Housing Temperature Safety Act of 2022
Floor Speech
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Ms. WATERS. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 6528) to require owners of covered federally assisted rental dwelling units to install temperature sensors in such units, and for other purposes, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows: H.R. 6528
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 ``Housing Temperature Safety Act of 2022''. SEC. 2. TEMPERATURE SENSOR PILOT PROGRAM.
(a) In General.--The Secretary shall establish a temperature sensor 3-year pilot program to provide grants to public housing agencies and owners of covered federally assisted rental dwelling units to install and test the efficacy of temperature sensors in residential dwelling units to ensure such units remain in compliance with temperature requirements.
(b) Application.--The Secretary shall, not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, establish eligibility criteria for participation in the pilot program established pursuant to subsection (a) and such criteria shall be designed to ensure--
(1) the pilot program includes a diverse range of participants that represent different geographic regions, climate regions, unit sizes and types of housing; and
(2) the functionality of the temperature sensors that will be tested, including internet connectivity requirements.
(c) Installation.--Each public housing agency or owner of a covered federally assisted rental dwelling unit that receives one or more temperature sensors under this Act shall, after receiving written permission from the resident of a dwelling unit, install such temperature sensor and monitor the data from such temperature sensor.
(d) Collection of Complaint Records.--
(1) In general.--Each public housing agency or owner of a covered federally assisted rental dwelling unit that receives one or more temperature sensors under this Act shall collect and retain information about temperature-related complaints and violations.
(2) Definitions.--The Secretary shall, not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, define the terms temperature-related complaints and temperature-related violations for the purposes of this Act.
(e) Data Collection.--
(1) In general.--Data collected from temperature sensors provided to public housing agencies and owners of covered federally assisted rental dwelling units under this Act shall be retained until the Secretary notifies the public housing agency or owner that the pilot program and the evaluation of the pilot program are complete.
(2) Personally identifiable information.--The Secretary shall, not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, establish standards for the protection of personally identifiably information collected during the pilot program by public housing agencies, owners of federally assisted rental dwelling units, and the Secretary.
(f) Pilot Program Evaluation.--
(1) Interim evaluation.--Not later than 12 months after the establishment of the pilot program under this Act, the Secretary shall publicly publish and submit to the Congress a report that--
(A) examines the number of temperature-related complaints and violations in federally assisted rental dwelling units with temperature sensors, disaggregated by temperature sensor technology and climate region--
(i) that occurred before the installation of such sensor, if known; and
(ii) that occurred after the installation of such sensor; and
(B) identifies any barriers to full utility of temperature sensor capabilities, including broadband Internet access and tenant participation.
(2) Final evaluation.--Not later than 36 months after the conclusion of the pilot program established by the Secretary under this Act, the Secretary shall publicly publish and submit to the Congress a report that--
(A) examines the number of temperature-related complaints and violations in federally assisted rental dwelling units with temperature sensors, disaggregated by temperature sensor technology and climate region--
(i) that occurred before the installation of such sensor; and
(ii) that occurred after the installation of such sensor;
(B) identifies any barriers to full utility of temperature sensor capabilities, including broadband Internet access and tenant participation; and
(C) compare the utility of various temperature sensor technologies based on--
(i) climate zones;
(ii) cost;
(iii) features; and
(iv) any other factors identified by the Secretary.
(g) Definitions.--For the purposes of this Act:
(1) Temperature sensor.--The term ``temperature sensor'' means an internet capable temperature reporting device able to measure ambient air temperature to the tenth degree Fahrenheit and Celsius.
(2) Covered federally assisted housing.--The term ``covered federally assisted rental dwelling unit'' means a residential dwelling unit that is made available for rental and for which assistance is provided, or that is part of a housing project for which assistance is provided, under--
(A) the program for project-based rental assistance under section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f);
(B) the public housing program under the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437 et seq.);
(C) the program for supportive housing for the elderly under section 202 of the Housing Act of 1959 (12 U.S.C. 1701q); or
(D) the program for supportive housing for persons with disabilities under section 811 of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 8013).
