Public housing residents, many vulnerable to heat illness, lacked federal mandate for AC until new guidance allowing cooling bill subsidies from HUD, though criticized as insufficient.
HUD Acting Secretary emphasized the need to protect community members from severe weather events like heat waves, referring to past deaths in Pacific Northwest due to extreme temperatures.
Public housing often lacks central AC, forcing residents to buy units themselves with added cost concerns, but local housing agencies can now subsidize cooling costs during intense heat periods.
HUD defines severe heat period necessitating cooling subsidies as two to three days of intense heat and humidity, with temperatures over 90 degrees, allowing agencies flexibility in defining triggers.
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