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The Honorable Maxine Waters
Chairwoman

House Financial Services Committee
2129 Rayburn House Of?ce Building
Washington DC. 20515

The Honorable Patrick McHenry
Ranking Member

House Financial Services Committee
4340 O?Neill House Of?ce Building
Washington DC. 20024

May 6, 2019

The Honorable Mike Crapo
Chairman

Senate Committee on Banking,
Housing and Urban Affairs

534 Dirksen Senate Of?ce Building
Washington, DC. 20515

The Honorable Sherrod Brown
Ranking Member

Senate Committee on Banking,
Housing and Urban Affairs

534 Dirksen Senate Of?ce Building
Washington, DC. 20515

Chairwoman Waters and Chairman Crapo, Ranking Member McHenry and Ranking Member

Brown,

We, the undersigned, write to urge the House Financial Services Committee and the Senate
Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee to expedite consideration and passage of HR.
1690 and S. 755, the Safe Housing for Families Act, to ensure all families are safe from carbon

monoxide (CO) poisoning in their homes.

In February, two additional deaths occurred as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning in Section
8 housing in Detroit.? Already, at least 13 reported deaths related to carbon monoxide poisoning

have occurred in public housing since 2003."

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over 50,000 people go to
emergency rooms every year due to carbon monoxide poisoning and over 430 people die

annually from this silent 

On March 2, 2019 Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) wrote to the Department of Housing and Urban
Development (HUD) urging the agency to review the matteriv and on March 25, 2019 HUD
issued a notice adding guidance to inspect and collect data on the prevalence of carbon monoxide
detections systems at HUD properties.v Subsequently, HUD issued a statement on April 18, 2019
urging public housing authorities and private property owners of HUD?subsidized housing to
install and inspect carbon monoxide monitors. HUD further noted that, ?it will propose new
regulations to require CO detectors in all HUD-subsidized housing programs nationwide??

Secretary Carson added, simple, inexpensive, widely available device can be the difference
between life and death. Given the unevenness of state and local law, we intend to make certain

PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPEH

that CO detectors are required in all our housing programs, just as we require smoke detectors,
no matter where our HUD-assisted families 

The support to prevent future deaths from C0 poisoning is signi?cant, with demonstrated
engagement from the Administration as well as Democratic and Republican Members of the
House and Senate.

These senseless deaths in federally-assisted housing are unconscionable. We urge the leadership
of the House and Senate committees of jurisdiction to swiftly consider passage of HR 1690 and
S. 755, the Safe Housing for Families Act, to ensure public housing facilities across the US. are
equipped with and maintain functioning carbon monoxide monitors. The most vulnerable among
us, the elderly and children living in federally-assisted public housing, deserve safety from
preventable CO poisoning.

Sincerely,

., an;
Jesus G. ?Chuy? Garcia
Member of Congress

    

and? 

Kamala D. Harris Joe Cunningham
United States Senate Member of Congress

  

 

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releases media advisories-?HUD No I9 05?
releases media advisorieslHUD No 19 051