[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6550 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 6550
To require the Inspector General of the Department of Housing and Urban
Development to provide a report to the Congress on the non-compliance
of the New York City Housing Authority, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
December 1, 2023
Mr. Lawler introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Financial Services
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the Inspector General of the Department of Housing and Urban
Development to provide a report to the Congress on the non-compliance
of the New York City Housing Authority, 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 ``Accountability for NYCHA Act of
2023''.
SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS.
The Congress finds that--
(1) the New York City Housing Authority (in this Act
referred to as the ``Authority'') is the largest housing
authority in the United States, providing housing for over
520,000 residents in over 177,000 apartments in the City of New
York (in this Act referred to as the ``City'');
(2) the Authority is a public housing agency that receives
Federal financial assistance from the Department of Housing and
Urban Development (in this Act referred to as the
``Department'') to administer its public housing program;
(3) the Authority is required to, among other things,
provide decent, safe, and sanitary housing for the public
housing residents of the City and comply with Federal law
protecting children from the hazards of lead poisoning;
(4) on June 11, 2018, the United States filed a complaint
in the United States District Court for the Southern District
of New York (in this Act referred to as the ``Complaint'');
which set forth the findings of the United States
investigation, alleging, among other things, that the Authority
had--
(A) routinely failed to comply with lead-based
paint safety regulations;
(B) failed to provide decent, safe, and sanitary
housing, including with respect to the provision of
heat and elevators and the control and treatment of
mold and pests; and
(C) repeatedly misled the Department through false
statements and deceptive practices;
(5) in a Consent Decree executed June 11, 2018, the
Authority made admissions regarding, among other things,
deficiencies in physical conditions with respect to lead, mold,
heating, elevators and pests and made untrue statements to the
Department regarding the conditions of the Authority's
properties and practices with regard to Public Housing
Assessment System inspections;
(6) based on the Authority's misconduct as detailed in the
Complaint, on January 31, 2019, the Secretary of Housing and
Urban Development (in this Act referred to as the
``Secretary'') declared that the Authority is in substantial
default within the meaning of section 6(j)(3)(A) of the United
States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437d(j)(3)(A));
(7) the Department did not take possession of the Authority
or appoint a receiver, but instead entered into a voluntary
agreement between the Authority, the Department, and the City
on January 31, 2019, under which the Authority agreed to remedy
noted deficiencies subject to the oversight of a Monitor
appointed by the City;
(8) as of the date of the enactment of this Act, the
Authority has still fully not complied with the agreement,
including the remedying of deficiencies or compliance with its
obligations under Federal law;
(9) the Department and the United States Attorney's Office
for the Southern District of New York have sought to extend the
term of a Monitor over the Authority for an additional five
years beginning in 2024;
(10) the residents of housing provided by the Authority
should not be required to wait five additional years for the
Authority to provide decent, safe, and sanitary housing
conditions, as is the Authority's most basic and necessary
function under the law; and
(11) the Congress believes that it must provide additional
oversight over the Authority, the Department, the City, and the
Monitor in order to compel the Authority to fix the appalling
conditions and other issues that lead to a declaration of
substantial default under section 6(j)(3)(A) of the United
States Housing Act of 1937.
SEC. 3. INVESTIGATION AND REPORT TO CONGRESS.
(a) Investigation.--The Inspector General of the Department of
Housing and Urban Development shall conduct an investigation of the
Authority, which shall include at a minimum--
(1) determining the status of the New York City Housing
Authority's compliance with the agreement entered into between
the Authority, the Department, and the City on January 31,
2019, including specific areas of deficiency and progress
towards compliance;
(2) conducting a review of actions taken by the Monitor
over the Authority pursuant to such Agreement, including any
gaps in oversight by the Monitor;
(3) conducting a survey of the physical conditions of
housing provided by the Authority for the City's residents;
(4) conducting an examination of any waste, fraud, abuse
and violations of Federal law committed by employees or
contractors of the Authority; and
(5) identifying other priority issues and areas, as deemed
necessary and appropriate by the Inspector General.
(b) Report.--Not later than the expiration of the 180-day period
beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, the Inspector
General shall provide to the Committee on Financial Services of the
House of Representatives and the Committee on Banking, Housing, and
Urban Affairs of the Senate a report setting forth the findings of its
investigation, a summary of actions the Department may take to compel
the Authority to remedy deficiencies, and any other recommendations of
the Inspector General.
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