II 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3654 

To improve research on health hazards in housing, to enhance the capacity 

of programs to reduce such hazards, to require outreach, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 29 (legislative day, SEPTEMBER 17), 2008 

Mr. REED introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to 

the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs 

A BILL 

To improve research on health hazards in housing, to enhance the capacity of programs to reduce such hazards, 

to require outreach, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

5 ‘‘Research, Hazard Intervention, and National Outreach 

6 for Healthier Homes Act of 2008’’. 

7 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

8 this Act is as follows: 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) Americans spend approximately 90 percent 

4 of their time indoors, where 6,000,000 households 

5 live with moderate or severe housing conditions, in6 cluding heating, plumbing, and electrical problems, 

7 and 24,000,000 households face significant lead8 based paint hazards. 

9 (2) Housing-related health hazards can often be 

10 traced back to shared causes, including moisture, 

11 ventilation, comfort, pest, contaminant, and struc12 tural issues, but further research is necessary in 

13 order to definitively understand key relationships be14 tween the shared causes, housing-related health haz15 ards, and resident health. 

16 (3) Since many hazards have interrelated 

17 causes and share common solutions, the traditional 

18 approach of identifying and remedying housing-re19 lated health hazards one-by-one is likely not cost ef20 fective or sufficiently health-protective. 

21 (4) Evidence-based, cost-effective, practical, and 

22 widely accessible methods for the assessment and 

23 control of housing-related health hazards are nec24 essary in order to prevent housing-related injuries 

25 and illnesses, including cancer, carbon monoxide poiVerDate Aug 31 2005 00:54 Oct 04, 2008 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3654.IS S3654

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1 soning, burns, falls, rodent bites, childhood lead poi2 soning, and asthma. 

3 (5) Sustainable building features, including en4 ergy efficiency measures, are increasingly popular, 

5 and are generally presumed to have beneficial effects 

6 on occupant health. However, the health effects of 

7 such features need to be evaluated in a comprehen8 sive and timely manner, lest the housing in this 

9 country unintentionally revert to the conditions of 

10 excessive building tightness and lack of sufficient 

11 ventilation characteristic of the 1970s. 

12 (6) Data collection on housing conditions that 

13 could affect occupant health, and on health out14 comes that could be related to housing conditions, is 

15 scattered and insufficient to meet current and future 

16 research needs for affordable, healthy housing. A co17 ordinated, multidata source system is necessary to 

18 reduce duplication of Federal efforts, and to ensure 

19 sufficient data collection of both the housing condi20 tions and the health problems that persist in the ex21 isting housing stock of the Nation. 

22 (7) Responsibilities related to health hazards in 

23 housing are not clearly delineated among Federal 

24 agencies. Categorical housing, health, energy assist25 ance, and environmental programs are narrowly deVerDate Aug 31 2005 00:54 Oct 04, 2008 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3654.IS S3654

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1 fined and often ignore opportunities to address mul2 tiple hazards simultaneously. Enabling Federal pro3 grams to embrace a comprehensive healthy housing 

4 approach will require removing unnecessary Federal 

5 statutory and regulatory barriers, and creating in6 centives to advance the complementary goals of envi7 ronmental health, energy conservation, and housing 

8 availability in relevant programs. 

9 (8) Personnel who visit homes to provide serv10 ices or perform other work (such as inspectors, 

11 emergency medical technicians, home visitors, hous12 ing rehabilitation, construction and maintenance 

13 workers, and others) can contribute to occupant 

14 health by presenting and applying healthy housing 

15 practices. Cost-effective training and outreach is 

16 needed to equip such personnel with current knowl17 edge about delivering and maintaining healthy hous18 ing. 

19 (9) Housing-related health hazards are often 

20 complex, with causes and solutions often not readily 

21 or immediately recognized by residents, property 

22 owners, or the general public. In the 2005 American 

23 Housing Survey, significant numbers of residents ex24 pressed the highest level of satisfaction with their 

25 homes, including 20 percent of residents in homes 


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1 with severe physical problems and 18 percent of resi2 dents in homes with moderate physical problems. 

3 National awareness and local outreach programs are 

4 needed to encourage the public to seek and expect 

5 healthy housing, to think about housing hazards 

6 more comprehensively, to recognize problems, and to 

7 address them in a preventative, effective, and low8 cost manner. 

9 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

10 In this Act, the following definitions shall apply: 

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

12 form of residence, including rental housing, home13 ownership, group home, or supportive housing ar14 rangement. 

15 (2) HEALTHY HOUSING.—The term ‘‘healthy 

16 housing’’ means housing that is designed, con17 structed, rehabilitated, and maintained in a manner 

18 that supports the health of the occupants of such 

19 housing. 

