Green New Deal for Public Housing Act

This legislation aims to fundamentally transform the United States' public housing stock into highly energy-efficient, zero-carbon homes . Its core purpose is to rehabilitate, upgrade, and modernize public housing, addressing severely distressed conditions and improving residents' health and safety. The bill seeks to stimulate workforce capacity, utilize US-made materials, and maximize tenant participation in the modernization process. This comprehensive approach intends to create a sustainable safety net for all people, ensuring habitable and safe living conditions. The Act establishes two primary grant programs: one for public housing community workforce development and another for Green New Deal public housing initiatives. Workforce development grants support career training, apprenticeships, and financial literacy, with specific provisions for formerly incarcerated individuals and resident-owned businesses. The Green New Deal grants fund extensive activities, including deep energy retrofits , building electrification with all-electric appliances, and critical water quality upgrades like lead pipe replacement. These grants also support community energy generation, recycling programs, and resilience projects such as energy storage, high-speed internet, and essential community facilities. A significant focus of the bill is on resident empowerment and strong labor protections. It mandates extensive resident and community engagement in the grant application process, requiring public hearings and approval from resident councils . The Act also strengthens the Section 3 program by setting ambitious hiring targets for low-income residents and contracting requirements for subsidized housing resident-owned businesses. Furthermore, it includes robust labor provisions, such as prevailing wage requirements, project labor agreements for large projects, and policies that protect workers' rights to organize and prevent displacement of existing staff. The bill declares a new policy guaranteeing the right to housing and affirming the federal government's role in creating public housing where market failures exist. It mandates the formation of resident councils in larger public housing projects, empowering them with participation rights and providing stipends for officers. Crucially, the legislation repeals the Faircloth Amendment , which previously restricted the growth of public housing units, thereby enabling future expansion. Funding is appropriated as necessary to address the existing capital backlog and for fiscal years 2027 through 2037, alongside administrative costs, ensuring units remain public housing in perpetuity.