WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) today introduced his CO ALERTS Act as an amendment to the Fiscal Year 2019 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (THUD) Appropriations Bill. Scott was joined by Senators Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), David Perdue (R-GA), and Doug Jones (D-AL) in the effort to attach the CO ALERTS Act to THUD and ensure that more than 1.3 million highly vulnerable Americans in federally assisted housing are protected from Carbon Monoxide poisoning. THUD is currently before the Senate for debate.

This comes on the heels of the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) announcement that $5 million in grants are now available to housing authorities for the installation of Carbon Monoxide detectors. This past January, two men died of Carbon Monoxide poisoning in a public housing complex in Columbia, South Carolina. Senator Scott has worked diligently with HUD Secretary Ben Carson and Senator Menendez to prevent this sort of tragedy from happening again.

“I want to thank my colleagues for their partnership in introducing this amendment, and I encourage all of our colleagues in the Senate to support it,” Senator Scott said. “Even one preventable death in our public housing facilities is too many, and this important amendment will help put an end to the threat of Carbon Monoxide poisoning for families across the nation, especially as we go into the higher-risk winter season.”

The CO Alerts Act, and the amendment introduced today, requires:

• Carbon monoxide alarms in federally assisted units that have potential carbon monoxide sources like gas-fired appliances, fireplaces, forced air furnaces, and attached garages;
  
  
• Carbon monoxide alarms in rural housing, managed by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA);
  
  
• HUD provide guidance to public housing agencies on how to educate tenants on health hazards in the home, including carbon monoxide poisoning and lead poisoning; and
  
  
• HUD, in consultation with the Consumer Product Safety Commission, conduct a public study on requiring carbon monoxide alarms in housing not covered by the IFC.

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