I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4546 

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 

SEPTEMBER 27, 2019 

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

New York, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. ROSE of New York, Ms. 

MENG, Mr. ENGEL, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mr. SERRANO, Mr. JEFFRIES, Miss 

RICE of New York, Mr. CA ́RDENAS, Mr. MEEKS, 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 23:07 Oct 03, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4546.IH H4546

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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 380,000 residents in 

9 316 developments across New York City. 

10 (13) As of April 2019, the national public hous11 ing capital repair backlog stood at more than $70 

12 billion. 

13 (14) In his Budget Request for fiscal year 2020 

14 for the Department of Housing and Urban Develop15 ment, President Donald Trump requested $0 for the 

16 Department’s Public Housing Capital Fund, which 

17 continues to be the primary source of funding public 

18 housing authorities rely on to address necessary in19 frastructure upgrades and repairs. 

20 (15) Federal disinvestment in public housing 

21 has forced many residents to live in accelerating sub22 standard living. For example, the New York City 

23 Housing Authority has a capital repair backlog of 

24 approximately $32 billion. New York City Housing 

25 Authority residents suffer from a consistent lack of 


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1 hot water, insufficient heat during the winter 

2 months, rodent and insect infestations, broken ele3 vators, and widespread and recurring lead and mold 

4 problems. 

5 (16) Substandard housing conditions, such as 

6 poor ventilation, pest infestations, and water leaks, 

7 are directly associated with the development and ex8 acerbation of respiratory diseases like asthma. 

9 (17) The Centers for Disease Control and Pre10 vention has made clear that no level of lead poi11 soning is safe. Lead poisoning can result in irrevers12 ible brain damage and affects every major bodily 

13 system. At high levels, lead poisoning can cause ane14 mia, multi-organ damage, seizures, coma, and death 

15 in children. Even with the lowest levels of lead expo16 sure, children experience physical, cognitive, and 

17 neurobehavioral impairment as well as lower IQ lev18 els, lower class standing in high school, greater ab19 senteeism, lower vocabulary and grammatical-rea20 soning scores, and poorer hand-eye coordination rel21 ative to other children. 

22 (18) Exposure to cold indoor temperatures is 

23 associated with increased risk of cardiovascular dis24 ease. 


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

2 conditions in public housing are causing severe 

3 health consequences for public housing residents 

4 throughout the Nation, including asthma, res5 piratory illness, and elevated blood lead levels. 

6 (20) This is a fixable public health crisis. Fed7 eral disinvestment in public housing has con8 sequences and aging infrastructure is, in many 

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

10 for residents. 

11 (21) For example, one leading study found that 

12 children living in public housing have higher odds of 

13 asthma than children living in all types of private 

14 housing, even after adjusting for individual risk fac15 tors such as minority ethnicity and race, living in a 

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

17 community. 

18 (22) Therefore, it is necessary to reinvest in 

19 public housing, provide the money needed to fulfill 

20 outstanding capital needs, and to again ensure that 

21 all Americans have a decent home and suitable living 

22 environment, as is HUD’s charge. 

23 SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

24 There is authorized to be appropriated for assistance 

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


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

2 1437g(d)) $70,000,000,000, which amount shall remain 

3 available until expended and, notwithstanding subsections 

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

5 public housing agencies based upon the extent of such 

6 agencies’ capital need, as determined according to the 

7 agencies’ most recent Physical Needs Assessment. 

Æ 


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