II 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1658 

To establish the Council on Healthy Housing, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 10, 2009 

Mr. REED (for himself, Mr. JOHANNS, Mrs. BOXER, Mr. MERKLEY, and Mr. 

FRANKEN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs 

A BILL 

To establish the Council on Healthy Housing, 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 ‘‘Healthy Housing 

5 Council Act of 2009’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) In the United States— 

9 (A) 5,700,000 households live in homes 

10 with moderate or severe physical hazards; 


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1 (B) 23,000,000 homes have significant 

2 lead-based paint hazards; 

3 (C) 8,700,000 homes have had leaks in the 

4 last 12 months; 

5 (D) 6,000,000 homes have had signs of 

6 mice in the last 3 months; and 

7 (E) 1 in 15 homes have dangerous levels of 

8 radon. 

9 (2) Residents of housing that is poorly de10 signed, constructed, or maintained are at risk for 

11 cancer, carbon monoxide poisoning, burns, falls, ro12 dent bites, childhood lead poisoning, asthma, and 

13 other illnesses and injuries. Vulnerable subpopula14 tions, such as children and the elderly, are at ele15 vated risk for housing-related illnesses and injuries. 

16 (3) Because substandard housing typically 

17 poses the greatest risks, the disparities in the dis18 tribution of housing-related health hazards are strik19 ing. One million two hundred thousand housing 

20 units with significant lead-based paint hazards house 

21 low-income families with children under 6 years of 

22 age. 

23 (4) Housing-related illnesses, including asthma 

24 and lead poisoning, disproportionately affect children 

25 from lower-income families and from specific racial 


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1 and ethnic groups. In 2005, 13 percent of Black 

2 children were reported to have asthma, as compared 

3 with 9 percent of both Hispanic and White children. 

4 Black children are twice as likely to die from resi5 dential injuries as White children, and 3 percent of 

6 Black children and 2 percent of Mexican-American 

7 children have elevated blood lead levels, as compared 

8 to only 1.3 percent of White children. 

9 (5) The annual costs for environmentally attrib10 utable childhood diseases in the United States, in11 cluding lead poisoning, asthma, and cancer, total 

12 $54,900,000,000. This amount is approximately 3 

13 percent of total health care costs. 

14 (6) Appropriate housing design, construction, 

15 and maintenance, timely correction of deficiencies, 

16 planning efforts, and low-cost preventative measures 

17 can reduce the incidence of serious injury or death, 

18 improve the ability of residents to survive in the 

19 event of a major catastrophe, and contribute to over20 all well-being and mental health. Housing units that 

21 are kept lead-safe are approximately 25 percent less 

22 likely to have another child with elevated blood lead 

23 levels. Properly installed and maintained smoke 

24 alarms reduce the risk of fire deaths by 50 percent. 


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1 (7) Providing healthy housing to families and 

2 individuals in the United States will help prevent an 

3 estimated 240,000 elevated blood lead levels in 

4 young children, 11,000 unintentional injury deaths, 

5 12,000,000 nonfatal injuries, 3,000 deaths in house 

6 fires, 14,000 burn injuries, and 21,000 radon-associ7 ated lung cancer deaths that occur in United States 

8 housing each year, as well as 20,000,000 asthma 

9 cases and 14,000,000 missed school days. 

10 (8) While there are many programs in place to 

11 address housing-related health hazards, these pro12 grams are fragmented and spread across many agen13 cies, making it difficult for at-risk families and indi14 viduals to access assistance or to receive comprehen15 sive information. 

16 (9) Better coordination among Federal agencies 

17 is needed, as is better coordination at State and 

18 local levels, to ensure that families and individuals 

19 can access government programs and services in an 

20 effective and efficient manner. 

21 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

22 In this Act, the following definitions shall apply: 

23 (1) COUNCIL.—The term ‘‘Council’’ means the 

24 Interagency Council on Healthy Housing established 

25 under section 4. 


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1 (2) HOUSING.—The term ‘‘housing’’ means any 

2 form of residence, including rental housing, home3 ownership, group home, or supportive housing ar4 rangement. 

5 (3) HEALTHY HOUSING.—The term ‘‘healthy 

6 housing’’ means housing that is designed, con7 structed, rehabilitated, and maintained in a manner 

8 that supports the health of the occupants of such 

9 housing. 

10 (4) HOUSING-RELATED HEALTH HAZARD.—The 

11 term ‘‘housing-related health hazard’’ means any bi12 ological, physical, or chemical source of exposure or 

13 condition either in, or immediately adjacent to, hous14 ing, that can adversely affect human health. 

