Sec. 9. Public information and education campaign

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The Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, and the heads of any other relevant Federal agencies, as determined by such Administrator and Secretary, shall jointly develop and carry out a public information and education campaign regarding indoor air quality and related issues that provides information required under this section on a recurring and annual basis through public outreach. The campaign shall commence within 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act.

The information and education campaign shall include information on the dangers and prevention of indoor residential moisture and mold, volatile organic compounds, dust, smoking, pollution, indoor origins of smoke, including cooking, and any other health risks, as determined by such Administrator and Secretary. The information and education campaign shall include, at minimum, the following information regarding indoor residential mold: The conditions that facilitate indoor residential moisture and mold growth.

Guidelines for inspecting indoor residential mold growth. Guidelines for remediating indoor residential mold growth. The dangers and health risks of exposure to indoor residential mold growth. The importance of ventilation and methods to prevent moisture accumulation in indoor residential environments. Any other information as determined appropriate by the heads of the agencies referred to in subsection (a). The information and education campaign shall include providing covered tenants with information on tenant rights to a safe and habitable living environment and other related information as determined by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, which shall include information on who to contact if a tenant experiences problems or issues with building management or ownership, including, in the case of housing assisted under a contract for project-based assistance how to contact the performance-based contract administrator and, in the case of the Housing Choice Voucher program how to contact the housing authority.

The public information and education campaign shall provide education and information through modes of communication that are commonly utilized and able to be easily consumed by relevant individuals or organizations, which shall include communication through advertisements on public transit in all 50 States and in territories and possessions of the United States, and distribution of the pamphlet developed pursuant to subsection

(j)as required under such subsection. All education and information that is part of the information and education campaign shall be made publicly available on the websites of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and any other applicable Federal agencies. The public information and education campaign shall be designed to reach tenants, tenant organizations working directly with tenants in project-based rental assistance and other types of federally-assisted housing, resident groups, landlords, health professionals, the general public, homeowners, prospective homeowners, the real estate industry, the home construction and renovation industries, the health, property and casualty, and life insurance industries, technical and vocational schools and colleges, and other academic institutions. The public information and education campaign shall include information about warning signs of mold and other indoor air exposure pollutants and shall include education for health professions on mold-related illness, including for health professions who work with vulnerable populations and children in school or daycare settings. In developing and carrying out the public information and education campaign, the heads of the agencies referred to in subsection

(a)may coordinate with the Ad Council. All information provided under the public information and education campaign— shall be provided in at least two languages, as determined by the Secretary, based on the most common languages spoken in the neighborhood, tribe, municipality, State, or region, and may be provided in additional languages based on the most common languages spoken in the neighborhood, tribe, municipality, State, or region, as determined by the Secretary; and shall be provided in language that is at a sixth grade reading level and is easy to understand. The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and the Attorney General shall ensure that all appropriate information under the information and education campaign is provided to covered tenants upon signing and any renewal of a lease for the dwelling unit of assisted housing that the covered tenant resides in. For purposes of this section, the term covered tenant means a tenant who resides in a rental dwelling unit that is assisted, through tenant-based or project-based assistance, under a housing assistance program administered by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development or the Secretary of Agriculture or who receives rental housing assistance under a program administered by either such Secretary, including the following programs: The program under section 202 of the Housing Act of 1959 ( 12 U.S.C. 1701q ), including the direct loan program under such section. The program under section 811 of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act ( 42 U.S.C. 8013 ). The program under subtitle D of title VIII of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act ( 42 U.S.C. 12901 et seq. ). The programs under title IV of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act ( 42 U.S.C. 11360 et seq. ). The program under subtitle A of title II of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act ( 42 U.S.C. 12741 et seq. ). The program under paragraph

(3)of section 221(d) of the National Housing Act ( 12 U.S.C. 1715l(d) ) that bears interest at a rate determined under the proviso under paragraph

(5)of such section 221(d). The program under section 236 of the National Housing Act ( 12 U.S.C. 1715z–1 ). The programs under sections 6 and 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 ( 42 U.S.C. 1437d , 1437f). The programs for rural housing assistance provided under sections 514, 515, 516, 533, 538, and 542 of the Housing Act of 1949 ( 42 U.S.C. 1484 , 1485, 1486, 1490m, 1490p–2, 1490r). The low-income housing tax credit program under section 42 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. The provision of assistance from the Housing Trust Fund established under section 1338 of the Federal Housing Enterprises Financial Safety and Soundness Act of 1992 ( 12 U.S.C. 4568 ). The provision of assistance for housing under the Comprehensive Service Programs for Homeless Veterans program under subchapter II of chapter 20 of title 38. The provision of assistance for housing and facilities under the grant program for homeless veterans with special needs under section 2061 of title 38, United States Code. The provision of assistance for permanent housing under the program for financial assistance for supportive services for very low-income veteran families in permanent housing under section 2044 of title 38, United States Code. The provision of transitional housing assistance for victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking under the grant program under chapter 11 of subtitle B of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 ( 34 U.S.C. 12351 et seq. ). The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program and any other program administered by the Department of Energy that provides residential home rehabilitation or energy efficiency assistance. Any other Federal housing programs providing affordable housing to low- and moderate-income persons by means of restricted rents or rental assistance, or more generally providing affordable housing opportunities, as identified by the appropriate agency through regulations, notices, or any other means. The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, in consultation with the Director of the National Institutes of Health, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, and the heads of any other agencies the Secretary considers appropriate, shall develop, publish, and revise, not less frequently than every 5 years, a pamphlet regarding indoor residential mold hazards. The pamphlet required under this subsection shall— contain information regarding the health risks associated with exposure to indoor residential mold growth; provide information on the hazards of indoor residential mold growth in federally-assisted and federally-owned housing; describe the risks of indoor residential mold exposure for persons residing in a dwelling with toxigenic mold; provide information on approved methods for evaluating and reducing indoor residential mold growth and their effectiveness in identifying, reducing, eliminating, or preventing indoor residential mold growth; provide advice on how to obtain a list of persons certified to inspect or remediate indoor residential mold growth in the area in which the pamphlet is to be used; include a statement that a risk assessment or inspection for indoor residential mold growth is recommended prior to the purchase, lease, or renovation of target housing; include a statement that certain State and local laws impose additional requirements related to indoor residential mold growth in housing and provide a listing of Federal, State, and local agencies in each State, including address, telephone number, and electronic mail address, if available, that can provide information about applicable laws and available governmental and private assistance and financing; provide information considered by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to be appropriate or necessary to promote awareness of the hazards posed by indoor residential mold; include information on indoor air quality safety generally, including best practices when cooking, taking a shower or bath, and smoking cessation; be publicly available on the websites of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Environmental Protection Agency, and other applicable Federal agencies; and include any other information considered by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to be appropriate or necessary. The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and the Secretary of Agriculture shall ensure that a copy of the pamphlet required under this section is provided annually to all covered tenants mail by a hard copy left at the tenant address, by United States mail sent to the tenant, or by electronic mail sent to the tenant. There is authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out this section.

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