I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 235 

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 6, 2021 

Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ (for herself, Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York, Mr. 

ESPAILLAT, Ms. MENG, Mr. NADLER, Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ, Ms. CLARKE

of New York, Mr. JEFFRIES, Miss RICE of New York, and Mr. SUOZZI) 

introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services 

A BILL 

To authorize additional monies to the Public Housing Capital 

Fund of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and for other purposes. 

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. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Public Housing Emer5 gency Response Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) Housing is a foundational determinant of 

2 health and has been recognized as such since the 

3 early days of public health. 

4 (2) Poor housing conditions contribute to a 

5 broad range of infectious diseases, chronic diseases, 

6 injuries, childhood development complications, nutri7 tion issues, and mental health challenges. 

8 (3) The United States Housing Act of 1937 

9 (Public Law 75–412) charges the Department of 

10 Housing and Urban Development (HUD) with pro11 viding residents with a decent, safe, and affordable 

12 place to live, including those that live in public hous13 ing. 

14 (4) While public housing is a federally created 

15 program overseen by HUD, the properties are owned 

16 and managed at the local level by quasi-govern17 mental public housing authorities under contract 

18 with the Federal Government. 

19 (5) Thus, the public housing program is gov20 erned in part by Federal rules and regulations and 

21 in part by policies enacted at the local level. 

22 (6) Passage of the United States Housing Act 

23 of 1937 sought to address the needs of low-income 

24 people through public housing. At the time of pas25 sage of such Act, the Nation’s housing stock was of 


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1 very poor quality. Public housing was a significant 

2 improvement for those who had access to it. 

3 (7) However, over the years the living condi4 tions in public housing began to deteriorate as the 

5 operational needs of the units and costs necessary to 

6 remedy major capital deficiencies began to outpace 

7 the level of funding provided by the Federal Govern8 ment and the residents’ rent contributions. 

9 (8) By 1990, no significant investment in hous10 ing affordable to the lowest-income individuals had 

11 been made by the Federal Government in more than 

12 30 years. 

13 (9) In 1998, the enactment of the Quality 

14 Housing and Work Responsibility Act of 1998 (title 

15 V of Public Law 105–276) prohibited public housing 

16 authorities from using any Federal capital funding 

17 or operating funding to develop net new housing. 

18 (10) More than a decade after the enactment of 

19 the Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act of 

20 1998, the number of public housing units nationally 

21 began to steadily decline, as more units were torn 

22 down than rebuilt. 

23 (11) With the exception of an infusion of fund24 ing from the economic stimulus legislation in 2009— 

25 the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (PubVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:34 Feb 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H235.IH H235

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1 lic Law 111–5)—Federal capital funding has re2 mained relatively level for more than a decade, de3 spite an increasing backlog in unmet capital needs. 

4 (12) Today, there are approximately 1.2 million 

5 units of public housing across the country receiving 

6 Federal funding. The Nation’s largest public housing 

7 authority, the New York City Public Housing Au8 thority, houses approximately 362,000 residents in 

9 302 developments across New York City. 

10 (13) The Public Housing Capital Fund of the 

11 Department of Housing and Urban Development re12 mains the primary source of funding public housing 

13 authorities rely on to address necessary infrastruc14 ture upgrades and repairs. 

15 (14) As of October 2019, the national public 

16 housing capital repairs backlog was estimated to 

17 stand at more than $70 billion. 

18 (15) Federal disinvestment in public housing 

19 has forced many residents to live in accelerating sub20 standard living. For example, the New York City 

21 Housing Authority has a capital repair backlog cur22 rently estimated at more than $40 billion. New York 

23 City Housing Authority residents suffer from a con24 sistent lack of hot water, insufficient heat during the 

25 winter months, rodent and insect infestations, broVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:34 Feb 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H235.IH H235

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1 ken elevators, and widespread and recurring lead 

2 and mold problems. 

3 (16) Substandard housing conditions, such as 

4 poor ventilation, pest infestations, and water leaks, 

5 are directly associated with the development and ex6 acerbation of respiratory diseases like asthma. 

7 (17) The Centers for Disease Control and Pre8 vention has made clear that no level of lead poi9 soning is safe. Lead poisoning can result in irrevers10 ible brain damage and affects every major bodily 

11 system. At high levels, lead poisoning can cause ane12 mia, multi-organ damage, seizures, coma, and death 

13 in children. Even with the lowest levels of lead expo14 sure, children experience physical, cognitive, and 

15 neurobehavioral impairment as well as lower IQ lev16 els, lower class standing in high school, greater ab17 senteeism, lower vocabulary and grammatical-rea18 soning scores, and poorer hand-eye coordination rel19 ative to other children. 

20 (18) Exposure to cold indoor temperatures is 

21 associated with increased risk of cardiovascular dis22 ease. 

23 (19) Due to its aging infrastructure, the living 

24 conditions in public housing are causing severe 

25 health consequences for public housing residents 


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1 throughout the Nation, including asthma, res2 piratory illness, and elevated blood lead levels. 

3 (20) For example, one leading study found that 

4 children living in public housing have higher odds of 

5 asthma than children living in all types of private 

6 housing, even after adjusting for individual risk fac7 tors such as minority ethnicity and race, living in a 

8 low-income household, and living in a low-income 

9 community. 

10 (21) The rise of the COVID-19 pandemic has 

11 introduced a new level of risk into our society. 

12 (22) Poor housing conditions have been linked 

13 with worse health outcomes and infectious disease 

14 spread. One leading study found that counties with 

15 a higher percentage of households with poor housing 

16 had a higher incidence of, and mortality associated 

17 with, COVID-19 and recommended targeted health 

18 policies to support individuals living in poor housing 

19 conditions in order to mitigate adverse outcomes as20 sociated with COVID-19. 

21 (23) This is a fixable public health crisis. Fed22 eral disinvestment in public housing has con23 sequences and aging infrastructure is, in many 

24 cases, the root cause of many of these health issues 

25 for residents. 


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1 (24) Therefore, it is necessary to reinvest in 

2 public housing, provide the money needed to fulfill 

3 outstanding capital needs, and to again ensure that 

4 all Americans have a decent home and suitable living 

5 environment, as is HUD’s charge. 

6 SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

7 There is authorized to be appropriated for assistance 

8 from the Public Housing Capital Fund under section 9(d) 

9 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 

10 1437g(d)) $70,000,000,000, which amount shall remain 

11 available until expended and, notwithstanding subsections 

12 (c)(1) and (d)(2) of such section 9, shall be allocated to 

13 public housing agencies based upon the extent of such 

14 agencies’ capital need, as determined according to the 

15 agencies’ most recent Physical Needs Assessment. 

Æ 


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