I 
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1849
To require the establishment of programs by the Administrator of the Envi-
ronmental Protection Agency, the Director of the National Institute 
for Occupational Safety and Health, and the Secretary of Health and 
Human Services to improve indoor air quality in schools and other 
buildings. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 29, 2003
Mr. ANDREWS (for himself and Mr. RANGEL) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in 
addition to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, for a period 
to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consider-
ation of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 
concerned 
A BILL 
To require the establishment of programs by the Adminis-
trator of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Di-
rector of the National Institute for Occupational Safety 
and Health, and the Secretary of Health and Human 
Services to improve indoor air quality in schools and 
other buildings.
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 ‘‘Reduced Asthma 
Through Air Quality Improvement Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds that in a 2000 report entitled 
‘‘Clearing the Air: Asthma and Indoor Air Exposures’’, 
the Institute of Medicine determined that—
(1) in 1996, asthma accounted for the hos-
pitalization of 474,000 people in the United States, 
including 195,000 children; 
(2) during the mid-1980s, medical costs directly 
associated with asthma constituted about 1 percent 
of all health care costs in the United States; and 
(3) there is significant evidence of the link be-
tween the development of asthma and the presence 
of indoor contaminants, such as dust mites, tobacco 
smoke, nitrogen oxide, and debris from cockroaches. 
SEC. 3. PROGRAM FOR PROVIDING INFORMATION TO 
SCHOOLS ON IMPROVING INDOOR AIR QUAL-
ITY. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Subject to subsection (b), the 
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (in 
this section referred to as the ‘‘Administrator’’) shall seek 
to enter into an agreement with nongovernmental organi-
zations to establish a permanent program to provide infor-
mation to school administrators on methods of improving 
indoor air quality. 
(b) EXISTING PROGRAMS.—The Administrator may 
satisfy the requirement of subsection (a) by publishing in 
the Federal Register notice that an existing program or 
combination of programs fulfills the purpose of the pro-
gram described in that subsection. 
SEC. 4. BUILDING HEALTH ASSESSMENT PROGRAM. 
(a) AUTHORITY.—The Director of the National Insti-
tute for Occupational Safety and Health (in this section 
referred to as the ‘‘Director’’) shall implement a Building 
Health Assessment Program to provide building assess-
ments to employers and employees on measures to reduce 
significant indoor air health risks. 
(b) SELECTION OF BUILDINGS FOR ASSESSMENT.—
(1) REQUEST FOR ASSESSMENT.—The Director 
may initiate an assessment of a building under this 
section only after receipt of a request for such as-
sessment from an employer, an employee, or an au-
thorized representative of an employee, of an entity 
located in the building. 
(2) SELECTION.—In selecting a building for as-
sessment pursuant to a request under paragraph 
(1), the Director shall consider the following:
(A) The seriousness and extent of signifi-
cant indoor air health risks. 
(B) The potential for the assessment to ex-
pand knowledge of building assessment methods 
and response measures. 
(c) ONSITE ASSESSMENTS.—Pursuant to a request 
under paragraph (1), the Director may conduct an onsite 
assessment of a building, including a Federal, State, or 
municipal building. 
(d) ASSESSMENT ELEMENTS.—An assessment under 
this section shall include, at a minimum, identification of 
the following: 
(1) Probable significant indoor air health risks. 
(2) Probable sources and health effects of iden-
tified significant indoor air health risks. 
(3) Measures for eliminating, controlling, or re-
ducing any such significant indoor air health risks. 
(e) REPORTS.—As promptly as possible, the Director 
shall—
(1) prepare a report on any assessment of a 
building conducted under this section; 
(2) provide the report to the employer or em-
ployee who requested the assessment; and 
(3) make the report publicly available.
SEC. 5. GRANTS FOR IMPROVING INDOOR AIR QUALITY. 
The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall 
establish a grant program to—
(1) assist schools to implement the indoor air 
quality improvements recommended by the Adminis-
trator of the Environmental Protection Agency 
under the program established under section 3; and 
(2) assist employers to implement the rec-
ommendations of building assessments conducted by 
the Director of the National Institute for Occupa-
tional Safety and Health under section 4.
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