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[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9303 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 9303
To amend subtitle B of title IV of the McKinney-Vento Homelessness
Assistance Act to establish supplemental severe weather emergency
solutions grants, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 11, 2026
Mr. Thanedar introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Financial Services
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend subtitle B of title IV of the McKinney-Vento Homelessness
Assistance Act to establish supplemental severe weather emergency
solutions grants, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Building Local Access for Needs in
Key Emergency Temperatures Act'' or the ``BLANKET Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) Severe weather events including severe storms, heat
waves, severe winter storms, flooding, wildfires, and cold
snaps present serious risks to people experiencing
homelessness.
(2) Temporarily increasing emergency shelter capacity
during severe weather periods will prevent injury, reduce harm,
and reduce strain on emergency medical services and hospitals.
(3) Targeted Federal funding is necessary to protect life,
prevent illness, and support State and local efforts to respond
to emergencies.
SEC. 3. SUPPLEMENTAL SEVERE WEATHER EMERGENCY SOLUTIONS GRANTS.
Subtitle B of title IV of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance
Act (42 U.S.C. 11371 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the
following:
``SEC. 419. SUPPLEMENTAL SEVERE WEATHER EMERGENCY SOLUTIONS GRANTS.
``(a) In General.--The Secretary shall not later than 1 year after
the date of the enactment of this section establish a competitive grant
program to award supplemental severe weather emergency solutions grants
(in this section referred to as `grants') to eligible entities to
expand and improve the capacity of emergency shelters available during
periods of severe weather.
``(b) Application.--To receive a grant under this section, an
eligible entity shall submit an application to the Secretary at such
time and in such manner as the Secretary may require that includes--
``(1) a description of the population to be served by the
grant project and anticipated severe weather events, including
past weather patterns and any relevant research data;
``(2) data demonstrating a need for expanded emergency
shelter services related to severe weather events, including
the extent of unsheltered homelessness and weather-related
risks in the area to be served by the eligible entity;
``(3) a plan to expand shelter capacity in the area to be
served by the eligible entity during severe weather events; and
``(4) a plan to coordinate with emergency management,
public health, and local service providers to make use of grant
funds to provide emergency shelter and related services to
homeless individuals during severe weather events.
``(c) Selection Criteria.--When awarding grants under this section,
the Secretary shall consider--
``(1) the degree of need for emergency homelessness shelter
and related services in the area to be served by the eligible
entity, including the extent of unsheltered homelessness in
such area;
``(2) the demonstrated capacity, if any, of the eligible
entity to deploy emergency shelters during severe weather;
``(3) past performance of the eligible entity under
programs authorized under this title;
``(4) past coordination with local emergency response
systems by the eligible entity; and
``(5) expected measurable benefits in health expenditures,
injury, and loss of life to the community served by the
eligible entity relative to costs of the activities proposed to
be undertaken with grant amounts by the eligible entity.
``(d) Use of Amounts.--Amounts from grants provided under this
section may be used--
``(1) to temporarily expand emergency shelter capacity,
including seasonal warming and cooling centers;
``(2) to finance vouchers for non-congregate shelter at
hotels, motels, and comparable facilities;
``(3) to finance shelter staffing, shelter security
personnel, overtime compensation, sanitation, utilities, and
necessary transportation involved in severe weather response;
``(4) to purchase emergency supplies and equipment,
including water, heating and cooling equipment, generators, air
filtration, and emergency medical support; and
``(5) such other uses as determined appropriate by the
Secretary.
``(e) Application of Other Requirements.--Any recipient of amounts
under this section shall be required to comply with all requirements
established under this subtitle, or any rule issued under this
subtitle, that apply to recipients to recipients of grants under this
subtitle.
``(f) GAO Report.--The Comptroller General of the United States
shall, not later than 5 years after the date of the enactment of this
section, submit a report to Congress that evaluates the effectiveness
of the grants provided under this section and shall include information
about--
``(1) people served by emergency shelters funded using
amounts provided under this section;
``(2) barriers to implementation of the grant program
established under this section; and
``(3) services used by people requiring emergency homeless
shelter and related services during periods of severe weather
during which amounts provided under this section are utilized.
``(g) Authorization of Appropriations.--In addition to amounts
otherwise available, there is authorized to be appropriated
$750,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2027 through 2029 for the purpose
of offering supplemental Emergency Solutions Grants addressing severe
weather emergencies.
``(h) Eligible Entity Defined.--In this section, the term `eligible
entity' means--
``(1) a State;
``(2) a unit of general local government;
``(3) a nonprofit organization;
``(4) a public housing agency;
``(5) or any combination of the types of entities listed in
paragraphs (1) through (6).''.
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