II 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2053 

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide a tax credit for 

property owners who remove lead-based paint hazards. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 18, 2005 

Mrs. CLINTON (for herself, Mr. DEWINE, Mr. OBAMA, and Mr. SMITH) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance 

A BILL 

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide 

a tax credit for property owners who remove lead-based 

paint hazards. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; FINDINGS; PURPOSE. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Home Lead Safety Tax Credit Act of 2005’’. 

6 (b) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that: 

7 (1) Of the 98,000,000 housing units in the 

8 United States, 38,000,000 have lead-based paint. 
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1 (2) Of the 38,000,000 housing units with lead2 based paint, 25,000,000 pose a hazard, as defined 

3 by Environmental Protection Agency and Depart4 ment of Housing and Urban Development standards, 

5 due to conditions such as peeling paint and settled 

6 dust on floors and windowsills that contain lead at 

7 levels above Federal safety standards. 

8 (3) Though the number of children in the 

9 United States ages 1 through 5 with blood levels 

10 higher than the Centers for Disease Control action 

11 level of 10 micrograms per deciliter has declined to 

12 300,000, lead poisoning remains a serious, entirely 

13 preventable threat to a child’s intelligence, behavior, 

14 and learning. 

15 (4) The Secretary of Health and Human Serv16 ices has established a national goal of ending child17 hood lead poisoning by 2010. 

18 (5) Current Federal lead abatement programs, 

19 such as the Lead Hazard Control Grant Program of 

20 the Department of Housing and Urban Develop21 ment, only have resources sufficient to make ap22 proximately 7,000 homes lead-safe each year. In 

23 many cases, when State and local public health de24 partments identify a lead-poisoned child, resources 

25 are insufficient to reduce or eliminate the hazards. 
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1 (6) Old windows typically pose significant risks 

2 because wood trim is more likely to be painted with 

3 lead-based paint, moisture causes paint to deterio4 rate, and friction generates lead dust. The replace5 ment of old windows that contain lead based paint 

6 significantly reduces lead poisoning hazards in addi7 tion to producing significant energy savings. 

8 (7) Childhood lead poisoning can be dramati9 cally reduced by the abatement or complete removal 

10 of all lead-based paint. Empirical studies also have 

11 shown substantial reductions in lead poisoning when 

12 the affected properties have undergone so-called ‘‘in13 terim control measures’’ that are far less costly than 

14 abatement. 

15 (c) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to en16 courage the safe removal of lead hazards from homes and 

17 thereby decrease the number of children who suffer re18 duced intelligence, learning difficulties, behavioral prob19 lems, and other health consequences due to lead-poisoning. 

20 SEC. 2. HOME LEAD HAZARD REDUCTION ACTIVITY TAX 

21 CREDIT. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart B of part IV of sub23 chapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 

24 1986 (relating to foreign tax credit, etc.) is amended by 

25 adding at the end the following new section: 
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1 ‘‘SEC. 30D. HOME LEAD HAZARD REDUCTION ACTIVITY. 

2 ‘‘(a) ALLOWANCE OF CREDIT.—There shall be al3 lowed as a credit against the tax imposed by this chapter 

4 for the taxable year an amount equal to 50 percent of the 

5 lead hazard reduction activity cost paid or incurred by the 

6 taxpayer during the taxable year for each eligible dwelling 

7 unit. 

8 ‘‘(b) LIMITATION.—The amount of the credit allowed 

9 under subsection (a) for any eligible dwelling unit for any 

10 taxable year shall not exceed— 

11 ‘‘(1) either— 

12 ‘‘(A) $3,000 in the case of lead hazard re13 duction activity cost including lead abatement 

14 measures described in clauses (i), (ii), (iv) and 

15 (v) of subsection (c)(1)(A), or 

16 ‘‘(B) $1,000 in the case of lead hazard re17 duction activity cost including interim lead con18 trol measures described in clauses (i), (iii), (iv), 

19 and (v) of subsection (c)(1)(A), reduced by 

20 ‘‘(2) the aggregate lead hazard reduction activ21 ity cost taken into account under subsection (a) with 

22 respect to such unit for all preceding taxable years. 

