[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 142 (Thursday, September 22, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5910-S5913]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. REED (for himself, Mr. Johanns, Mrs. Boxer, Mr. Merkley, 
        and Mr. Franken):
  S. 1617. A bill to establish the Council on Healthy Housing and for 
other purposes; to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban 
Affairs.
  Mr. REED. Mr. President, I introduce with my colleague Senator 
Johanns, the Healthy Housing Council Act. I thank Senators Boxer, 
Merkley, and Franken for joining us as original cosponsors of this 
bill.
  Many factors impact health and wellness. Typically, doctors and other 
health professionals are able to counsel patients on the importance of 
exercise and healthy eating, for example, to prevent diseases and 
conditions. Too frequently, however, these providers overlook the 
possibility of housing-related health hazards that patients knowingly 
or unknowingly come into contact with, which can also cause a variety 
of preventable diseases and conditions like cancer, lead poisoning, and 
asthma.
  While there are many programs in place to address these hazards, 
these programs are fragmented and spread across many agencies. Our 
legislation, the Healthy Housing Council Act, would establish an 
independent interagency Council on Healthy Housing in the executive 
branch in order to improve the coordination of existing but fragmented 
programs, bringing these various efforts out of their respective silos 
and reducing duplication to improve the efficiency and efficacy of 
these efforts.
  Through periodic meetings, Federal, State, and local government 
representatives, along with industry and nonprofit representatives will 
meet to discuss ways to educate individuals and families on how to 
recognize housing-related health hazards and access the necessary 
services and preventive measures to combat these hazards. This 
collaboration is particularly critical as every member of the council

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will bring a different perspective to the table on how to review, 
monitor, and evaluate existing housing, health, energy, and 
environmental programs and work together to collectively improve these 
programs for the future. Then, in order to ensure that members of the 
public are informed of and benefit from the council's activities, the 
council would hold biannual stakeholder meetings, maintain an updated 
website, and work to unify healthy housing data collection and 
maintenance.
  It is our goal for this council to help reduce the more than 5.7 
million households living in conditions with moderate or severe health 
hazards, 23 million additional homes with lead-based paint hazards, 
14,000 unintentional injury and fire deaths every year that result from 
housing-related hazards, and 21,000 radon-associated lung cancer deaths 
every year. Indeed, the council will help us embark on a path to assure 
that affordable and decent homes are also healthy.
  This council could also be critical in helping to curb overall health 
care expenditures. For example, the annual cost of environmentally 
attributable childhood diseases, including cancer, lead poisoning, and 
cancer was $76 billion in 2008 dollars, 3.5 percent of total health 
costs. Low-income and minority individuals and families who are 
disproportionately affected by housing-related health hazards are the 
same individuals and families who are typically enrolled in Medicaid or 
forgo insurance altogether, which costs Federal and States governments. 
Helping to improve housing conditions can help prevent an estimated 
250,000 children under the age of 6 from having elevated blood levels 
each year, nearly 10,000 emergency department visits for carbon 
monoxide exposure, and 12.3 million asthma attacks. Keeping children 
out of the doctor's office and emergency rooms will save families and 
the government money.
  As Congress continues to explore methods to reduce spending and reign 
in our deficit and improve the health of individuals, children, and 
families, promoting low-cost measures to eliminate subpar housing can 
make a dramatic and meaningful difference, and I urge my colleagues to 
join me and Senators Johanns, Boxer, Merkley, and Franken in supporting 
this bipartisan bill and other healthy housing efforts.
  Mr. President I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

