What This Bill Does
This bill authorizes Congress to approve a large sum of money for the Public Housing Capital Fund, which provides funding to fix and improve public housing across the country. The money will be distributed to local public housing authorities based on how much repair work each authority needs, according to their most recent Physical Needs Assessment (an official evaluation of what repairs are required).
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Who It Affects
• Public housing residents across the country
• Local public housing authorities that manage public housing units
• The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
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Key Provisions
• Congress authorizes a specific amount of money to the Public Housing Capital Fund under the United States Housing Act of 1937 for assistance to public housing authorities (Sec. 3)
• The money will remain available to be used until it is spent and will be distributed based on each public housing agency's capital need as determined by their most recent Physical Needs Assessment (Sec. 3)
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What Changes
If this becomes law, public housing authorities will receive funding to address infrastructure upgrades and repairs based on their documented capital repair needs rather than other distribution methods.
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Important Definitions
• Public Housing Capital Fund: the primary source of money that public housing authorities use to pay for necessary infrastructure upgrades and repairs
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Effective Date
Not specified in bill text
I
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 307
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 11, 2023
Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ (for herself, Mr. GOLDMAN of New York, Mr. MEEKS, Mr.
TORRES of New York, Ms. MENG, Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ, Mr. ESPAILLAT,
Mr. NADLER, Mr. BOWMAN, and Ms. CLARKE of New York) introduced
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Serv-
ices
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:
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•HR 307 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
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•HR 307 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
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•HR 307 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-
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•HR 307 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
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•HR 307 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
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•HR 307 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
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