Congress targets heat deaths in poor neighborhoods with $30M grant program
S. 1166 — Excess Urban Heat Mitigation Act of 2025 · Filed by Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) · 6 cosponsors · Introduced Mar 27, 2025 · Referred to committee
Your members of Congress
Enter a ZIP to see where your representative and both senators stood on this bill.
Looked up on this device — your ZIP is never stored on our servers.
What it does
This bill creates a $30 million annual grant program (2026–2033) run by HUD to fund urban heat-mitigation projects in low-income neighborhoods, with at least 75% of grants going to census tracts with 20%+ poverty rates. Eligible projects include tree planting, cool roofs and pavements, cooling centers, and community education. The bill prioritizes environmental justice by requiring meaningful community engagement and targeting areas where heat exposure is unequally distributed by race and income.
Why we flagged it
The bill's operative mechanism is a straightforward federal grant program targeting heat mitigation in low-income and communities of color, with explicit environmental justice framing and community engagement requirements. It is not a tax provision, deregulation, or subsidy to private industry.
What the text implies
- The 75% set-aside for covered census tracts (20%+ poverty) may create administrative burden for smaller municipalities and nonprofits in those areas, potentially favoring larger, more sophisticated applicants despite equity intent.
- The bill's reliance on 2019–2023 American Community Survey data to define covered tracts means rapidly gentrifying or economically shifting neighborhoods may be excluded or included based on stale poverty snapshots.
The full analysis lists 4 implications of this text.
Who stands to gain
nonprofit organizations (environmental justice, community development focus); state and local governments; metropolitan planning organizations