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[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 5318 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>

118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 5318

 To direct the Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the heads of 
 certain agencies and organizations, to conduct a study on the health 
  effects of indoor residential mold growth in military unaccompanied 
   housing or other housing on military installations, and for other 
                               purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           November 14, 2024

 Mr. Blumenthal (for himself and Mr. Murphy) introduced the following 
   bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed 
                                Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
 To direct the Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the heads of 
 certain agencies and organizations, to conduct a study on the health 
  effects of indoor residential mold growth in military unaccompanied 
   housing or other housing on military installations, and for other 
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Healthy at Home on Base Act of 
2024''.

SEC. 2. ELIMINATION OF INDOOR RESIDENTIAL MOLD IN HOUSING OF DEPARTMENT 
              OF DEFENSE.

    (a) Study and Report on Health Impacts of Indoor Residential 
Mold.--
            (1) Study.--
                    (A) In general.--As soon as practicable after the 
                date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 
                Defense, in consultation with the Assistant Secretary 
                of Defense for Health Affairs, the Secretary of Housing 
                and Urban Development, the Director of the Centers for 
                Disease Control and Prevention, the Administrator of 
                the Environmental Protection Agency, the Secretary of 
                Energy, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the 
                President of the National Academy of Sciences, and the 
                Chair of the board of directors of the National 
                Institute of Building Sciences shall conduct a 
                comprehensive study on the health effects of indoor 
                residential mold growth in military unaccompanied 
                housing or other housing on military installations, 
                using the most up-to-date scientific peer-reviewed 
                medical literature.
                    (B) Elements.--The study conducted under 
                subparagraph (A) shall ascertain--
                            (i) detailed information about harmful or 
                        toxigenic mold that may impact the military 
                        departments and individuals living on military 
                        installations, as well as any toxin or toxic 
                        compound such mold can produce;
                            (ii) the most accurate research-based 
                        methods of detecting harmful or toxigenic mold;
                            (iii) potential dangers of prolonged or 
                        chronic exposure to indoor residential mold 
                        growth in residential areas on military 
                        installations;
                            (iv) the hazards involved with inadequate 
                        mold inspections on military installations and 
                        improper indoor residential mold remediation in 
                        military unaccompanied housing;
                            (v) the estimated current public health 
                        burden of new or exacerbated physical illness 
                        resulting from exposure to indoor residential 
                        mold and the effect of such exposure on the 
                        military departments and quality of life for 
                        members of the Armed Forces, including with 
                        respect to readiness of the Armed Forces and 
                        the impact on children in military families;
                            (vi) improved understanding of the 
                        different health symptomology that can result 
                        from exposure to mold in indoor residential 
                        environments on military installations, 
                        including military unaccompanied housing;
                            (vii) ongoing surveillance of the 
                        prevalence of idiopathic pulmonary hemorrhage 
                        in infants living on military installations; 
                        and
                            (viii) longitudinal studies on the effects 
                        of indoor mold exposure in early childhood on 
                        the development of asthma and other respiratory 
                        illnesses of children living on military 
                        installations.
            (2) Report.--
                    (A) In general.--Not later than three years after 
                the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 
                Defense shall submit to Congress and the President a 
                report that contains the results of the study conducted 
                under paragraph (1).
                    (B) Form.--The report required by subparagraph (A) 
                shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may 
                include a classified index.
    (b) Health, Safety, and Habitability Standards and Model 
Standards.--
            (1) Model standards for preventing, detecting, and 
        remediating indoor residential mold growth.--Based on the 
        results of the interagency health study conducted under 
        subsection (a), the Secretary of Defense, in consultation with 
        the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, the 
        Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, the Director of the 
        Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Assistant 
        Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health, the 
        Secretary of Energy, the Executive Director of the National 
        Institute of Building Sciences, and the President of the 
        National Academy of Sciences shall, in accordance with section 
        12(d) of the National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act 
        of 1995 (Public Law 104-113; 15 U.S.C. 272 note), jointly issue 
        model health, safety, and habitability standards for 
        preventing, detecting, and remediating indoor residential mold 
        growth on military installations, including--
                    (A) model residential mold inspection standards for 
                military unaccompanied housing;
                    (B) model indoor residential mold remediation 
                standards for military installations;
                    (C) standards for testing the toxicity of indoor 
                residential mold and any toxin or toxic compound 
                produced by indoor residential mold on military 
                installations;
                    (D) health and safety standards for the protection 
                of those inspecting for and remediating mold in housing 
                on military installations;
                    (E) standards for indoor residential mold testing 
                labs that serve military installations;
                    (F) model ventilation standards for the design, 
                installation, and maintenance of air ventilation or 
                air-conditioning systems in housing on military 
