[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 11 (Thursday, January 19, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1232-S1233]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. GREGG (for himself and Mr. Cochran):
  S. 247. A bill to improve senior citizen housing safety; to the 
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.


                 the senior citizens housing safety act

 Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, last year, I introduced the Senior 
Citizens Housing Safety Act, a bill that will end the terror that 
unfortunately runs rampant throughout many housing projects 
specifically designated for elderly and disabled residents. I 
reintroduce this important legislation.
  In my home State of New Hampshire, most people are still afforded the 
luxury of not having to lock their front door before turning in for the 
evening. However, many elderly residents of public housing facilities 
in my State and across America have been forced to not only lock their 
front doors, but are literally being held prisoner in their own homes. 
I believe this is outrageous. I have received numerous complaints from 
residents of elderly housing facilities throughout New Hampshire who 
are worried about their personal safety in housing specifically 
reserved for them.
  Under current housing laws nonelderly persons considered disabled, 
because of past drug and alcohol abuse problems, are eligible to live 
in section 8 housing designated for the elderly. This mixing of 
populations may have filled up the housing projects across the country, 
but it has opened a Pandora's box of trouble. Simply put, young, 
recovering alcoholics and drug addicts are not compatible with elderly 
persons. Many of these young people hold all-night, loud parties, shake 
down many of the elderly residents for money, sell drugs within the 
housing facility, and generally disturb the right to the peaceful 
enjoyment of the premises by other tenants.
  This problem has occurred because the definition of handicapped under 
the Fair Housing Act was amended in 1988 to include recovering 
alcoholics and drug addicts. Under the mixed population rules of 1992, 
Congress determined that the elderly and disabled should be housed 
together. Historically, disabled individuals have lived in complexes 
for the elderly because the apartments there--one-bedroom units 
equipped with such features as hand rails--best fit their needs. 
However, drug addicts and alcoholics who are considered disabled do not 
have the same needs. Many elderly persons hope to retire in a community 
surrounded by persons their own age, elderly people who choose to live 
a peaceful existence in the company of their peers. I want to restore 
that hope and this legislation will attack this problem with a two-tier 
approach.

  First, my legislation will institute a front-end screening process. 
This will prevent nonelderly individuals, classified as disabled 
because they are recovering from alcoholism and drug addiction, from 
becoming eligible for housing that is designated for the elderly. It 
simply says they cannot live in housing designated for the elderly 
additionally, it will prevent the further mixing of two groups that are 
obviously incompatible. This will not, however, exclude these 
nonelderly, disabled individuals from the housing I believe they need 
and deserve.
  Second, my legislation will force local public housing agencies to 
evict nonelderly individuals occupying the facility who engage on three 
separate documented occasions in activities that threaten the health, 
safety, or right to peaceful enjoyment of the premises by other tenants 
and involves the use of drugs or alcohol.
  This process, by no means, circumvents the current housing eviction 
procedure. Under current law the public housing agency could evict 
these persons after one infraction if deemed necessary. It simply 
mandates that these nonelderly individuals be evicted after three 
incidents which threaten the health, safety, or right to peaceful 
enjoyment of the premises by other tenants.
  This is a simple bill that prevents the mixing of two populations who 
have proved incompatible.
  This bill will restore order in housing projects designated for 
elderly and disabled tenants by screening out nonelderly alcoholics and 
drug addicts, as well as evicting those nonelderly persons who 
continuously raise havoc within the housing project. I urge my 
colleagues to support this important bill. I ask unanimous consent that 
the text of the bill be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                 S. 247

       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 ``Senior Citizen Housing 
     Safety Act''.

     SEC. 2. SENIOR CITIZEN HOUSING SAFETY.

       (a) Limitation on Occupancy in Public Housing Designated 
     for Elderly Families.--
       (1) In general.--Section 7(a) of the United States Housing 
     Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437e(a)) is amended--
       (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``Notwithstanding any 
     other provision of law'' and inserting ``Subject only to the 
     provisions of this subsection'';
       (B) in paragraph (4), by inserting ``, except as provided 
     in paragraph (5)'' before the period at the end; and
       (C) by adding at the end the following new 
     paragraph: [[Page S1233]] 
       ``(5) Limitation on occupancy in projects for elderly 
     families.--
       ``(A) Occupancy limitation.--Notwithstanding any other 
     provision of law, a dwelling unit in a project (or portion of 
     a project) that is designated under paragraph (1) for 
     occupancy by only elderly families or by only elderly and 
     disabled families shall not be occupied by--
       ``(i) any person with disabilities who is not an elderly 
     person and whose history of use of alcohol or drugs 
     constitutes a disability; or
       ``(ii) any person who is not an elderly person and whose 
     history of use of alcohol or drugs provides reasonable cause 
     for the public housing agency to believe that the occupancy 
     by such person may interfere with the health, safety, or 
     right to peaceful enjoyment of the premises by other tenants.
       ``(B) Required statement.--A public housing agency may not 
     make a dwelling unit in such a project available for 
     occupancy to any person or family who is not an elderly 
     family, unless the agency acquires from the person or family 
     a signed statement that no person who will be occupying the 
     unit--
       ``(i) uses (or has a history of use of) alcohol; or
       ``(ii) uses (or has a history of use of) drugs;
     that would interfere with the health, safety, or right to 
     peaceful enjoyment of the premises by other tenants.''.
       (2) Lease provisions.--Section 6(l) of the United States 
     Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437d(l)) is amended--
       (A) in paragraph (5), by striking ``and'' at the end;
       (B) by redesignating paragraph (6) as paragraph (7); and
       (C) by inserting after paragraph (5) following new 
     paragraph:
       ``(6) provide that any occupancy in violation of the 
     provisions of section 7(a)(5)(A) or the furnishing of any 
     false or misleading information pursuant to section 
     7(a)(5)(B) shall be cause for termination of tenancy; and''.
       (b) Eviction of Nonelderly Tenants Having Drug or Alcohol 
     Use Problems From Public Housing Designated for Elderly 
     Families.--Section 7(c) of the United States Housing Act of 
     1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437e(c)) is amended to read as follows:
       ``(c) Standards Regarding Evictions.--
       ``(1) Limitation.--Any tenant who is lawfully residing in a 
     dwelling unit in a public housing project may not be evicted 
     or otherwise required to vacate such unit because of the 
     designation of the project (or a portion of the project) 
     pursuant to this section or because of any action taken by 
     the Secretary or any public housing agency pursuant to this 
     section.
       ``(2) Requirement to evict nonelderly tenants for 3 
     instances of prohibited activity involving drugs or 
     alcohol.--With respect to a project (or portion of a project) 
     described in subsection (a)(5)(A), the public housing agency 
     administering the project shall evict any person who is not 
     an elderly person and who, during occupancy in the project 
     (or portion thereof), engages on 3 separate occasions 
     (occurring after the date of the enactment of this Act) in 
     any activity that threatens the health, safety, or right to 
     peaceful enjoyment of the premises by other tenants and 
     involves the use of alcohol or drugs.
       ``(3) Rule of construction.--The provisions of paragraph 
     (2) requiring eviction of a person may not be construed to 
     require a public housing agency to evict any other persons 
     who occupy the same dwelling unit as the person required to 
     be evicted.''.
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