Federal Bill Bans Urban Camping, Conditions Grants on Local Enforcement, and Ends 'Housing First' Policies

This legislation, titled the “Ending Crime and Disorder on America’s Streets Act,” aims to radically overhaul how the federal government addresses visible homelessness and public disorder. The core of the bill does two major things: it bans urban camping and squatting on all federal property, and it uses federal grants to force state and local governments to adopt similar bans and enforcement measures.

Specifically, the bill prohibits anyone from using temporary outdoor shelters—like tents, tarps, or vehicles—as primary living accommodations for more than 24 hours on federal land, including national parks and forests. More significantly, it ties the hands of local governments: if a state or city wants to receive funding from the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program (a major source of federal law enforcement money), they must enforce similar prohibitions on public property within their jurisdictions. Essentially, if your city wants federal help funding its police department, it has to actively crack down on street encampments.

The $2.5 Billion Carrot: Step-Down Treatment Facilities

While the bill focuses heavily on prohibition, it does come with a significant investment in treatment infrastructure. It authorizes $500 million annually for five years—a total of $2.5 billion—for grants to establish and operate “step-down treatment facilities.” These facilities are designed to provide structured, phased care for unhoused individuals who are displaced by the new camping bans. Grant money can be used for construction, mental health and substance abuse treatment, job training, and operational costs. For organizations that run treatment centers, this is a massive potential funding stream, provided they align with the bill’s institutional approach.

Prioritizing Commitment Over Housing

One of the most consequential shifts in this bill is its attack on existing federal homelessness policy. The legislation explicitly mandates that the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) must end support for “housing first” policies. These are the policies that prioritize getting unhoused people into stable housing immediately, without preconditions like sobriety or mandatory treatment. Instead, the bill requires organizations receiving federal housing assistance to make substance abuse or mental health treatment a condition of program participation for those who need it (Section 6). For the thousands of individuals currently housed under the “housing first” model, this change could mean programs lose funding or are forced to drastically change their requirements, potentially leading to program closures or evictions.

Furthermore, the bill directs the Attorney General to actively seek to reverse federal or state court precedents and terminate consent decrees that currently “hinder” the civil commitment of unhoused individuals (Section 3). Civil commitment is the legal process of involuntarily placing someone in institutional care. This is a direct challenge to existing legal protections and could open the door for states to more easily commit people who are deemed “incapable of caring for themselves,” potentially leading to costly legal battles and an increase in institutionalization.

Targeting Harm Reduction and Grant Priorities

The bill also tightens the reins on certain types of public health programs. It ensures that discretionary grants from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) cannot fund programs deemed to be “harm reduction or safe consumption efforts” if they fail to achieve “adequate outcomes” (Section 5). This directly impacts organizations that operate safe consumption sites or distribute clean needles and other supplies, potentially cutting off their federal funding entirely. Moreover, the Attorney General is directed to prioritize federal grants for states and cities that actively enforce laws against illicit drug use, urban camping, loitering, and squatting, and that use civil commitment to address unhoused individuals (Section 4).

Finally, the bill introduces significant new data collection requirements for organizations receiving federal homelessness funding. It allows or requires these organizations to collect health-related information from assisted persons and, critically, requires them to share that data with law enforcement authorities “in circumstances permitted by law” (Section 6). While the stated purpose is connecting people to care, the provision allowing data sharing with law enforcement raises major privacy concerns for vulnerable populations and could discourage people from seeking assistance if they fear their health information will be used against them.