15 (5) LOW-INCOME FAMILIES AND INDIVID16 UALS.—The term ‘‘low-income families and individ17 uals’’ means any household or individual with an in18 come at or below 200 percent of the Federal poverty 

19 line. 

20 (6) POVERTY LINE.—The term ‘‘poverty line’’ 

21 means the official poverty line defined by the Office 

22 of Management and Budget based on the most re23 cent data available from the Bureau of the Census. 

24 (7) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘program’’ includes 

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1 ing or financial assistance, health care, mortgages, 

2 bond and tax financing, homebuyer support courses, 

3 financial education, mortgage insurance or loan 

4 guarantees, housing counseling, supportive services, 

5 energy assistance, or other assistance related to 

6 healthy housing. 

7 (8) SERVICE.—The term ‘‘service’’ includes 

8 public and environmental health services, housing 

9 services, energy efficiency services, human services, 

10 and any other services needed to ensure that fami11 lies and individuals in the United States have access 

12 to healthy housing. 

13 SEC. 4. INTERAGENCY COUNCIL ON HEALTHY HOUSING. 

14 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the ex15 ecutive branch an independent council to be known as the 

16 Interagency Council on Healthy Housing. 

17 (b) OBJECTIVES.—The objectives of the Council are 

18 as follows: 

19 (1) To promote the supply of and demand for 

20 healthy housing in the United States through capac21 ity building, technical assistance, education, and 

22 public policy. 

23 (2) To promote coordination and collaboration 

24 among the Federal departments and agencies in25 volved with housing, public health, energy efficiency, 


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1 emergency preparedness and response, and the envi2 ronment to improve services for families and individ3 uals residing in inadequate or unsafe housing and to 

4 make recommendations about needed changes in 

5 programs and services with an emphasis on— 

6 (A) maximizing the impact of existing pro7 grams and services by transitioning the focus of 

8 such programs and services from categorical ap9 proaches to comprehensive approaches that con10 sider and address multiple housing-related 

11 health hazards; 

12 (B) reducing or eliminating areas of over13 lap and duplication in the provision and accessi14 bility of such programs and services; 

15 (C) ensuring that resources, including as16 sistance with capacity building, are targeted to 

17 and sufficient to meet the needs of high-risk 

18 communities, families, and individuals; and 

19 (D) facilitating access by families and indi20 viduals to programs and services that help re21 duce health hazards in housing. 

22 (3) To identify knowledge gaps, research needs, 

23 and policy and program deficiencies associated with 

24 inadequate housing conditions and housing-related 

25 illnesses and injuries. 


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1 (4) To help identify best practices for achieving 

2 and sustaining healthy housing. 

3 (5) To help improve the quality of existing and 

4 newly constructed housing and related programs and 

5 services, including those programs and services 

6 which serve low-income families and individuals. 

7 (6) To establish an ongoing system of coordina8 tion among and within such agencies or organiza9 tions so that the healthy housing needs of families 

10 and individuals are met in a more effective and effi11 cient manner. 

12 (c) MEMBERSHIP.—The Council shall be composed of 

13 the following members: 

14 (1) The Secretary of Health and Human Serv15 ices. 

16 (2) The Secretary of Housing and Urban Devel17 opment. 

18 (3) The Administrator of the Environmental 

19 Protection Agency. 

20 (4) The Secretary of Energy. 

21 (5) The Secretary of Labor. 

22 (6) The Secretary of Veterans Affairs. 

23 (7) The Secretary of the Treasury. 

24 (8) The Secretary of Agriculture. 

25 (9) The Secretary of Education. 


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1 (10) The head of any other Federal agency as 

2 the Council considers appropriate. 

3 (11) Six additional non-Federal employee mem4 bers, as appointed by the President to serve terms 

5 not to exceed 2 years, of whom— 

6 (A) 1 shall be a State or local Government 

7 Director of Health or the Environment; 

8 (B) 1 shall be a State or local Government 

9 Director of Housing or Community Develop10 ment; 

11 (C) 2 shall represent nonprofit organiza12 tions involved in housing or health issues; and 

13 (D) 2 shall represent for-profit entities in14 volved in the housing, banking, or health insur15 ance industries. 

16 (d) CO-CHAIRPERSONS.—The co-Chairpersons of the 

17 Council shall be the Secretary of Housing and Urban De18 velopment and the Secretary of Health and Human Serv19 ices. 

20 (e) VICE CHAIR.—Every 2 years, the Council shall 

21 elect a Vice Chair from among its members. 

22 (f) MEETINGS.—The Council shall meet at the call 

23 of either co-Chairperson or a majority of its members at 

24 any time, and no less often than annually. 


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1 SEC. 5. FUNCTIONS OF THE COUNCIL. 