(3) Owner.--The term ``owner'' means--
(A) with respect to the program for project-based rental assistance under section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f), any private person or entity, including a cooperative, an agency of the Federal government, or a public housing agency, having the legal right to lease or sublease dwelling units;
(B) with respect to public housing program under the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437 et seq.), a public housing agency or an owner entity of public housing units as defined in section 905.108 of title 24, Code of Federal Regulations;
(C) with respect to the program for supportive housing for the elderly under section 202 of the Housing Act of 1959 (12 U.S.C. 1701q), a private nonprofit organization as defined under section 202(k)(4) of the Housing Act of 1959; and
(D) with respect to the program for supportive housing for persons with disabilities under section 811 of the Cranston- Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 8013), a private nonprofit organization as defined under section 811(k)(5) of section 811 of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act.
(4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.
(h) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary--
(1) such sums as may be necessary for the Secretary to provide grants to owners of covered federally assisted rental dwelling units participating in the pilot program established under this Act;
(2) such sums as may be necessary for the Secretary to administer the pilot program established under this Act; and
(3) such sums as may be necessary for the Secretary to provide technical assistance to owners of covered federally assisted rental dwelling units that are participating in the pilot program established under this Act.
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Ms. WATERS. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, I thank Representative Torres for introducing H.R. 6528, the Housing Temperature Safety Act of 2022, in response to the tragic apartment fire that occurred in his district in the Bronx. Seventeen people died in that fire, including eight children, while dozens more were injured. Sadly, this tragedy was entirely preventable and even foreseeable.
The Twin Parks North West apartment building was home to 120 families, including 91 families who were assisted through the housing choice voucher program. Because of heating and ventilation issues in the building, too often families found themselves shivering in their apartments, forcing them to take matters into their own hands by purchasing space heaters, which were deemed to be the cause of this tragic fire.
To address this issue, and to better hold housing providers accountable to ensuring their apartments are meeting temperature requirements, H.R. 6528 would create a pilot program to install and study the efficacy of temperature sensors in federally assisted housing.
As the tragedy in the Bronx proved, inadequate heating and cooling in federally assisted units is a danger to our communities. This bill provides a key step towards researching and improving tools to better ensure families' homes are both safe and warm.
I thank Representative Torres for his leadership on this issue.
Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 6528, and I reserve the balance of my time.
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Ms. WATERS. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Torres).
Mr. TORRES of New York. Madam Speaker, I am enormously grateful to Chair Waters for her advocacy for safe, decent, and affordable housing and her support. I thank the Representative from Arkansas for his kind words.
The Housing Temperature Safety Act, H.R. 6528, comes more than 6 months following the tragedy of Twin Parks North West which was the scene of the deadliest fire in New York City history in more than three decades. Even though the immediate cause of the fire was a malfunctioning space heater, the deeper cause of the fire cannot be overlooked.
We must ask ourselves a simple but fundamental question: What prompted tenants to use hazardous space heaters in the first place?
The answer, of course, is the chronic deprivation of heat and hot water which is all too common in places like the South Bronx. Tenants freezing in their apartments are left with no choice but to resort to space heaters out of desperation for heat. A space heater is often a cry for help and a cry for heat.
The catastrophic fire at Twin Parks North West was a consequence not only of a broken space heater but also of an equally broken system of housing code enforcement.
The Housing Temperature Safety Act would pilot the use of heat sensors which would enable State and local housing administrators to monitor heat and hot water levels in real time in order to hold property owners accountable for providing sufficient heat and hot water.
When I served on the New York City Council, I passed a local law establishing the New York City Heat Sensors Program which led to a 58 percent decline in heat and hot water complaints among buildings where the sensors were installed.
The Housing Temperature Safety Act of 2022 presents us with a historic opportunity to harness the power of technology to bring housing code enforcement into the 21st century which is long overdue.
Madam Speaker, I strongly encourage my colleagues to vote for H.R. 6528 and embrace the future of housing enforcement in America.
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Ms. WATERS. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Madam Speaker, H.R. 6528 is an important step forward in holding housing providers accountable to better protect the health and safety of families receiving Federal housing assistance.
What happened in the Bronx is a tragedy that was wholly preventable. While more must be done to prevent similar tragedies, I am glad that we are providing new solutions to improve fire safety in Federal housing.
I thank Representative Torres for this bill.
Madam Speaker, I, again, urge my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 6528, and I yield back the balance of my time.
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