I 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4106 
To authorize the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to make 
grants and loans to owners of federally assisted housing projects for 
costs of making green retrofit improvements to such projects. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
NOVEMBER 18, 2009 
Mr. HIMES (for himself, Mr. WELCH, and Mr. OLVER) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services 
A BILL 
To authorize the Secretary of Housing and Urban Develop-
ment to make grants and loans to owners of federally 
assisted housing projects for costs of making green ret-
rofit improvements to such projects. 
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 ‘‘Green Affordable 
Housing Act of 2009’’. 
SEC. 2. GREEN RETROFIT GRANT AND LOAN PROGRAM. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Housing 
and Urban Development shall carry out a program to 
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make grants and loans under this section to owners of eli-
gible federally assisted housing projects for making eligible 
green retrofit improvements to such projects. 
(b) ELIGIBLE
FEDERALLY
ASSISTED
HOUSING 
PROJECTS.—Grants and loans under this section may be 
provided only for eligible green retrofit improvements 
under subsection (c) for— 
(1) housing for which project-based assistance 
is provided under section 8 of the United States 
Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f); 
(2) housing that is assisted under section 202 
of the Housing Act of 1959 (12 U.S.C. 1701q); 
(3) housing that is assisted under section 202 
of the Housing Act of 1959, as such section existed 
before the enactment of the Cranston-Gonzalez Na-
tional Affordable Housing Act (Public Law 101– 
625); 
(4) housing that is assisted under section 811 
of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Hous-
ing Act (42 U.S.C. 8013); 
(5) housing financed by a loan or mortgage in-
sured under section 221(d)(3) of the National Hous-
ing Act (12 U.S.C. 1715l(d)(3)) that bears interest 
at a rate determined under the proviso of section 
221(d)(5) of such Act (12 U.S.C. 1715l(d)(5)); 
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(6) housing insured, assisted, or held by the 
Secretary or a State or State agency under section 
236 of the National Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 1715z– 
1); 
(7) housing constructed or substantially reha-
bilitated pursuant to assistance provided under sec-
tion 8(b)(2) of the United States Housing Act of 
1937, as in effect before October 1, 1983, that is as-
sisted under a contract for assistance under such 
section; 
(8) housing assisted or formerly assisted under 
section 101 of the Housing and Urban Development 
Act of 1965 (12 U.S.C. 1701s); 
(9) multifamily housing projects assisted with 
amounts made available under the HOME Invest-
ment Partnerships Act (42 U.S.C. 12721 et seq.); 
(10) housing for which a loan is made or in-
sured under section 515 of the Housing Act of 1949 
(42 U.S.C. 1485); and 
(11) housing for which a low-income housing 
tax credit is provided pursuant to section 42 of the 
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 42). 
(c) ELIGIBLE GREEN RETROFIT IMPROVEMENTS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this section, 
eligible green retrofit improvements are improve-
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ments to an eligible federally assisted housing 
project that are approved by the Secretary as having 
one or more of the following attributes, as compared 
with the comparable component that would normally 
be used by owners of similar properties in the same 
market area: 
(A) Materially lower electric, heating fuel, 
or water consumption. 
(B) Materially lower emissions of chemicals 
thought to be harmful to humans. 
(C) Materially longer useful life. 
(D) Materially more biodegradable. 
(E) Materially more easily recycled. 
(F) Materially lower use of raw materials 
or use of materially more recycled content. 
(G) Materially lower transportation costs 
of products delivered to the project. 
For purposes of this paragraph, determinations of 
materiality shall be made by the Secretary in the 
sole discretion of the Secretary. 
(2) RELATED
IMPROVEMENTS.—For purposes 
of this section, eligible green retrofit improvements 
shall include improvements approved by the Sec-
retary as related or collateral to the undertaking or 
provision of eligible green retrofit improvements ap-
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proved pursuant to paragraph (1) for an eligible fed-
erally assisted housing project. 
(3) VERIFICATION.—For purposes of verifying 
improvements as eligible green retrofit improvements 
under this subsection, the Secretary shall, by regula-
tion, provide for the following: 
(A) Certification of building energy and 
environment auditors, inspectors, and raters by 
the 
Residential 
Energy 
Services 
Network 
(RESNET), or an equivalent certification sys-
tem as determined by the Secretary. 
(B) Certification or licensing of building 
energy and environmental retrofit contractors 
by the Building Performance Institute (BPI), 
or an equivalent certification or licensing sys-
tem as determined by the Secretary. 
(C) Use of equipment and procedures of 
the Building Performance Institute, Residential 
Energy Services Network, or other appropriate 
equipment and procedures (such as infrared 
photography and pressurized testing, and tests 
for water use and indoor air quality), as deter-
mined by the Secretary, to test the energy and 
environmental efficiency of buildings effectively. 
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(D) Determination of energy savings by 
comparison of scores on the Home Energy Rat-
ing System (HERS) Index before and after ret-
rofit, with the final score produced by an objec-
tive third party. 
(d) EXTENSION
OF
AFFORDABILITY
RESTRIC-
TIONS.— 
(1) GRANTS.— 
(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary may 
provide a grant under this section for an eligi-
ble federally assisted housing project only if the 
owner of the project enters into such binding 
commitments as the Secretary shall require, 
which shall be applicable to any subsequent 
owner, to ensure that the project will be oper-
ated, until the expiration of the period specified 
in subparagraph (B), in accordance with all af-
fordability restrictions that are applicable to the 
project under the federal assistance program re-
ferred to in subsection (b) under which assist-
ance is provided for the project. 
