# 119-s-5534: Building and Maintaining Homeless Shelters Act

119-s-5534, Building and Maintaining Homeless Shelters Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Smith, Tina [D-MN] (D-MN); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-11).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5534
- As of: 2026-10-11
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-5534
- Congress: 119
- Title: Building and Maintaining Homeless Shelters Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2026-09-24
- Sponsor: Sen. Smith, Tina [D-MN] (D-MN)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Policy area: Housing and Community Development
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-10-11

## Summary

**Would create a HUD competitive grant program to build shelters and permanent supportive housing.** This bill would fund construction, rehabilitation, acquisition, and other capital projects aimed at preventing, responding to, and ending homelessness, and set rules for who may apply and how awards are distributed. - Families and people experiencing homelessness: Prioritizes projects serving families, youth, victims of violence, LGBTQ+ people, and especially Black, Indigenous, and people of color. Awards must allocate 50% to shelters and 50% to permanent supportive housing to expand both short-term and long-term options. - Tribal and rural communities: Requires at least 5% of funds for tribal governments or tribally designated housing entities and at least 40% for projects located in rural areas. That channels a large share of funding to underserved geographies and tribal partners. - Eligible applicants and project rules: Allows State and local governments, Indian tribal governments, tribally designated housing entities, public housing agencies, and 501(c)(3) nonprofits to apply and excludes individuals, foreign entities, and sole proprietorships. Grants limit administrative costs to 10% and require domestic content and prevailing wage rules while covering capital uses like motel-to-shelter conversions, energy upgrades, day centers, and mobile clinics. *Would authorize $500 million annually from 2027 through 2031, totaling $2.5 billion in authorized funding.*

## Provisions PRIA read

- More shelter and supportive housing: benefit, medium. If enacted, HUD would run a competitive grant program to build and repair shelters and permanent supportive housing. The bill would authorize $500 million each year for fiscal years 2027 through 2031. Half of each year’s money would go to shelters and half to permanent supportive housing. At least…
- Rules for grant uses and wages: benefit, low. If enacted, grant funds would be used mainly for capital costs like construction, rehabilitation, acquisition, and property for new shelters or supportive housing. Grants could also pay for energy upgrades, mobile health clinics, day centers, rapid rehousing, safe parking, non‑congregate shelters (…
- Who can apply and housing rules: benefit, low. If enacted, the bill would define who can get grants and what counts as permanent or permanent supportive housing. Eligible applicants would include State and local governments, Indian tribal governments, tribally designated housing entities, public housing agencies, and 501(c)(3) nonprofit organiz…

## Related bills

- 119-s-5071: Children's Safe Welcome Act of 2026
- 119-s-5022: Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act
- 119-s-2819: Head Start for America's Children Act
- 119-s-5283: Momnibus Act
- 119-s-1507: Agriculture Resilience Act of 2025
- 119-s-3990: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026

## Sources
- [119-s-5534 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/5534)

## Related
- [119-s-5071: Children's Safe Welcome Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5071)
- [119-s-5022: Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5022)
- [119-s-2819: Head Start for America's Children Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2819)
- [119-s-5283: Momnibus Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5283)
- [119-s-1507: Agriculture Resilience Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1507)
- [119-s-3990: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3990)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5534 (as of 2026-10-11).