Removing Environmental Hazards And Building Safely Act of 2019 or the REHABS Act of 2019
This bill authorizes the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to award grants to national and regional organizations and consortia to abate and remove environmental hazards (e.g., lead, asbestos, and mold) in homes being rehabilitated for families and individuals who otherwise would be unable to afford to purchase a dwelling. Additionally, HUD must study the assessment and removal of mold in the rehabilitation of a single-family home.
[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3295 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
116th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3295
To study and facilitate the abatement and removal of environmental
hazards in homes rehabilitated with community participation, and for
other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 14, 2019
Mr. Sean Patrick Maloney of New York (for himself, Mr. Suozzi, Mr.
Ryan, Ms. Kaptur, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. Katko, Mr. Heck, and Ms. Scanlon)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
Financial Services
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To study and facilitate the abatement and removal of environmental
hazards in homes rehabilitated with community participation, 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 ``Removing Environmental Hazards And
Building Safely Act of 2019'' or the ``REHABS Act of 2019''.
SEC. 2. STUDY AND REMOVAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS IN HOMES BEING
REHABILITATED.
(a) Study.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of
this Act, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development shall conduct
a study on--
(1) the best methods to assess the amount of mold in a
single family home prior to such home being rehabilitated;
(2) the danger posed by mold in a single family home prior
to such home being rehabilitated; and
(3) best practices for safely removing mold when
rehabilitating a single family home.
(b) Report.--Not later than 30 days after the completion of the
study pursuant to subsection (a), the Secretary shall submit a report
to Congress containing the results of such study, and make such report
available on a public website of the Department.
SEC. 3. GRANT PROGRAM FOR THE ABATEMENT AND REMOVAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL
HAZARDS FROM HOMES.
(a) Grant Authority.--The Secretary may, to the extent amounts are
available to carry out this section and the requirements of this
section are met, make grants to provide for or facilitate the abatement
and removal of environmental hazards in homes being rehabilitated to
national and regional organizations and consortia that have experience
in providing for or facilitating the abatement and removal of
environmental hazards from homes.
(b) Goals and Accountability.--In making grants under this section,
the Secretary shall take such actions as may be necessary to ensure
that--
(1) assistance provided under this section is used to
provide for or facilitate the abatement and removal of
environmental hazards in homes being rehabilitated through the
provision of self-help housing, under which the homeowner
contributes a significant amount of sweat equity toward the
rehabilitation of the dwelling;
(2) the dwellings for which abatement or removal is
performed in connection with assistance provided under this
section are quality dwellings that comply with local building
and safety codes and standards and are available at prices
below the prevailing market prices;
(3) the provision of assistance under this section
establishes and fosters a partnership between the Federal
Government and organizations and consortia, resulting in
efficient rehabilitation of affordable housing with minimal
governmental intervention, limited governmental regulation, and
significant involvement by private entities;
(4) activities to rehabilitate housing assisted pursuant to
this section involve community participation in which
volunteers assist in the rehabilitation of dwellings; and
(5) assistance under this section for the abatement or
removal of environmental hazards is provided for dwellings on a
geographically diverse basis, which shall include areas having
high housing costs, rural areas, and areas underserved by other
homeownership opportunities that are populated by low-income
families unable to otherwise afford housing.
If, at any time, the Secretary determines that the goals under this
subsection cannot be met by providing assistance in accordance with the
terms of this section, the Secretary shall immediately notify the
applicable Committees in writing of such determination and any proposed
changes for such goals or this section.
(c) National Competition.--The Secretary shall select organizations
and consortia referred to in subsection (a) to receive grants through a
national competitive process, which the Secretary shall establish.
(d) Use.--Amounts from grants made under this section, including
any recaptured amounts, shall be used only for the abatement and
removal of environmental hazards in connection with rehabilitating
existing homes to make them decent, safe, and sanitary nonluxury
dwellings in the United States for families and persons who otherwise
would be unable to afford to purchase a dwelling.
(e) Establishment of Grant Fund.--
(1) In general.--Any amounts from a grant made under this
section shall be deposited by the grantee organization or
consortium in a fund that is established by such organization
or consortium for such amounts, administered by such
organization or consortium, and available only for the uses
described in subsection (d). Any interest, fees, or other
earnings of the fund shall be deposited in the fund and shall
be considered grant amounts for purposes of this section.
(2) Assistance to affiliates.--Any organization or
consortia that receives a grant under this section may use
amounts in the fund established for such organizations or
consortia pursuant to paragraph (1), for the uses described in
subsection (d), by providing assistance from the fund to local
affiliates of such organizations and consortia.
(f) Requirements for Assistance.--The Secretary may make a grant to
an organization or consortium under subsection (a) only pursuant to--
(1) an expression of interest by such organization or
consortia to the Secretary for a grant for such purposes; and
(2) a grant agreement entered into under subsection (g).
(g) Grant Agreement.--A grant under this section shall be made only
pursuant to a grant agreement entered into by the Secretary and the
organization or consortia receiving the grant, which shall--
(1) require such organization or consortia to use grant
amounts only as provided in this section;
(2) require the organization or consortia to use the grant
amounts in a manner that leverages other sources of funding
other than grants under this section, including private or
public funds, in rehabilitating dwellings;
(3) provide that the Secretary shall recapture any grant
amounts provided to the organization or consortia that are not
used within 24 months after such amounts are first disbursed to
the organization or consortia; and
(4) contain such other terms as the Secretary may require
to provide for compliance with subsection (b) and the
requirements of this section.
(h) Fulfillment of Grant Agreement.--If the Secretary determines
that an organization or consortia awarded a grant under this section
has not, within 24 months after grant amounts are first made available
to the organization or consortia, substantially fulfilled the
obligations under the grant agreement, the Secretary shall use any such
undisbursed amounts remaining from such grants for other grants in
accordance with this section.
(i) Records and Audits.--During the period beginning upon the
making of a grant under this section and ending upon close-out of the
grant under subsection (j)--
(1) the organization awarded the grant shall keep such
records and adopt such administrative practices as the
Secretary may require to ensure compliance with the provisions
of this section and the grant agreement; and
(2) the Secretary and the Comptroller General of the United
States, and any of their duly appointed representatives, shall
have access for the purpose of audit and examination to any
books, documents, papers, and records of the grantee
organization or consortia and its affiliates that are pertinent
to the grant made under this section.
(j) Close-Out.--The Secretary shall close out a grant made under
this section upon determining that the aggregate amount of any
assistance provided from the fund established under subsection (e)(1)
by the grantee organization or consortium exceeds the amount of the
grant. For purposes of this subsection, any interest, fees, and other
earnings of the fund shall be excluded from the amount of the grant.
(k) Report to Congress.--Not later than 90 days after close-out of
all grants under this section is completed, the Secretary shall submit
a report to the applicable Committees describing--
(1) the grants made under this section;
(2) the grantees;
(3) the housing for which abatement or removal of
environmental hazards was performed in connection with the
grant amounts; and
(4) the purposes for which the grant amounts were used.
SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.
For purposes of this Act, the following definitions shall apply:
(1) Applicable committees.--The term ``applicable
Committees'' means the House Committee on Financial Services
and the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban
Affairs.
(2) Environmental hazard.--The term ``environmental
hazard'' means any condition that causes exposure to lead,
asbestos, mold, and other hazards as determined by the
Secretary.
(3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Housing and Urban Development.
(4) United states.--The term ``United States'' includes the
States of the United States, the District of Columbia, the
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Commonwealth of the Northern
Mariana Islands, Guam, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and
any other territory or possession of the United States.
SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There is authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be
necessary to carry out this Act.
SEC. 6. SUNSET.
The Secretary shall not enter into any grant agreement, contract,
or obligation under this Act after the conclusion of fiscal year 2022.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.
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