Public Housing Emergency Response Act

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 679 To authorize additional monies to the Public Housing Capital Fund of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MARCH 10, 2021 Ms. WARREN (for herself, Mr. SANDERS, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. BOOKER, and Ms. SMITH) intro- duced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Com- mittee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs 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 01:46 Apr 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S679.IS S679 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 679 IS (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 (42 8 U.S.C. 1437 et seq.) charges the Department of 9 Housing and Urban Development (referred to in this 10 section as ‘‘HUD’’) with providing individuals with 11 a decent, safe, and affordable place to live, including 12 individuals who live in public housing. 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) In enacting the United States Housing Act 22 of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437 et seq.), Congress sought 23 to address the needs of low-income individuals 24 through public housing. At the time of enactment of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:46 Apr 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S679.IS S679 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 679 IS that Act, the housing stock of the United States was 1 of very poor quality. Public housing was a signifi- 2 cant improvement for individuals who had access to 3 it. 4 (7) However, over the years the living condi- 5 tions in public housing began to deteriorate as the 6 operational needs of the units and costs necessary to 7 remedy major capital deficiencies began to outpace 8 the level of funding provided by the Federal Govern- 9 ment and the rent contributions of residents. 10 (8) By 1990, no significant investment in hous- 11 ing affordable to the lowest-income individuals had 12 been made by the Federal Government in more than 13 30 years. 14 (9) In 1998, the enactment of the Quality 15 Housing and Work Responsibility Act of 1998 (title 16 V of Public Law 105–276; 112 Stat. 2518) prohib- 17 ited public housing authorities from using any Fed- 18 eral capital funding or operating funding to develop 19 net new housing. 20 (10) More than a decade after the enactment of 21 the Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act of 22 1998 (title V of Public Law 105–276; 112 Stat. 23 2518), the number of public housing units in the 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:46 Apr 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S679.IS S679 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 679 IS United States began to steadily decline, as more 1 units were torn down than rebuilt. 2 (11) With the exception of an infusion of fund- 3 ing from the economic stimulus legislation in 2009— 4 the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Pub- 5 lic Law 111–5; 123 Stat. 115)—Federal capital 6 funding has remained relatively level for more than 7 a decade, despite an increasing backlog in unmet 8 capital needs. 9 (12) Today, there are approximately 1,200,000 10 units of public housing across the United States re- 11 ceiving Federal funding. The largest public housing 12 authority in the United States, the New York City 13 Housing Authority, houses approximately 362,000 14 residents in 302 developments across New York 15 City. 16 (13) The Public Housing Capital Fund of the 17 Department of Housing and Urban Development re- 18 mains the primary source of funding public housing 19 authorities rely on to address necessary infrastruc- 20 ture upgrades and repairs. 21 (14) As of October 2019, the national public 22 housing capital repairs backlog was estimated to 23 stand at more than $70,000,000,000. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:46 Apr 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S679.IS S679 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 679 IS (15) Federal disinvestment in public housing 1 has forced many residents to live in accelerating sub- 2 standard living conditions. For example, the New 3 York City Housing Authority has a capital repair 4 backlog currently estimated at more than 5 $40,000,000,000. New York City Housing Authority 6 residents suffer from a consistent lack of hot water, 7 insufficient heat during the winter months, rodent 8 and insect infestations, broken elevators, and wide- 9 spread and recurring lead and mold problems. 10 (16) Substandard housing conditions, such as 11 poor ventilation, pest infestations, and water leaks, 12 are directly associated with the development and ex- 13 acerbation of respiratory diseases like asthma. 14 (17) The Centers for Disease Control and Pre- 15 vention has made clear that no level of lead poi- 16 soning is safe. Lead poisoning can result in irrevers- 17 ible brain damage and affects every major bodily 18 system. At high levels, lead poisoning can cause ane- 19 mia, multi-organ damage, seizures, coma, and death 20 in children. Even with the lowest levels of lead expo- 21 sure, children experience physical, cognitive, and 22 neurobehavioral impairment, as well as lower IQ lev- 23 els, lower class standing in high school, greater ab- 24 senteeism, lower vocabulary and grammatical-rea- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:46 Apr 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S679.IS S679 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 679 IS soning scores, and poorer hand-eye coordination rel- 1 ative to other children. 2 (18) Exposure to cold indoor temperatures is 3 associated with increased risk of cardiovascular dis- 4 ease. 5 (19) Due to its aging infrastructure, the living 6 conditions in public housing are causing severe 7 health consequences for public housing residents 8 throughout the United States, including asthma, res- 9 piratory illness, and elevated blood lead levels. 10 (20) For example, one leading study found that 11 children living in public housing have higher odds of 12 asthma than children living in all types of private 13 housing, even after adjusting for individual risk fac- 14 tors, including ethnicity and race, living in a low-in- 15 come household, and living in a low-income commu- 16 nity. 17 (21) The rise of the COVID–19 pandemic has 18 introduced a new level of risk into society in the 19 United States. 20 (22) Poor housing conditions have been linked 21 with worse health outcomes and infectious disease 22 spread. One leading study found that counties with 23 a higher percentage of households with poor housing 24 had a higher incidence of, and mortality associated 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:46 Apr 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S679.IS S679 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 679 IS with, COVID–19 and recommended targeted health 1 policies to support individuals living in poor housing 2 conditions in order to mitigate adverse outcomes as- 3 sociated with COVID–19. 4 (23) This is a fixable public health crisis. Fed- 5 eral disinvestment in public housing has con- 6 sequences, and aging infrastructure is, in many 7 cases, the root cause of many of the health issues 8 described in this section for residents. 9 (24) Therefore, it is necessary to reinvest in 10 public housing, provide the money needed to fulfill 11 outstanding capital needs, and to again ensure that 12 all people of the United States have a decent home 13 and suitable living environment, as is the charge of 14 HUD. 15 SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 16 There are authorized to be appropriated for assist- 17 ance from the Public Housing Capital Fund under section 18 9(d) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 19 1437g(d)) $70,000,000,000, which— 20 (1) shall remain available until expended; and 21 (2) notwithstanding subsections (c)(1) and 22 (d)(2) of such section 9, shall be allocated to public 23 housing agencies based on the extent of the capital 24 needs of those public housing agencies, as deter- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:46 Apr 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S679.IS S679 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 679 IS mined according to the most recent physical needs 1 assessment required under section 905.300(a) of 2 title 24, Code of Federal Regulations, of each public 3 housing agency. 4 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:46 Apr 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S679.IS S679 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS