I 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3793 
To establish the Council on Healthy Housing, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 13, 2009 
Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania introduced the following bill; which was referred 
to the Committee on Financial Services 
A BILL 
To establish the Council on Healthy Housing, 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 ‘‘Healthy Housing 
Council Act of 2009’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) In the United States— 
(A) 5,700,000 households live in homes 
with moderate or severe physical hazards; 
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(B) 23,000,000 homes have significant 
lead-based paint hazards; 
(C) 8,700,000 homes have had leaks in the 
last 12 months; 
(D) 6,000,000 homes have had signs of 
mice in the last 3 months; and 
(E) 1 in 15 homes have dangerous levels of 
radon. 
(2) Residents of housing that is poorly de-
signed, constructed, or maintained are at risk for 
cancer, carbon monoxide poisoning, burns, falls, ro-
dent bites, childhood lead poisoning, asthma, and 
other illnesses and injuries. Vulnerable subpopula-
tions, such as children and the elderly, are at ele-
vated risk for housing-related illnesses and injuries. 
(3) Because substandard housing typically 
poses the greatest risks, the disparities in the dis-
tribution of housing-related health hazards are strik-
ing. One million two-hundred thousand housing 
units with significant lead-based paint hazards house 
low-income families with children under 6 years of 
age. 
(4) Housing-related illnesses, including asthma 
and lead poisoning, disproportionately affect children 
from lower-income families and from specific racial 
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and ethnic groups. In 2005, 13 percent of Black 
children were reported to have asthma, as compared 
with 9 percent of both Hispanic and White children. 
Black children are twice as likely to die from resi-
dential injuries as White children, and 3 percent of 
Black children and 2 percent of Mexican-American 
children have elevated blood lead levels, as compared 
to only 1.3 percent of White children. 
(5) The annual costs for environmentally attrib-
utable childhood diseases in the United States, in-
cluding lead poisoning, asthma, and cancer, total 
$54,900,000,000. This amount is approximately 3 
percent of total health care costs. 
(6) Appropriate housing design, construction, 
and maintenance, timely correction of deficiencies, 
planning efforts, and low-cost preventative measures 
can reduce the incidence of serious injury or death, 
improve the ability of residents to survive in the 
event of a major catastrophe, and contribute to over-
all well-being and mental health. Housing units that 
are kept lead-safe are approximately 25 percent less 
likely to have another child with elevated blood lead 
levels. Properly installed and maintained smoke 
alarms reduce the risk of fire deaths by 50 percent. 
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(7) Providing healthy housing to families and 
individuals in the United States will help prevent an 
estimated 240,000 elevated blood lead levels in 
young children, 11,000 unintentional injury deaths, 
12,000,000 nonfatal injuries, 3,000 deaths in house 
fires, 14,000 burn injuries, and 21,000 radon-associ-
ated lung cancer deaths that occur in United States 
housing each year, as well as 20,000,000 asthma 
cases and 14,000,000 missed school days. 
(8) While there are many programs in place to 
address housing-related health hazards, these pro-
grams are fragmented and spread across many agen-
cies, making it difficult for at-risk families and indi-
viduals to access assistance or to receive comprehen-
sive information. 
(9) Better coordination among Federal agencies 
is needed, as is better coordination at State and 
local levels, to ensure that families and individuals 
can access government programs and services in an 
effective and efficient manner. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act, the following definitions shall apply: 
(1) COUNCIL.—The term ‘‘Council’’ means the 
Interagency Council on Healthy Housing established 
under section 4. 
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(2) HOUSING.—The term ‘‘housing’’ means any 
form of residence, including rental housing, home-
ownership, group home, or supportive housing ar-
rangement. 
(3) HEALTHY
HOUSING.—The term ‘‘healthy 
housing’’ means housing that is designed, con-
structed, rehabilitated, and maintained in a manner 
that supports the health of the occupants of such 
housing. 
(4) HOUSING-RELATED HEALTH HAZARD.—The 
term ‘‘housing-related health hazard’’ means any bi-
ological, physical, or chemical source of exposure or 
condition either in, or immediately adjacent to, hous-
ing, that can adversely affect human health. 
(5) LOW-INCOME
FAMILIES
AND
INDIVID-
UALS.—The term ‘‘low-income families and individ-
uals’’ means any household or individual with an in-
come at or below 200 percent of the Federal poverty 
line. 
(6) POVERTY LINE.—The term ‘‘poverty line’’ 
means the official poverty line defined by the Office 
of Management and Budget based on the most re-
cent data available from the Bureau of the Census. 
(7) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘program’’ includes 
any Federal, State, or local program providing hous-
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