(a)
In general— Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development shall establish a policy providing that any information collected from an individual receiving housing assistance may only be exchanged with another agency or a third-party entity in order to verify that individual’s—
(1)
benefit eligibility; or
(2)
benefit determination.
(b)
Applicability to other agencies and third-Party entities— Any agency or third-party entity that receives information described in subsection (a) from the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development may not use the information for any purpose other than the purposes described in subsection (a).
(c)
Exceptions— This section does not apply to—
(1)
the sharing of deidentified information between HUD and other agencies or third-party entities for statistical or research purposes; or
(2)
the sharing of data as part of an ongoing criminal investigation, or to prevent an imminent threat to life.
(d)
Definition— For purposes of this section, the term housing assistance means—
(1)
Federal financial assistance under section 9 of the United States Housing Act of 1937; or
(2)
tenant-based or project-based rental assistance under section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937.
(e)
Rule of construction— Nothing in this section may be construed to permit the sharing of information for the purpose of civil enforcement of the immigration laws (as such term is defined in section 101 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (
8 U.S.C. 1101)).