[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6550 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 6550

To require the Inspector General of the Department of Housing and Urban 
 Development to provide a report to the Congress on the non-compliance 
    of the New York City Housing Authority, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            December 1, 2023

  Mr. Lawler introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                    Committee on Financial Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To require the Inspector General of the Department of Housing and Urban 
 Development to provide a report to the Congress on the non-compliance 
    of the New York City Housing Authority, and for other purposes.

    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 ``Accountability for NYCHA Act of 
2023''.

SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds that--
            (1) the New York City Housing Authority (in this Act 
        referred to as the ``Authority'') is the largest housing 
        authority in the United States, providing housing for over 
        520,000 residents in over 177,000 apartments in the City of New 
        York (in this Act referred to as the ``City'');
            (2) the Authority is a public housing agency that receives 
        Federal financial assistance from the Department of Housing and 
        Urban Development (in this Act referred to as the 
        ``Department'') to administer its public housing program;
            (3) the Authority is required to, among other things, 
        provide decent, safe, and sanitary housing for the public 
        housing residents of the City and comply with Federal law 
        protecting children from the hazards of lead poisoning;
            (4) on June 11, 2018, the United States filed a complaint 
        in the United States District Court for the Southern District 
        of New York (in this Act referred to as the ``Complaint''); 
        which set forth the findings of the United States 
        investigation, alleging, among other things, that the Authority 
        had--
                    (A) routinely failed to comply with lead-based 
                paint safety regulations;
                    (B) failed to provide decent, safe, and sanitary 
                housing, including with respect to the provision of 
                heat and elevators and the control and treatment of 
                mold and pests; and
                    (C) repeatedly misled the Department through false 
                statements and deceptive practices;
            (5) in a Consent Decree executed June 11, 2018, the 
        Authority made admissions regarding, among other things, 
        deficiencies in physical conditions with respect to lead, mold, 
        heating, elevators and pests and made untrue statements to the 
        Department regarding the conditions of the Authority's 
        properties and practices with regard to Public Housing 
        Assessment System inspections;
            (6) based on the Authority's misconduct as detailed in the 
        Complaint, on January 31, 2019, the Secretary of Housing and 
        Urban Development (in this Act referred to as the 
        ``Secretary'') declared that the Authority is in substantial 
        default within the meaning of section 6(j)(3)(A) of the United 
        States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437d(j)(3)(A));
            (7) the Department did not take possession of the Authority 
        or appoint a receiver, but instead entered into a voluntary 
        agreement between the Authority, the Department, and the City 
        on January 31, 2019, under which the Authority agreed to remedy 
        noted deficiencies subject to the oversight of a Monitor 
        appointed by the City;
            (8) as of the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
        Authority has still fully not complied with the agreement, 
        including the remedying of deficiencies or compliance with its 
        obligations under Federal law;
            (9) the Department and the United States Attorney's Office 
        for the Southern District of New York have sought to extend the 
        term of a Monitor over the Authority for an additional five 
        years beginning in 2024;
            (10) the residents of housing provided by the Authority 
        should not be required to wait five additional years for the 
        Authority to provide decent, safe, and sanitary housing 
        conditions, as is the Authority's most basic and necessary 
        function under the law; and
            (11) the Congress believes that it must provide additional 
        oversight over the Authority, the Department, the City, and the 
        Monitor in order to compel the Authority to fix the appalling 
        conditions and other issues that lead to a declaration of 
        substantial default under section 6(j)(3)(A) of the United 
        States Housing Act of 1937.

SEC. 3. INVESTIGATION AND REPORT TO CONGRESS.

    (a) Investigation.--The Inspector General of the Department of 
Housing and Urban Development shall conduct an investigation of the 
Authority, which shall include at a minimum--
            (1) determining the status of the New York City Housing 
        Authority's compliance with the agreement entered into between 
        the Authority, the Department, and the City on January 31, 
        2019, including specific areas of deficiency and progress 
        towards compliance;
            (2) conducting a review of actions taken by the Monitor 
        over the Authority pursuant to such Agreement, including any 
        gaps in oversight by the Monitor;
            (3) conducting a survey of the physical conditions of 
        housing provided by the Authority for the City's residents;
            (4) conducting an examination of any waste, fraud, abuse 
        and violations of Federal law committed by employees or 
        contractors of the Authority; and
            (5) identifying other priority issues and areas, as deemed 
        necessary and appropriate by the Inspector General.
    (b) Report.--Not later than the expiration of the 180-day period 
beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, the Inspector 
General shall provide to the Committee on Financial Services of the 
House of Representatives and the Committee on Banking, Housing, and 
Urban Affairs of the Senate a report setting forth the findings of its 
investigation, a summary of actions the Department may take to compel 
the Authority to remedy deficiencies, and any other recommendations of 
the Inspector General.
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