2 (a) RELEVANT ACTIVITIES.—In carrying out the ob3 jectives described in section 4(b), the Council shall— 

4 (1) review Federal programs and services that 

5 provide housing, health, energy, or environmental 

6 services to families and individuals; 

7 (2) monitor, evaluate, and recommend improve8 ments in existing programs and services adminis9 tered, funded, or financed by Federal, State, and 

10 local agencies to assist families and individuals in 

11 accessing healthy housing and make recommenda12 tions about how such agencies can better work to 

13 meet the healthy housing and related needs of low14 income families and individuals; and 

15 (3) recommend ways to— 

16 (A) reduce duplication among programs 

17 and services by Federal agencies that assist 

18 families and individuals in meeting their 

19 healthy housing and related service needs; 

20 (B) ensure collaboration among and within 

21 agencies in the provision and availability of pro22 grams and services so that families and individ23 uals are able to easily access needed programs 

24 and services; 


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1 (C) work with States and local govern2 ments to better meet the needs of families and 

3 individuals for healthy housing by— 

4 (i) holding meetings with State and 

5 local representatives; and 

6 (ii) providing ongoing technical assist7 ance and training to States and localities 

8 in better meeting the housing-related needs 

9 of such families and individuals; 

10 (D) identify best practices for programs 

11 and services that assist families and individuals 

12 in accessing healthy housing, including model— 

13 (i) programs linking housing, health, 

14 environmental, human, and energy serv15 ices; 

16 (ii) housing and remodeling financing 

17 products offered by Government, quasi18 government, and private sector entities; 

19 (iii) housing and building codes and 

20 regulatory practices; 

21 (iv) existing and new consensus speci22 fications and work practices documents; 

23 (v) capacity building and training pro24 grams that help increase and diversify the 

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1 ments of housing-related health hazards 

2 and interventions to address housing-re3 lated health hazards; and 

4 (vi) programs that increase commu5 nity awareness of, and education on, hous6 ing-related health hazards and available 

7 assessments and interventions; 

8 (E) develop a comprehensive healthy hous9 ing research agenda that considers health, safe10 ty, environmental, and energy factors, to— 

11 (i) identify cost-effective assessments 

12 and treatment protocols for housing-re13 lated health hazards in existing housing; 

14 (ii) establish links between housing 

15 hazards and health outcomes; 

16 (iii) track housing-related health prob17 lems including injuries, illnesses, and 

18 death; 

19 (iv) track housing conditions that may 

20 be associated with health problems; 

21 (v) identify cost-effective protocols for 

22 construction of new healthy housing; and 

23 (vi) identify replicable and effective 

24 programs or strategies for addressing 

25 housing-related health hazards; 


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1 (4) hold biannual meetings with stakeholders 

2 and other interested parties in a location convenient 

3 for such stakeholders, or hold open Council meet4 ings, to receive input and ideas about how to best 

5 meet the healthy housing needs of families and indi6 viduals; 

7 (5) maintain an updated website of policies, 

8 meetings, best practices, programs and services, 

9 making use of existing websites as appropriate, to 

10 keep people informed of the activities of the Council; 

11 and 

12 (6) work with member agencies to collect and 

13 maintain data on housing-related health hazards, ill14 nesses, and injuries so that all data can be accessed 

15 in 1 place and to identify and address unmet data 

16 needs. 

17 (b) REPORTS.— 

18 (1) BY MEMBERS.—Each year the head of each 

19 agency who is a member of the Council shall prepare 

20 and transmit to the Council a report that briefly 

21 summarizes— 

22 (A) each healthy housing-related program 

23 and service administered by the agency and the 

24 number of families and individuals served by 

25 each program or service, the resources available 


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1 in each program or service, and a breakdown of 

2 where each program and service can be 

3 accessed; 

4 (B) the barriers and impediments, includ5 ing statutory or regulatory, to the access and 

6 use of such programs and services by families 

7 and individuals, with particular attention to the 

8 barriers and impediments experienced by low9 income families and individuals; 

10 (C) the efforts made by the agency to in11 crease opportunities for families and individ12 uals, including low-income families and individ13 uals, to reside in healthy housing, including how 

14 the agency is working with other agencies to 

15 better coordinate programs and services; and 

16 (D) any new data collected by the agency 

17 relating to the healthy housing needs of families 

18 and individuals. 

