H.R. 2475 — Youth Homelessness Guaranteed Income Pilot Program Act of 2025

This section states congressional findings on youth and young adult homelessness, including that an estimated 4.2 million youth and young adults experience homelessness annually; that such individuals face barriers such as systemic racism, age discrimination, and scarce affordable housing; that Black, Indigenous, and other youth of color experience poverty at higher rates (1 in 5 prior to COVID-19, versus 1 in 9 for young White people) and employment barriers exacerbated by the pandemic; that full-time minimum-wage earners cannot afford a 2-bedroom apartment anywhere in the United States; and that economic shifts—including the gig economy, automation, and wage fluctuations—increase income volatility and hinder upward mobility.

This section defines 14 terms for purposes of the Act, including (1) appropriate congressional committees (i.e., specified committees in the House and Senate); (2) certified community development financial institution (i.e., a community development financial institution, as defined in 12 U.S.C. 4702, certified by the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund); (3) Council (i.e., the National Youth Economic Advisory Council); (10) pilot program (i.e., the Youth Homelessness Guaranteed Income Pilot Program); and (13) Secretary (i.e., the Secretary of Health and Human Services). Other defined terms include database, fair market rent, historically marginalized communities, homeless, low-income geographic area, payment-receiving group, program payment, racial and ethnic minority group, and socially disadvantaged group.

This section establishes the Youth Homelessness Guaranteed Income Pilot Program to provide housing assistance, services, and cash payments to up to 105,000 homeless emancipated minors and individuals aged 18 to under 30 years old, selected from a new database to be representative of homeless youth demographics in low-income areas (citizenship and immigration status are impermissible selection factors). Within two years of enactment, the Secretary must (1) create and verify a database of homeless individuals using data from McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11301 et seq.) recipients as recommended by the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness, including only eligibility and administration information (excluding citizenship, immigration status, or Social Security numbers) and submit a report to Congress on the process; and (2) develop selection criteria in coordination with the Council and an external partner. For 36 consecutive months, the Secretary provides all participants with housing navigation services, financial coaching, workforce development services, educational attainment services, landlord-tenant law education, referrals to McKinney-Vento-funded assistance, and additional recommended services; participants are randomly divided into two equal groups, with one group receiving monthly cash payments equal to the greater of $1,400 or the adjusted fair market rent for a two-bedroom home in the participant's ZIP code (lump-sum payment permitted for up to half of the first year's amount). (As background, the McKinney-Vento Act funds grants and services to address the homelessness crisis, including for vulnerable subpopulations such as families with children and veterans.)

This section directs the Secretary, in coordination with an external partner selected within 270 days of enactment, to conduct a study on the effects of the pilot program. The study must analyze the program's impacts on participants' housing outcomes, microeconomic outcomes, physical and mental health and well-being, and social costs of income volatility and homelessness (including government expenditures on health, education, employment, and childcare services); and evaluate the feasibility of expanding the program or using direct cash transfers to reduce homelessness nationwide. (The external partner must have expertise in mixed-methods experimental design, cash-transfer programs, and randomized controlled trials; the Secretary may compensate personnel at up to the GS-12, step 5 hourly equivalent and require employment of certain qualified individuals.) The external partner must recommend study criteria and additional objectives and collect data under the Secretary's oversight. The Secretary must submit to the appropriate congressional committees (1) an interim report within 24 months after pilot program services commence and (2) a final report within 12 months after pilot program services conclude.

This section establishes the National Youth Economic Advisory Council to provide recommendations to the Secretary on a homeless youth pilot program, including (1) sources of information and McKinney-Vento Act regulations for identifying and listing homeless individuals in a participant database; (2) selection criteria consistent with homeless demographics; (3) forms of assistance for participants; (4) modifications to fair market cost calculations; and (5) program administration and study objectives. (As background, the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act authorizes federal programs to address homelessness, emphasizing vulnerable groups such as families with children, veterans, and Native Americans.) The Council comprises 11 members appointed by the Secretary—a chair representing the Secretary, representatives from specified national nonprofit, research, advocacy, and financial organizations, plus designees from HUD and Education—augmented by three database-listed individuals not selected for the pilot; members receive GS-14, step 10 daily pay (except full-time federal employees), travel expenses, staff details from relevant departments, and must meet at least quarterly subject to a Federal Advisory Committee Act-like charter.