                                S. 1617

       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 ``Healthy Housing Council Act 
     of 2011''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       Congress finds the following:
       (1) In the United States--
       (A) 5,757,000 households live in homes with moderate or 
     severe physical hazards;
       (B) 23,000,000 homes have significant lead-based paint 
     hazards;
       (C) 6,000,000 homes have had signs of mice in the last 3 
     months; and
       (D) 1 in 15 homes have dangerous levels of radon.
       (2) Residents of housing that is poorly designed, 
     constructed, or maintained are at risk for cancer, carbon 
     monoxide poisoning, burns, falls, rodent bites, childhood 
     lead poisoning, asthma, and other illnesses and injuries. 
     Vulnerable subpopulations, such as children and the elderly, 
     are at elevated risk for housing-related illnesses and 
     injuries.
       (3) Because substandard housing typically poses the 
     greatest risks, the disparities in the distribution of 
     housing-related health hazards are striking. One million two 
     hundred thousand housing units with significant lead-based 
     paint hazards house low-income families with children under 6 
     years of age.
       (4) Housing-related illnesses, including asthma and lead 
     poisoning, disproportionately affect children from lower-
     income families and from specific racial and ethnic groups. 
     The prevalence of being diagnosed with asthma in a lifetime 
     is 24 percent among Puerto Rican children, 10.1 percent for 
     Mexican-American children, 12.4 percent for non-Hispanic 
     White children, and 21.8 percent for non-Hispanic Black 
     children. Black children are twice as likely to die from 
     residential injuries as White children, and 3 percent of 
     Black children and 2 percent of Mexican-American children 
     have elevated blood lead levels, as compared to only 1.3 
     percent of White children.
       (5) The annual costs for environmentally attributable 
     childhood diseases in the United States, including lead 
     poisoning, asthma, and cancer, total $76,000,000,000 in 2008 
     dollars. This amount is approximately 3.5 percent of total 
     health care costs.
       (6) Appropriate housing design, construction, and 
     maintenance, timely correction of deficiencies, planning 
     efforts, and low-cost preventive measures can reduce the 
     incidence of serious injury or death, improve the ability of 
     residents to survive in the event of a major catastrophe, and 
     contribute to overall well-being and mental health. Lead 
     hazard control in homes with lead-based paint hazards can 
     reduce children's blood lead levels by as much as 34 percent. 
     Properly installed and maintained smoke alarms reduce the 
     risk of fire deaths by 50 percent.
       (7) Providing healthy housing to families and individuals 
     in the United States will help prevent an estimated 250,000 
     children from having elevated blood lead levels, 18,000 
     injury deaths, 12,000,000 nonfatal injuries, 3,000 deaths in 
     house fires, 9,600 emergency department visits for carbon 
     monoxide exposure, and 21,000 radon-associated lung cancer 
     deaths that occur in United States housing each year, as well 
     as 12,300,000 asthma attacks, and 14,000,000 missed school 
     days.
       (8) While there are many programs in place to address 
     housing-related health hazards, these programs are fragmented 
     and spread across many agencies, making it difficult for at-
     risk families and individuals to access assistance or to 
     receive comprehensive information.
       (9) Better coordination among Federal agencies is needed, 
     as is better coordination at State and local levels, to 
     ensure that families and individuals can access government 
     programs and services in an effective and efficient manner.

     SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

       In this Act, the following definitions shall apply:
       (1) Council.--The term ``Council'' means the Interagency 
     Council on Healthy Housing established under section 4.
       (2) Healthy housing.--The term ``healthy housing'' means 
     housing that is designed, constructed, rehabilitated, and 
     maintained in a manner that supports the health of the 
     occupants of such housing.
       (3) Housing.--The term ``housing'' means any form of 
     residence, including rental housing, homeownership, group 
     home, or supportive housing arrangement.
       (4) Housing-related health hazard.--The term ``housing-
     related health hazard'' means any biological, physical, or 
     chemical source of exposure or condition either in, or 
     immediately adjacent to, housing, that can adversely affect 
     human health.
       (5) Low-income families and individuals.--The term ``low-
     income families and individuals'' means any household or 
     individual with an income at or below 200 percent of the 
     Federal poverty line.
       (6) Poverty line.--The term ``poverty line'' means the 
     official poverty line defined by the Office of Management and 
     Budget based on the most recent data available from the 
     Bureau of the Census.
       (7) Program.--The term ``program'' includes any Federal, 
     State, or local program providing housing or financial 
     assistance, health care, mortgages, bond and tax financing, 
     homebuyer support courses, financial education, mortgage 
     insurance or loan guarantees, housing counseling, supportive 
     services, energy assistance, or other assistance related to 
     healthy housing.
       (8) Service.--The term ``service'' includes public and 
     environmental health services, housing services, energy 
     efficiency services, human services, and any other services 
     needed to ensure that families and individuals in the United 
     States have access to healthy housing.

     SEC. 4. INTERAGENCY COUNCIL ON HEALTHY HOUSING.

       (a) Establishment.--There is established in the executive 
     branch an independent council to be known as the Interagency 
     Council on Healthy Housing.
       (b) Objectives.--The objectives of the Council are as 
     follows:
       (1) To promote the supply of and demand for healthy housing 
     in the United States through capacity building, technical 
     assistance, education, and public policy.
       (2) To promote coordination and collaboration among the 
     Federal departments and agencies involved with housing, 
     public health, energy efficiency, emergency preparedness and 
     response, and the environment to improve services for 
     families and individuals residing in inadequate or unsafe 
     housing and to make recommendations about needed changes in 
     programs and services with an emphasis on--
       (A) maximizing the impact of existing programs and services 
     by transitioning the focus of such programs and services from 
     categorical approaches to comprehensive approaches that 
     consider and address multiple housing-related health hazards;
       (B) reducing or eliminating areas of overlap and 
     duplication in the provision and accessibility of such 
     programs and services;
       (C) ensuring that resources, including assistance with 
     capacity building, are targeted to and sufficient to meet the 
     needs of high-risk communities, families, and individuals; 
     and
       (D) facilitating access by families and individuals to 
     programs and services that help reduce health hazards in 
     housing.
       (3) To identify knowledge gaps, research needs, and policy 
     and program deficiencies associated with inadequate housing 
     conditions and housing-related illnesses and injuries.
       (4) To help identify best practices for achieving and 
     sustaining healthy housing.

