enforcement 
officers, private businesses, property owners, or housed residents and 
have had their constitutional rights violated;
Whereas encampment sweeps, evictions, and cleanups, the removal of outdoor 
living spaces, or impounding vehicles being used as residences 
exacerbate the complex issues faced by unhoused individuals and fail to 
address the lack of affordable and accessible housing options;
Whereas neighborhood protection orders criminalize people without homes and 
needlessly bar individuals from accessing social services that will help 
them transition to permanent supportive housing;
Whereas unhoused people are disproportionately impacted by the climate crisis 
because chronic exposure to climate-induced extreme weather and 
disasters including hurricanes, wildfire, freezing temperatures, and 
extreme heat conditions leave unhoused persons susceptible to 
hypothermia, hyperthermia, frostbite, sunburn, heat exhaustion, and 
death;
Whereas hostile architecture and defensive urban design transform public spaces 
into impractical and unwelcoming environments for both housed and 
unhoused communities, by making benches thinner or with armrests to 
prevent laying down, building bus stops with no seating or shelter, 
deliberately placing gaps in awnings that allow in rain, adding rocks to 
parks, trails, and highway underpasses, installing devices that prohibit 
sitting, or adding spikes, rocks, or studs to flat surfaces to render 
them dysfunctional;
Whereas the Department of Housing and Urban Development point-in-time method to 
count the number of sheltered and unsheltered individuals in the United 
States undercounts children, youth, older adults, and families by not 
accounting for individuals who fall in and out of homelessness 
throughout the year, people who are sheltered with family or friends, or 
individuals temporarily residing in hotels, motels, medical facilities, 
and jails, and is limited to a count one night per year during one of 
the coldest months;
Whereas inadequate statistical methods for counting unhoused individuals 
severely limit the capacity of policymakers to develop accurate, data-
driven legislation;
Whereas the long-term solution for ending the unhoused crisis is a housing first 
approach that provides adequate, accessible, and affordable permanent 
housing for unhoused individuals, without preconditions and low or no 
barriers to entry, and permanently fosters conditions that prevent 
persons from becoming unhoused;
Whereas rates of homelessness continue to rise, the overburdened repair backlog 
for public housing units is estimated at over $90,000,000,000, and the 
overburdened tenant-based ``section 8'' rental assistance program, also 
known as a housing choice voucher, is not funded by Congress at the 
level necessary to match the ever-increasing demand for housing 
assistance;
Whereas emergency shelters, transitional housing programs, permanent supportive 
housing initiatives, and rapid rehousing programs are inadequately 
funded and unable to keep up with the constant demand to provide 
adequate temporary, transitional, or permanent housing for unhoused 
individuals;
Whereas the cost of maintaining an unhoused population places undue financial 
burden on taxpayers of an amount between $30,000 and $50,000 each year 
for each chronically unhoused person because of the costs of 
incarceration, medical treatments, jails, detention centers, psychiatric 
and rehabilitation institutions, congregate shelter that does not lead 
to permanent housing, law enforcement costs of encampment cleanups and 
evictions, and the criminalization of unhoused people;
Whereas there are more than 15,000,000 vacant homes in the United States that 
are available to house individuals and families, and the cost to fully 
fund the Housing Choice Voucher Program is roughly $168,000,000,000, 
less than 20 percent of the 2025 fiscal year defense budget of 
$883,700,000,000;
Whereas a lack of political will at the Federal, State, and local levels of 
government drastically restricts the amount of funding available for 
States, counties, cities, and municipalities to provide services and 
resources to unhoused communities; and
Whereas addressing the roots of the housing affordability crisis requires a 
sustained commitment to investing in new affordable, accessible housing, 
preserving affordable rental homes that already exist, bridging the gap 
between incomes and rent through universal rental assistance, providing 
emergency assistance to stabilize renters when they experience financial 
shocks, and establishing strong renter protections: Now, therefore, be 
it
Resolved,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This resolution may be cited as the ``Unhoused Persons Bill of 
Rights''.

