Unhoused Persons Bill of Rights

Key Points

• This House resolution declares the U.S. should end the homelessness crisis by 2029 and lays out 19 specific rights for unhoused people, including the right to housing, healthcare, livable wages, internet access, voting, and the ability to use public spaces without harassment or arrest.
• The resolution calls for redirecting $168 billion from the defense budget to permanently end homelessness, plus $148.4 billion every five years for public housing repairs and $42.4 billion annually for a national housing trust fund to build affordable homes for the lowest-income households.
• It pushes to stop criminalizing homelessness by protecting the right to sleep in public spaces, panhandle, and live in vehicles without being ticketed, fined, or arrested. It also shields third parties who hand out food or clothing to unhoused people from legal penalties.
• The resolution seeks to remove barriers that keep people with criminal records, undocumented immigrants, and mixed-status families from accessing public housing, Section 8 vouchers, and rental assistance programs.
• As a House resolution (not a bill), this measure is nonbinding. It expresses the "sense of the House" and does not carry the force of law, meaning none of the spending, rights, or program changes it describes would actually take effect even if adopted.