Sponsors (7)
Official title: Provide economic empowerment opportunities in the United States through the modernization of public housing, and for other purposes.
Introduced August 6, 2026 by Bernard Sanders · Last progress August 6, 2026
The bill directs substantial federal resources to modernize, decarbonize, and expand public housing and to boost resident economic opportunity and voice — improving living conditions and jobs for low‑income communities — but at the cost of higher taxpayer spending, greater construction and compliance costs, implementation complexity, and some risks of disruption and uneven access during rollout.
Low-income and public housing residents will gain safer, healthier, and more habitable homes through large-scale rehabilitation, repairs, accessibility upgrades, and modernization.
Residents will likely see lower utility and operating costs as public housing is upgraded for energy efficiency, electrification, and on-site/renewable generation.
The bill prioritizes protecting, preserving, and expanding public housing capacity, increasing federal support and resources for communities with limited market solutions.
Taxpayers face substantially higher federal spending and likely open‑ended appropriations to fund modernization, new program eligibility, administrative costs, and ongoing program commitments.
Stricter procurement rules (Buy America, U.S.-made prioritization), prevailing wages, zero‑carbon/all‑electric requirements, and high design standards could significantly raise construction and upgrade costs, reducing the number or pace of projects within fixed budgets.
Public housing authorities, state/local governments, tribal entities, and providers will face substantial new administrative, reporting, and compliance burdens (quarterly reports, decarbonization plans, eligibility determinations).
Based on analysis of 10 sections of legislative text.
Creates a Green New Deal public housing framework: new HUD grants, resident hiring/contracting mandates, workforce programs, resident councils, and energy‑efficiency/zero‑carbon modernization goals.
Updates federal public housing policy to require large-scale modernization, energy upgrades, workforce development, resident participation, and hiring/contracting preferences tied to rehabilitation and grant funding. It creates a new HUD grant program for workforce training, strengthens Family Self-Sufficiency rules, mandates resident councils in larger projects, and rewrites federal housing policy goals toward zero‑carbon, habitable housing and a guaranteed right to housing. The bill changes multiple existing statutes to: define eligible entities and key terms (including “zero‑carbon home”); require progressive local hiring and contracting targets for low‑income residents and resident‑owned businesses for grant‑funded positions and contracts; expand resident representation and supports; and authorize grant funding, apprenticeship partnerships, and training to transition residents into higher‑wage work tied to public housing modernization.