SEC. 2. ESTABLISHING PROTECTIONS FOR UNHOUSED INDIVIDUALS FROM 
VIOLATIONS OF THEIR RIGHTS.

(a) Protected Rights of Unhoused Individuals.--It is the sense of 
the House of Representatives that the United States must protect the 
fundamental civil and human rights of unhoused individuals, including--
(1) the right to decent, affordable, and accessible 
housing, livable wages, and universal health care;
(2) the right for persons reentering the community from the 
criminal justice system to access public housing, voucher 
programs, rental assistance programs, employment, higher 
education grants, scholarships, and Federal student loans 
without discrimination on the basis of their criminal record;
(3) the rights, privileges, or access of an individual to 
public services, parks, sidewalks, transportation, buildings, 
or facilities without discrimination on the basis of their 
housing status;
(4) the right to uninhibited access to public parks, 
transportation, facilities, sidewalks, buildings, and restrooms 
without discrimination on the basis of their housing status;
(5) the right to access safe and clean restroom facilities, 
safe and clean drinking water, public handwashing facilities, 
and public electricity sources without discrimination on the 
basis of their housing status;
(6) the right to access 24-hour and disaster emergency 
shelters, transitional housing, social services, public 
housing, and voucher programs without discrimination on the 
basis of their housing status;
(7) the right not to be subject to penalties for standing, 
walking, resting, or sleeping in a public place or vehicle in a 
nonobstructive manner, including relying on tents, sleeping 
bags, additional clothing, or other supplies intended to make 
sleep comfortable and possible;
(8) the right to pray, meditate, or practice religion in 
public spaces without being subject to criminal or civil 
sanctions, harassment, or arrest;
(9) the right to solicit donations in public spaces without 
being subject to criminal or civil sanctions, harassment, or 
arrest in a manner that violates the right to free speech;
(10) the right to engage in lawful self-employment, 
including the right to seek self-employment in junk removal and 
recycling that requires the collection, possession, redemption, 
and storage of goods for reuse and recycling, without being 
subject to criminal or civil sanctions, harassment, or arrest;
(11) the right to not face discrimination while seeking 
employment or public assistance due to a lack of permanent 
mailing address, or the use of a mailing address from a 
shelter, library, or social-service provider;
(12) the right to internet access and technology that will 
enable accessing the internet;
(13) the right to obtain copies of identification 
documents, including Social Security cards, without difficulty 
or discrimination based on housing status;
(14) the right to vote, register to vote, and receive 
documentation necessary to prove identity for voting without 
discrimination due to housing status or use of a shelter, 
library, or social service provider for an address;
(15) the right to receive emergency and nonemergency 
medical care without discrimination based on housing status;
(16) the right for unhoused children to access high-quality 
education without discrimination due to their housing status;
(17) the right to confidentiality of personal and medical 
records, documentation, and information;
(18) the right to a reasonable expectation of privacy in 
personal property to the same extent as personal property in a 
permanent residence; and
(19) the right to protest, gather in groups, and conduct 
community outreach without harassment by law enforcement or 
private citizens.
(b) Protections of Unhoused Individuals.--It is the sense of the 
House of Representatives that the United States must establish 
regulations and enforcement tools to protect unhoused individuals from 
the violation of their fundamental civil and human rights, including 
protections from--
(1) law enforcement against undue surveillance, 
mistreatment, harassment, destruction of personal property, 
vehicle impoundment, and unjustified detention, searches, 
ticketing, and arrests; and
(2) private businesses, property owners, including business 
improvement districts, and housed residents against 
discrimination, harassment, mistreatment, assault, detention, 
banishment, and destruction of private property.
(c) Protections for Third Parties Providing Services to Unhoused 
Individuals.--It is the sense of the House of Representatives that the 
United States must establish blanket legal protections for third 
parties distributing food, beverages, clothing, or providing services 
to unhoused individuals and communities.