[[Page S5912]]

       (5) To help improve the quality of existing and newly 
     constructed housing and related programs and services, 
     including those programs and services which serve low-income 
     families and individuals.
       (6) To establish an ongoing system of coordination among 
     and within such agencies or organizations so that the healthy 
     housing needs of families and individuals are met in a more 
     effective and efficient manner.
       (c) Membership.--The Council shall be composed of the 
     following members:
       (1) The Secretary of Health and Human Services.
       (2) The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.
       (3) The Administrator of the Environmental Protection 
     Agency.
       (4) The Secretary of Energy.
       (5) The Secretary of Labor.
       (6) The Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
       (7) The Secretary of the Treasury.
       (8) The Secretary of Agriculture.
       (9) The Secretary of Education.
       (10) The head of any other Federal agency as the Council 
     considers appropriate.
       (11) Six additional non-Federal employee members, as 
     appointed by the President to serve terms not to exceed 2 
     years, of whom--
       (A) 1 shall be a State or local Government Director of 
     Health or the Environment;
       (B) 1 shall be a State or local Government Director of 
     Housing or Community Development;
       (C) 2 shall represent nonprofit organizations involved in 
     housing or health issues; and
       (D) 2 shall represent for-profit entities involved in the 
     housing, banking, or health insurance industries.
       (d) Co-Chairpersons.--The co-Chairpersons of the Council 
     shall be the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and 
     the Secretary of Health and Human Services.
       (e) Vice Chair.--Every 2 years, the Council shall elect a 
     Vice Chair from among its members.
       (f) Meetings.--The Council shall meet at the call of either 
     co-Chairperson or a majority of its members at any time, and 
     no less often than annually.

     SEC. 5. FUNCTIONS OF THE COUNCIL.

       (a) Relevant Activities.--In carrying out the objectives 
     described in section 4(b), the Council shall--
       (1) review Federal programs and services that provide 
     housing, health, energy, or environmental services to 
     families and individuals;
       (2) monitor, evaluate, and recommend improvements in 
     programs and services administered, funded, or financed by 
     Federal, State, and local agencies to assist families and 
     individuals in accessing healthy housing and make 
     recommendations about how such agencies can better work to 
     meet the healthy housing and related needs of low-income 
     families and individuals; and
       (3) recommend ways to--
       (A) reduce duplication among programs and services by 
     Federal agencies that assist families and individuals in 
     meeting their healthy housing and related service needs;
       (B) ensure collaboration among and within agencies in the 
     provision and availability of programs and services so that 
     families and individuals are able to easily access needed 
     programs and services;
       (C) work with States and local governments to better meet 
     the needs of families and individuals for healthy housing 
     by--
       (i) holding meetings with State and local representatives; 
     and
       (ii) providing ongoing technical assistance and training to 
     States and localities in better meeting the housing-related 
     needs of such families and individuals;
       (D) identify best practices for programs and services that 
     assist families and individuals in accessing healthy housing, 
     including model--
       (i) programs linking housing, health, environmental, human, 
     and energy services;
       (ii) housing and remodeling financing products offered by 
     government, quasi-government, and private sector entities;
       (iii) housing and building codes and regulatory practices;
       (iv) existing and new consensus specifications and work 
     practices documents;
       (v) capacity building and training programs that help 
     increase and diversify the supply of practitioners who 
     perform assessments of housing-related health hazards and 
     interventions to address housing-related health hazards; and
       (vi) programs that increase community awareness of, and 
     education on, housing-related health hazards and available 
     assessments and interventions;
       (E) develop a comprehensive healthy housing research agenda 
     that considers health, safety, environmental, and energy 
     factors, to--
       (i) identify cost-effective assessments and treatment 
     protocols for housing-related health hazards in existing 
     housing;
       (ii) establish links between housing hazards and health 
     outcomes;
       (iii) track housing-related health problems including 
     injuries, illnesses, and death;
       (iv) track housing conditions that may be associated with 
     health problems;
       (v) identify cost-effective protocols for construction of 
     new healthy housing; and
       (vi) identify replicable and effective programs or 
     strategies for addressing housing-related health hazards;
       (4) hold biannual meetings with stakeholders and other 
     interested parties in a location convenient for such 
     stakeholders, or hold open Council meetings, to receive input 
     and ideas about how to best meet the healthy housing needs of 
     families and individuals;
       (5) maintain an updated website of policies, meetings, best 
     practices, programs and services, making use of existing 
     websites as appropriate, to keep people informed of the 
     activities of the Council; and
       (6) work with member agencies to collect and maintain data 
     on housing-related health hazards, illnesses, and injuries so 
     that all data can be accessed in 1 place and to identify and 
     address unmet data needs.
       (b) Reports.--
       (1) By members.--Each year the head of each agency who is a 
     member of the Council shall prepare and transmit to the 
     Council a report that briefly summarizes--
       (A) each healthy housing-related program and service 
     administered by the agency and the number of families and 
     individuals served by each program or service, the resources 
     available in each program or service, and a breakdown of 
     where each program and service can be accessed;
       (B) the barriers and impediments, including statutory or 
     regulatory, to the access and use of such programs and 
     services by families and individuals, with particular 
     attention to the barriers and impediments experienced by low-
     income families and individuals;
       (C) the efforts made by the agency to increase 
     opportunities for families and individuals, including low-
     income families and individuals, to reside in healthy 
     housing, including how the agency is working with other 
     agencies to better coordinate programs and services; and
       (D) any new data collected by the agency relating to the 
     healthy housing needs of families and individuals.
       (2) By the council.--Each year, the Council shall prepare 
     and transmit to the President and the Congress, a report 
     that--
       (A) summarizes the reports required in paragraph (1);
       (B) utilizes recent data to assess the nature of housing-
     related health hazards, and associated illnesses and 
     injuries, in the United States;
       (C) provides a comprehensive and detailed description of 
     the programs and services of the Federal Government in 
     meeting the needs and problems described in subparagraph (B);
       (D) describes the activities and accomplishments of the 
     Council in working with Federal, State, and local 
     governments, nonprofit organizations and for-profit entities 
     in coordinating programs and services to meet the needs 
     described in subparagraph (B) and the resources available to 
     meet those needs;
       (E) assesses the level of Federal assistance required to 
     meet the needs described in subparagraph (B); and
       (F) makes recommendations for appropriate legislative and 
     administrative actions to meet the needs described in 
     subparagraph (B) and for coordinating programs and services 
     designed to meet those needs.

