Kaptur Announces $1,000,000 to Address Health, Safety, and Energy Conservation Concerns in Toledo Homes

Press Release

Today, Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), announced a new federal housing infrastructure pilot program to benefit homes across Toledo, Ohio. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), through its joint Healthy Homes and Weatherization Cooperation Demonstration initiative with the Department of Energy (DOE), has awarded the City of Toledo Department of Neighborhoods and NeighborWorks Toledo $1,000,000 to combat residential health and safety hazards in at least 40 households across Toledo. The pilot program will help the City of Toledo and NeighborWorks to strengthen existing efforts to address a wide-range of health and safety concerns, including lead paint hazards, mold and moisture, pest infestations, poor indoor air quality, radon, and injury hazards; as well as conduct energy audits and implement energy conservation measures.

Rep. Kaptur, in her capacity as Chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, which oversees funding for the DOE's Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP), secured $5,000,000 in FY2020 Appropriations to create this joint HUD/DOE pilot program. Toledo was selected as one of five recipient communities to be awarded $1,000,000, in addition to Cincinnati and communities in Colorado, Utah, and Pennsylvania.

"I'm thrilled to announce this effort to invest $1,000,000 dollars right here in the Toledo community," said Rep. Kaptur. "In communities across the U.S., from the smallest towns to the largest cities, families have struggled as support for safe, energy efficient housing has dried up. Too many people in legacy communities like Toledo have been forced to live in situations where they can't afford to weatherize their homes or pay their utility bills even as they are living with exposure to lead paint and other toxic substances."

As Chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, Kaptur fought to include $5,000,000 in funding to launch a collaborative pilot project between HUD and DOE that would address a wide-range of health, safety and energy consumption concerns in housing that include: lead paint hazards, mold and moisture, poor indoor air quality, radon, injury hazards, and energy inefficiency. Ordinarily, funding for such projects are carried out individually by HUD's Office of Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes and the DOE's Energy's Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP). This pilot program creates a new, collaborative funding stream to help fund community projects like the one being carried out by the City of Toledo and NeighborWorks.

"In the end, this award to Toledo represents a down-payment on President Biden and Congressional Democrats' commitment to build back better through investment in critically needed housing infrastructure," Rep. Kaptur continued. "There is no greater investment in the economic future of an individual than an investment in a home. This initiative will increase home values while also lowering the energy costs as a key anti-poverty measure. Finally, it will help ensure our community, and our country, is doing its part to meet our climate goals to reduce the demand for energy."

Rep. Kaptur announced the funding at a press conference at a home currently receiving support from the Toledo Department of Neighborhoods and NeighborWorks Toledo. Rep. Kaptur was joined by Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz, Stephanie Beebe, Lead Safe Coordinator at the Toledo Department of Neighborhoods, and Bill Farnsel, CEO of NeighborWorks Toledo.

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