19 (2) BY THE COUNCIL.—Each year the Council 

20 shall prepare and transmit to the President and the 

21 Congress, a report that— 

22 (A) summarizes the reports required in 

23 paragraph (1); 

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1 sociated illnesses and injuries, in the United 

2 States; 

3 (C) provides a comprehensive and detailed 

4 description of the programs and services of the 

5 Federal Government in meeting the needs and 

6 problems described in subparagraph (B); 

7 (D) describes the activities and accomplish8 ments of the Council in working with Federal, 

9 State, and local governments, nonprofit organi10 zations and for-profit entities in coordinating 

11 programs and services to meet the needs de12 scribed in subparagraph (B) and the resources 

13 available to meet those needs; 

14 (E) assesses the level of Federal assistance 

15 required to meet the needs described in sub16 paragraph (B); and 

17 (F) makes recommendations for appro18 priate legislative and administrative actions to 

19 meet the needs described in subparagraph (B) 

20 and for coordinating programs and services de21 signed to meet those needs. 

22 SEC. 6. POWERS OF THE COUNCIL. 

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1 mony, and receive such evidence as the Council considers 

2 advisable to carry out the purposes of this Act. 

3 (b) INFORMATION FROM AGENCIES.—Agencies which 

4 are represented on the Council shall provide all requested 

5 information and data to the Council as requested. 

6 (c) POSTAL SERVICES.—The Council may use the 

7 United States mails in the same manner and under the 

8 same conditions as other departments and agencies of the 

9 Federal Government. 

10 (d) GIFTS.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Council may accept, 

12 use, and dispose of gifts or donations of services or 

13 property. 

14 (2) INTERNAL REGULATIONS.—The Council 

15 shall adopt internal regulations governing the receipt 

16 of gifts or donations of services or property similar 

17 to those described in part 2601 of title 5, Code of 

18 Federal Regulations. 

19 (e) CONTRACTS AND INTERAGENCY AGREEMENTS.— 

20 The Council may enter into contracts with State, Tribal, 

21 and local governments, public agencies and private-sector 

22 entities, and into interagency agreements with Federal 

23 agencies. Such contracts and interagency agreements may 

24 be single-year or multi-year in duration. 


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1 SEC. 7. COUNCIL PERSONNEL MATTERS. 

2 (a) COMPENSATION OF MEMBERS.— 

3 (1) NON-FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.—A member of 

4 the Council who is not an officer or employee of the 

5 Federal Government shall be reasonably com6 pensated for that member’s participation in the 

7 Council, including reimbursement for travel expenses 

8 as described in subsection (b). 

9 (2) FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.—A member of the 

10 Council who is an officer or employee of the United 

11 States shall serve without compensation in addition 

12 to the compensation received for services of the 

13 member as an officer or employee of the Federal 

14 Government. 

15 (b) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—The members of the Coun16 cil shall be allowed travel expenses, including per diem in 

17 lieu of subsistence, at rates authorized for employees of 

18 agencies under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, 

19 United States Code, while away from their homes or reg20 ular places of business in the performance of services for 

21 the Council. 

22 (c) STAFF.— 

23 (1) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.—The Council shall 

24 appoint an Executive Director at its initial meeting. 

25 The Executive Director shall be compensated at a 

26 rate not to exceed the rate of pay payable for level 


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1 V of the Executive Schedule under section 5316 of 

2 title 5, United States Code. 

3 (2) COMPENSATION.—With the approval of the 

4 Council, the Executive Director may appoint and fix 

5 the compensation of such additional personnel as are 

6 necessary to carry out the duties of the Council. The 

7 rate of compensation may be set without regard to 

8 the provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter II of 

9 chapter 53 of title 5, United States Code, relating 

10 to classification of positions and General Schedule 

11 pay rates, except that the rate of pay may not ex12 ceed the rate payable for level V of the Executive 

13 Schedule under section 5316 of such title. 

14 (d) TEMPORARY AND INTERMITTENT SERVICES.—In 

15 carrying out its objectives, the Council may procure tem16 porary and intermittent services of consultants and ex17 perts under section 3109(b) of title 5, United States Code, 

18 at rates for individuals which do not exceed the daily 

19 equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay prescribed for 

20 level V of the Executive Schedule under section 5316 of 

21 such title. 

22 (e) DETAIL OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES.—Upon 

23 request of the Council, any Federal Government employee 

24 may be detailed to the Council without reimbursement, 


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1 and such detail shall be without interruption or loss of 

2 civil service status or privilege. 

3 (f) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT.—The Secretary of 

4 Housing and Urban Development shall provide the Coun5 cil with such administrative (including office space) and 

6 supportive services as are necessary to ensure that the 

7 Council can carry out its functions. 

8 SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro10 priated to carry out this Act, $750,000 for each of fiscal 

11 years 2010 through 2014. 

12 (b) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts authorized to be appro13 priated by subsection (a) shall remain available for the 2 

14 fiscal years following such appropriation. 

Æ 


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