| 1 | 1 | | I |
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| 2 | 2 | | 119THCONGRESS |
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| 3 | 3 | | 1 |
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| 4 | 4 | | STSESSION H. R. 2746 |
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| 5 | 5 | | To assist State and Tribal governments in assessing and remediating mold, |
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| 6 | 6 | | and for other purposes. |
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| 7 | 7 | | IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
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| 8 | 8 | | APRIL8, 2025 |
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| 9 | 9 | | Ms. S |
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| 10 | 10 | | TEVENSintroduced the following bill; which was referred to the |
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| 11 | 11 | | Committee on Energy and Commerce |
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| 12 | 12 | | A BILL |
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| 13 | 13 | | To assist State and Tribal governments in assessing and |
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| 14 | 14 | | remediating mold, and for other purposes. |
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| 15 | 15 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1 |
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| 16 | 16 | | tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 |
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| 17 | 17 | | SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 |
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| 18 | 18 | | This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Fix Moldy Housing 4 |
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| 19 | 19 | | Act’’. 5 |
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| 20 | 20 | | SEC. 2. STUDY ON CONDITIONS IN WHICH MOLD ASSESS-6 |
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| 21 | 21 | | MENT AND REMEDIATION IS WARRANTED. 7 |
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| 22 | 22 | | (a) I |
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| 23 | 23 | | NGENERAL.—The Administrator of the Envi-8 |
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| 24 | 24 | | ronmental Protection Agency shall enter into an arrange-9 |
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| 25 | 25 | | VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:13 Apr 16, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2746.IH H2746 |
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| 26 | 26 | | ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 2 |
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| 27 | 27 | | •HR 2746 IH |
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| 28 | 28 | | ment with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineer-1 |
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| 29 | 29 | | ing, and Medicine to conduct a study on— 2 |
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| 30 | 30 | | (1) the conditions in which indoor mold assess-3 |
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| 31 | 31 | | ment and remediation is warranted; and 4 |
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| 32 | 32 | | (2) how to assess and remediate indoor mold 5 |
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| 33 | 33 | | properly and safely. 6 |
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| 34 | 34 | | (b) R |
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| 35 | 35 | | EPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 7 |
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| 36 | 36 | | of enactment of this Act— 8 |
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| 37 | 37 | | (1) the study under subsection (a) shall be com-9 |
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| 38 | 38 | | pleted; and 10 |
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| 39 | 39 | | (2) the Administrator shall submit a report to 11 |
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| 40 | 40 | | the Congress on the results of such study. 12 |
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| 41 | 41 | | SEC. 3. STANDARDS FOR ASSESSING AND REMEDIATING 13 |
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| 42 | 42 | | MOLD. 14 |
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| 43 | 43 | | (a) I |
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| 44 | 44 | | NGENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after the 15 |
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| 45 | 45 | | date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator, in con-16 |
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| 46 | 46 | | junction with the heads of appropriate Federal agencies, 17 |
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| 47 | 47 | | shall issue nonbinding national standards that— 18 |
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| 48 | 48 | | (1) identify levels of mold that should be as-19 |
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| 49 | 49 | | sessed and remediated; and 20 |
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| 50 | 50 | | (2) outline standards for— 21 |
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| 51 | 51 | | (A) properly and safely assessing mold; 22 |
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| 52 | 52 | | and 23 |
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| 53 | 53 | | (B) properly and safely remediating mold. 24 |
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| 55 | 55 | | ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 3 |
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| 56 | 56 | | •HR 2746 IH |
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| 57 | 57 | | (b) CONSIDERATION.—In issuing the standards 1 |
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| 58 | 58 | | under subsection (a), the Administrator shall take into 2 |
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| 59 | 59 | | consideration the results of the study conducted under sec-3 |
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| 60 | 60 | | tion 2. 4 |
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| 61 | 61 | | SEC. 4. PROGRAM TO ASSIST STATE AND TRIBAL GOVERN-5 |
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| 62 | 62 | | MENTS WITH ASSESSING AND REMEDIATING 6 |
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| 63 | 63 | | MOLD. 7 |
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| 64 | 64 | | (a) P |
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| 65 | 65 | | ROGRAM.—Taking into consideration the results 8 |
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| 66 | 66 | | of the study under section 2 and the national standards 9 |
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| 67 | 67 | | under section 3, the Administrator shall carry out a pro-10 |
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| 68 | 68 | | gram to assist State and Tribal governments in carrying 11 |
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| 69 | 69 | | out programs and activities to assess and remediate mold. 12 |
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| 70 | 70 | | (b) G |
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| 71 | 71 | | RANTS.— 13 |