(d) Civil Actions for a Violation of the Rights of Unhoused 
Individuals.--It is the sense of the House of Representatives that the 
United States must establish a process such that in any civil action 
alleging a violation of rights described previously, a court may award 
appropriate damages and all attorney's fees and costs to a prevailing 
plaintiff, and the court may take into consideration housing status and 
apply leniency while attempting to compile records, receipts, and 
documentation from the plaintiff.

SEC. 3. ACTIONS IN PURSUIT OF PROTECTION OF THE RIGHTS OF UNHOUSED 
INDIVIDUALS.

(a) Funding.--The House of Representatives shall strive to provide 
funding for the following:
(1) The House of Representatives shall strive to allocate--
(A) not less than $168,000,000,000 from the defense 
budget to permanently end and prevent the unhoused 
crisis in the United States;
(B) $148,400,000,000 every 5 years in the Public 
Housing Capital Fund to urge the Subcommittee on 
Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and 
Related Agencies of the Committee on Appropriations of 
the House of Representatives to preserve public housing 
units for future generations;
(C) full funding for the Public Housing Operating 
Fund to better support this important source of 
affordable housing until the United States has 
permanently ended and prevented the unhoused crisis;
(D) $42,400,000,000 annually in the Department of 
Housing and Urban Development National Housing Trust 
Fund to build and preserve homes affordable to the 
lowest-income and most marginalized households in the 
United States;
(E) $3,180,000,000 annually for a permanent 
Emergency Rental Assistance Program administered by the 
Department of Housing and Urban Development;
(F) the highest level of funding possible for city, 
county, State, Indian Tribal Governments, and local 
governments to build and maintain 24-hour public 
restrooms, handwashing stations, showers, laundry 
facilities, and water fountains in proportion to their 
respective unhoused population; and
(G) robust funding for States, Indian Tribal 
Governments, cities, localities, and municipalities to 
provide trash cans, recycling bins, sharps disposal 
containers, and frequent garbage removal services to 
unhoused camps and common areas in coordination with 
local unhoused advocates and community-based 
organizations.
(2) The House of Representatives shall strive to provide 
the highest possible funding level for Federal housing and 
supportive services programs, including--
(A) the Department of Housing and Urban Development 
Continuum of Care (CoC) program;
(B) the Department of Housing and Urban Development 
Emergency Solutions Grants (ESG) program;
(C) the Department of Housing and Urban 
Development-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD-
VASH) program;
(D) the Department of Housing and Urban Development 
Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) program;
(E) the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) 
transitional housing assistance grants program for 
survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual 
assault, and stalking;
(F) the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services 
Administration (SAMHSA) Grants for the Benefit of 
Homeless Individuals (GBHI) program;
(G) the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services 
Administration Treatment for Individuals Experiencing 
Homelessness (TIEH) program;
(H) the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services 
Administration Projects for Assistance in Transition 
from Homelessness (PATH) program;
(I) Health Resources and Services Administration 
health center programs, particularly the Health Care 
for the Homeless program;
(J) the Health Resources and Services 
Administration Primary Care Human Immunodeficiency 
Virus Prevention (PCHP) program;
(K) the Department of Education McKinney-Vento 
Education for Homeless Children and Youth (EHCY) Act 
program; and
(L) the Department of Housing and Urban Development 
Indian Housing Block Grant (IHBG) program.
(3) The House of Representatives shall strive to provide 
the highest level of funding to--
(A) permanently provide nutritious, healthy, and 
expansive universal school meals for K-12 students;
(B) drastically expand eligibility, income 
thresholds, and time limitations and remove all 
purchase restrictions for the Supplemental Nutrition 
Assistance Program (SNAP), Temporary Assistance for 
Needy Families (TANF) program, and Special Supplemental 
Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children 
(WIC); and
(C) remove food assistance restrictions on the 
purchase of hot foods and ready-to-eat foods at 
retailers that accept the Supplemental Nutrition 
Assistance Program (SNAP).