23 ‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS AND SPECIAL RULES.—For pur24 poses of this section: 

25 ‘‘(1) LEAD HAZARD REDUCTION ACTIVITY

26 COST.— 
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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘lead hazard 

2 reduction activity cost’ means, with respect to 

3 any eligible dwelling unit— 

4 ‘‘(i) the cost for a certified risk asses5 sor to conduct an assessment to determine 

6 the presence of a lead-based paint hazard, 

7 ‘‘(ii) the cost for performing lead 

8 abatement measures by a certified lead 

9 abatement supervisor, including the re10 moval of paint and dust, the permanent 

11 enclosure or encapsulation of lead-based 

12 paint, the replacement of painted surfaces, 

13 windows, or fixtures, or the removal or 

14 permanent covering of soil when lead-based 

15 paint hazards are present in such paint, 

16 dust, or soil, 

17 ‘‘(iii) the cost for performing interim 

18 lead control measures to reduce exposure 

19 or likely exposure to lead-based paint haz20 ards, including specialized cleaning, re21 pairs, maintenance, painting, temporary 

22 containment, ongoing monitoring of lead23 based paint hazards, and the establishment 

24 and operation of management and resident 

25 education programs, but only if such meas-
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1 ures are evaluated and completed by a cer2 tified lead abatement supervisor using ac3 cepted methods, are conducted by a quali4 fied contractor, and have an expected use5 ful life of more than 10 years, 

6 ‘‘(iv) the cost for a certified lead 

7 abatement supervisor, those working under 

8 the supervision of such supervisor, or a 

9 qualified contractor to perform all prepara10 tion, cleanup, disposal, and clearance test11 ing activities associated with the lead 

12 abatement measures or interim lead con13 trol measures, and 

14 ‘‘(v) costs incurred by or on behalf of 

15 any occupant of such dwelling unit for any 

16 relocation which is necessary to achieve oc17 cupant protection (as defined under section 

18 35.1345 of title 24, Code of Federal Regu19 lations). 

20 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—The term ‘lead hazard 

21 reduction activity cost’ does not include any 

22 cost to the extent such cost is funded by any 

23 grant, contract, or otherwise by another person 

24 (or any governmental agency). 

25 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE DWELLING UNIT.— 
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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘eligible 

2 dwelling unit’ means, with respect to any tax3 able year, any dwelling unit— 

4 ‘‘(i) placed in service before 1960, 

5 ‘‘(ii) located in the United States, 

6 ‘‘(iii) in which resides, for a total pe7 riod of not less than 50 percent of the tax8 able year, at least 1 child who has not at9 tained the age of 6 years or 1 woman of 

10 child-bearing age, and 

11 ‘‘(iv) each of the residents of which 

12 during such taxable year has an adjusted 

13 gross income of less than 185 percent of 

14 the poverty line (as determined for such 

15 taxable year in accordance with criteria es16 tablished by the Director of the Office of 

17 Management and Budget). 

18 ‘‘(B) DWELLING UNIT.—The term ‘dwell19 ing unit’ has the meaning given such term by 

20 section 280A(f)(1). 

21 ‘‘(3) LEAD-BASED PAINT HAZARD.—The term 

22 ‘lead-based paint hazard’ has the meaning given 

23 such term by section 745.61 of title 40, Code of 

24 Federal Regulations. 
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1 ‘‘(4) CERTIFIED LEAD ABATEMENT SUPER2 VISOR.—The term ‘certified lead abatement super3 visor’ means an individual certified by the Environ4 mental Protection Agency pursuant to section 

5 745.226 of title 40, Code of Federal Regulations, or 

6 an appropriate State agency pursuant to section 

7 745.325 of title 40, Code of Federal Regulations. 

8 ‘‘(5) CERTIFIED INSPECTOR.—The term ‘cer9 tified inspector’ means an inspector certified by the 

10 Environmental Protection Agency pursuant to sec11 tion 745.226 of title 40, Code of Federal Regula12 tions, or an appropriate State agency pursuant to 

13 section 745.325 of title 40, Code of Federal Regula14 tions. 

15 ‘‘(6) CERTIFIED RISK ASSESSOR.—The term 

16 ‘certified risk assessor’ means a risk assessor cer17 tified by the Environmental Protection Agency pur18 suant to section 745.226 of title 40, Code of Federal 

19 Regulations, or an appropriate State agency pursu20 ant to section 745.325 of title 40, Code of Federal 

21 Regulations. 

22 ‘‘(7) QUALIFIED CONTRACTOR.—The term 

23 ‘qualified contractor’ means any contractor who has 

24 successfully completed a training course on lead safe 

25 work practices which has been approved by the De-
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1 partment of Housing and Urban Development and 

2 the Environmental Protection Agency. 