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| 72 | 72 | | (1) A |
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| 73 | 73 | | UTHORIZATION.—In carrying out the pro-14 |
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| 74 | 74 | | gram under subsection (a), the Administrator shall 15 |
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| 75 | 75 | | award grants to State and Tribal governments to es-16 |
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| 76 | 76 | | tablish a licensing program for persons engaged in 17 |
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| 77 | 77 | | assessing and remediating mold. 18 |
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| 78 | 78 | | (2) P |
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| 79 | 79 | | ERMISSIBLE USE.—A grant awarded 19 |
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| 80 | 80 | | under paragraph (1) may be used to pay the costs 20 |
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| 81 | 81 | | of operating a licensing program described in para-21 |
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| 82 | 82 | | graph (1), including administrative costs. 22 |
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| 83 | 83 | | (3) P |
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| 84 | 84 | | REFERENCE.—In awarding grants under 23 |
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| 85 | 85 | | paragraph (1), the Administrator shall give pref-24 |
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| 86 | 86 | | erence to State and Tribal governments that include 25 |
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| 88 | 88 | | ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 4 |
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| 89 | 89 | | •HR 2746 IH |
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| 90 | 90 | | geographic areas that are highly susceptible to in-1 |
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| 91 | 91 | | door mold contamination based on— 2 |
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| 92 | 92 | | (A) the national standards established 3 |
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| 93 | 93 | | under section 3; 4 |
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| 94 | 94 | | (B) outdoor environmental conditions, such 5 |
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| 95 | 95 | | as humidity; or 6 |
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| 96 | 96 | | (C) other factors identified by the Admin-7 |
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| 97 | 97 | | istrator. 8 |
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| 98 | 98 | | (c) T |
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| 99 | 99 | | ECHNICALASSISTANCE.—In carrying out the 9 |
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| 100 | 100 | | program under subsection (a), the Administrator shall 10 |
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| 101 | 101 | | provide technical assistance to State and Tribal programs 11 |
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| 102 | 102 | | to assess and remediate mold. 12 |
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| 103 | 103 | | (d) T |
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| 104 | 104 | | RAININGPROGRAM.—In carrying out the pro-13 |
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| 105 | 105 | | gram under subsection (a), the Administrator shall admin-14 |
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| 106 | 106 | | ister training seminars on assessing and remediating 15 |
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| 107 | 107 | | mold. 16 |
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| 108 | 108 | | (e) A |
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| 109 | 109 | | UTHORIZATION OFAPPROPRIATIONS.—To carry 17 |
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| 110 | 110 | | out this section, there is authorized to be appropriated 18 |
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| 111 | 111 | | $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2030. 19 |
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| 112 | 112 | | SEC. 5. GRANTS FOR ASSESSMENT AND REMEDIATION OF 20 |
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| 113 | 113 | | MOLD IN PUBLIC BUILDINGS AND SEVERELY 21 |
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| 114 | 114 | | IMPACTED HOMES. 22 |
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| 115 | 115 | | (a) I |
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| 116 | 116 | | NGENERAL.—The Administrator shall award 23 |
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| 117 | 117 | | grants to State and Tribal governments to cover the costs 24 |
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| 118 | 118 | | associated with assessing and remediating mold in— 25 |
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| 121 | 121 | | •HR 2746 IH |
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| 122 | 122 | | (1) buildings owned or leased by such govern-1 |
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| 123 | 123 | | ments, including schools and housing; and 2 |
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| 124 | 124 | | (2) private residential properties, including sin-3 |
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| 125 | 125 | | gle family and multifamily properties. 4 |
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| 126 | 126 | | (b) A |
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| 127 | 127 | | DDITIONALPERMISSIBLEUSES OFFUNDS.— 5 |
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| 128 | 128 | | In addition to uses allowed under subsection (a), a grant 6 |
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| 129 | 129 | | awarded under this section may also be used to cover the 7 |
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| 130 | 130 | | costs of temporary housing for periods not in excess of 8 |
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| 131 | 131 | | 6 months, including moving costs, for individuals who— 9 |
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| 132 | 132 | | (1) are severely impacted by mold in their resi-10 |
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| 133 | 133 | | dences; 11 |
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| 134 | 134 | | (2) are without insurance coverage for mold; 12 |
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| 135 | 135 | | and 13 |
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| 136 | 136 | | (3) do not have sufficient financial resources to 14 |
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| 137 | 137 | | obtain alternative housing, as determined on a case- 15 |
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| 138 | 138 | | by-case basis by the State or Tribal government. 16 |
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| 139 | 139 | | (c) L |
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| 140 | 140 | | ICENSINGPROGRAM.—As a condition on receipt 17 |
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| 141 | 141 | | of a grant awarded under this section, a State or Tribal 18 |
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| 142 | 142 | | government shall agree to implement a licensing program 19 |
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| 143 | 143 | | for persons in the relevant jurisdiction engaged in assess-20 |
