,i  #aafth ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #dedf  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,september #bg1      
#bjai,ms4 ,velzquez 7for herself1 ,mr4  
,nadler1 ,mrs4 ,carolyn ,b4 ,maloney of 
,new ,york1 ,ms4 ,clarke of ,new ,york1 
,mr4 ,rose of ,new ,york1 ,ms4 ,meng1   
,mr4 ,engel1 ,mr4 ,espaillat1 ,mr4      
,serrano1 ,mr4 ,jeffries1 ,miss ,rice of
 ,new ,york1 ,mr4 ,crdenas1 ,mr4 ,meeks1
 and ,mr4 ,suozzi7 introduced the       
following bill2 which was referred to   
the ,committee on ,financial ,services  
,a ,,bill  ,to authorize additional     
monies to the ,public ,housing ,capital 
,fund of the ,department of ,housing and
 ,urban ,development1 and for other     
purposes4  #a4 ,short title ,this ,act  
may be cited as the ,public ,housing    
,emergency ,response ,act4  #b4         
,findings ,the ,congress finds the      
following3  7#a7 ,housing is a          
foundational determinant of health and  
has been recognized as such since the   
early days of public health4  7#b7 ,poor

 housing conditions contribute to a     
broad range of infectious diseases1     
chronic diseases1 injuries1 childhood   
development complications1 nutrition    
issues1 and mental health challenges4   
7#c7 ,the ,united ,states ,housing ,act 
of #aicg 7,public ,law #ge-dab7 charges 
the ,department of ,housing and ,urban  
,development 7,,hud7 with providing     
residents with a decent1 safe1 and      
affordable place to live1 including     
those that live in public housing4  7#d7
 ,while public housing is a federally   
created program overseen by ,,hud1 the  
properties are owned and managed at the 
local level by quasi-governmental public
 housing authorities under contract with
 the ,federal ,government4  7#e7 ,thus1 
the public housing program is governed  
in part by ,federal rules and           
regulations and in part by policies     
enacted at the local level4  7#f7       
,passage of the ,united ,states ,housing
 ,act of #aicg sought to address the    
needs of low-income people through      

public housing4 ,at the time of passage 
of such ,act1 the ,nation's housing     
stock was of very poor quality4 ,public 
housing was a significant improvement   
for those who had access to it4  7#g7   
,however1 over the years the living     
conditions in public housing began to   
deteriorate as the operational needs of 
the units and costs necessary to remedy 
major capital deficiencies began to     
outpace the level of funding provided by
 the ,federal ,government and the       
residents' rent contributions4  7#h7 ,by
 #aiij1 no significant investment in    
housing affordable to the lowest-income 
individuals had been made by the        
,federal ,government in more than #cj   
years4  7#i7 ,in #aiih1 the enactment of
 the ,quality ,housing and ,work        
,responsibility ,act of #aiih 7title ,v 
of ,public ,law #aje-bgf7 prohibited    
public housing authorities from using   
any ,federal capital funding or         
operating funding to develop net new    
housing4  7#aj7 ,more than a decade     

after the enactment of the ,quality     
,housing and ,work ,responsibility ,act 
of #aiih1 the number of public housing  
units nationally began to steadily      
decline1 as more units were torn down   
than rebuilt4  7#aa7 ,with the exception
 of an infusion of funding from the     
economic stimulus legislation in        
#bjji--the ,american ,recovery and      
,reinvestment ,act 7,public ,law        
#aaa-e7--;,federal capital funding has  
remained relatively level for more than 
a decade1 despite an increasing backlog 
in unmet capital needs4  7#ab7 ,today1  
there are approximately #a4b million    
units of public housing across the      
country receiving ,federal funding4 ,the
 ,nation's largest public housing       
authority1 the ,new ,york ,city ,public 
,housing ,authority1 houses             
approximately #chj1jjj residents in #caf
 developments across ,new ,york ,city4  
7#ac7 ,as of ,april #bjai1 the national 
public housing capital repair backlog   
stood at more than #gj billion4  7#ad7  

,in his ,budget ,request for fiscal year
 #bjbj for the ,department of ,housing  
and ,urban ,development1 ,president     
,donald ,trump requested #j for the     
,department's ,public ,housing ,capital 
,fund1 which continues to be the primary
 source of funding public housing       
authorities rely on to address necessary
 infrastructure upgrades and repairs4   
7#ae7 ,federal disinvestment in public  
housing has forced many residents to    
live in accelerating substandard living4
 ,for example1 the ,new ,york ,city     
,housing ,authority has a capital repair
 backlog of approximately #cb billion4  
,new ,york ,city ,housing ,authority    
residents suffer from a consistent lack 
of hot water1 insufficient heat during  
the winter months1 rodent and insect    
infestations1 broken elevators1 and     
widespread and recurring lead and mold  
problems4  7#af7 ,substandard housing   
conditions1 such as poor ventilation1   
pest infestations1 and water leaks1 are 
directly associated with the development

 and exacerbation of respiratory        
diseases like asthma4  7#ag7 ,the       
,centers for ,disease ,control and      
,prevention has made clear that no level
 of lead poisoning is safe4 ,lead       
poisoning can result in irreversible    
brain damage and affects every major    
bodily system4 ,at high levels1 lead    
poisoning can cause anemia1 multi-organ 
damage1 seizures1 coma1 and death in    
children4 ,even with the lowest levels  
of lead exposure1 children experience   
physical1 cognitive1 and neurobehavioral
 impairment as well as lower ,,iq       
levels1 lower class standing in high    
school1 greater absenteeism1 lower      
vocabulary and grammatical-reasoning    
scores1 and poorer hand-eye coordination
 relative to other children4  7#ah7     
,exposure to cold indoor temperatures is
 associated with increased risk of      
cardiovascular disease4  7#ai7 ,due to  
its aging infrastructure1 the living    
conditions in public housing are causing
 severe health consequences for public  

housing residents throughout the        
,nation1 including asthma1 respiratory  
illness1 and elevated blood lead levels4
  7#bj7 ,this is a fixable public health
 crisis4 ,federal disinvestment in      
public housing has consequences and     
aging infrastructure is1 in many cases1 
the root cause of many of these health  
issues for residents4  7#ba7 ,for       
example1 one leading study found that   
children living in public housing have  
higher odds of asthma than children     
living in all types of private housing1 
even after adjusting for individual risk
 factors such as minority ethnicity and 
race1 living in a low-income household1 
and living in a low-income community4   
7#bb7 ,therefore1 it is necessary to    
reinvest in public housing1 provide the 
money needed to fulfill outstanding     
capital needs1 and to again ensure that 
all ,americans have a decent home and   
suitable living environment1 as is      
,,hud's charge4  #c4 ,authorization of  
appropriations ,there is authorized to  

be appropriated for assistance from the 
,public ,housing ,capital ,fund under   
section #i7;d7 of the ,united ,states   
,housing ,act of #aicg 7#db ,u4,s4,c4   
#adcg;g7d77 #gj1jjj1jjj1jjj1 which      
amount shall remain available until     
expended and1 notwithstanding           
subsections 7c77#a7 and 7d77#b7 of such 
section #i1 shall be allocated to public
 housing agencies based upon the extent 
of such agencies' capital need1 as      
determined according to the agencies'   
most recent ,physical ,needs            
,assessment4