H.R. 6174 — Ending Crime and Disorder on America’s Streets Act

This section states the purpose of the Act to protect public safety by restoring civil commitment procedures, fighting vagrancy, and redirecting federal resources toward effective methods of addressing homelessness, including institutional treatment in hospitals or asylums for individuals adjudged insane or otherwise unable to care for themselves.

This section directs the Attorney General, in consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, to (1) seek reversal of Federal or State judicial precedents and termination of consent decrees that impede civil commitment of unhoused individuals; and (2) provide assistance to State and local governments through technical guidance, grants, or other legally available means to identify, adopt, and implement flexible civil commitment, institutional treatment, and step-down treatment standards for such individuals.

This section directs the Attorney General (AG), Secretary of Health and Human Services, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, and Secretary of Transportation to assess their respective discretionary grant programs and determine whether priorities may be given to grantees in states and municipalities that enforce (1) prohibitions on illicit drug use in public places; (2) prohibitions on urban camping and loitering; (3) prohibitions on urban squatting; (4) standards addressing unhoused individuals through assisted outpatient treatment, civil commitment, or placement in treatment centers or facilities; and (5) Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA) requirements, including for sex offenders with no fixed address. It further directs the AG to (1) ensure evaluation under 18 U.S.C. §4248 (i.e., civil commitment proceedings for sexually dangerous persons in federal custody) of unhoused individuals arrested for federal crimes, with certification if appropriate; (2) make available funds from the Emergency Federal Law Enforcement Assistance Program (34 U.S.C. §50101 et seq.) for encampment removals where public safety is at risk and state/local resources are inadequate; (3) assess federal resources to prevent release of detainees with serious mental illness due to insufficient forensic bed capacity; and (4) enhance requirements for prisons and residential reentry centers under AG authority or funding to include in-custody housing release plans with maximum practicable compliance.

This section directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to (1) ensure that discretionary grants issued by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) for substance use disorder prevention, treatment, and recovery fund evidence-based programs and exclude those failing to achieve adequate outcomes, including harm reduction or safe consumption efforts; (2) provide technical assistance to HHS-administered assisted outpatient treatment programs for unhoused individuals with serious mental illness or addiction during and after civil commitment proceedings under 18 U.S.C. §4246 (i.e., federal commitment of persons in Bureau of Prisons custody posing a substantial risk of harm due to mental disease or defect), with a focus on securing private housing and support networks; and (3) ensure that federal funds for federally qualified health centers and certified community behavioral health clinics prioritize comprehensive services, including crisis intervention, to reduce homelessness among individuals with serious mental illness or substance use disorder. The section further requires the HHS Secretary to coordinate with the Attorney General and other agencies to facilitate the transfer of eligible persons to mental hospitals or asylums, including those returned from foreign countries who have been adjudged insane.

This section directs the Secretaries of Health and Human Services and Housing and Urban Development to increase accountability in their respective homelessness and transitional living assistance programs by (1) ending support for "housing first" policies, (2) broadening the applicant pool to increase grantee competition, and (3) holding grantees to higher standards of effectiveness in reducing homelessness and increasing public safety. This section directs the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to require recipients of federal housing and homelessness assistance to condition participation on substance abuse treatment or mental health services for individuals with substance use disorders or serious mental illness; review recipients operating drug injection or "safe consumption sites," distributing drug paraphernalia, or permitting illicit drug use or distribution on their property for violations of the crack house statute (21 U.S.C. 856)—which prohibits maintaining premises for unlawful manufacturing, distribution, or use of controlled substances, punishable by up to 20 years imprisonment and fines up to $500,000 (or $2 million for non-individuals)—and, with the Attorney General, freeze assistance as appropriate; permit federally funded programs to exclusively house women and children and bar sex offenders receiving assistance from being housed with unrelated children; and collect or require collection of specified health-related information from participants for program operation, sharing with law enforcement as permitted by law, and connecting individuals to medical or public health resources.

This section defines four terms for purposes of the Act: (1) step-down treatment as a structured, phased approach to transition unhoused individuals requiring medical intervention from intensive care to less intensive, community-based or outpatient services to promote recovery, stability, and self-sufficiency; (2) unhoused individual as one who poses risks to themselves or the public or is living on the streets and cannot care for themselves or be sheltered in an appropriate facility for 3 consecutive months or longer; (3) urban camping as any temporary outdoor shelter—including tents, tarps, bedding, or vehicles—used for sleeping or residing for over 24 hours in a single location on public or private property not designated for recreational use, where such shelter serves as a primary living accommodation rather than transient recreation; and (4) urban squatting as the unauthorized occupation or use of vacant or abandoned buildings, structures, or land by individuals or groups.