(4) The House of Representatives shall strive to provide 
robust Federal funding and resources to aggressively enforce 
fair housing and civil rights laws.
(5) The House of Representatives shall strive to 
permanently authorize the United States Interagency Council on 
Homelessness, an independent Federal agency within the 
executive branch that coordinates the Federal response to 
prevent and end homelessness.
(b) Low-Income Housing.--The House of Representatives shall strive 
to increase the availability of low-income housing by--
(1) funding the construction of permanent low-income 
housing to replenish all of the units that have been removed 
from the stock since 1978;
(2) fully funding subsidies to operate additional units to 
meet demand; and
(3) repealing the Faircloth Amendment to allow a net 
increase in the number of public housing units.
(c) Housing Choice Vouchers.--The House of Representatives shall 
strive to provide universal housing choice vouchers to all eligible 
households through the tenant-based ``section 8'' rental assistance 
program.
(d) Runaway and Homeless Youth and Trafficking Prevention Act 
Consolidated Programs.--The House of Representatives shall strive to 
reauthorize and provide at least $318,000,000 to the Runaway and 
Homeless Youth and Trafficking Prevention Act consolidated programs, 
including the street outreach program.
(e) Fair Housing Act Protections.--The House of Representatives 
shall strive to--
(1) bolster and enforce tenant protections against 
discrimination as described in the Fair Housing Act; and
(2) expand the Fair Housing Act to ban discrimination based 
on previous housing status, adverse effects of domestic 
violence, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, 
and source of income, particularly in shelters, transitional 
housing programs, permanent supportive housing initiatives, and 
rapid rehousing programs.
(f) Department of Housing and Urban Development Requirements.--The 
House of Representatives shall strive to require the Department of 
Housing and Urban Development to--
(1) develop policies, guidelines, and procedures for 
permanently eradicating the unhoused crisis by 2029;
(2) work in coordination with tenant advocates and 
community-based organizations to develop, implement, and 
enforce regulations that disrupt and reverse trends of 
neighborhood displacement, gentrification, and redlining that 
disproportionately impact communities of color, particularly 
Black and Brown communities;
(3) develop, implement, and enforce regulations to 
immediately remove barriers which prevent people with criminal 
backgrounds from accessing public housing, section 8 vouchers, 
and rental assistance programs;
(4) work in partnership with community-based organizations 
and advocates to bolster criminal justice reentry programs and 
wraparound services to prevent individuals from becoming 
unhoused postrelease;
(5) develop, implement, and enforce performance standards 
and regulations for immediately making all public shelters, 
transitional housing programs, and supportive services 
available 24 hours each day, and prohibit these programs from 
profiling unhoused individuals, denying services, and 
discriminating against individuals based on their medical 
conditions and treatments, gender identity, criminal 
background, immigration status, and other protected classes of 
the Fair Housing Act;
(6) work in coordination with the Department of Health and 
Human Services, the Health Resources and Services 
Administration, and related health agencies to provide 24-hour 
medical respite programs to cities, counties, Indian Tribal 
Governments, and States to allow unhoused people to fully 
recover from medical conditions or injuries without fear of 
premature discharge;
(7) develop and implement processes to prioritize funding 
allocations directly to grassroots and community-based 
organizations, as well as organizations led by impacted 
individuals who provide direct supportive and housing, medical, 
and emergency services to unhoused persons;
(8) develop and implement more accurate methods of counting 
unhoused individuals throughout the duration of the year, 
accounting for individuals residing inside of housing 
structures with family and friends, undocumented immigrants, 
unhoused individuals in jails, medical, and rehabilitation 
facilities, and those who experience temporary homelessness 
throughout the year;
(9) make the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) 
more comprehensive by implementing biennial gaps analyses to 
identify gaps in access to housing or services appropriate to 
meet the needs of unhoused persons and make recommendations to 
improve the system components that worsen the quality of life 
for unhoused persons, including--
(A) the accessibility of information and barriers 
to accessing existing housing resources and services;
