[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1166 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1166
To require the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to establish
an excess urban heat mitigation grant program, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 27, 2025
Mr. Gallego (for himself, Mr. Markey, Mr. Wyden, Mr. Merkley, Mr.
Sanders, Mr. Booker, and Mr. Padilla) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing,
and Urban Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to establish
an excess urban heat mitigation grant program, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Excess Urban Heat Mitigation Act of
2025''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Heat stress is a leading weather-related cause of death
in the United States, with more than 600 people killed in the
United States by extreme heat every year, and many more
experiencing respiratory problems and heat-related illness.
(2) Urban areas are likely to experience higher
temperatures than surrounding areas due to design-related
attributes of the built environment, including manmade factors
such as low solar reflectance, low vegetation and tree cover,
high building density, high impervious surface cover, and waste
heat emissions.
(3) Underserved communities are disproportionately impacted
by extreme heat. In the United States, low-income census blocks
have 15.2 percent less tree cover and an average land surface
temperature that is 1.5 degrees Celsius hotter than high-income
blocks.
(4) Studies show that in 97 percent of the largest
urbanized areas in the United States, people of color live in
census tracts with higher surface urban heat intensity than
non-Hispanic Whites, indicating that heat exposure is unequally
distributed by race.
(5) Urban heat is not only a public health threat but also
an economic one, as rising heat leads to increased roadway
maintenance costs, higher residential and commercial summer
energy costs, and lost labor productivity, as well as the cost
to patients and health care infrastructure for heat-related
hospitalizations and emergency department visits.
(6) Excess urban heat causes increased energy consumption,
elevated emission of air pollutants and greenhouse gases, and
impaired water quality.
(7) Heat waves are expected to not only occur more
frequently in the United States but also be of longer duration,
lasting 10 to 20 days longer by the end of the century.
(8) Solutions exist that communities can implement now to
mitigate the challenge of urban heat. One example is the
planting of urban trees to offset or reverse the urban heat
island effect. Studies in multiple cities in the United States
have shown that urban trees can offset projected increases in
heat-related mortality in 2050 by 40 to 99 percent.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Covered census tract.--The term ``covered census
tract'' means a census tract with a poverty rate of not less
than 20 percent, as measured by the 5-year data series
available from the American Community Survey of the Bureau of
the Census for the period of 2019 through 2023, including such
a census tract that includes an area that was designated as
``hazardous'' or ``definitely declining'' in maps drawn by the
Home Owners' Loan Corporation.
(2) Covered grant.--The term ``covered grant'' means a
grant awarded under section 4(a).
(3) Eligible entity.--The term ``eligible entity'' means--
(A) a State (as defined in section 102 of the
Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 (42
U.S.C. 5302));
(B) a metropolitan planning organization;
(C) a unit of general local government (as defined
in section 102 of the Housing and Community Development
Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5302));
(D) an Indian tribe (as defined in section 102 of
the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 (42
U.S.C. 5302));
(E) a territorial government;
(F) a nonprofit organization working in
coordination with an entity described in subparagraphs
(A) through (E); and
(G) a consortium of nonprofit organizations.
(4) Eligible project.--The term ``eligible project''--
(A) means a project designed to mitigate or manage
heat in an urban area by--
(i) working to mitigate the causes of
higher temperatures; or
(ii) managing the impacts of higher
temperatures or other extreme weather events;
and
(B) includes the implementation, construction, or
maintenance of--
(i) tree planting and maintenance with,
wherever possible, preference for--
(I) native tree species;
(II) tree species with high shade
production and carbon sequestration;
and
(III) tree species that are
valuable for food production;
(ii) cool pavements;
(iii) cool roofs;
(iv) green roofs;
(v) bus and other transit stop shelters;
(vi) shade structures;
(vii) cooling centers with, wherever
possible, preference for--
(I) cooling centers that
collaborate with existing community
centers and spaces;
(II) cooling centers with year-
round accessibility, and
(III) cooling centers that utilize
renewable energy;
(viii) community gardens, including
agroforestry practices;
(ix) outreach to communities about
resources available under this section;
(x) local heat mitigation and management
education efforts;
(xi) urban forestry master plans;
(xii) urban tree canopy assessments;
(xiii) arboriculture training;
(xiv) maintenance of existing urban trees;
or
(xv) other actions the Secretary determines
appropriate to mitigate or manage excess urban
heat.
(5) Environmental justice.--The term ``environmental
justice'' means the fair treatment and meaningful involvement
of all people regardless of race, color, culture, national
origin, income, and educational levels with respect to the
development, implementation, and enforcement of protective
environmental laws, regulations, and policies.
(6) Excess urban heat effect.--The term ``excess urban heat
effect'' means the phenomenon of local urban warming, resulting
from manmade factors such as low solar reflectance, low tree
cover, high building density, high impervious surface cover,
and waste heat emissions.
(7) Extreme heat.--The term ``extreme heat'' means a
prolonged period of excessively hot weather, with temperatures
well above climatological normals for a given location and
season.
(8) Nonprofit organization.--The term ``nonprofit
organization'' means an organization described in section
501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from
taxation under section 501(a) of such Code.
(9) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Housing and Urban Development.
(10) Urban area.--The term ``urban area'' has the meaning
given the term in section 101(a) of title 23, United States
Code.
