[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1518 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1518

 To amend title X of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1992 
to authorize the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to provide 
     assistance for startup costs of community programs to prevent 
            residentially based lead poisoning in children.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 21, 1999

 Mr. Weygand introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
              Committee on Banking and Financial Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend title X of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1992 
to authorize the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to provide 
     assistance for startup costs of community programs to prevent 
            residentially based lead poisoning in children.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Lead Evaluation, Abatement, and 
Detection Center Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds as follows:
            (1) Lead poisoning in residential environments is a major 
        health problem in older American cities.
            (2) It is estimated that 83 percent of privately owned 
        housing units and 86 percent of public housing units built 
        before 1980 contain lead hazards.
            (3) Lead-based paint remains the most common source of lead 
        exposure.
            (4) The main source of lead poisoning among children is the 
        dust that comes from chipping lead-based paint or dust that is 
        created during residential repainting or remodeling projects.
            (5) Even low levels of lead in the body are harmful and are 
        associated with reduced intelligence and attention span, 
        hearing loss, stunted growth, reading and learning problems, 
        and behavioral difficulties.
            (6) Nearly 5 percent of American children who are 1 to 5 
        years of age suffer from lead poisoning.
            (7) 16 percent of low-income children living in older 
        housing suffer from lead poisoning.
            (8) 22 percent of African American children living in older 
        housing suffer from lead poisoning.

SEC. 3. GRANT PROGRAM FOR STARTUP COSTS OF PROGRAMS TO PREVENT 
              RESIDENTIALLY BASED LEAD POISONING IN CHILDREN.

    Subtitle A of title X of the Housing and Community Development Act 
of 1992 (42 U.S.C. 1011 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the 
following new section:

``SEC. 1019. GRANTS FOR STARTUP COSTS OF COMMUNITY CENTER PROGRAMS.

    ``(a) In General.--The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development 
may make grants to public and nonprofit private entities for the 
purpose of assisting such entities in establishing, in geographic areas 
described in subsection (d), community programs that provide 
residential lead-based paint poisoning prevention services at or 
through single sites.
    ``(b) Use of Grant.--A grant under subsection (a) may be expended 
for the initial costs of providing the single-site facilities 
(including the acquisition and rehabilitation of facilities), 
personnel, and equipment for a community program described in such 
subsection, and for such other costs of establishing the program as the 
Secretary determines to be appropriate. Such a grant may not be 
expended to provide the services described in such subsection and may 
not otherwise be expended to pay the costs of operating such a program.
    ``(c) Services.--For purposes of this section, the term 
`residential lead-based paint poisoning prevention services' means any 
services appropriate to prevent lead poisoning in infants and children, 
especially lead poisoning resulting from the presence of lead-based 
paint in dwelling units, including--
            ``(1) conducting risk assessments and inspections in 
        housing, providing for interim control and abatement of lead-
        based paint hazards in housing, and any other activities 
        referred to in section 1011(e); and
            ``(2) any services described in section 317A(a)(1) of the 
        Public Health Service Act.
    ``(d) Eligible Geographic Areas.--For purposes of subsection (a), a 
geographic area described in this subsection is a geographic area that 
meets the following conditions:
            ``(1) A significant portion of the housing in the area was 
        constructed before 1950.
            ``(2) The area has a significant number of children who are 
        5 years of age or younger and have elevated blood lead levels.
            ``(3) Such other conditions as the Secretary may 
        establish.''.
    ``(e) Consultation.--In carrying out this section, the Secretary 
shall consult with the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention.
    ``(f) Authorization of Appropriations.--For the purpose of carrying 
out this section, there are authorized to be appropriated such sums as 
may be necessary for each of the fiscal years 2000 through 2004.''.
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