Lead-Free Future Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 4416 To authorize the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to award grants to eligible entities to evaluate and reduce lead-based paint hazards, lead in drinking water hazards, and lead in soil hazards in pre-1978 residential real properties. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES SEPTEMBER 19, 2019 Mr. GOLDEN (for himself, Mr. QUIGLEY, Mr. KHANNA, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mr. ENGEL, and Ms. PINGREE) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committees on Energy and Commerce, and Veterans’ Affairs, for a pe- riod to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for con- sideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the com- mittee concerned A BILL To authorize the Secretary of Housing and Urban Develop- ment to award grants to eligible entities to evaluate and reduce lead-based paint hazards, lead in drinking water hazards, and lead in soil hazards in pre-1978 residential real properties. 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 ‘‘Lead-Free Future Act 4 of 2019’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:58 Sep 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4416.IH H4416 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 4416 IH SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 1 Congress finds as follows: 2 (1) Lead poisoning is an entirely preventable 3 environmental illness. 4 (2) The Centers for Disease Control and Pre- 5 vention has declared that there is no safe level of 6 lead, with even low-level exposure having lifelong 7 negative impacts on children. 8 (3) In 2012, the Centers for Disease Control 9 and Prevention determined that a concentration of 5 10 micrograms per deciliter (ug/dL) in blood is the ref- 11 erence level, at which it is recommended that public 12 health action be initiated. 13 (4) The American Academy of Pediatrics has 14 described lead exposure as ‘‘a causal risk factor for 15 diminished intellectual and academic abilities, higher 16 rates of neurobehavioral disorders such as hyper- 17 activity and attention deficits, and lower birth 18 weight in children.’’. 19 (5) Studies of children with a history of ele- 20 vated blood lead levels at or above 5ug/dL show the 21 impact over the course of their life, including dimin- 22 ished IQ scores, which lead to lower rates of high 23 school graduation, lower earning potential, and fewer 24 Quality-Adjusted Life Years. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:58 Sep 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4416.IH H4416 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 4416 IH (6) The Centers for Disease Control and Pre- 1 vention has found that children are at higher risk of 2 lead or lead exposure if they are low-income, a per- 3 son of color, or a recent immigrant, live in poorly 4 maintained rental properties, or have parents who 5 are exposed to lead at work. 6 (7) The primary sources of lead exposure are 7 dust from chipping and peeling paint found in pre- 8 1978 homes and water as a result of lead service 9 lines used to transport drinking water, although lead 10 has also been found in food, soil, jewelry, pottery, 11 and other consumer products. 12 (8) The Centers for Disease Control and Pre- 13 vention has found that about 23,000,000 housing 14 units, most of them built before 1960, have one or 15 more lead-based paint hazards, where young children 16 under age 6 are endangered by chipping or peeling 17 lead paint or excessive amounts of lead-contaminated 18 dust. 19 (9) According to the Centers for Disease Con- 20 trol and Prevention, there were over 88,000 new 21 cases of lead poisoning in the United States in 2016. 22 (10) A 2017 study by Pew Charitable Trust in- 23 dicates that removing lead-based paint hazards and 24 lead service lines from older housing with low-income 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:58 Sep 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4416.IH H4416 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 4416 IH children results in a combined return on investment 1 of $2.77 per dollar invested. 2 (11) The 2019 Interagency Task Force Lead 3 Action Plan found that a national strategy is re- 4 quired to holistically address lead hazards in hous- 5 ing, drinking water, and soil. 6 (12) The Federal Government has historically 7 had a role in assessing and correcting home health 8 hazards to support the national goal of providing de- 9 cent, safe, and sanitary housing for every family in 10 the United States. 11 (13) Standards for lead cleanup funding 12 should— 13 (A) align with Federal health and environ- 14 mental recommendations; and 15 (B) move all States to health-protective 16 lead exposure prevention and mitigation strate- 17 gies. 18 SEC. 3. LEAD CLEANUP GRANTS. 