National Center for Healthy Housing

The charts below show the funding history and National Safe and Healthy Housing Coalition's funding requests for key programs in lead poisoning prevention, asthma control, and healthy homes. 

Click images to view full-sized tables.

FY 2018 Labor HHS Appropriations	FY 2018 Transportation HUD Appropriations
FY 2018 Interior Appropriations EPA Environmental Programs and Management	FY 2018 Interior Appropriations EPA State and Tribal Assistance and Categorical Grants

Justification

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Increasing the CDC Healthy Homes and Lead Poisoning Prevention Program allows CDC to provide grants to conduct needed surveillance of children exposed to lead, provide national data on childhood lead poisoning, ensure that children receive necessary case management, and enable local jurisdictions to take action before children are exposed to lead instead of reacting only after they have been harmed. We support increased funding for this program at $50 million, which will allow for grants to all 50 states.

CDC’s National Asthma Control Program funds states, localities, and other organizations to improve asthma surveillance, awareness, and education. Since its inception, the program has supported asthma control programs in 34 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico; asthma death rates have decreased by 27%; and costs due to asthma illness and death have decreased by $23.1 billion. We support level-funding this program at $29 million.

CDC’s National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network supports environmental public health tracking and data networks in 25 states and one city. These program has 19 datasets, 96 indicators, and 379 health measures ranging from asthma to drinking water quality and carbon monoxide exposure. To date, state and local health officials have used the Tracking Network over 225 times to prevent sickness and death. We support increased funding for this program from $34 to 40 million, which would allow the program to fund three additional states. 


Department of Housing and Urban Development

We call for increasing HUD’s Office of Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes to $230 million annually over 10 years. This is the amount the Presidential Task Force on Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks to Children recommended in its Federal Strategy Targeting Lead Paint Hazards. Specifically, $230 million over 10 years will provide lead hazard screening and lead hazard control of pre-1960 housing occupied by low-income families. (See page 5 of the Presidential Task Force recommendations.)

Environmental Protection Agency

EPA’s Lead Categorical Grant and Lead Risk Reduction Program are key to the nation’s work on childhood lead poisoning prevention. Through funding for states and EPA regional offices, these programs support science-based standards used to define what lead hazards are in order to protect pregnant women and vulnerable children; they require lead-safe work practices during renovation, repair, and painting (RRP) work; and they ensure that consumers seeking lead inspection, abatement, and risk assessment services can find qualified, trained individuals to perform the work properly. We support level-funding these programs at $14.049 million and $13.257 million, respectively.

EPA’s Radon Categorical Grant, Indoor Air: Radon, and Reduce Risk from Indoor Air programs work to protect residents from health risks associated with indoor air, including radon, which is found in basements and is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the U.S.; asthma triggers located in the home; and mold, which is a particular concern in the aftermath of flooding. We support level-funding these programs at $8.051 million, $2.91 million, and $13.733 million respectively.

EPA’s Children and Other Sensitive Populations: Agency Coordination effort ensures agency programs that protect children’s environmental health, including work on developing regulations, improving science policy, implementing programs at the community level, and measuring progress on children’s health. We support level-funding this program at $6.548 million.

November 2017

• Both chambers have released their Transportation and Housing and Urban Development Appropriation bills. The House bill includes $130 million for HUD’s Office of Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes; the Senate bill includes $160 million. The FY17 enacted level was $145 million.
• Both chambers have released their Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriation bills. Both include level funding for CDC’s Healthy Homes and Lead Poisoning Prevention Program and Asthma Control Program at $17 million and $29 million, respectively, but the House bill cuts the Environmental Tracking Network from $34 to $29 million.
• Both chambers have released their Interior Appropriation bills. Both bills level fund the Lead and Radon Categorical Grants at just over $14 million and $8 million, respectively. Both bills also cut the Children and Other Sensitive Populations: Agency Coordination effort – the Senate bill by $655,000 and the House bill by just under $1 million.
• The National Safe and Healthy Housing Coalition sent a pair of letters to the House and Senate Appropriation Committees outlining the FY18 funding requests included on this page.

May 2017

• The President’s FY18 budget was released. While it requested level or slightly increased funding for HUD and CDC’s lead programs, it cut the Asthma Control Program and eliminated other programs vital to healthy housing efforts, including the Community Development Block Grant program and the HOME Investment Partnership Program. More than 400 individuals and organizations signed letters to the House and Senate calling for preservation of these programs, as well as EPA’s lead programs, and significantly increased funding for HUD and CDC’s lead programs. These letters were drafted by the Environmental Defense Fund, Healthy Babies Bright Futures, the Green & Healthy Homes Initiative, the Lead and Environmental Hazards Association, and NCHH.
• Twenty-one senators signed on to Senator Reed’s letter to Chairman Blunt and Ranking Member Murray of the Labor-HHS Appropriations Subcommittee in support of $35 million in funding for CDC’s Healthy Homes and Lead Poisoning Prevention Program.

April 2017

• Following leaked internal memos that recommended the elimination of EPA’s two lead programs, over 500 organizations and individuals signed a letter, drafted by the Environmental Defense Fund, Healthy Babies Bright Futures, the Green & Healthy Homes Initiative, the Lead and Environmental Hazards Association, and NCHH, calling on EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt to preserve those programs.

In May 2017, Congress passed the final spending package for the remainder of FY17. The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2017 included $145 million for HUD’s Office of Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes, an increase of $35 million over the FY16 numbers, and level funding for CDC’s Healthy Homes and Lead Poisoning Prevention Program at $17 million.

The Continuing Resolution passed in December 2016 provided extra funding for lead poisoning above the FY16 enacted numbers, as authorized in the Water and Waste Act of 2016, including: $100 million for Flint, Michigan, through the Drinking Water State Revolving Funds; $17.5 million for the CDC to establish a lead exposure registry; $2.5 million for the CDC to establish an Advisory Committee; and $15 million for the CDC’s Healthy Homes and Lead Poisoning Prevention Program.

NCHH and NSHHC efforts on FY17 appropriations included:

• The NSHHC’s sign-on letter to Congress for federal lead poisoning prevention funding increases had over 140 signatures and was sent to over 200 Hill staff.
• Seventy-five representatives signed on to Representative Slaughter and Representative Cicilline’s letter to increase funding for lead poisoning prevention.
• Twenty-four senators signed on to Senator Reed’s and/or Senator Shaheen’s letters to increase funding for lead poisoning prevention.