S. 5284 — Green New Deal for Public Housing Act

This section establishes the purposes of the Act to develop workforce capacity and financing for public housing rehabilitation and modernization, preserve severely distressed units, install U.S.-made all-electric appliances and infrastructure to improve energy efficiency and water quality, maximize tenant participation through training and jobs, and convert the entire public housing stock to net-zero annual energy use from on-site or procured carbon-free renewable sources.

This section defines terms used throughout the Act, including eligible entity (public housing agencies, Indian tribes, tribally designated housing entities, and the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands); environmental justice community; public housing (including certain tribal and low-income dwelling units); renewable energy (solar, wind, geothermal, microturbine hydroelectricity, energy efficiency, building electrification, energy storage, microgrids, and modern distribution grid infrastructure); and zero-carbon home.

This section updates congressional findings on federal housing aid for low- and moderate-income families to require greater impact on architectural design and environmental performance, including zero carbon emissions, human and environmental health, well-being, accessibility, and equity. It expresses the sense of Congress that such programs should emphasize design meeting maximal environmental performance and Americans with Disabilities Act accessibility guidelines, with adequate staffing, resident involvement, and the highest international and community architectural standards.

This section declares it the policy of the United States to guarantee the right to housing for every individual, to assist states and localities in ensuring all housing is habitable, energy-efficient, and safe with conditions supporting health and economic security, and to protect and expand public housing as a sustainable safety net. It assigns the Federal Government, working with public housing agencies, responsibility to promote resident-led neighborhood development and to create new public housing where the market fails to address serious needs.

This section establishes a grant program, administered by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development in consultation with the Secretary of Labor, that awards funds to eligible entities for workforce development projects at public housing. The program requires partnerships with registered apprenticeships or labor organizations, mandates services including career skills training, direct entry to apprenticeships, certifications, resident-owned business support under section 3 of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968, stipends of at least $250 per week, childcare, and financial literacy courses, and caps spending on compliance managers at 10 percent of each grant.

This section expands the Section 3 economic opportunities program by requiring public housing agencies and their contractors to meet phased hiring targets for low- and very low-income persons—40 percent of positions in the first year after initial grant receipt, 50 percent in the second year, and 90 percent thereafter—when using development assistance, Operating Fund assistance, Capital Fund assistance, or grants under the Green New Deal for Public Housing Act. It also imposes phased contracting targets directing 20 percent, 30 percent, and 50 percent of aggregate contract dollars to subsidized housing resident-owned businesses over the same periods. The section further requires agencies to report quarterly on economic impacts including wages, training expenditures, and completed improvements, and to maintain a resident workforce roster updated at least every 30 days.

This section expands eligibility to administer the Family Self-Sufficiency program to Indian tribes and tribally designated housing entities. It adds digital literacy and home and community-based services for older adults and individuals with disabilities to the services offered. It requires resident council and jurisdiction-wide resident council representatives on program coordinating committees. It limits each coordinator to 35 participants, adjusts award ratios to 36 and 35 families, and creates additional awards for Green New Deal applicants, section 3 synchronization and compliance, and entities establishing new programs.

This section requires each public housing project with 50 or more dwelling units to form a resident council to improve quality of life and establish self-help initiatives. Councils must consist of residents, represent tenants in scattered sites, contiguous buildings, RAD-converted properties, or developments, and hold elections for a governing board of at least five members every two years beginning January 1, 2027, with recall available upon petition by 10 percent of voting members (heads of households of any age and other residents age 16 or older). Public housing agencies may pay stipends of up to $1,000 per month per officer. The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development must amend 24 CFR 964.150 to allocate $40 per unit per year for resident council activities and $25 per unit per year for agency tenant participation costs and stipends.