19 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Housing and 20 Urban Development (in this section referred to as the 21 ‘‘Secretary’’) shall award grants to eligible entities for the 22 purpose of evaluating and reducing lead-based paint haz- 23 ards, lead in drinking water hazards, and lead in soil haz- 24 ards in residential real properties constructed before 1978. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:58 Sep 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4416.IH H4416 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 4416 IH (b) ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS.—To be eligible to receive 1 a grant under this section, an entity shall be one of the 2 following: 3 (1) A State or local government that has an ap- 4 proved comprehensive housing affordability strategy 5 under section 105 of the Cranston-Gonzalez Na- 6 tional Affordable Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 12705). 7 (2) A State or local government that has pro- 8 duced a comprehensive plan or strategy to address 9 lead poisoning. 10 (3) A nonprofit organization that meets the fol- 11 lowing requirements: 12 (A) The nonprofit organization is a com- 13 munity-based social and human service organi- 14 zation that provides housing services. 15 (B) The nonprofit organization has a dem- 16 onstrated ability to provide, directly or through 17 a subgrantee, lead hazard control interventions. 18 (c) APPLICATIONS.—To seek a grant under this sec- 19 tion, an eligible entity shall submit an application in such 20 form and manner as the Secretary shall require. Any such 21 application shall contain— 22 (1) a description of the amount of assistance 23 the eligible entity seeks under this section; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:58 Sep 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4416.IH H4416 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •HR 4416 IH (2) a description of the planned activities to be 1 undertaken with the grant, including an estimate of 2 the amount of funds to be allocated to each activity; 3 (3) a description of the forms of financial as- 4 sistance that will be provided to owners and occu- 5 pants of pre-1978 housing through the grant; 6 (4) a demonstration that the jurisdiction, as re- 7 quired by section 5— 8 (A) has in effect a blood lead reference 9 level at or below the blood lead reference level 10 of the Centers for Disease Control and Preven- 11 tion; and 12 (B) requires an environmental investiga- 13 tion to identify environmental sources of lead 14 exposure in residential properties and childcare 15 facilities occupied by a child with an elevated 16 blood lead level; and 17 (5) such assurances as the Secretary may re- 18 quire regarding the eligible entity’s capacity to carry 19 out the activities to be funded through the grant. 20 (d) SELECTION CRITERIA.—The Secretary shall se- 21 lect grant recipients under this section on the basis of— 22 (1) the merit of the activities proposed to be 23 carried out; and 24 (2) selection criteria including— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:58 Sep 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4416.IH H4416 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •HR 4416 IH (A) the extent to which the proposed ac- 1 tivities will reduce the risk of lead poisoning 2 for— 3 (i) low-income children under 6 years 4 of age; and 5 (ii) pregnant women; 6 (B) the proportion of pre-1978 housing in 7 the area to be served using the grant; 8 (C) the number and percentage of homes 9 in the area to be served using the grant where 10 household income does not exceed 80 percent of 11 the area median income; 12 (D) the degree of severity, and the extent 13 of, lead-based paint hazards, lead in drinking 14 water hazards, and lead in soil hazards in the 15 area to be served, evaluated using data con- 16 cerning the housing age and conditions, lead 17 service line inventory, and incidence of elevated 18 blood lead levels according to the reference 19 blood lead level of the Centers for Disease Con- 20 trol and Prevention; 21 (E) the ability of the applicant to leverage 22 State, local, philanthropic, and private funds to 23 supplement the grant; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:58 Sep 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4416.IH H4416 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •HR 4416 IH (F) such other factors as the Secretary de- 1 termines appropriate to ensure that grants 2 made available awarded under this section are 3 used effectively in accordance with this section. 4 (e) ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES.