DOWNPAYMENT ASSISTANCE.

SEC. 301. DOWNPAYMENT ASSISTANCE. (a) Amendments.—Section 8(y) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(y)) is amended— (1) by redesignating paragraph (7) as paragraph (8); and (2) by inserting after paragraph (6) the following new paragraph: “(7) Downpayment assistance.— “(A) Authority.—A public housing agency may, in lieu of providing monthly assistance payments under this subsection on behalf of a family eligible for such assistance and at the discretion of the public housing agency, provide assistance for the family in the form of a single grant to be used only as a contribution toward the downpayment required in connection with the purchase of a dwelling for fiscal year 2000 and each fiscal year thereafter to the extent provided in advance in appropriations Acts. “(B) Amount.—The amount of a downpayment grant on behalf of an assisted family may not exceed the amount that is equal to the sum of the assistance payments that would be made during the first year of assistance on behalf of the family, based upon the income of the family at the time the grant is to be made.”. (b) Effective Date.—The amendments made by subsection (a) shall take effect immediately after the amendments made by 114 STAT. 2953 section 555(c) of the Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act of 1998 take effect pursuant to such section.