Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act of 2015

Floor Speech

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Ms. MENG. Mr. Chair, this amendment would require HUD to publish model guidelines for minimum heating requirements for public housing units.

Unfortunately, Mr. Chair, some public housing agencies across this country have struggled with the fundamental task of providing adequate housing and heating to low-income residents.

Less than 2 months ago, the New York Daily News and Reuters published a series of articles about tenants at the Frederick Douglass Houses in New York City, complaining that they were without heat for several frigid evenings in a row.

In response to these complaints, New York City public advocate Letitia James and Legal Services New York City filed a lawsuit on behalf of the tenants, and in their filing they quote a November 25 email from Robert Knapp, head of the New York City Housing Authority's heating management services unit, stating:

NYCHA official policy . . . is heat shut off between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. when the outside temperatures are above 20 degrees. When the outside temperature falls below 20 degrees, heat is given through the night.

Frankly, this is appalling.

Many Democratic Representatives from New York City agreed with me, and that is why we submitted a letter, led by my good friends and colleagues, Representatives Engel and Rangel, to the head of NYCHA, urging it to completely abandon the current heating policy. That letter was submitted to NYCHA--the largest housing agency in the country, overseeing more than 400,000 residents living in 2,500 buildings--more than a month ago, and we have yet to receive a response. That is why I have come to the floor today.

While it is not in our authority to mandate what a building's heating requirements should be in any particular city across this vast country, clearly some help is needed. Apparently, some local agencies might need official guidance from HUD outlining the fact that it is a good idea to turn the heat on at night when the temperature outside is below freezing.

I was hopeful things would not come to this point, but right now, in the middle of winter, when almost one in five public housing residents in my city are age 62 or older, and more than a quarter of them are children under the age of 18, I feel that this matter could ultimately be one of life or death.

We do not want to return to an age in which tenants of local public housing authorities are forced to revert to heating their homes with stoves.

Many of us here are all too familiar with the unfortunate tragedies that occur as a result of that practice and the fires that can also occur when residents are forced to rely on individual space heaters.

For not only the safety of public housing residents across America, but also their humanity, heating standards must be improved.

It is my hope that this amendment today, which mandates that HUD produce model heating guidelines, will assist in this endeavor. It is also my hope that all of my colleagues will support this effort.

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Ms. MENG. I thank the Chairman for his support.

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Ms. MENG. I yield to the gentleman from New York.

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Ms. MENG. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

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