                installations to prevent indoor residential mold growth 
                or the creation of conditions that foster indoor mold 
                growth in housing on military installations; and
                    (G) model building code standards for housing on 
                military installations to control moisture and prevent 
                mold growth.
            (2) Consultation.--To the maximum extent possible, model 
        standards issued under paragraph (1) shall be developed with 
        the assistance of--
                    (A) organizations that develop mold and water 
                damage standards and work with military installations;
                    (B) organizations involved in establishing national 
                building construction standards and work with military 
                installations;
                    (C) organizations involved in improving indoor air 
                quality;
                    (D) public health advocates that serve the military 
                community; and
                    (E) health and medical professionals that serve 
                members of the Armed Forces and their families, 
                including practitioners that care for children of 
                members of the Armed Forces.
            (3) Resiliency.--Model standards issued under paragraph (1) 
        shall take into account geographic diversity, propensity for 
        extreme weather or flooding, and other resiliency metrics 
        impacting military housing.
            (4) Deadlines.--
                    (A) Public review and comment.--The officials 
                identified in paragraph (1) shall make draft standards 
                issued under such paragraph available for public review 
                and comment not later than 90 days prior to publication 
                of the final standards pursuant to subparagraph (B).
                    (B) Publication.--Not later than three years after 
                the date on which the results of the study conducted 
                under subsection (a) are submitted to Congress in 
                accordance with such subsection, the officials 
                identified in paragraph (1) shall issue, and make 
                available to the public, final standards under this 
                subsection.
            (5) Review and updates.--The officials identified in 
        paragraph (1) shall--
                    (A) review the model standards issued under this 
                subsection not less frequently than once every five 
                years based on the latest scientific advances and 
                published studies relating to indoor residential mold 
                growth; and
                    (B) update such standards as necessary to preserve 
                and improve the quality of housing on military 
                installations and prevent the displacement of those 
                currently living on military installations.
    (c) Construction Requirements for New Housing on Military 
Installations.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary of Defense, in consultation 
        with the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, the 
        Executive Director of the National Institute of Building 
        Sciences, and the President of the National Academy of 
        Sciences, to the extent such Director and President agree to 
        participate, shall develop model construction standards and 
        techniques for preventing and controlling indoor residential 
        mold in new residential properties on military installations.
            (2) Contents.--The model standards and techniques developed 
        under paragraph (1) shall provide for geographic differences in 
        construction types and materials, geology, weather, and other 
        variables that may affect indoor residential mold levels in new 
        buildings and on various military installations.
            (3) Consultation.--To the maximum extent possible, model 
        standards and techniques shall be developed under paragraph (1) 
        with the assistance of--
                    (A) organizations involved in establishing national 
                building construction standards and techniques, 
                especially organizations that do that work on military 
                installations;
                    (B) organizations that develop mold and water 
                damage standards on military installations; and
                    (C) public health advocates that serve the military 
                community.
            (4) Publication.--
                    (A) Draft standards and techniques.--The Secretary 
                of Defense shall make a draft of the document 
                containing the model standards and techniques developed 
                under paragraph (1) available for public review and 
                comment.
                    (B) Final standards and techniques.--The Secretary 
                shall make the final model standards and techniques 
                developed under paragraph (1) available to the public 
                not later than one year after the date of the enactment 
                of this Act.
            (5) Applicability to new construction and rehabilitation.--
        Not later than one year after the publication of the final 
        model standards and techniques required by paragraph (4)(B), 
        the Secretary of Defense shall include such model standards and 
        techniques as a requirement for residential rehabilitation or 
        new construction projects conducted by the Department of 
        Defense with amounts appropriated to the Department.
    (d) Education for Military Health Professionals.--The Secretary of 
Defense shall include education for military health professions on 
mold-related illness, including signs and symptoms of toxigenic mold 
exposure, in recurring training received by miliary health 
practitioners at such time and in such manner as the Secretary chooses.
    (e) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Indoor residential mold.--The term ``indoor residential 
        mold'' means any form of multi-cellular fungi found in water-
        damaged indoor environments and building materials, including 
        cladosporium, penicillium, alternaria, aspergillus, fusarium, 
        trichoderma, memnoniella, mucor, stachybotrys chartarum, 
        streptomyces, and epicoccumoften.
            (2) Military installation.--The term ``military 
        installation'' has the meaning given the term in section 
        2801(c) of title 10, United States Code.
            (3) Military unaccompanied housing.--The term ``military 
        unaccompanied housing'' has the meaning given that term in 
        section 2871 of title 10, United States Code.
            (4) Toxigenic mold.--The term ``toxigenic mold'' means any 
        indoor mold growth that may be capable of producing a toxin or 
        toxic compound, including mycotoxins and microbial volatile 
        organic compounds, that can cause pulmonary, respiratory, 
        neurological, gastrointestinal, or dermatological illnesses, or 
        other major adverse health impacts, as determined by the 
        Secretary of Defense in consultation with the Director of the 
        National Institutes of Health, the Secretary of Housing and 
        Urban Development, the Administrator of the Environmental 
        Protection Agency, and the Director of the Centers for Disease 
        Control and Prevention.
                                 <all>
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