I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4360 
To prohibit the use of biometric recognition technology in certain federally 
assisted dwelling units, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 6, 2021 
Ms. CLARKE of New York (for herself, Ms. PRESSLEY, and Ms. TLAIB) intro-
duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Finan-
cial Services 
A BILL 
To prohibit the use of biometric recognition technology in 
certain federally assisted dwelling units, 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 ‘‘No Biometric Barriers 
to Housing Act of 2021’’. 
SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON BIOMETRIC IDENTIFICATION 
TECHNOLOGY. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—At any time after the expiration 
of the 1-year period beginning on the date of the enact-
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ment of this Act, an owner of a covered federally assisted 
rental dwelling unit, may not use, or authorize the use 
of, facial recognition technology, physical biometric rec-
ognition technology, or remote biometric recognition tech-
nology in such dwelling unit or in any building or grounds 
containing such dwelling unit. 
(b) DEFINITIONS.—For the purposes of this Act: 
(1) 
ASSISTANCE.—The 
term 
‘‘assistance’’ 
means any grant, loan, subsidy, contract, cooperative 
agreement, or other form of financial assistance, but 
such term does not include the insurance or guar-
antee of a loan, mortgage, or pool of loans or mort-
gages. 
(2) COVERED
FEDERALLY
ASSISTED
RENTAL 
DWELLING UNIT.—The term ‘‘covered federally as-
sisted rental dwelling unit’’ means a residential 
dwelling unit that is made available for rental and 
for which assistance is provided, or that is part of 
a housing project for which assistance is provided, 
under— 
(A) the public housing program under the 
United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 
1437 et seq.); 
(B) the program for supportive housing for 
persons with disabilities under section 811 of 
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the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable 
Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 8013); 
(C) the program for supportive housing for 
the elderly under section 202 of the Housing 
Act of 1959 (12 U.S.C. 1701q); or 
(D) the program for project-based rental 
assistance under section 8 of the United States 
Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f). 
(3) FACIAL RECOGNITION TECHNOLOGY.—The 
term ‘‘facial recognition technology’’ means tech-
nology which facilitates or otherwise enables an 
automated or semi-automated process that assists in 
identifying an individual based on the physical char-
acteristics of an individual’s face, or that logs char-
acteristics of an individual’s face, head, or body to 
infer emotion, associations, activities, or the location 
of an individual. 
(4) OWNER.—The term ‘‘owner’’ means any 
private person or entity, including a cooperative, an 
agency of the Federal Government, or a public hous-
ing agency, having the legal right to lease or sub-
lease dwelling units. 
(5) PHYSICAL BIOMETRIC RECOGNITION TECH-
NOLOGY.—The term ‘‘physical biometric recognition 
technology’’ means technology which facilitates or 
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otherwise enables an automated or semi-automated 
process that assists in identifying an individual or 
capturing information about an individual based on 
the characteristics of an individual’s DNA, finger-
prints, palmprints, iris, or retina. 
(6) REMOTE
BIOMETRIC
RECOGNITION
TECH-
NOLOGY.—The term ‘‘remote biometric recognition 
technology’’ means technology which facilitates or 
otherwise enables an automated or semi-automated 
process that assists in identifying an individual or 
capturing information about an individual based on 
the characteristics of an individual’s gait, voice, or 
other immutable characteristic ascertained from a 
distance, or that logs such characteristics to infer 
emotion, associations, activities, or the location of an 
individual. 
SEC. 3. REPORT TO CONGRESS. 
Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Develop-
ment shall submit to the Committee on Financial Services 
of the House of Representative and the Committee on 
Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate and 
make available to the public on the website of the Depart-
ment, a report that describes— 
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(1) any known usage of facial recognition tech-
nology, physical biometric recognition technology, or 
remote biometric recognition technology in any cov-
ered federally assisted dwelling unit during the 5 
years preceding the date of enactment of this Act; 
(2) the impact of such technology on the resi-
dents of such covered federally assisted rental dwell-
ing units; 
(3) the purpose of installing such technologies 
in such covered federally assisted rental dwelling 
units; 
(4) demographic information about the resi-
dents of each covered federally assisted rental dwell-
ing unit where such usage occurred; and 
(5) the potential impacts on vulnerable commu-
nities of additional usage of facial recognition tech-
nology, physical biometric recognition technology, or 
remote biometric recognition technology in covered 
federally assisted rental dwelling units, including im-
pacts on resident privacy, civil rights, and fair hous-
ing. 
Æ 
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