García, McEachin, Pressley Introduce Legislation to Protect Children in Public Housing from Lead Poisoning

Statement

Today, Representatives Jesús "Chuy" García (IL-04), A. Donald McEachin (VA-04) and Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), introduced the Lead Safe Housing for Kids Act to protect children and their families in federally-assisted housing from dangerous lead exposure and poisoning. The legislation would adopt federal prevention measures, including comprehensive risk assessments, to determine the presence of lead hazards.

While the incidence of lead poisoning in children has diminished, current federal regulations do not adequately prevent contact with lead or serious, lead-related health impacts. Children with lead poisoning often require long-term medical treatment and special education services, as some effects can be irreversible.

"How long will we allow children in America to be poisoned in their own homes? No child should still be suffering from lead exposure, especially if they live in public housing. Lead poisoning disproportionately affects communities of color, but it is completely preventable and it's past time we took action," said Congressman García. "Our government is responsible for the safety of families in housing it provides, and the comprehensive measures included in the Lead Safe Housing for Kids Act are a major step forward to provide safe housing for all families."

"For far too long, children in federally assisted housing have been disproportionately impacted by toxic lead exposure," said Congressman McEachin. "We know that lead poisoning leads to an array of negative health outcomes, yet our federal housing standards do not provide the necessary protections for low-income families. Every child in America deserves to live in a safe home, free from the threat of harmful environmental factors. That is why I am proud to introduce the Lead Safe Housing for Kids Act to establish federal regulations to curb exposure and provide families with viable avenues for recourse when faced with lead hazards. Our legislation would protect millions of children and ensure a safer, healthier future for Americans across the nation."

"For far too long, our government has allowed children and families living in public and federally-assisted housing to be exposed to lead poisoning--resulting in disproportionately worse health, economic and educational outcomes for Black, brown, and low-income communities," said Rep. Pressley. "This is a racial, health and economic justice issue and it's time to address it head on. Our bill would help affirm the right for everyone--especially our children--to live in safe and healthy housing, and I'm grateful to Reps. McEachin and García for their partnership."

The Lead Safe Housing for Kids Act would ensure safe, affordable housing for families by adopting comprehensive measures to reduce the thread of lead exposure and poisoning, including:

Requiring the use of risk assessments, a more accurate evaluation tool to identify lead hazards before a family moves into the home;
Requiring landlords to disclose and control lead hazards if found in the home, as well as providing notice to tenants about their rights under the Fair Housing Act;
Providing a process for families to relocate on an emergency basis, without penalty or the loss of assistance, if a lead hazard is identified in the home and the landlord fails to control the hazard within 30 days of being notified of the presence of lead; and
Creating a lead-based paint hazard demonstration project that provides funding for remediation of lead-based paint hazards in identified homes. This demonstration project would be funded at $50 million each fiscal year (FY2023 through FY2027).

The Lead Safe Housing for Kids Act is endorsed by the Green and Healthy Homes Initiative, Earth Justice, National Housing Law Project, National Low Income Housing Coalition, RESULTS, National NeighborWorks® Association, Brain Injury Association of America, National Disability Rights Network, Elevate Energy, and Cleveland Lead Advocates for Safe Housing.

Source