3 ‘‘(8) DOCUMENTATION REQUIRED FOR CREDIT

4 ALLOWANCE.—No credit shall be allowed under sub5 section (a) with respect to any eligible dwelling unit 

6 for any taxable year unless— 

7 ‘‘(A) after lead hazard reduction activity is 

8 complete, a certified inspector or certified risk 

9 assessor provides written documentation to the 

10 taxpayer that includes— 

11 ‘‘(i) evidence that— 

12 ‘‘(I) the eligible dwelling unit 

13 passes the clearance examinations re14 quired by the Department of Housing 

15 and Urban Development under part 

16 35 of title 40, Code of Federal Regu17 lations, 

18 ‘‘(II) the eligible dwelling unit 

19 does not contain lead dust hazards (as 

20 defined by section 745.227(e)(8)(viii) 

21 of such title 40), or 

22 ‘‘(III) the eligible dwelling unit 

23 meets lead hazard evaluation criteria 

24 established under an authorized State 

25 or local program, and 
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1 ‘‘(ii) documentation showing that the 

2 lead hazard reduction activity meets the 

3 requirements of this section, and 

4 ‘‘(B) the taxpayer files with the appro5 priate State agency and attaches to the tax re6 turn for the taxable year— 

7 ‘‘(i) the documentation described in 

8 subparagraph (A), 

9 ‘‘(ii) documentation of the lead hazard 

10 reduction activity costs paid or incurred 

11 during the taxable year with respect to the 

12 eligible dwelling unit, and 

13 ‘‘(iii) a statement certifying that the 

14 dwelling unit qualifies as an eligible dwell15 ing unit for such taxable year. 

16 ‘‘(9) BASIS REDUCTION.—The basis of any 

17 property for which a credit is allowable under sub18 section (a) shall be reduced by the amount of such 

19 credit (determined without regard to subsection (d)). 

20 ‘‘(10) NO DOUBLE BENEFIT.—Any deduction 

21 allowable for costs taken into account in computing 

22 the amount of the credit for lead-based paint abate23 ment shall be reduced by the amount of such credit 

24 attributable to such costs. 
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1 ‘‘(d) LIMITATION BASED ON AMOUNT OF TAX.—The 

2 credit allowed under subsection (a) for the taxable year 

3 shall not exceed the excess of— 

4 ‘‘(1) the sum of the regular tax liability (as de5 fined in section 26(b)) plus the tax imposed by sec6 tion 55, over 

7 ‘‘(2) the sum of the credits allowable under sub8 part A and sections 27, 29, 30, 30A, 30B, and 30C 

9 for the taxable year. 

10 ‘‘(e) CARRYFORWARD ALLOWED.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If the credit amount allow12 able under subsection (a) for a taxable year exceeds 

13 the amount of the limitation under subsection (d) 

14 for such taxable year (referred to as the ‘unused 

15 credit year’ in this subsection), such excess shall be 

16 allowed as a credit carryforward for each of the 20 

17 taxable years following the unused credit year. 

18 ‘‘(2) RULES.—Rules similar to the rules of sec19 tion 39 shall apply with respect to the credit 

20 carryforward under paragraph (1).’’. 

21 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

22 (1) Section 1016(a) of the Internal Revenue 

23 Code of 1986 is amended by striking ‘‘and’’ in para24 graph (36), by striking the period and inserting ‘‘, 
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1 and’’ in paragraph (37), and by inserting at the end 

2 the following new paragraph: 

3 ‘‘(38) in the case of an eligible dwelling unit 

4 with respect to which a credit for any lead hazard 

5 reduction activity cost was allowed under section 

6 30D, to the extent provided in section 30D(c)(9).’’. 

7 (2) The table of sections for subpart B of part 

8 IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 of such Code is 

9 amended by inserting after the item relating to sec10 tion 30C the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 30D. Home lead hazard reduction activity.’’. 

11 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

12 this section shall apply to lead hazard reduction activity 

13 costs incurred after December 31, 2005, in taxable years 

14 ending after that date. 

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