20 (3) HOUSING-RELATED HEALTH HAZARD.—The 

21 term ‘‘housing-related health hazard’’ means any bi22 ological, physical, or chemical source of exposure or 

23 condition either in, or immediately adjacent to, hous24 ing, that can adversely affect human health. 


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1 TITLE I—RESEARCH ON HEALTH 

2 HAZARDS IN HOUSING 

3 SEC. 101. HEALTH EFFECTS OF HOUSING-RELATED HEALTH 

4 HAZARDS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the National In6 stitute of Environmental Health Sciences and the Admin7 istrator of the Environmental Protection Agency shall 

8 evaluate the health effects of housing-related health haz9 ards for which limited research or understanding of causes 

10 or associations exists. 

11 (b) CRITERIA.—In carrying out the evaluation under 

12 subsection (a), the Director of the National Institute of 

13 Environmental Health Sciences and the Administrator of 

14 the Environmental Protection Agency shall— 

15 (1) determine the housing-related health haz16 ards for which there exists limited understanding of 

17 health effects; 

18 (2) prioritize the housing-related health hazards 

19 to be evaluated; 

20 (3) coordinate research plans in order to avoid 

21 unnecessary duplication of efforts; and 

22 (4) evaluate the health risks, routes and path23 ways of exposure, and human health effects that re24 sult from indoor exposure to biological, physical, and 

25 chemical housing-related health hazards, including 


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1 carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds, com2 mon residential and garden pesticides, and factors 

3 that sensitize individuals to asthma. 

4 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

5 are authorized to be appropriated for each of fiscal years 

6 2009 through 2011, $3,500,000 for carrying out the ac7 tivities under this section. 

8 SEC. 102. EVIDENCE-BASED, COST-EFFECTIVE METHODS 

9 FOR ASSESSMENT, PREVENTION, AND CON10 TROL OF HOUSING-RELATED HEALTH HAZ11 ARDS. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Housing and 

13 Urban Development shall, in consultation with the Direc14 tor of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to 

15 implement studies by the Office of Healthy Homes and 

16 Lead Hazard Control of the assessment, prevention, and 

17 control of housing-related health hazards. 

18 (b) STUDY.—The Secretary of Housing and Urban 

19 Development, in consultation with other Federal agencies, 

20 shall initiate— 

21 (1) for fiscal years 2009 through 2013, at least 

22 1 study per year of the methods for assessment, pre23 vention, or control of housing-related health hazards 

24 that provide for— 


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1 (A) instrumentation, monitoring, and data 

2 collection related to such assessment or control 

3 methods; 

4 (B) study of the ability of the assessment 

5 and monitoring methods to predict health risks 

6 and the effect of control methods on health out7 comes; and 

8 (C) the evaluation of the cost-effectiveness 

9 of such assessment or control methods; and 

10 (2) no fewer than 4 studies, which may run 

11 concurrently. 

12 (c) CRITERIA FOR STUDY.—Each study conducted 

13 pursuant to subsection (b) shall, if the Secretary of Hous14 ing and Urban Development deems it scientifically appro15 priate, evaluate the assessment or control method in each 

16 of the different climactic regions of the United States, in17 cluding— 

18 (1) a hot, dry climate; 

19 (2) a hot, humid climate; 

20 (3) a cold climate; and 

21 (4) a temperate climate (including a climate 

22 with cold winters and humid summers). 

23 (d) AUTHORITY OF THE SECRETARY.—The Secretary 

24 of Housing and Urban Development may award contracts 


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1 or interagency agreements to carry out the studies re2 quired under this section. 

3 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

4 authorized to be appropriated for each of fiscal years 2009 

5 through 2013, $6,000,000 for carrying out the activities 

6 under this section. 

7 SEC. 103. STUDY ON SUSTAINABLE BUILDING FEATURES 

8 AND INDOOR ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY IN 

9 EXISTING HOUSING. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the Envi11 ronmental Protection Agency shall, in consultation with 

12 other Federal agencies, conduct a detailed study of how 

13 sustainable building features, such as energy efficiency, in 

14 existing housing affect the quality of the indoor environ15 ment, the prevalence of housing-related health hazards, 

16 and the health of occupants. 

17 (b) CONTENTS.—The study required under sub18 section (a) shall— 

19 (1) investigate the effect of sustainable building 

20 features on the quality of the indoor environment 

21 and the prevalence of housing-related health haz22 ards; 

23 (2) investigate how sustainable building fea24 tures, such as energy efficiency, are influencing the 

25 health of occupants of such housing; and 


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1 (3) ensure that the effects of the indoor envi2 ronmental quality are evaluated comprehensively. 

3 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

4 authorized to be appropriated for each of fiscal years 2009 

5 through 2013, $500,000 for carrying out the activities 

6 under this section. 

