Green New Deal for Public Housing Act
Sponsored By: Representative Ocasio-Cortez, Alexandria [D-NY-14]
Introduced
Summary
Modernize and decarbonize public housing while boosting resident power and local job pathways. This bill would push PHAs to make public housing energy efficient, zero-carbon over time, and more resident-led.
Personalized for You
How does this bill affect your finances?
Personalize government policy and PRIA will tell you what this bill means for your household, plus every other piece of legislation we track. PRIA reads each provision against your financial profile to show you exactly what matters to your wallet.
Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
3 provisions identified: 2 benefits, 0 costs, 1 mixed.
Deep retrofit grants for public housing
If enacted, HUD would run a Green New Deal grant program to pay for deep retrofits, water upgrades, resilience work, EV charging, bike infrastructure, recycling programs, and publicly owned high-speed internet at least 100 Mbps up and down. Grants would fund insulation, heat-pump electrification, electrical upgrades, rooftop solar and storage (at least 48 hours backup), and water-pipe replacement when specified contaminant levels are exceeded (for example: lead at 1 ppb, PFOA/PFOS at 4.0 ppt, arsenic 4.0 ppt, copper 0.3 ppm). Applicants would have to commit to make public housing zero-carbon within 10 years, not reduce total unit counts, benchmark energy and water for at least 5 years, and follow federal relocation rules so residents can return after work. Congress authorization covers ‘‘such sums as necessary’’ for FY2027–FY2037 and $1,000,000,000 for administrative costs, and HUD would report to Congress every two years on program impacts and savings.
Resident power and housing expansion
If enacted, HUD would steer recurring funds to tenant organizations and require resident councils in projects with 50 or more units. Duly elected resident councils would get $40 per unit per year for participation activities and PHAs would get $25 per unit per year to support tenant participation; councils may pay officers stipends up to $1,000 per month but not if that would affect income-based benefits. The Family Self-Sufficiency program would explicitly include tribes, add services like digital literacy and home care, require resident council reps on coordinating committees, change participant caps (including a new 'but not more than 35 participants' limit), and give Green New Deal grantees extra funds for an FSS coordinator. The bill would also repeal the statutory Faircloth paragraph that limits public housing counts and allow eligible grantees to retain 90% of profits from selling community-generated energy, with residents voting on how retained profits are used.
Jobs, wages, and contractor rules
If enacted, HUD workforce grants would fund training tied to registered apprenticeships, pre-apprenticeships, internships, certifications, and support services. Grants must partner with apprenticeship or labor groups and can pay participants at least $250 per week; up to 10% of a workforce grant may pay reporting and Section 3 compliance managers. Covered projects would face stepped hiring and contracting floors for low- and very-low-income residents (40% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 90% thereafter) and resident-owned businesses (20% then 30% then 50%). Contractors on grant-funded work would also have to follow Build America, Buy America rules, pay Davis-Bacon prevailing wages, use project labor agreements for projects $25 million or more, meet apprenticeship hiring (20% on union projects), and comply with tighter independent-contractor and arbitration protections.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Ocasio-Cortez, Alexandria [D-NY-14]
NY • D
Cosponsors
Rep. Tlaib, Rashida [D-MI-12]
MI • D
Sponsored 8/6/2026
Rep. Smith, Adam [D-WA-9]
WA • D
Sponsored 8/6/2026
Rep. McGovern, James P. [D-MA-2]
MA • D
Sponsored 8/6/2026
Rep. Torres, Ritchie [D-NY-15]
NY • D
Sponsored 8/6/2026
Rep. McCollum, Betty [D-MN-4]
MN • D
Sponsored 8/6/2026
Rep. Stansbury, Melanie A. [D-NM-1]
NM • D
Sponsored 8/6/2026
Rep. Lieu, Ted [D-CA-36]
CA • D
Sponsored 8/6/2026
Rep. Gomez, Jimmy [D-CA-34]
CA • D
Sponsored 8/6/2026
Rep. Nadler, Jerrold [D-NY-12]
NY • D
Sponsored 8/6/2026
Rep. Watson Coleman, Bonnie [D-NJ-12]
NJ • D
Sponsored 8/6/2026
Rep. Espaillat, Adriano [D-NY-13]
NY • D
Sponsored 8/6/2026
Rep. Johnson, Henry C. "Hank" [D-GA-4]
GA • D
Sponsored 8/6/2026
Rep. García, Jesús G. "Chuy" [D-IL-4]
IL • D
Sponsored 8/6/2026
Rep. Goldman, Daniel S. [D-NY-10]
NY • D
Sponsored 8/6/2026
Rep. Casar, Greg [D-TX-35]
TX • D
Sponsored 8/6/2026
Rep. Thanedar, Shri [D-MI-13]
MI • D
Sponsored 8/6/2026
Rep. Chu, Judy [D-CA-28]
CA • D
Sponsored 8/6/2026
Del. Norton, Eleanor Holmes [D-DC-At Large]
DC • D
Sponsored 8/6/2026
Rep. Jayapal, Pramila [D-WA-7]
WA • D
Sponsored 8/6/2026
Rep. Schakowsky, Janice D. [D-IL-9]
IL • D
Sponsored 8/6/2026
Rep. Omar, Ilhan [D-MN-5]
MN • D
Sponsored 8/6/2026
Rep. Clarke, Yvette D. [D-NY-9]
NY • D
Sponsored 8/6/2026
Rep. Raskin, Jamie [D-MD-8]
MD • D
Sponsored 8/6/2026
Rep. Lee, Summer L. [D-PA-12]
PA • D
Sponsored 8/6/2026
Rep. Meng, Grace [D-NY-6]
NY • D
Sponsored 8/6/2026
Rep. Pressley, Ayanna [D-MA-7]
MA • D
Sponsored 8/6/2026
Rep. Tonko, Paul [D-NY-20]
NY • D
Sponsored 8/6/2026
Rep. Jackson, Jonathan L. [D-IL-1]
IL • D
Sponsored 8/6/2026
Rep. Grijalva, Adelita S. [D-AZ-7]
AZ • D
Sponsored 8/6/2026
Rep. Boyle, Brendan F. [D-PA-2]
PA • D
Sponsored 8/6/2026
Rep. Carson, André [D-IN-7]
IN • D
Sponsored 8/6/2026
Rep. Takano, Mark [D-CA-39]
CA • D
Sponsored 8/6/2026
Rep. Dingell, Debbie [D-MI-6]
MI • D
Sponsored 8/6/2026
Rep. Randall, Emily [D-WA-6]
WA • D
Sponsored 8/6/2026
Rep. Wilson, Frederica S. [D-FL-24]
FL • D
Sponsored 8/6/2026
Rep. Mullin, Kevin [D-CA-15]
CA • D
Sponsored 8/6/2026
Rep. Carter, Troy A. [D-LA-2]
LA • D
Sponsored 8/6/2026
Rep. Frost, Maxwell [D-FL-10]
FL • D
Sponsored 8/6/2026
Rep. Garcia, Robert [D-CA-42]
CA • D
Sponsored 8/6/2026
Rep. Velázquez, Nydia M. [D-NY-7]
NY • D
Sponsored 8/6/2026
Rep. Khanna, Ro [D-CA-17]
CA • D
Sponsored 8/10/2026
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
View on Congress.gov