A bill to improve the point-in-time count conducted by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and for other purposes.

The bill would require the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to mandate an annual point-in-time count of homeless individuals during the last 10 days of April each year, using standardized homeless management information system (HMIS) tools for data collection. It affects recipients of HUD homeless assistance funding, requiring them to participate in the annual count, conduct supplemental counts without needing additional authorization, maintain year-round HMIS updates, and collect midpoint HMIS data to track trends and inform planning. The bill also directs HUD to provide technical assistance and training—especially for rural and resource-limited communities—establish standardized reporting requirements, submit annual compliance reports to Congress, and allows funding flexibility for HMIS-related training, while mandating a GAO study within one year to evaluate and recommend improvements to the count’s methodology and consistency.