7 SEC. 104. DATA COLLECTION ON HOUSING-RELATED 

8 HEALTH HAZARDS. 

9 (a) COMPLETION OF ANALYSIS.—The Secretary of 

10 Housing and Urban Development shall complete the anal11 ysis of data collected for the National Survey on Lead and 

12 Allergens in Housing and the American Healthy Housing 

13 Survey. 

14 (b) EXPANSION OF MONITORING.—The Adminis15 trator of the Environmental Protection Agency shall ex16 pand the current indoor environmental monitoring efforts 

17 of the Administrator in an effort to establish baseline lev18 els of indoor chemical pollutants and their sources, includ19 ing routes and pathways, in homes. 

20 (c) DATA EVALUATION AND COLLECTION SYSTEM.— 

21 (1) DATA EVALUATION.—The Director of the 

22 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shall, in 

23 consultation with the Secretary of Housing and 

24 Urban Development and the Administrator of the 

25 Environmental Protection Agency, determine the 


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1 data and resources needed to establish and maintain 

2 a healthy housing data collection system. 

3 (2) DATA COLLECTION SYSTEM.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the 

5 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 

6 based upon the needs determined under para7 graph (1), shall carry out the development and 

8 operation of a healthy housing data collection 

9 system that— 

10 (i) draws upon existing data collection 

11 systems, including those systems at other 

12 Federal agencies, to the maximum extent 

13 practicable; 

14 (ii) conforms with the 2001 Updated 

15 Guidelines for Evaluating Public Health 

16 Surveillance Systems; 

17 (iii) improves upon the ability of re18 searchers to assess links between housing 

19 and health characteristics; and 

20 (iv) incorporates the input of potential 

21 data users, to the maximum extent prac22 ticable. 

23 (B) CRITERIA.—The data collection system 

24 required to be developed under subparagraph 

25 (A) shall— 


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1 (i) pilot subject areas to evaluate for 

2 overall data quality and utility, level of 

3 data collection, feasibility of additional 

4 data collection, and privacy considerations; 

5 (ii) develop common assessment tools 

6 and integrated database applications and, 

7 where possible, standardize analysis tech8 niques; 

9 (iii) develop mechanisms to facilitate 

10 ongoing multidisciplinary interagency in11 volvement; 

12 (iv) create a clearinghouse to monitor 

13 potential data sources; and 

14 (v) develop public use datasets. 

15 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

16 are authorized to be appropriated— 

17 (1) for each of fiscal years 2009 through 2011, 

18 $600,000 for carrying out the activities under sub19 section (a); and 

20 (2) for each of fiscal years 2009 through 

21 2013— 

22 (A) $2,000,000 for carrying out the activi23 ties under subsection (b); and 

24 (B) $8,000,000 for carrying out the activi25 ties under subsection (c). 


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1 TITLE II—CAPACITY TO REDUCE 

2 HEALTH HAZARDS IN HOUSING 

3 SEC. 201. HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 

4 CAPACITY ON HOUSING-RELATED HEALTH 

5 HAZARDS. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Housing and 

7 Urban Development shall, in cooperation with other Fed8 eral agencies— 

9 (1) develop improved methods for evaluating 

10 health hazards in housing; 

11 (2) develop improved methods for preventing 

12 and reducing health hazards in housing; 

13 (3) support the development of objective meas14 ures for what is considered a ‘‘healthy’’ residential 

15 environment; 

16 (4) evaluate the long-term cost effectiveness of 

17 a healthy housing approach; 

18 (5) promote the incorporation of healthy hous19 ing principles into ongoing practices and systems, in20 cluding housing codes, rehabilitation specifications, 

21 and maintenance plans; 

22 (6) promote the incorporation of health consid23 erations into green and energy-efficient construction 

24 and rehabilitation; 


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1 (7) promote the use of healthy housing prin2 ciples in post-disaster environments, such as the dis3 semination of information on safe rehabilitation and 

4 recovery practices; 

5 (8) improve the dissemination of healthy hous6 ing information, including best practices, to part7 ners, grantees, the private sector, and the public; 

8 and 

9 (9) promote State and local level healthy hous10 ing efforts, such as the collaboration of State and 

11 local health, housing, and environment agencies, and 

12 the private sector. 

13 (b) AUTHORITY OF THE SECRETARY.—The Secretary 

14 of Housing and Urban Development may award grants, 

15 contracts, or interagency agreements to carry out the ac16 tivities required under this section. 

17 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

18 authorized to be appropriated for each of fiscal years 2009 

19 through 2013, $14,800,000 for carrying out the activities 

20 under this section. 

21 SEC. 202. CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVEN22 TION PROGRAM CAPACITY ON HOUSING-RE23 LATED HEALTH HAZARDS. 

24 Section 317A of the Public Health Service Act (42 

25 U.S.C. 247b–1) is amended— 


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1 (1) in subsection (a)(1)— 

2 (A) in subparagraph (A)— 

3 (i) in clause (i), by inserting ‘‘and 

4 other housing-related illnesses and inju5 ries’’ after ‘‘screening for elevated blood 

6 lead levels’’; 

7 (ii) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘referral 

8 for treatment of such levels’’ and inserting 

9 ‘‘referral for treatment of elevated blood 

10 lead levels and other housing-related ill11 nesses and injuries’’; and 

12 (iii) in clause (iii), by striking ‘‘inter13 vention associated with such levels’’ and 

14 inserting ‘‘intervention associated with ele15 vated blood lead levels and other housing16 related illnesses and injuries’’; and 

17 (B) in subparagraph (B) by inserting be18 fore the period at the end ‘‘and other housing19 related illnesses and injuries’’; 

20 (2) in subsection (l), by adding at the end the 

21 following: 

22 ‘‘(3) ADDITIONAL APPROPRIATIONS.—In addi23 tion to any other authorization of appropriation 

24 available under this Act to the Centers for Disease 

25 Control and Prevention for the purpose of carrying 


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1 out the lead poisoning prevention grant program, 

2 there is authorized to be appropriated for each of 

3 fiscal years 2009 through 2013 to the Centers for 

4 Disease Control and Prevention $10,000,000 to in5 corporate healthy housing principles into the work of 

6 program staff and grantees.’’; and 

7 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(n) HEALTHY HOUSING APPROACH.—An eligible 

9 entity under this section is encouraged to— 

10 ‘‘(1) in general, work toward a transition from 

11 a categorical lead-based paint approach to a com12 prehensive healthy housing approach that focuses on 

13 primary prevention of housing-related health hazards 

14 (as that term is defined under section 3 of the Re15 search, Hazard Intervention, and National Outreach 

16 for Healthier Homes Act of 2008); 

17 ‘‘(2) train staff in healthy housing principles; 

18 ‘‘(3) promote the incorporation of healthy hous19 ing principles into ongoing State and local programs 

20 and systems; and 

21 ‘‘(4) incorporate healthy housing principles into 

22 education programs for parents, educators, commu23 nity-based organizations, local health officials, health 

24 professionals, and paraprofessionals.’’. 


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1 SEC. 203. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY PRO2 GRAM CAPACITY ON HOUSING-RELATED 

3 HEALTH HAZARDS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the Envi5 ronmental Protection Agency, acting through the director 

6 of the Office of Children’s Health Protection and Environ7 mental Education, shall address health hazards in the 

8 home environment, with particular attention to children, 

9 the elderly, and families with limited resources. 

10 (b) REQUIRED ACTIONS OF OFFICE OF CHILDREN’S

11 HEALTH PROTECTION AND ENVIRONMENTAL EDU12 CATION.—The director of the Office of Children’s Health 

13 Protection and Environmental Education, in consultation 

14 with other relevant offices within the Environmental Pro15 tection Agency, shall— 

16 (1) monitor standards set by the Environmental 

17 Protection Agency to ensure that the standards are 

18 protective of elevated risks faced by children or the 

19 elderly; 

20 (2) develop policies to address aggregate, cumu21 lative, and simultaneous exposures experienced by 

22 children and the elderly, with particular attention to 

23 hazards in the home environment; 

24 (3) coordinate healthy housing efforts across 

25 the Environmental Protection Agency; 


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1 (4) promote the incorporation of healthy hous2 ing principles into ongoing practices and systems, in3 cluding the work of State and local environment de4 partments; 

5 (5) encourage and expand healthy housing edu6 cational efforts to partners, grantees, the private 

7 sector, environmental professionals, and the public; 

8 and 

9 (6) designate not less than 1 representative per 

10 region, to coordinate children’s environmental health 

11 activities, including healthy housing efforts, with 

12 State and local environmental departments. 

13 (c) AUTHORITY OF THE ADMINISTRATOR.—The Ad14 ministrator of the Environmental Protection Agency may 

15 award grants, contracts, or interagency agreements to 

16 carry out the activities required under this section. 

17 (d) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec18 tion shall be construed to alter, invalidate, repeal, or oth19 erwise supercede the duties assigned to any office within 

20 the Environmental Protection Agency under any other 

21 provision of law. 

22 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

23 authorized to be appropriated for each of fiscal years 2009 

24 through 2013, $8,000,000 for carrying out the activities 

25 under this section. 


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1 SEC. 204. HEALTH HAZARD REDUCTION GRANTS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Housing and 

3 Urban Development shall award health hazard reduction 

4 grants to enable eligible applicants from other eligible 

5 Federal programs to reduce significant structural, health, 

6 and safety hazards in the home. 

7 (b) ELIGIBLE PROGRAMS.—Programs eligible to par8 ticipate in the grant program established under this sec9 tion shall be Federal assistance programs that pertain to 

10 housing, as determined by the Secretary, including— 

11 (1) the Community Development Block Grant 

12 program under title I of the Housing and Commu13 nity Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5301 et 

14 seq.); 

15 (2) the HOME Investment Partnerships pro16 gram under title II of the Cranston-Gonzalez Na17 tional Affordable Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 12721 et 

18 seq.); 

19 (3) the lead hazard control grants under the 

20 Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act 

21 of 1992 (42 U.S.C. 4851 et seq.); 

22 (4) the Weatherization Assistance Program for 

23 Low-Income Persons established under part A of 

24 title IV of the Energy Conservation and Production 

25 Act (42 U.S.C. 6861 et seq.); 


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1 (5) the low-income home energy assistance pro2 gram established under the Low-Income Home En3 ergy Assistance Act of 1981 (42 U.S.C. 8621 et 

4 seq.); 

5 (6) rural housing assistance grants under sec6 tion 515 of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 

7 1485); and 

8 (7) any other temporary or other Federal hous9 ing assistance programs that benefit low-income 

10 households. 

11 (c) ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS.—Eligible applicants for 

12 grants under this section shall be nonprofit or govern13 mental entities that have applied for or receive primary 

14 funding from an eligible program, and may include State 

15 and local agencies, community action program agencies, 

16 subrecipients of funds under the Weatherization Assist17 ance Program for Low-Income Persons established under 

18 part A of title IV of the Energy Conservation and Produc19 tion Act (42 U.S.C. 6861 et seq.), community development 

20 corporations, community housing development organiza21 tions, and other nonprofit organizations as determined by 

22 the Secretary. 

23 (d) AWARD OF GRANTS.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each eligible program shall 

25 submit a list of the recipients of the grant funds 


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1 awarded by the eligible program to the Secretary of 

2 Housing and Urban Development, prior to publicly 

3 announcing such list. 

4 (2) COMPETITIVE BASIS.—The Secretary shall 

5 award grants under this section on a competitive 

6 basis. 

7 (3) FUNDING CYCLES.—In the event that the 

8 Secretary of Housing and Urban Development an9 nounces the availability of grants under this section 

10 prior to an eligible program’s public announcements 

11 of the list of recipients of grant funds described 

12 under paragraph (1), a grantee from that eligible 

13 program may apply for grants under this section 

14 during the next funding cycle. 

15 (e) ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Grants awarded under this 

17 section may be used to fund corrective and preven18 tive measures to address housing-related health haz19 ards and safety hazards, and energy burden prob20 lems, including— 

21 (A) roof repair and replacement; 

22 (B) structural repairs and exterior grad23 ing; 

24 (C) window repair and replacement; 


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1 (D) correction of combustion gas appliance 

2 back-drafting and other serious ventilation 

3 problems; 

4 (E) provision of adequate ventilation; 

5 (F) integrated pest management; and 

6 (G) control of other critical housing-related 

7 health and safety hazards, such as installation 

8 of smoke alarms, carbon monoxide detection de9 vices, and radon testing and mitigation. 

10 (2) COVERED COSTS.—The costs of visual as11 sessment and testing for baseline documentation of 

12 problems, and eligible corrective and preventive 

13 measures to address such problems, shall be allow14 able program expenses. 

15 (f) FLEXIBLE FUNDING.—Grants awarded under 

16 this section shall be subject to the requirements that gov17 ern the primary source of Federal funds supporting each 

18 project. 

19 (g) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Not more than 10 

20 percent of funds for each grant awarded under this section 

21 may be used for administrative expenses. 

22 (h) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—Consistent with 

23 the supplemental purpose of the grant program estab24 lished under this section, the Secretary of Housing and 

25 Urban Development shall streamline reporting and record 


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1 keeping requirements by building on existing reporting re2 quirements of the eligible program. For each property re3 ceiving treatments funded by grants under this section, 

4 the grantee shall document the problems treated and the 

5 amount of grant funds used, and report such information 

6 to the primary awarding agency, which shall aggregate re7 ports and supporting data and submit all such reports and 

8 data to the Secretary. 

9 (i) EVALUATION.—The Secretary of Housing and 

10 Urban Development shall review the implementation of the 

11 grant program established under this section beginning on 

12 the date of enactment of this Act and ending on the date 

13 that is 1 years after such date of enactment. The review 

14 shall determine how grantees use and leverage funds and 

15 evaluate the cost-effectiveness of the grant program, tak16 ing into account the aggregate health, safety, energy sav17 ings, and durability benefits from measures taken, as well 

18 as the success of the grant program’s leveraging of and 

19 coordination with Federal investments from other pro20 grams. 

21 (j) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

22 authorized to be appropriated for each of fiscal years 2009 

23 through 2011, $10,000,000 for carrying out the activities 

24 under this section. 


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1 SEC. 205. EFFECTIVE TRAINING ON HOUSING-RELATED 

2 HEALTH HAZARDS. 

3 (a) PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE ACT AMENDMENTS.— 

4 Section 317B of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 

5 247b–3) is amended— 

6 (1) in subsection (a), by adding at the end the 

7 following: 

8 ‘‘(3) TRAINING.—The Secretary, acting through 

9 the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and 

10 Prevention, shall— 

11 ‘‘(A) train lead poisoning prevention pro12 gram staff in healthy housing principles; 

13 ‘‘(B) deliver training and technical assist14 ance in the identification and control of hous15 ing-related health hazards (as that term is de16 fined in section 3 of the Research, Hazard 

17 Intervention, and National Outreach for 

18 Healthier Homes Act of 2008) to staff of State 

19 and local public health departments and code 

20 enforcement agencies, health care providers, 

21 other health care delivery systems and profes22 sionals, and community-based organizations; 

23 and 

24 ‘‘(C) provide resources and incentives to 

25 State and local health departments to support 

26 the wide availability of free or low-cost training 


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1 to prevent and control housing-related health 

2 hazards.’’; and 

3 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(c) AUTHORIZATIONS OF APPROPRIATIONS.—In ad5 dition to any other authorization of appropriation avail6 able under this Act to the Centers for Disease Control and 

7 Prevention for the purpose of carrying out lead poisoning 

8 prevention education, the Interagency Task Force, tech9 nology assessment, and epidemiology, there is authorized 

10 to be appropriated for each of fiscal years 2009 through 

11 2013 to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 

12 $8,000,000 to facilitate a transition from categorical lead 

13 poisoning prevention to comprehensive healthy housing ap14 proaches.’’. 

15 (b) DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.— 

16 (1) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.— 

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Agri18 culture shall, acting through the Cooperative 

19 State Research, Education, and Extension Serv20 ice, establish a competitive grant program to 

21 promote education and outreach on housing-re22 lated health hazards. 

23 (B) ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS.—The Sec24 retary of Agriculture may award grants, on a 

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1 grant colleges and universities (as defined in 

2 section 1404 of the National Agricultural Re3 search, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 

4 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3103)) for education and exten5 sion services. 

6 (C) CRITERIA FOR GRANTS.—Grants under 

7 this subsection shall be awarded to address 

8 housing-related health hazards through trans9 lation of the latest research into easy-to-use 

10 guidelines, development and dissemination of 

11 outreach materials, and operation of training 

12 and education programs to build capacity at a 

13 local level. 

14 (2) EXPANDED TRAINING.—The Secretary of 

15 Agriculture shall, acting through the Cooperative 

16 State Research, Education, and Extension Service 

17 Regional Integrated Pest Management Training 

18 Centers, expand training and outreach activities to 

19 include structural integrated pest management top20 ics. 

21 (3) COVERAGE OF LEAD-BASED PAINT AND

22 OTHER HEALTH HAZARDS.—The Secretary of Agri23 culture shall, acting through the Expanded Food 

24 and Nutrition Education Program, in consultation 

25 with the Cooperative State Research, Education, and 


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1 Extension Service Housing and Indoor Environ2 ments Division, ensure that food and nutrition sub3 ject matter content for adults and youth includes ef4 fective information about preventing exposure to 

5 lead-based paint, pests, pesticides, mold, and, where 

6 there is sufficient data, about preventing exposure to 

7 other biological or chemical food safety hazards in 

8 and around the home. 

9 (c) EVALUATION.—Not later than 2 years after the 

10 date of enactment of this Act, the Director of the Centers 

11 for Disease Control and Prevention and the Secretary of 

12 Agriculture shall evaluate the cost-effectiveness of the 

13 training programs authorized under this section and pre14 pare a report, the results of which shall be posted on the 

15 website of each agency. 

16 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

17 are authorized to be appropriated for each of fiscal years 

18 2009 through 2013— 

19 (1) $700,000 for carrying out the activities 

20 under subsection (b)(1); 

21 (2) $250,000 for carrying out the activities 

22 under subsection (b)(2); and 

23 (3) $250,000 for carrying out the activities 

24 under subsection (b)(3). 


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1 SEC. 206. ENFORCEMENT OF LEAD DISCLOSURE RULE. 

2 Subsection (a) of section 1018 of subtitle A, of title 

3 X of the Housing and Community Development Act of 

4 1992 (42 U.S.C. 4852d), is amended by adding at the end 

5 the following: 

6 ‘‘(6) AUTHORITY OF THE SECRETARY.— 

7 ‘‘(A) INVESTIGATIONS.—The Secretary is 

8 authorized to conduct such investigations as 

9 may be necessary to administer and carry out 

10 his duties under this section. The Secretary is 

11 authorized to administer oaths and require by 

12 subpoena the production of documents, and the 

13 attendance and testimony of witnesses as the 

14 Secretary deems advisable. Nothing contained 

15 in this subparagraph shall prevent the Adminis16 trator of the Environmental Protection Agency 

17 from exercising authority under the Toxic Sub18 stances Control Act or this Act. 

19 ‘‘(B) ENFORCEMENT.—Any district court 

20 of the United States within the jurisdiction of 

21 which an inquiry is carried, on application of 

22 the Attorney General, may, in the case of con23 tumacy or refusal to permit entry under this 

24 section or to obey a subpoena of the Secretary 

25 issued under this section, issue an order requir26 ing such entry or such compliance therewith. 


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1 Any failure to obey such order of the court may 

2 be punished by such court as a contempt there3 of.’’. 

4 TITLE III—EDUCATION ON 

5 HEALTH HAZARDS IN HOUSING 

6 SEC. 301. HEALTHY HOME SEAL OF APPROVAL PROGRAM. 

7 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established within 

8 the Environmental Protection Agency the following label9 ing programs: 

10 (1) PRODUCTS AND MATERIALS LABELING PRO11 GRAM.—A voluntary labeling program to evaluate 

12 consumer products intended for home use and hous13 ing materials to determine their efficacy in fostering 

14 a healthy home environment. 

15 (2) CRITERIA FOR HOUSING LABELING PRO16 GRAM.—A voluntary labeling program to expand 

17 upon the Energy Star program established by sec18 tion 324A of the Energy Policy and Conservation 

19 Act (42 U.S.C. 6294a) to establish health-promoting 

20 design and maintenance criteria for new and existing 

21 housing. 

22 (b) DUTIES.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the 

24 Environmental Protection Agency shall, in consulta25 tion with the Secretary of Housing and Urban DeVerDate Aug 31 2005 00:54 Oct 04, 2008 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00029 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3654.IS S3654

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1 velopment and the Director of the Centers for Dis2 ease Control and Prevention— 

3 (A) promote the Healthy Home Seal of 

4 Approval for consumer products and materials, 

5 and for criteria for housing as the preferred op6 tions in the marketplace for achieving optimum 

7 indoor environmental quality and maximum oc8 cupant health; 

9 (B) work to enhance public awareness of 

10 the Healthy Home Seal of Approval for con11 sumer products and materials, and for criteria 

12 for housing, including by providing special out13 reach to small businesses; 

14 (C) conduct research and provide sound 

15 science and methods to evaluate products, ma16 terials, and criteria for housing that preserves 

17 the integrity of the Healthy Home Seal of Ap18 proval for consumer products and materials, 

19 and for criteria for housing label; 

20 (D) regularly update the requirements for 

21 the Healthy Home Seal of Approval for prod22 ucts and materials, and for criteria for housing; 

23 (E) solicit comments from interested par24 ties prior to establishing or revising a Healthy 

25 Home Seal of Approval, including a change to 


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1 a product category, material category, specifica2 tion, or criterion (or prior to effective dates for 

3 any such product category, material category, 

4 specification, or criterion); 

5 (F) on adoption of a new or revised prod6 uct category, material category, specification, or 

7 criterion in a Healthy Home Seal of Approval, 

8 provide reasonable notice to interested parties 

9 of any changes (including effective dates) in 

10 product categories, material categories, speci11 fications, or criteria, along with— 

12 (i) an explanation of the changes; and 

13 (ii) as appropriate, responses to com14 ments submitted by interested parties; and 

15 (G) provide appropriate lead time (which 

16 shall be 270 days, unless the Administrator 

17 specifies otherwise) prior to the applicable effec18 tive date for a new or a significant revision to 

19 a Healthy Home Seal of Approval, including a 

20 change to a product category, material cat21 egory, specification, or criterion. 

22 (2) LEAD TIME.—If a product category is re23 vised in accordance with paragraph (1)(G), the lead 

24 time shall take into account the timing requirements 


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1 of the manufacturing, product marketing, and dis2 tribution process for the specific product addressed. 

3 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

4 authorized to be appropriated for each of fiscal years 2009 

5 through 2013, $6,000,000 for carrying out the activities 

6 under this section. 

7 SEC. 302. OUTREACH ON HEALTH HAZARDS IN HOUSING. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the Envi9 ronmental Protection Agency, acting through the Office 

10 of Children’s Health Protection and Environmental Edu11 cation, shall provide education and outreach to the general 

12 public on the— 

13 (1) environmental health risks experienced by 

14 the elderly; and 

15 (2) low-cost methods for addressing such risks. 

16 (b) FOOD QUALITY PROTECTION.—Section 303 of 

17 the Food Quality Protection Act of 1996 (7 U.S.C. 136r– 

18 1) is amended— 

19 (1) in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘The Sec20 retary’’ and inserting the following: 

21 ‘‘(a) PROGRAMS.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IMPLEMENTATION.—The Secretary’’; 

23 (2) in the second sentence, by striking ‘‘Inte24 grated Pest Management is’’ and inserting the fol25 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘(2) DEFINITION OF INTEGRATED PEST MAN2 AGEMENT.—In this section, the term ‘Integrated 

3 Pest Management’ means’’; 

4 (3) in the third sentence, by striking ‘‘The Sec5 retary’’ and inserting the following: 

6 ‘‘(b) FEDERAL AGENCIES.— 

7 ‘‘(1) AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION.—The 

8 Secretary’’; 

9 (4) in the fourth sentence, by striking ‘‘Federal 

10 agencies’’ and inserting the following: 

11 ‘‘(2) USE.—A Federal agency’’; and 

12 (5) by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

14 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this sec15 tion— 

16 ‘‘(1) $300,000 for use by the Secretary of Agri17 culture; and 

18 ‘‘(2) $300,000 for use by the Administrator.’’. 

19 (c) GRANT PROGRAM.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Housing 

21 and Urban Development shall award funds for a 

22 Health Hazards Outreach competitive grant pro23 gram. 

24 (2) ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS.—Eligible applicants 

25 for a grant under paragraph (1) are national nonVerDate Aug 31 2005 00:54 Oct 04, 2008 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00033 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3654.IS S3654

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1 profit organizations, and State and local entities, in2 cluding community-based organizations and govern3 ment health, environmental, and housing depart4 ments. 

5 (3) ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES.—Funds awarded 

6 under this subsection may be used to— 

7 (A) document the need for healthy housing 

8 assessments or controls in a given community 

9 or communities; 

10 (B) perform outreach and education with a 

11 community-level focus; and 

12 (C) develop policy and capacity building 

13 approaches. 

14 (4) COLLABORATION WITH LOCAL INSTITU15 TIONS.—Eligible applicants under this subsection 

16 are encouraged to— 

17 (A) forge partnerships among State or 

18 local level government and nonprofit entities; 

19 and 

20 (B) improve the incorporation of healthy 

21 housing principles into existing State and local 

22 systems where possible. 

23 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

24 are authorized to be appropriated for each of fiscal years 

25 2009 through 2013— 


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1 (1) $300,000 for carrying out the activities 

2 under subsection (a); and 

3 (2) $2,000,000 for carrying out the activities 

4 under subsection (c). 

5 SEC. 303. NATIONAL HEALTHY HOUSING MEDIA CAMPAIGN. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Housing and 

7 Urban Development, the Director of the Centers for Dis8 ease Control and Prevention, and the Administrator of the 

9 Environmental Protection Agency shall establish and 

10 maintain a national healthy housing media campaign. 

11 (b) REQUIREMENTS OF CAMPAIGN.—The Secretary 

12 of Housing and Urban Development, the Director of the 

13 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Ad14 ministrator of the Environmental Protection Agency 

15 shall— 

16 (1) determine the design of the national healthy 

17 housing media campaign, including by— 

18 (A) identifying the target audience; 

19 (B) formulating and packaging unified 

20 messages regarding— 

21 (i) how best to assess health hazards 

22 in the home; and 

23 (ii) how best to prevent and control 

24 health hazards in the home; 


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1 (C) identifying ideal mechanisms for dis2 semination; 

3 (D) distributing responsibilities and estab4 lishing an ongoing system of coordination; and 

5 (E) incorporating input from the target 

6 audience of the campaign; 

7 (2) carry out the operation of a national 

8 healthy housing media campaign that— 

9 (A) draws upon existing outreach and pub10 lic education efforts to the maximum extent 

11 practicable; 

12 (B) provides critical healthy housing infor13 mation in a concise and simple manner; and 

14 (C) uses multiple media strategies to reach 

15 the maximum number of people in the target 

16 audience as possible; and 

17 (3) evaluate the performance of the campaign, 

18 including by— 

19 (A) tracking the accomplishments of the 

20 campaign; 

21 (B) identifying changes in healthy housing 

22 awareness, healthy housing activities, and the 

23 healthy housing conditions among the target 

24 audience of the campaign; 


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1 (C) assessing the cost-effectiveness of the 

2 campaign in achieving the goals of the cam3 paign; and 

4 (D) preparing a final evaluation report 

5 within 1 year of the close of the campaign, the 

6 results of which shall be posted on the website 

7 of each such agency. 

8 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

9 authorized to be appropriated for each of fiscal years 2009 

10 through 2013, $6,000,000 for carrying out the activities 

11 under this section. 

Æ 


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