(B) the geographic and physical location of 
programs within the respective region;
(C) the quality of outreach in identifying and 
targeting unhoused individuals and families for 
services;
(D) the ability of prevention services to prevent 
individuals from becoming unhoused in the first place; 
and
(E) the quality of access to supportive services 
and resources for unhoused persons in emergency 
shelters, transitional housing programs, permanent 
supportive housing, and rapid rehousing programs;
(10) develop policies and guidelines for implementing the 
new method of unhoused population measurement and gaps analyses 
and present a report to the Committee on Financial Services of 
the House of Representatives within 6 months of the enactment 
of this resolution;
(11) work in coordination with the Centers for Disease 
Control and Prevention to develop procedures to track and 
report the number of deaths directly caused by persons being 
unhoused in the United States;
(12) work in coordination with all Federal agencies that 
service unhoused people to designate federally subsidized 
shelters, libraries, social service providers, and other 
institutions as fixed addresses to be used by multiple unhoused 
people to receive mail, employment opportunities, and 
documents, and to vote and conduct all business in a manner 
similar to housed people;
(13) coordinate with the Department of Transportation and 
the National Parks Service to restrict the use of Federal 
funding on hostile architecture projects and to remove hostile 
architecture from all privately owned public spaces, public 
parks, trails, sidewalks, buildings, and transportation 
facilities;
(14) work in coordination with the Social Security 
Administration to develop guidance and regulations creating 
hardship exemptions for individuals who have difficulty 
obtaining Social Security documentation and benefits due to 
their housing status;
(15) coordinate with local community stakeholders, housing 
advocates, shelters, churches, and transitional housing 
programs to register and receive voting ballots for unhoused 
persons, in coordination with the Department of Health and 
Human Services and related social services;
(16) develop policies and guidelines for implementing 
evidence-based, nonpunitive strategies and practices to 
alleviate and end homelessness, including housing first and 
community-based services; and
(17) develop, implement, and enforce regulations to remove 
barriers and delays which prevent mixed-status immigrant 
families from accessing public housing, section 8 vouchers, and 
rental assistance programs;
(g) Public Health.--The House of Representatives shall strive to 
require the Department of Health and Human Services to declare the 
unhoused crisis a public health emergency and work in coordination with 
the Health Resources and Services Administration to immediately provide 
guidance to mitigate the compounding effects of the unhoused and public 
health crises, particularly as it relates to the COVID-19 pandemic, 
human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, 
hepatitis, tuberculosis, and other communicable diseases.
(h) Federal Grant Programs.--The House of Representatives shall 
strive to require Federal grant programs to establish guidelines for 
measuring direct impact to communities and holding grant awardees to 
the highest levels of community accountability, particularly in 
relation to the impact of the programs on unhoused persons 
disproportionately impacted by criminalization and discrimination.
(i) Law Enforcement Annual Statistics.--The House of 
Representatives shall--
(1) encourage law enforcement agencies to compile annual 
statistics showing the number of instances of physical violence 
against unhoused individuals, as well as citations, arrests, 
and other law enforcement activities, to track instances of 
criminalizing unhoused populations, including camp cleanups, 
vagrancy violations, sleeping in public, vehicle citations, 
street sweeps, and panhandling citations, and provide these 
annual statistics to the Department of Justice; and
(2) require the Department of Justice to compile the data 
and statistics provided by law enforcement agencies as 
incentivized in paragraph (1), and present an annual report to 
Congress.

SEC. 4. REPORTS TO CONGRESS.

The House of Representatives shall strive to require the Department 
of Justice, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the 
Department of Health and Human Services to coordinate with community 
advocates, policymakers, and unhoused people to develop guidelines, 
policies, and procedures for decriminalizing unhoused individuals and 
communities, and providing resources and direct services to unhoused 
communities, and make available a report to Congress within 6 months of 
the enactment of the relevant legislation.
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