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| 144 | 144 | | ing and remediating mold. 21 |
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| 145 | 145 | | (d) N |
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| 146 | 146 | | OT FORUSE FORHIGH-INCOMEHOUSE-22 |
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| 147 | 147 | | HOLDS.—As a condition on receipt of a grant awarded 23 |
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| 148 | 148 | | under this section, a State or Tribal government shall 24 |
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| 149 | 149 | | agree to refrain from using the grant to assess or reme-25 |
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| 151 | 151 | | ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 6 |
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| 152 | 152 | | •HR 2746 IH |
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| 153 | 153 | | diate mold in housing occupied by households that are, 1 |
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| 154 | 154 | | as determined by the Administrator, high-income. 2 |
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| 155 | 155 | | (e) P |
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| 156 | 156 | | RIORITIZATION.—In awarding grants under this 3 |
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| 157 | 157 | | section, the Administrator shall give priority to— 4 |
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| 158 | 158 | | (1) applicants proposing to use a grant under 5 |
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| 159 | 159 | | this section to assess and remediate mold in— 6 |
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| 160 | 160 | | (A) housing occupied by households that 7 |
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| 161 | 161 | | are, as determined by the Administrator, low- 8 |
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| 162 | 162 | | income; or 9 |
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| 163 | 163 | | (B) buildings serving communities that 10 |
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| 164 | 164 | | are, as determined by the Administrator, low- 11 |
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| 165 | 165 | | income; and 12 |
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| 166 | 166 | | (2) State and Tribal governments that include 13 |
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| 167 | 167 | | geographic areas that are highly susceptible to in-14 |
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| 168 | 168 | | door mold contamination based on— 15 |
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| 169 | 169 | | (A) the national standards established 16 |
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| 170 | 170 | | under section 3; 17 |
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| 171 | 171 | | (B) outdoor environmental conditions, such 18 |
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| 172 | 172 | | as humidity; or 19 |
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| 173 | 173 | | (C) other factors identified by the Admin-20 |
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| 174 | 174 | | istrator. 21 |
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| 175 | 175 | | (f) F |
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| 176 | 176 | | EDERALSHARE.—The Federal share of the cost 22 |
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| 177 | 177 | | of activities implemented with a grant under this section 23 |
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| 178 | 178 | | in any fiscal year shall not exceed 60 percent of the costs 24 |
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| 180 | 180 | | ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 7 |
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| 181 | 181 | | •HR 2746 IH |
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| 182 | 182 | | incurred by the State or Tribal government receiving the 1 |
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| 183 | 183 | | grant in implementing such activities. 2 |
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| 184 | 184 | | (g) A |
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| 185 | 185 | | LLOCATION.—Of the funds made available to 3 |
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| 186 | 186 | | carry out this section each fiscal year— 4 |
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| 187 | 187 | | (1) at least 20 percent shall be used pursuant 5 |
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| 188 | 188 | | to subsection (a) to cover costs associated with as-6 |
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| 189 | 189 | | sessing and remediating mold in buildings owned or 7 |
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| 190 | 190 | | leased by governments; and 8 |
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| 191 | 191 | | (2) at least 20 percent shall be used pursuant 9 |
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| 192 | 192 | | to subsection (a) to cover costs associated with as-10 |
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| 193 | 193 | | sessing and remediating mold in private residential 11 |
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| 194 | 194 | | properties. 12 |
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| 195 | 195 | | (h) A |
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| 196 | 196 | | UTHORIZATION OFAPPROPRIATIONS.—To carry 13 |
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| 197 | 197 | | out this section, there is authorized to be appropriated 14 |
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| 198 | 198 | | $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2030. 15 |
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| 199 | 199 | | SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS. 16 |
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| 200 | 200 | | In this Act: 17 |
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| 201 | 201 | | (1) A |
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| 202 | 202 | | DMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis-18 |
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| 203 | 203 | | trator’’ means the Administrator of the Environ-19 |
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| 204 | 204 | | mental Protection Agency. 20 |
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| 205 | 205 | | (2) M |
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| 206 | 206 | | OLD.—The term ‘‘mold’’ means a fungal 21 |
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| 207 | 207 | | growth that forms and spreads on various kinds of 22 |
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| 208 | 208 | | damp or decaying organic matter. 23 |
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| 211 | 211 | | •HR 2746 IH |
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| 212 | 212 | | (3) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ includes, in ad-1 |
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| 213 | 213 | | dition to the several States, the District of Columbia 2 |
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| 214 | 214 | | and any territory of the United States. 3 |
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| 215 | 215 | | Æ |
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