Healthy at Home on Base Act of 2024

Bill: 118-s-5318
Sponsor: full_name: Sen. Blumenthal, Richard [D-CT]
Introduced: 2024-11-14
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Latest action: action_date: 2024-11-14
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services.

Summaries:

tv_txt: II 118th CONGRESS 2d Session S. 5318 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES November 14, 2024 Mr. Blumenthal (for himself and Mr. Murphy ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services A BILL To direct the Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the heads of certain agencies and organizations, to conduct a study on the health effects of indoor residential mold growth in military unaccompanied housing or other housing on military installations, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Healthy at Home on Base Act of 2024 . 2. Elimination of indoor residential mold in housing of Department of Defense (a) Study and report on health impacts of indoor residential mold (1) Study (A) In general As soon as practicable after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Secretary of Energy, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the President of the National Academy of Sciences, and the Chair of the board of directors of the National Institute of Building Sciences shall conduct a comprehensive study on the health effects of indoor residential mold growth in military unaccompanied housing or other housing on military installations, using the most up-to-date scientific peer-reviewed medical literature. (B) Elements The study conducted under subparagraph (A) shall ascertain— (i) detailed information about harmful or toxigenic mold that may impact the military departments and individuals living on military installations, as well as any toxin or toxic compound such mold can produce; (ii) the most accurate research-based methods of detecting harmful or toxigenic mold; (iii) potential dangers of prolonged or chronic exposure to indoor residential mold growth in residential areas on military installations; (iv) the hazards involved with inadequate mold inspections on military installations and improper indoor residential mold remediation in military unaccompanied housing; (v) the estimated current public health burden of new or exacerbated physical illness resulting from exposure to indoor residential mold and the effect of such exposure on the military departments and quality of life for members of the Armed Forces, including with respect to readiness of the Armed Forces and the impact on children in military families; (vi) improved understanding of the different health symptomology that can result from exposure to mold in indoor residential environments on military installations, including military unaccompanied housing; (vii) ongoing surveillance of the prevalence of idiopathic pulmonary hemorrhage in infants living on military installations; and (viii) longitudinal studies on the effects of indoor mold exposure in early childhood on the development of asthma and other respiratory illnesses of children living on military installations. (2) Report (A) In general Not later than three years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to Congress and the President a report that contains the results of the study conducted under paragraph (1). (B) Form The report required by subparagraph (A) shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may include a classified index. (b) Health, safety, and habitability standards and model standards (1) Model standards for preventing, detecting, and remediating indoor residential mold growth Based on the results of the interagency health study conducted under subsection (a), the Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health, the Secretary of Energy, the Executive Director of the National Institute of Building Sciences, and the President of the National Academy of Sciences shall, in accordance with section 12(d) of the National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995 ( Public Law 104–113 ; 15 U.S.C. 272 note), jointly issue model health, safety, and habitability standards for preventing, detecting, and remediating indoor residential mold growth on military installations, including— (A) model residential mold inspection standards for military unaccompanied housing; (B) model indoor residential mold remediation standards for military installations; (C) standards for testing the toxicity of indoor residential mold and any toxin or toxic compound produced by indoor residential mold on military installations; (D) health and safety standards for the protection of those inspecting for and remediating mold in housing on military installations; (E) standards for indoor residential mold testing labs that serve military installations; (F) model ventilation standards for the design, installation, and maintenance of air ventilation or air-conditioning systems in housing on military installations to prevent indoor residential mold growth or the creation of conditions that foster indoor mold growth in housing on military installations; and (G) model building code standards for housing on military installations to control moisture and prevent mold growth. (2) Consultation To the maximum extent possible, model standards issued under paragraph (1) shall be developed with the assistance of— (A) organizations that develop mold and water damage standards and work with military installations; (B) organizations involved in establishing national building construction standards and work with military installations; (C) organizations involved in improving indoor air quality; (D) public health advocates that serve the military community; and (E) health and medical professionals that serve members of the Armed Forces and their families, including practitioners that care for children of members of the Armed Forces. (3) Resiliency Model standards issued under paragraph (1) shall take into account geographic diversity, propensity for extreme weather or flooding, and other resiliency metrics impacting military housing. (4) Deadlines (A) Public review and comment The officials identified in paragraph (1) shall make draft standards issued under such paragraph available for public review and comment not later than 90 days prior to publication of the final standards pursuant to subparagraph (B). (B) Publication Not later than three years after the date on which the results of the study conducted under subsection (a) are submitted to Congress in accordance with such subsection, the officials identified in paragraph (1) shall issue, and make available to the public, final standards under this subsection. (5) Review and updates The officials identified in paragraph (1) shall— (A) review the model standards issued under this subsection not less frequently than once every five years based on the latest scientific advances and published studies relating to indoor residential mold growth; and (B) update such standards as necessary to preserve and improve the quality of housing on military installations and prevent the displacement of those currently living on military installations. (c) Construction requirements for new housing on military installations (1) In general The Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, the Executive Director of the National Institute of Building Sciences, and the President of the National Academy of Sciences, to the extent such Director and President agree to participate, shall develop model construction standards and techniques for preventing and controlling indoor residential mold in new residential properties on military installations. (2) Contents The model standards and techniques developed under paragraph (1) shall provide for geographic differences in construction types and materials, geology, weather, and other variables that may affect indoor residential mold levels in new buildings and on various military installations. (3) Consultation To the maximum extent possible, model standards and techniques shall be developed under paragraph (1) with the assistance of— (A) organizations involved in establishing national building construction standards and techniques, especially organizations that do that work on military installations; (B) organizations that develop mold and water damage standards on military installations; and (C) public health advocates that serve the military community. (4) Publication (A) Draft standards and techniques The Secretary of Defense shall make a draft of the document containing the model standards and techniques developed under paragraph (1) available for public review and comment. (B) Final standards and techniques The Secretary shall make the final model standards and techniques developed under paragraph (1) available to the public not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act. (5) Applicability to new construction and rehabilitation Not later than one year after the publication of the final model standards and techniques required by paragraph (4)(B), the Secretary of Defense shall include such model standards and techniques as a requirement for residential rehabilitation or new construction projects conducted by the Department of Defense with amounts appropriated to the Department. (d) Education for military health professionals The Secretary of Defense shall include education for military health professions on mold-related illness, including signs and symptoms of toxigenic mold exposure, in recurring training received by miliary health practitioners at such time and in such manner as the Secretary chooses. (e) Definitions In this section: (1) Indoor residential mold The term indoor residential mold means any form of multi-cellular fungi found in water-damaged indoor environments and building materials, including cladosporium, penicillium, alternaria, aspergillus, fusarium, trichoderma, memnoniella, mucor, stachybotrys chartarum, streptomyces, and epicoccumoften. (2) Military installation The term military installation has the meaning given the term in section 2801(c) of title 10, United States Code. (3) Military unaccompanied housing The term military unaccompanied housing has the meaning given that term in section 2871 of title 10, United States Code. (4) Toxigenic mold The term toxigenic mold means any indoor mold growth that may be capable of producing a toxin or toxic compound, including mycotoxins and microbial volatile organic compounds, that can cause pulmonary, respiratory, neurological, gastrointestinal, or dermatological illnesses, or other major adverse health impacts, as determined by the Secretary of Defense in consultation with the Director of the National Institutes of Health, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.