(B) PERIOD.—The period specified in this 
paragraph for an eligible federally assisted 
housing project is the period that— 
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(i) begins upon the date of the expira-
tion of applicability, to the project, of the 
affordability restrictions under the federal 
assistance program referred to in sub-
section (b) under which assistance is pro-
vided for the project; 
(ii) has such duration, as determined 
by the Secretary, as commensurate with 
the amount of the loan or grant assistance 
provided under this section for the project; 
and 
(iii) in no case exceeds 30 years. 
The Secretary may make such adjustments to 
such period as may be necessary to take into 
consideration any more significant restrictions 
accompanying other subsidies for the project. 
(2) LOANS.—In providing loans under this sec-
tion for eligible federally assisted housing projects, 
the Secretary may require the project to comply with 
affordability restrictions as the Secretary may estab-
lish, the terms of which shall be commensurate with 
the term and amount of the loan. 
(e) LIMITATION
ON AMOUNT.—The amount of a 
grant or loan under this section for an eligible federally 
assisted housing project may not exceed— 
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(1) a percentage, as determined by the Sec-
retary, of the cost of the eligible green retrofit im-
provements for the project described in the retrofit 
plan under subsection (f)(2) for the project; and 
(2) a dollar amount limitation, as the Secretary 
may establish. 
(f) APPLICATIONS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall provide 
for owners of eligible federally assisted housing 
project to submit applications to the Secretary for 
grants and loans under this subsection. The Sec-
retary shall require each such application to include 
a retrofit plan under paragraph (2). 
(2) RETROFIT PLAN.— 
(A) REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary may 
not make any grant or loan under this section 
for any eligible green retrofit improvements for 
an eligible federally assisted housing project un-
less the owner of the project has submitted to 
the Secretary, and the Secretary has approved 
(pursuant to any amendments or changes as 
the Secretary may require), a detailed written 
plan regarding such improvements that com-
plies with such requirements as the Secretary 
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shall establish, which shall include the fol-
lowing: 
(i) The plan shall set forth the cur-
rent utility costs for the project, including 
costs for water, heat, and electricity. 
(ii) The plan shall describe the eligible 
green retrofit improvements to be made for 
the project, setting forth— 
(I) a schedule for completing 
each such improvement; 
(II) the cost of and sources of 
funding for each such improvement; 
(III) the amount of anticipated 
cost savings resulting from each such 
improvement; and 
(IV) a schedule for such savings 
for each such improvement based on 
the current utility costs for the project 
set forth pursuant to clause (i), except 
that such cost-savings schedule may 
not have a term exceeding 10 years. 
(B) COST-EFFICIENCY; COST
SAVINGS.— 
The Secretary may approve a retrofit plan 
under this subsection only if the Secretary de-
termines that— 
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(i) the total present value of the cost 
savings resulting from the eligible green 
retrofit improvements specified in the plan 
and to be recovered over the term of the 
cost-savings schedule included in the plan 
will exceed the cost of making such im-
provements; and 
(ii) the eligible green retrofit improve-
ments specified in the plan will result in 
savings in utility or other operating costs 
for the eligible federally assisted housing 
project of not less than 20 percent, in com-
parison to utility and operating costs of 
such project absent the eligible green ret-
rofit improvements to be undertaken under 
the plan. 
(3) SELECTION PRIORITIES.—In selecting appli-
cations for loans and grants under this section the 
Secretary may— 
(A) give priority to applications providing 
for eligible green retrofit improvements that are 
funded in part with amounts from sources other 
than grants and loans under this section, and 
the extent of such priority provided may be 
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based on the ratio of such funding from other 
sources; and 
(B) give priority to applications based on 
the net amount of energy efficiency savings re-
sulting from the eligible green retrofit improve-
ments to be funded by such loans and grants. 
(g) LOANS.—In such circumstances as the Secretary 
may provide, the Secretary may provide assistance under 
this section in the form of a loan, which shall have such 
term to maturity, shall bear interest, and shall have such 
other terms and conditions as the Secretary may establish. 
(h) TREATMENT
OF GRANT AMOUNTS.—Notwith-
standing any other provision of law, assistance amounts 
under this section may be treated as amounts not derived 
from a Federal grant. 
(i) MONITORING.— 
(1) SUBMISSION
OF
INFORMATION
TO
SEC-
RETARY.—The Secretary shall require each owner of 
an eligible federally assisted housing project for 
which a grant or loan under this section is made to 
submit to the Secretary such information, on a reg-
ular basis during the term of the cost savings sched-
ule included in the retrofit plan for project for which 
such grant or loan is made or during such other 
term, and in such form and manner, as the Sec-
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retary considers appropriate to determine the cost 
savings resulting from the eligible green retrofit im-
provements funded with such grant or loan and to 
provide such other information as the Secretary con-
siders necessary. 
(2) OTHER MONITORING.—With respect to eli-
gible federally assisted housing projects for which el-
igible green retrofit improvements have been made 
with assistance under this section, the Secretary 
shall— 
(A) establish guidelines for obtaining cer-
tification of such projects, after retrofit, as En-
ergy Star buildings, for assigning Home Energy 
Rating System (HERS) rating for such 
projects, and for completing applicable building 
performance labels; and 
(B) establish processes for tracking the 
numbers and locations of such projects and ob-
taining information on projected and actual 
savings of energy and its value over time. 
(j) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section, the 
following definitions shall apply: 
(1) AFFORDABILITY RESTRICTIONS.—The term 
‘‘affordability restrictions’’ means, with respect to an 
eligible federally assisted housing project, limits im-
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