     SEC. 6. POWERS OF THE COUNCIL.

       (a) Hearings.--The Council may hold such hearings, sit and 
     act at such times and places, take such testimony, and 
     receive such evidence as the Council considers advisable to 
     carry out the purposes of this Act.
       (b) Information From Agencies.--Agencies which are 
     represented on the Council shall provide all requested 
     information and data to the Council as requested.
       (c) Postal Services.--The Council may use the United States 
     mails in the same manner and under the same conditions as 
     other departments and agencies of the Federal Government.
       (d) Contracts and Interagency Agreements.--The Council may 
     enter into contracts with State, Tribal, and local 
     governments, public agencies and private-sector entities, and 
     into interagency agreements with Federal agencies. Such 
     contracts and interagency agreements may be single-year or 
     multi-year in duration.

     SEC. 7. COUNCIL PERSONNEL MATTERS.

       (a) Staff.--
       (1) Executive director.--The Council shall appoint an 
     Executive Director at its initial meeting. The Executive 
     Director shall be compensated at a rate not to exceed the 
     rate of basic pay payable for level V of the Executive 
     Schedule under section 5316 of title 5, United States Code.
       (2) Compensation.--With the approval of the Council, the 
     Executive Director may appoint and fix the compensation of 
     such additional personnel as the Executive Director considers 
     necessary to carry out the duties of the Council, except that 
     the rate of pay for any such additional personnel may not 
     exceed the rate of basic pay payable for level V of the 
     Executive Schedule under section 5316 of such title.
       (b) Temporary and Intermittent Services.--In carrying out 
     its objectives, the Executive Director with the approval of 
     the Council, may procure temporary and intermittent services 
     of consultants and experts under section 3109(b) of title 5, 
     United States Code, at rates for individuals which do not 
     exceed the daily equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay 
     payable for level V of the Executive Schedule under section 
     5316 of such title.
       (c) Detail of Government Employees.--Upon request of the 
     Council, any Federal Government employee may be detailed to 
     the Council with reimbursement, and such detail shall be 
     without interruption or loss of civil service status or 
     privilege.

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       (d) Administrative Support.--The Secretary of Housing and 
     Urban Development shall provide the Council with such 
     administrative (including office space) and support services 
     as are necessary to ensure that the Council can carry out its 
     functions in an efficient and expeditious manner.

     SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       (a) In General.--There are authorized to be appropriated to 
     carry out this Act, $750,000 for each of fiscal years 2012 
     through 2016.
       (b) Availability.--Amounts authorized to be appropriated by 
     subsection (a) shall remain available for the 2 fiscal years 
     following such appropriation.
                                 ______