(11) Urban forestry master plan.--The term ``urban forestry
master plan'' means a strategic plan that establishes the
overall vision, goals, objectives, and implementation tools to
evaluate, maintain and expand the urban tree canopy with the
intention of building resilience to extreme weather events,
reducing the urban heat island effect, mitigating stormwater
runoff, reducing nutrient runoff, addressing air quality, and
preserving biodiversity.
(12) Urban tree canopy assessment.--The term ``urban tree
canopy assessment'' means a measure of a community's tree
canopy coverage as a percentage of the total land area that
serves as a baseline for setting community tree canopy goals
and measuring progress.
SEC. 4. URBAN HEAT MITIGATION AND MANAGEMENT GRANT PROGRAM.
(a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment
of this Act, the Secretary, acting through the Office of Community
Planning and Development, in coordination with the Administrator of the
Environmental Protection Agency, the Chief of the Forest Service, and
the Director of the Climate Program Office of the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration, shall establish an urban heat mitigation
and management grant program to award grants to eligible entities to
implement eligible projects.
(b) Set-Aside.--Not less than 75 percent of the amounts of covered
grants awarded for a fiscal year shall be awarded to eligible entities
to implement projects in a covered census tract.
(c) Technical Assistance.--
(1) In general.--Not more than 3 percent of amounts
appropriated to carry out this section may be used to provide
technical assistance to eligible entities applying for or
implementing a covered grant.
(2) Preference.--In providing technical assistance under
paragraph (1), the Secretary shall give preference to eligible
entities that intend to serve communities--
(A) located in a covered census tract; or
(B) with lower-tree canopy and higher maximum
daytime summer temperatures compared to surrounding
communities, as determined by the Secretary, based on
publicly available information.
(3) Inclusions.--Technical assistance provided under
paragraph (1) may include--
(A) assistance developing a complete application;
(B) financial analysis and budget development;
(C) support for project integration;
(D) assessment of project readiness; and
(E) technical assistance implementing activities
once a covered grant is received.
(d) Application.--
(1) In general.--An eligible entity desiring a covered
grant shall submit to the Secretary an application, at such
time and in such manner as required by the Secretary in
guidance, that includes, at a minimum--
(A) how the eligible entity will use the covered
grant;
(B) how the eligible projects funded will combat
extreme heat or excess urban heat effects and improve
quality of life for impacted communities;
(C) a robust engagement plan that--
(i) outlines how the eligible entity will
meaningfully and inclusively engage with the
communities in which the eligible projects take
place throughout project implementation; and
(ii) demonstrates how the eligible entity
plans to--
(I) foster meaningful, reciprocal
relationships with community-based
organizations;
(II) engage in respectful, good-
faith consultation with diverse
community stakeholders; and
(III) empower members of the
community to participate in decision
making; and
(D) how the eligible entity will address the
intersection between human health, environment, and
built environment.
(2) Guidance.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall issue the guidance
described in paragraph (1).
(e) Matching Requirement.--
(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), the
Federal share of the cost of an eligible project carried out
with amounts from a covered grant shall be not more than 80
percent.
(2) Waiver.--The Secretary may increase the maximum Federal
share described in paragraph (1) from 80 percent to 100 percent
for an eligible project carried out by an eligible entity that
demonstrates economic hardship, as determined by the Secretary.
(f) Priority.--In awarding covered grants, the Secretary shall give
priority to an eligible entity that serves--
(1) a community located in a covered census tract; or
(2) a community with lower tree canopy and higher maximum
daytime summer temperatures compared to surrounding
communities, as determined by the Secretary, based on publicly
available information.
(g) Reporting Requirement.--The Secretary shall submit an annual
report to Congress that identifies the recipients of covered grants and
the geographic and economic distribution of those recipients.
(h) Oversight.--
(1) In general.--In order to ensure the effectiveness of
projects that are carried out using covered grants, the
Secretary shall use not more than 5 percent of any amounts
appropriated to carry out this section to establish an
oversight board to help--
(A) select recipients of covered grants; and
(B) review the progress made by recipients of
covered grants on a yearly basis.
(2) Evaluation.--The board established under paragraph (1)
shall--
(A) develop and apply a rubric to evaluate the
success of projects carried out using covered grants in
reaching their objective to combat the causes and
effects of excess urban heat; and
(B) serve the Secretary in an advisory capacity.
(3) Membership.--
(A) In general.--Members of the board established
under paragraph (1) may include--
(i) representatives from the Environmental
Protection Agency, particularly from the Heat
Island Reduction Program;
(ii) representatives from the Department of
Health and Human Services, particularly from
the Office of Climate Change and Health Equity;
(iii) representatives from the Department
of Energy, particularly from the Office of
Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy;
(iv) representatives from the Department of
Agriculture, particularly from the Urban and
Community Forestry Program;
(v) subject to subparagraph (B),
representatives from nonprofit organizations
with proven leadership in urban heat mitigation
or environmental justice, as determined by the
Secretary; and
(vi) subject to subparagraph (B),
representatives from academia and research
studying the effects of and mitigation of
excess urban heat, environmental justice, or
related areas.
(B) Certification required.--In order to be a
member of the board established under paragraph (1), a
representative described in clause (v) or (vi) of
subparagraph (A) of this paragraph shall certify that
the representative does not possess any conflict of
interest with respect to projects being considered for
a covered grant or being carried out using a covered
grant.
(i) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be
appropriated to carry out this section $30,000,000 for each of fiscal
years 2026 through 2033.
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