Public Housing Emergency Response Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 235 To authorize additional monies to the Public Housing Capital Fund of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JANUARY 6, 2021 Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ (for herself, Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Ms. MENG, Mr. NADLER, Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. JEFFRIES, Miss RICE of New York, and Mr. SUOZZI) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Fi- nancial Services A BILL To authorize additional monies to the Public Housing Capital Fund of the Department of Housing and Urban Develop- ment, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Public Housing Emer- 4 gency Response Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 The Congress finds the following: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:34 Feb 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H235.IH H235 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 235 IH (1) Housing is a foundational determinant of 1 health and has been recognized as such since the 2 early days of public health. 3 (2) Poor housing conditions contribute to a 4 broad range of infectious diseases, chronic diseases, 5 injuries, childhood development complications, nutri- 6 tion issues, and mental health challenges. 7 (3) The United States Housing Act of 1937 8 (Public Law 75–412) charges the Department of 9 Housing and Urban Development (HUD) with pro- 10 viding residents with a decent, safe, and affordable 11 place to live, including those that live in public hous- 12 ing. 13 (4) While public housing is a federally created 14 program overseen by HUD, the properties are owned 15 and managed at the local level by quasi-govern- 16 mental public housing authorities under contract 17 with the Federal Government. 18 (5) Thus, the public housing program is gov- 19 erned in part by Federal rules and regulations and 20 in part by policies enacted at the local level. 21 (6) Passage of the United States Housing Act 22 of 1937 sought to address the needs of low-income 23 people through public housing. At the time of pas- 24 sage of such Act, the Nation’s housing stock was of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:34 Feb 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H235.IH H235 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 235 IH very poor quality. Public housing was a significant 1 improvement for those who had access to it. 2 (7) However, over the years the living condi- 3 tions in public housing began to deteriorate as the 4 operational needs of the units and costs necessary to 5 remedy major capital deficiencies began to outpace 6 the level of funding provided by the Federal Govern- 7 ment and the residents’ rent contributions. 8 (8) By 1990, no significant investment in hous- 9 ing affordable to the lowest-income individuals had 10 been made by the Federal Government in more than 11 30 years. 12 (9) In 1998, the enactment of the Quality 13 Housing and Work Responsibility Act of 1998 (title 14 V of Public Law 105–276) prohibited public housing 15 authorities from using any Federal capital funding 16 or operating funding to develop net new housing. 17 (10) More than a decade after the enactment of 18 the Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act of 19 1998, the number of public housing units nationally 20 began to steadily decline, as more units were torn 21 down than rebuilt. 22 (11) With the exception of an infusion of fund- 23 ing from the economic stimulus legislation in 2009— 24 the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Pub- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:34 Feb 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H235.IH H235 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 235 IH lic Law 111–5)—Federal capital funding has re- 1 mained relatively level for more than a decade, de- 2 spite an increasing backlog in unmet capital needs. 3 (12) Today, there are approximately 1.2 million 4 units of public housing across the country receiving 5 Federal funding. The Nation’s largest public housing 6 authority, the New York City Public Housing Au- 7 thority, houses approximately 362,000 residents in 8 302 developments across New York City. 9 (13) The Public Housing Capital Fund of the 10 Department of Housing and Urban Development re- 11 mains the primary source of funding public housing 12 authorities rely on to address necessary infrastruc- 13 ture upgrades and repairs. 14 (14) As of October 2019, the national public 15 housing capital repairs backlog was estimated to 16 stand at more than $70 billion. 17 (15) Federal disinvestment in public housing 18 has forced many residents to live in accelerating sub- 19 standard living. For example, the New York City 20 Housing Authority has a capital repair backlog cur- 21 rently estimated at more than $40 billion. New York 22 City Housing Authority residents suffer from a con- 23 sistent lack of hot water, insufficient heat during the 24 winter months, rodent and insect infestations, bro- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:34 Feb 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H235.IH H235 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 235 IH ken elevators, and widespread and recurring lead 1 and mold problems. 2 (16) Substandard housing conditions, such as 3 poor ventilation, pest infestations, and water leaks, 4 are directly associated with the development and ex- 5 acerbation of respiratory diseases like asthma. 6 (17) The Centers for Disease Control and Pre- 7 vention has made clear that no level of lead poi- 8 soning is safe. Lead poisoning can result in irrevers- 9 ible brain damage and affects every major bodily 10 system. At high levels, lead poisoning can cause ane- 11 mia, multi-organ damage, seizures, coma, and death 12 in children. Even with the lowest levels of lead expo- 13 sure, children experience physical, cognitive, and 14 neurobehavioral impairment as well as lower IQ lev- 15 els, lower class standing in high school, greater ab- 16 senteeism, lower vocabulary and grammatical-rea- 17 soning scores, and poorer hand-eye coordination rel- 18 ative to other children. 19 (18) Exposure to cold indoor temperatures is 20 associated with increased risk of cardiovascular dis- 21 ease. 22 (19) Due to its aging infrastructure, the living 23 conditions in public housing are causing severe 24 health consequences for public housing residents 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:34 Feb 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H235.IH H235 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 235 IH throughout the Nation, including asthma, res- 1 piratory illness, and elevated blood lead levels. 2 (20) For example, one leading study found that 3 children living in public housing have higher odds of 4 asthma than children living in all types of private 5 housing, even after adjusting for individual risk fac- 6 tors such as minority ethnicity and race, living in a 7 low-income household, and living in a low-income 8 community. 9 (21) The rise of the COVID-19 pandemic has 10 introduced a new level of risk into our society. 11 (22) Poor housing conditions have been linked 12 with worse health outcomes and infectious disease 13 spread. One leading study found that counties with 14 a higher percentage of households with poor housing 15 had a higher incidence of, and mortality associated 16 with, COVID-19 and recommended targeted health 17 policies to support individuals living in poor housing 18 conditions in order to mitigate adverse outcomes as- 19 sociated with COVID-19. 20 (23) This is a fixable public health crisis. Fed- 21 eral disinvestment in public housing has con- 22 sequences and aging infrastructure is, in many 23 cases, the root cause of many of these health issues 24 for residents. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:34 Feb 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H235.IH H235 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 235 IH (24) Therefore, it is necessary to reinvest in 1 public housing, provide the money needed to fulfill 2 outstanding capital needs, and to again ensure that 3 all Americans have a decent home and suitable living 4 environment, as is HUD’s charge. 5 SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 6 There is authorized to be appropriated for assistance 7 from the Public Housing Capital Fund under section 9(d) 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 9 1437g(d)) $70,000,000,000, which amount shall remain 10 available until expended and, notwithstanding subsections 11 (c)(1) and (d)(2) of such section 9, shall be allocated to 12 public housing agencies based upon the extent of such 13 agencies’ capital need, as determined according to the 14 agencies’ most recent Physical Needs Assessment. 15 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:34 Feb 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H235.IH H235 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS