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 Fi-
nancial Services 
A BILL 
To authorize additional monies to the Public Housing Capital 
Fund of the Department of Housing and Urban Develop-
ment, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Public Housing Emer-
gency Response Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds the following: 
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(1) Housing is a foundational determinant of 
health and has been recognized as such since the 
early days of public health. 
(2) Poor housing conditions contribute to a 
broad range of infectious diseases, chronic diseases, 
injuries, childhood development complications, nutri-
tion issues, and mental health challenges. 
(3) The United States Housing Act of 1937 
(Public Law 75–412) charges the Department of 
Housing and Urban Development (HUD) with pro-
viding residents with a decent, safe, and affordable 
place to live, including those that live in public hous-
ing. 
(4) While public housing is a federally created 
program overseen by HUD, the properties are owned 
and managed at the local level by quasi-govern-
mental public housing authorities under contract 
with the Federal Government. 
(5) Thus, the public housing program is gov-
erned in part by Federal rules and regulations and 
in part by policies enacted at the local level. 
(6) Passage of the United States Housing Act 
of 1937 sought to address the needs of low-income 
people through public housing. At the time of pas-
sage of such Act, the Nation’s housing stock was of 
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very poor quality. Public housing was a significant 
improvement for those who had access to it. 
(7) However, over the years the living condi-
tions in public housing began to deteriorate as the 
operational needs of the units and costs necessary to 
remedy major capital deficiencies began to outpace 
the level of funding provided by the Federal Govern-
ment and the residents’ rent contributions. 
(8) By 1990, no significant investment in hous-
ing affordable to the lowest-income individuals had 
been made by the Federal Government in more than 
30 years. 
(9) In 1998, the enactment of the Quality 
Housing and Work Responsibility Act of 1998 (title 
V of Public Law 105–276) prohibited public housing 
authorities from using any Federal capital funding 
or operating funding to develop net new housing. 
(10) More than a decade after the enactment of 
the Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act of 
1998, the number of public housing units nationally 
began to steadily decline, as more units were torn 
down than rebuilt. 
(11) With the exception of an infusion of fund-
ing from the economic stimulus legislation in 2009— 
the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Pub-
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lic Law 111–5)—Federal capital funding has re-
mained relatively level for more than a decade, de-
spite an increasing backlog in unmet capital needs. 
(12) Today, there are approximately 1.2 million 
units of public housing across the country receiving 
Federal funding. The Nation’s largest public housing 
authority, the New York City Public Housing Au-
thority, houses approximately 362,000 residents in 
302 developments across New York City. 
(13) The Public Housing Capital Fund of the 
Department of Housing and Urban Development re-
mains the primary source of funding public housing 
authorities rely on to address necessary infrastruc-
ture upgrades and repairs. 
(14) As of October 2019, the national public 
housing capital repairs backlog was estimated to 
stand at more than $70 billion. 
(15) Federal disinvestment in public housing 
has forced many residents to live in accelerating sub-
standard living. For example, the New York City 
Housing Authority has a capital repair backlog cur-
rently estimated at more than $40 billion. New York 
City Housing Authority residents suffer from a con-
sistent lack of hot water, insufficient heat during the 
winter months, rodent and insect infestations, bro-
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ken elevators, and widespread and recurring lead 
and mold problems. 
(16) Substandard housing conditions, such as 
poor ventilation, pest infestations, and water leaks, 
are directly associated with the development and ex-
acerbation of respiratory diseases like asthma. 
(17) The Centers for Disease Control and Pre-
vention has made clear that no level of lead poi-
soning is safe. Lead poisoning can result in irrevers-
ible brain damage and affects every major bodily 
system. At high levels, lead poisoning can cause ane-
mia, multi-organ damage, seizures, coma, and death 
in children. Even with the lowest levels of lead expo-
sure, children experience physical, cognitive, and 
neurobehavioral impairment as well as lower IQ lev-
els, lower class standing in high school, greater ab-
senteeism, lower vocabulary and grammatical-rea-
soning scores, and poorer hand-eye coordination rel-
ative to other children. 
(18) Exposure to cold indoor temperatures is 
associated with increased risk of cardiovascular dis-
ease. 
(19) Due to its aging infrastructure, the living 
conditions in public housing are causing severe 
health consequences for public housing residents 
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throughout the Nation, including asthma, res-
piratory illness, and elevated blood lead levels. 
(20) For example, one leading study found that 
children living in public housing have higher odds of 
asthma than children living in all types of private 
housing, even after adjusting for individual risk fac-
tors such as minority ethnicity and race, living in a 
low-income household, and living in a low-income 
community. 
(21) The rise of the COVID-19 pandemic has 
introduced a new level of risk into our society. 
(22) Poor housing conditions have been linked 
with worse health outcomes and infectious disease 
spread. One leading study found that counties with 
a higher percentage of households with poor housing 
had a higher incidence of, and mortality associated 
with, COVID-19 and recommended targeted health 
policies to support individuals living in poor housing 
conditions in order to mitigate adverse outcomes as-
sociated with COVID-19. 
(23) This is a fixable public health crisis. Fed-
eral disinvestment in public housing has con-
sequences and aging infrastructure is, in many 
cases, the root cause of many of these health issues 
for residents. 
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(24) Therefore, it is necessary to reinvest in 
public housing, provide the money needed to fulfill 
outstanding capital needs, and to again ensure that 
all Americans have a decent home and suitable living 
environment, as is HUD’s charge. 
SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
There is authorized to be appropriated for assistance 
from the Public Housing Capital Fund under section 9(d) 
of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 
1437g(d)) $70,000,000,000, which amount shall remain 
available until expended and, notwithstanding subsections 
(c)(1) and (d)(2) of such section 9, shall be allocated to 
public housing agencies based upon the extent of such 
agencies’ capital need, as determined according to the 
agencies’ most recent Physical Needs Assessment. 
Æ 
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