WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), ranking member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, today voted on passage of the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Act, which will provide $135 million for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Office of Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes grants. The Office of Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes helps protect children from health and safety hazards related to lead-based paint and other home hazards. $135 million is the highest funded level for the program since the 2010 enacted level and $25 million more than fiscal year 2016 and the President’s budget request. This increase in resources will produce lead-based paint hazard reductions in over 1,750 units, and provide safer homes for over 6,200 additional low and very-low income families and individuals.

“Too many Ohio children are exposed to lead through paint in older homes or the dirt in their back yards. To protect children and give parents the peace of mind that their child is safe from lead hazards, it is critical that we support communities everywhere in their efforts to make more homes lead-safe,” said Brown. “Today’s vote to increase funding for HUD programs that protect children is good for our families and communities.”

Brown has been a strong supporter of federal funding to help prevent lead poisoning, monitor lead exposure in children, and eliminate lead hazards. In March, he wrote to Senate Appropriators requesting support for HUD’s Office of Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes.

As part of the year-end appropriations bill passed in December, Brown supported funding for federal programs at HUD and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. HUD’s Office of Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes received $110 million. The CDC’s Healthy Homes and Lead Poisoning Prevention Program – the only federal program that provides funding for states and local health departments to conduct surveillance of where, how, and when children are exposed to lead – received $17 million.

 

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