—As a condition on receipt 5 of a grant under this section, a grantee shall agree to use 6 the grant to evaluate and reduce lead-based paint hazards 7 in residential real properties constructed before 1978, 8 which may include— 9 (1) performing lead inspections and risk assess- 10 ments in pre-1978 housing; 11 (2) providing for the remediation, abatement, 12 and replacement of, or otherwise addressing, lead- 13 based paint hazards in pre-1978 housing in accord- 14 ance with applicable State and municipal health and 15 housing regulations; 16 (3) providing for the additional cost of reducing 17 lead-based paint hazards in units undergoing renova- 18 tion funded by other sources; 19 (4) providing for the testing of drinking water, 20 and identifying lead service lines and leaded plumb- 21 ing fixtures, to identify lead hazards in drinking 22 water; 23 (5) providing for the replacement of lead service 24 lines, in communities where a water utility will or is 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:58 Sep 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4416.IH H4416 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •HR 4416 IH required to replace the utility-owned portion of the 1 lead service line; 2 (6) remediation of lead in soil; 3 (7) monitoring the blood lead levels of workers 4 involved in the lead-hazard reduction activities fund- 5 ed under this section; 6 (8) assisting in the temporary relocation of 7 families forced to vacate pre-1978 housing while 8 lead-hazard-reduction measures are being conducted, 9 if; 10 (9) educating the public on the nature and 11 causes of lead poisoning and measures to reduce the 12 exposure to lead, including exposure due to residen- 13 tial lead-based paint hazards; 14 (10) testing soil, paint, interior surface dust, 15 drinking water, and the blood lead levels of children 16 under 6 years of age, and pregnant women, residing 17 in pre-1978 housing after lead-based paint hazard 18 reduction activity has been conducted, to assure that 19 such activity does not cause excessive exposures to 20 lead; 21 (11) creating or expanding workforce develop- 22 ment, training, certification, and accreditation pro- 23 grams; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:58 Sep 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4416.IH H4416 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •HR 4416 IH (12) carrying out such activities as the Sec- 1 retary determines appropriate to promote the pur- 2 pose described in subsection (a). 3 (f) FORMS OF ASSISTANCE.—A recipient of a grant 4 under this section may use the grant to provide eligible 5 activities described in subsection (e) through a variety of 6 funding approaches, including subgrants, loans, equity in- 7 vestments, revolving loan funds, loan funds, loan guaran- 8 tees, interest write-downs, and other forms of assistance 9 approved by the Secretary for purposes of this section. 10 (g) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.—As a condition on 11 receipt of a grant under this section, a grantee shall agree 12 to make contributions toward the cost of activities funded 13 through the grant for a fiscal year in an amount that is 14 not less than 4 percent of the total amount of the grant 15 for such fiscal year. 16 (h) SUPPLEMENT NOT SUPPLANT.—As a condition 17 on receipt of a grant under this section, a grantee shall 18 agree to use amounts received through the grant to sup- 19 plement and not supplant funds used by the grantee for 20 eligible activities described in subsection (e). 21 (i) LIMITATION ON ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.— 22 As a condition on receipt of a grant under this section, 23 a grantee shall ensure that not more than 10 percent of 24 the grant is used for administrative expenses. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:58 Sep 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4416.IH H4416 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •HR 4416 IH (j) FINANCIAL RECORDS.—As a condition on receipt 1 of a grant under this section, a grantee shall agree to 2 maintain and provide the Secretary with financial records 3 sufficient, in the determination of the Secretary, to ensure 4 proper accounting and disbursing of amounts made avail- 5 able to the grantee through the grant. 6 (k) AFFORDABILITY MAINTENANCE.—As a condition 7 on receipt of a grant under this section, a grantee shall 8 agree to require the owner of any rental property receiving 9 assistance through the grant, for a period of 3 years after 10 lead remediation at the rental property pursuant to such 11 assistance, or throughout the term of any loan made to 12 the owner pursuant to the grant, whichever is longer— 13 (1) to maintain the affordability of rental units 14 at the rental property; and 15 (2) to continue to rent to families with one or 16 more children under 6 years of age or a pregnant 17 woman. 18 (l) REPORTS.—For any fiscal year in which a grantee 19 under this section expends funds received through the 20 grant, such grantee shall submit a report to the Secretary 21 on the use of the funds. For the respective fiscal year, 22 any such report shall at a minimum— 23 (1) specify the number and type of residential 24 housing units remediated of interior and exterior 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:58 Sep 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4416.IH H4416 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 •HR 4416 IH lead-based paint hazards, lead dust, lead service 1 lines, or leaded plumbing fixtures; an [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]